The Armour Archive

What would be a suitable material to use as the hilt on a two-hander if you don't have the money to buy one of the ready made ones?

Wasn't rattan used in the early days of the SCA. I think that they would split rattan in half and then duct tape the two halves together around the blade. Hope this helps.

Bjorn

I just take two short lengths of rattan, use a rasp to apply a concave cylindrical curve in one end of each (to get them flush against the rattan of the sword) and tape them on as firmly as I can with strapping tape.

macrgra wrote:Wasn't rattan used in the early days of the SCA. I think that they would split rattan in half and then duct tape the two halves together around the blade. Hope this helps.

Bjorn

Yes, that's true. If you do that, make some notches (about 1/8 to 3/16 inch deep) in the actual blade to help stabilize the quillions. Use strapping tape to tape one end of the split rattan together, then squeeze the other end together, and tape it. Add more tape as necessary for strength and appearance.

If you don't mind the Japanese tsuba, you can make one out of several layers of any rigid material - leather, plastic, hard rubber - glued together.

Paulb

Another 'old school' method is to use hose (garden, or other semi tough material). Cut it to the length you wish, split a hole big enough for your stick to pass through, and tape in place, ends curved up. Tape to decorate.

I've done this again recently with pretty decent results. For extra rigidity, I suggest useing two lengths of hose cut to similar size, stacking one atop the other, and tape together. This also alows you to modify the curve a bit as well.

Good luck!

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One method that I have seen look really good is to use a section of bicycle tire.

I have one made like this years ago that I dearly love.

f

Adriano wrote:I just take two short lengths of rattan, use a rasp to apply a concave cylindrical curve in one end of each (to get them flush against the rattan of the sword) and tape them on as firmly as I can with strapping tape.

I didn't even bother to rasp the curve into the rattan - I just split the rattan down the middle, clamped two ends together, duct taped the bejesus out of 'em (probably some strapping tape too), and then repeated the process on the other side. I personally wouldn't cut notches in the blade of the sword though - I'd be too worried about losing structural integrity.

Regards,

Jonathan Blackbow

If you have access to someone who can weld, use carriage bolts. Weld 2 of them to a small section of pipe. Make sure the end of the bolt is 1 1/4 inches in diameter, and that it does not extend greater than 1 inch past your gauntlet. It is simple to do, and has a much better look than hose or rattan.

Uric

I am partial to tire sidewalls, one curved piece on each side of the rattan, firmly taped together and fleshed out with blue foam if desired. Then covered w/electrical tape. Cutting out the pieces is a bear, but the curve looks nice.

Thanks for the advice. With the carriage bolts, if the walls of the pipe were 3/8 of an inch thick, would drilling and tapping be strong enough.
Also, what about brazing. Is that strong enough?

freiman the minstrel wrote:One method that I have seen look really good is to use a section of bicycle tire.

I have one made like this years ago that I dearly love.

f

I believe that they are made of two sections of bicycle tire that I had laying around. They are packed with foam and taped tightly. They seem to have held up well over all these years. When I rebuilt it a couple of years ago, all they needed was new tape.

When I build Bri's greatsword and my own, I use split rattan. Bri's are 12" pieces while mine are 6" pieces. I hollow out the center section of the splits and tape them onto the rattan. Mine last longer because they are shorter. Shots that catch way out on the end of quillons tend to make hers loosen up faster.

I have been building them like this for years now on greatswords and bastard swords that get a lot of use. I have only had one break, and I had carved too much away around the hilt. Of course, it broke after a couple of years of use.

The bonus is that you always have rattan that is too short for anything else or maybe a broken sword laying around, so they are very cheap.

Radu

Now that I think of it, in the past I've also used two curved pieces of PVC pipe from the plumbing supply section at the hardware store; tape them together with the rattan shaft in the middle.

Using a good hardwood such as hickory could also be an alternative.