Hand and a Half Sword

[Philip]

Originally Posted by CSinTX

Ill attempt to answer questions. Point of balance is approximately 9.5cm in front of the guard. Weight is around 3.4lbs.

The indentations in the lower part on the blade are present on both sides but they are not equal on each side. That would make sense about a tang being welded on separate. It does seem there could be a difference in metals in the area.

Cornelis, do you have a link to those pictures? I cant seem to locate them on their site. Mine doesnt seem to have ever had shell guards. The shell guards in the example do look pretty unique. The piercings seem to match the pommel but are unlike anything I've seen on other swords.

More pics-

Thanks, Casey! This is a beautiful sword you have, congrats.

Yours certainly has a responsive balance. Comparing with an example in my collection which I got recently (photos are in a PDF file which I can't separate into individual images so will take some phone pics and post them later), the POB comes in at 13.5 cm in front of guard, with a total weight of 1450 gm (around 3 1/4 lb) on a 91.5 cm blade length. So the balance on mine is not as "fast" as yours but is still effective in one hand.

The close ups of your blade reveal a definite "grain" in the steel, from lamination during the forging process. If these blades were polished and etched like Oriental swords, the layering would be just as impressive (Roberto Gotti's book, Caino, (Guardia di Croce, 2011) on the blade-making industry in a town in Lombardy, has a whole chapter on the metallurgy of some 16th-17th cent. rapier blades from its forges, and the work is pretty impressive).

Regarding those indentations, after looking at the latest photos yet again, I do notice in one of the images what appears to be a different color of the metal between the indentation and the guard. A sort of brownish tone? I don't know if we're seeing the same thing. Does the color change also coincide with the indentation on the other side? (you mentioned that the sunken areas are not directly opposite). If there is an offset, then it might just indicate a lap-weld as suggested previously.

To be sure, a good way to check might be a non-invasive etchant treatment, such as degreasing the area and applying a mild acid like lime juice or a strong vinegar. A sharply delineated color or texture contrast usually indicates dissimilar alloys of iron. The area can be easily cleaned afterwards with a bit of powdered cleanser and a damp rag.

(Lap-welding of a steel blade to an iron or low-carbon steel tang in an area just ahead of the hilt was common in some non-Western cultures, notably India. Late Ottoman blades often have this feature as well, the join usually being hidden by overlaid gold or silver decoration).

I think that the guard of your sword might be earlier than the otherwise similar one on the Wallace example posted above. The pierced "shells" seem to me a later design feature.