The Armour Archive

The same man who made the Blunts for arrows is now making cup hilts. Many of the East Kingdom fighters are using them now, including Duke Ronald Wilmot and HRM Darius.

They are made of the same material as the black plasticised rubber on your cars bumpers, and are able to withstand being beaten with a 10 pound sledge hammer-- the result? They do not crack, chip, or get damaged in any way. They make your sword MUCH easier to balance.

I currently only have 6 left, but am expecting my next shipment in a couple of weeks-- yes, I will have them at Pennsic.

They are $35, plus shipping.

Please email me to order.



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Ivar Bloodhand, Norsetrader Arms
http://www.valhallaleather.com
Official distributor for Ron Simmons and "Rough From the Hammer"

"I got a sweater for Christmas... I wanted a screamer or a moaner"

As a side note to Westies,
These have not been examined by the Earl Marshal of the West. As this is the case, they are considered experimental.
Please take this into consideration. If you have one of these, I am sure that he would be happy to examine one.

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All the best,
Rhys
"Art calls for complete mastery of techniques, developed by reflection within the soul"
Sifu Jun Fan Lee

Actually, the Earl Marshal of the West was at Rowany Festival in Lochac this year and there were two of these basket hilts lurking around the Royal encampment. He had a good look at them there and we both said nasty things about their authenticity and balance. One of them was showing a crack developing along a vertical line from the top (off centre), we looked at it again after three days of war and tourney and it had not grown or anything.

So he has seen them and they have fought on West Kingdom events.

But I still think they are extra-ugly.
sorry. Basket hilts are bad enough, making them out of plastic is just adding insult to injury.

And I really hated the balance and feel.

Sasha

Balance trick, for those of us who use metal basket hilts...

Wrap some leather around your thrusting tip and just below it. It brings the center of balance back to just past the hilt, where it's supposed to be. This also gives your thrusty a bit more, shall we say, resolve? You won't have to replace/repair it nearly as much, and, as long as you don't use really thick stuff, it doesn't hinder the progressive give.

Just as an aside, I fought with a weapon with a hilt much like the one Ivar described here this last weekend. I also found I missed the weight and it threw off my shots a bit.

Just an opinion from the Outlands.

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Asher der Jager
Owner, Asher's Armory

P.S. I don't know what the official ruling in the Outlands is. The views expressed above are mine alone and may not represent those of the Kingdom.

[This message has been edited by Asher (edited 06-25-2002).]

I have to say that while I'm not in love with the looks of the things I like the way you can balance a sword with them. I was pretty skeptical about them until HRH Darius showed me a sword he'd made with one. The fact that they practically add no weight to the sword allows you to put the balance where you want it by adding counter weights or whatever. The piece of rattan Darius showed me felt more like a sword than any SCA weapon Ive ever picked up-- and that sold me. I've used one for several months now and it's held up fine. They may be ugly, and they're not period (what basket hilts are?), but I really think they can help turn a club into something more like a sword.

P.S. Once I have good gauntlets I'll use cross hilts

A little additional info on King Darius sword, he puts a large plug of lead in the handle in order to counter balance properly.

I wish there was some way to make the hilts better looking, the reported vibration absorbtion interests me and my abused joints. I'm considering buying one for pell work.

Asbjorn