A Classic Style

A new direction in pommel creation... the Urn-shaped pommel.  Created in brass, the new pommel is inspired by pommels often found on foils of the late 1800's and early 1900's.  I found one example on a foil owned by Instructor Kim Moser, my instructor at Palm Beach Classical Fencing.  The other (shown above) is from a set of vintage foils in my collection.  While my reproduction models the shape and proportions of the originals, it is sized 108% larger to obtain a target weight of 100 grams.  The original pommel was cast and had no internal threading so it was drilled through and had to be peened onto the foil.  As a result, it's relatively light for the foil weight.  The reproduction is machined from a solid brass blank and is threaded 1" deep to retain maximum material density.

Creating the shape on a metal lathe required the custom grinding of several new shapes for the cutting bits as well as lengthy lay out time on the brass blank and repeated changes in lathe setup.  

The conical and faceted shapes require accurate machine setups but cutting is rather straightforward once the operation is underway.  In addition, a number of identical cuts can be made, one after another, after a particular setup is made.  The Urn shape, however, doesn't lend itself to repeated cut duplication.  I don't have access to a lathe replicator or CNC machine so the entire process was uniquely "hand controlled" and required an extraordinary amount of time to produce this one item.  While I've solved many of the difficulties in machining the intricate details of this new pommel, creation time is still a cost factor to be overcome.  For now, this unique pommel is reserved for a very special weapon still to be created.

Thanks to some lessons learned in making the original pommel and fine tuning of the forming bits, the transition from brass slugs to urn-shaped pommels is now complete.  While each is based on a single classic design of years past, each pommel is, in fact, made slightly unique with different decorative features.  Each will be photographed and named to become a part of a unique Classical Fencing foil.  These are the only six that will be made in this style and material.  Sometime in the future, I hope to create a small quantity in stainless steel.