The Armour Archive

Rattan hates me. It just breaks all the time.

Thomas MacFinn wrote:While there isn't one "best" shape, I do think the SCA has developed certain norms, partially as a result of our equipment and partially because we copy the bad habits of our teachers along with the good.

The first sword grip most SCA people experience is usually a 1.25" diameter round stick inside a 8"-9" tall one-size basket hilt. The first modification most of them have made to their swords was to shave the sides of the grip down by adding two flats, 1" apart. For some, the second modification is shaving a foot or more of a four to six foot long stick down even farther so that it will fit through the (sometimes tiny) hole on a crossguard. If that hole is 3/4 to 7/8 inch diameter, it is no wonder that the rattan snaps.

Imagine instead sending a plastic piece to a blacksmith and saying "I want you to make a crossguard that will fit on this" ...





The hole on the crossguard will automatically be big enough. Once you carved the rattan to fit through the crossguard it would need minimal additional carving (if any at all) to fit your hand. Since it isn't round it will be less likely to twist on the blade. It may even have a slope on the blade side of the crossguard so that the waster inside it doesn't need to be cut at a sharp 90" angle to seat the guard all the way against the blade.

My first thought when I first conceived of this was an oval handle (#1). Two people made me prototypes on 3D printers: one liked it and one said it was too sharp in his palm. This thread and the prototypes available for free download on Shapeways.com that followed are my second draft.

Nissan Maxima mailed me a plastic type 15 waster model with the "mk 1" handle. As soon as I handled it, I mailed it on to Stefhan. If somebody asked him to, he would have few problems making crossguards and pommels to fit it (or a crossguard to fit it and a smaller pommel for Insane Irish). He could make a casting of the model and send it on to somebody else or start an email conversation about the hilt with me or somebody overseas that printed up their own copy from the file.

I plan on sending him a #2 handle, not because I think that is the best, but because it is largest: I can shave any handles that fit through a #2 crossguard down to a #1 or #3.