"El Paladín" (The Paladin)

This is the first of six new guard designs in brass for the Classical Fencing foil.  Originating from the Latin palatinus (of the palace), "Paladin" later came to refer to high level officials in royal courts.  In later romantic folklore and legend, the name was used to refer to the closest companions of Charlemange and were comparable to the Knights of the Round Table in Arthurian legend.

The name was chosen because the center bar supports the strength and stiffness of the guard and allows it to be made of thinner material than the traditional Open Figure 8.  The guard is cut with jeweler's saw blades from 1/8 inch brass rather than 3/16 inch as would normally be required.  Even with the center bar, the guard weighs only 51 grams.  The center hole has been drilled but will not be squared until custom mounted on the tang of a blade.

As with many projects done for the first time, there was a lot of testing and hand work required so the completed product took more time than I anticipated.  If I can't reduce that time significantly, the six designs may turn out to be "one of a kind" items.  Still to be tested is the life span of the guard under regular use.  So far, I haven't seen any significant impact on guards made of the same brass alloy.  I plan to make a similar guard in a vertically shortened form.

For the curious, the playing card shown is the Knight from the Spanish card deck.  As with early similar decks, there was no Queen in each suit so the three face cards were the Knave (or Page), the Knight and the King.

"Alacrán Negro" (The Black Scorpion)

The incorporation of two new elements for a Classical Fencing foil.  Shown with the Fabulous Machine that makes winding multiple cords and wires simultaneously possible, the Poplar wood grip core is covered with a combination of cord, black glove leather and double silver-plated wire.  My attempt to create a fully spiraled leather wrap was abandoned because the spacing between underlying cords was too wide for hand comfort, was extremely laborious and the result wasn't aesthetically pleasing.  I also found that durability might be an issue unless the leather and underlying cord were heavily glued down to prevent shifting if the leather stretched over time.  The leather is soft calfskin and is skived at the edges for smooth transition at the overlap.  The blade is a #5 SG Premium blade refined to a thrust force of 2 lbs 9 oz at nominal bend.  It's very light and intended for a skilled, advanced fencer.

The guard is a steel Figure 8 from Benjamin Arms and is backed with thick black leather.

The wire wrap is actually two, 20 gauge, silver-plated wires twisted in opposite directions to achieve a braid effect.  The ferrule at the end of the grip and the pommel are both stainless steel.  The ferrule is countersunk to cover the end of the grip and prevent mushrooming.  It is also center-drilled to maintain alignment with the pommel.  The full-faceted hex pommel isn't cast but is cut on a vertical mill.

Once again, I'm pleased to be able to credit Joel Mason, Director of Jacob's Armoury for his generous sharing of his knowledge and skills in grip windings.  Wishing him great health and happiness!

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.

The Royal Court

Faceted pommels for Classical Fencing foils and epees.  The previous post was a test of the facet angle and overall dimensions to yield the required shape and weight for the fencing weapons.  At first glance, these pommels, here created in brass and stainless steel, appear to all be the same but there are slight variations that I've incorporated to yield a weight range required for weapon balance.  Facet angles are also varied between 5 and 6 degrees to allow for the weight difference between the brass and the steel.  If you look closely at the second pommel (front row) from the left, you'll see that the forward end is beveled.

Four of the pommels have been countersunk at the end for decorative medallions.  The posts of the medallions are compression fitted into a drilled hole and sealed with epoxy for security.  I've used colored glass jewels in the past but the posts on the medallions offer a more secure attachment for decorative items.  Future options still in the drawing phase include spirals, grooved cuts and figures that can be cut into the facets of the pommels.  I'm also working on a source for bronze metal in a shape that can be machined without a lot of waste material.

The Faceted Pommel

The latest endeavor in creating unique pommels for Classical Fencing weapons!  Amazing that such a simple looking item can be so complicated to make.  Unlike most pommels available on the market, this one is not cast in a mold.  Rather, it is machined and milled from a solid brass slug as seen on the left.  Like previous creations, it is first turned and drilled on a metal lathe then tapped for a 6mm thread.  The complexity comes in accurately setting and reproducing each of the six facets at exactly the same angle on a vertical mill (non-CNC).

Cutting angles on a vertical mill isn't particularly difficult but this pommel required each cut to be 60 degrees apart, cut exactly to the same depth and perfectly tapered from the centerline at 6 degrees.  The part had to be moved for each cut so exact alignment for each cut position and depth was critical.

My drawings and calculations for the final weight of the pommel (100 grams) required an extremely exact taper angle.  Now, I don't know about you but I don't have a protractor that can accurately set a 6 degree angle (+ or - a few minutes) and I wasn't about to pay several hundred dollars for a set of machinist's angle templates.  The solution came from Joe Pieczynski at Advanced Innovations in Austin, Texas.  His videos showed me how to use the X and Y axis table on the mill (accurate to thousandths of an inch) and some simple trigonometry tables to create a 6 degree template to position the part and accurately reproduce each facet cut.  Not only did all the points meet drawing specifications, the part weighed in at exactly 98 grams!  I've already cut some additional angle templates to provide stepped weight variations for custom weapon balance.

For now, this pommel is one of a kind so I'll have to save it for a very special foil worthy of the design.  The successful results also open the door to more artistic variations that, for now, are still just in my head.

"Pluma Negra" (The Black Feather)

This Classical Fencing foil marks a new step in the making of custom grips using the Fabulous Machine seen in a previous post.  It is a commissioned weapon created to the specifications of a client.  The name reflects the lightness of the foil in the hand.  The blade is one of few remaining blades forged by Blaise Freres in France before the company was sold.  The quality of this blade allows it to be ground and honed for quick response to the fingers without sacrificing control of the point.

The guard selected by the client is a Fleur de Lis pattern from Benjamin Arms.  The grip is a light Poplar wood core wrapped with hardened cord and twisted steel wire.  The pommel is custom cut stainless steel in conical shape.  A stainless steel ferule cups the end of the wood grip to prevent mushrooming and compress the cord windings.

The Fabulous Machine allows the simultaneous winding of multiple wraps, in this case cords and wire, without the need for layering or spacing guesswork.  Each winding is in direct contact with the wood grip core, adding strength while maintaining sensitivity in handling.  The larger diameter cord is hardened to provide a sure grip in the hand.  Particularly amazing is how the grip transfers the lightest touch of the blade to the fingers while still damping aggressive hits from an opponents blade.

The use of wire windings, particularly multiple wires, is a complex skill still to be mastered.  Once again, I credit Joel Mason of Jacob's Armoury for designs and photos of his work.  

"The Fabulous Machine"

The Fabulous Machine is a tribute to the creativity and skill of Joel Mason, Director of Jacob's Armoury. He is renowned for the swords and fencing weapons he's made over the years. Sadly, his long battle with Parkinson's Disease no longer allows him to make complete weapons but you can find a lot of his work at http://www.jacobsarmoury.com . Since making custom grips for Classical Fencing weapons is one of my hobbies, I was particularly inspired by Joel's "Fantastic Machine," a device he built to wind multiple wires and cords on sword grips. You can see the original machine at http://www.jacobsarmoury.com/the-fantastic-machine.html . I have a particular love of gears, metal and machines so my "Fabulous Machine" has a bit of steam punk thrown in.
I'm very thrilled to contribute in small part to Joel's wish that the procedures and techniques he's developed not be lost. I don't think I'll ever achieve the beauty and mastery of wire winding that Joel has but hope that others will also take an interest in his work and carry on with his art. My dream would be to visit his home in Scotland and learn more while time allows but I don't know if that will be possible. Maybe there is someone out there that can.

A better view of the gear and pawl system that locks the wheel in place so adjustments can be made to the wraps.  The three brass pieces near the bottom of the side plate are actually heavy brass pipe, drilled and threaded to accept brass bolts from the underside.  This anchoring system provides additional strength against the pull of the tensioning system for the wrapping cords.

The first test of the complete system with the machine anchored to a portable work bench.  Note the addition of a center mounting bolt.  This allows solid mounting and the ability to angle the machine as the wraps are applied and assists in tight place placement of the wraps next to each other.

The test wrap was done with four wrapping cords.  At the beginning of the wrap, each cord is anchored radially into notches in the wood and glued into place.  As the grip is turned, each cord is picked up and included until all four cords are being wrapped at one time.  The use of a larger diameter cord allows for a more secure grip by the hand.

The line tensioning system of pulleys and weights.  The overhead pulleys can handle five lines or more if similar cords are grouped.  The two pulleys behind the main pulley block allow lines to passed to the back to prevent the weights from interfering with each other.  The weight cartridges can be opened to change the internal lead weights for optimum tension on the lines.

A detailed view of the main pulley block.  Open eyelets were used in the ceiling to allow easy removal when not in use.

The completed grip mounted on a Classical Fencing foil.  The stainless steel pommel is my own but the Fleur de Lis guard is from the collection of Benjamin Bowles at Benjamin Arms.  Although many of his surplus parts are no longer shown in his new catalog, I understand he still has a number of desirable weapon parts in stock.