[Pamela Muir]

I was inspired by all the other DIY re-gripping projects, especially those done by Greyson Brown and Sean Flynt. So, I thought I would try my own. . .

My poor sword. My Albion Squire Line bastard sword has seen much more use and abuse than it was ever designed for. As a result, her edge had several nicks and the grip had loosened and eventually developed a slight creaking noise. I contacted Albion about repairs, but the amount of damage that I had done to the sword was so great that repairs would have cost more than half the cost of the sword. Plus, I had to consider the hassles involved with shipping and waiting helplessly at home for her return.

So, with nothing to lose, I decided that she would benefit from a home spa treatment. The first step was to try to make the edge safe to use again. I took a hand file and slowly and steadily ran the file along the edge from the hilt to the tip over and over and over again. I had only enough patience to do this for about 15 minutes at a time before I needed to give myself a break and try again later. I eventually wore out three files! The end result is an edge that I can once again slide my bare hand down and not be in any danger of cuts or splinters.

The nicks were not completely removed, but that was not really my intention. I just needed her safe to use again. Once she returns to action after her sabbatical/retreat I’m sure that she will get banged up again. One side benefit of the filing is the new edge is wider than the old one. This should make the edge safer to use and, hopefully, slightly more nick resistant. I do intend to put her back to the use that she had before, so more nicks are expected.

With the edge back to a usable condition, the next step was to tackle the grip. After I removed the leather wrap, I discovered a few cracks in the wood. I applied glue to the cracks and clamped the cracks closed as the glue dried. The only glue that I used throughout this project was standard craft “tacky” glue. It dries quickly, it’s easy to use, and relatively strong. Plus, being a mom and Cub Scout leader, I always have it on hand.

With the cracks repaired, I needed to recover the grip. I won’t go into detail there. I just followed Mr. Brown’s and Mr. Flynt’s excellent instructions. I used chamois for the wrap and since my favorite color is yellow, I left the chamois un-dyed.

The rewrap was far from perfect, but not bad for a first attempt. I’m also realistically looking at this as only practice. With all the hard use I put her through, I’m sure that the repair will not last long. The next step will be to put on a new wood handle and rewrap again with a little more experience. (But I will stick with the chamois yellow. I really like that color!)

I’m looking forward to putting her back in action. Her edge is now wider and no longer such a danger to my sparring partner or my instructor.

Yes, I do keep referring to my sword as “she”. I may have anthropomorphized her just a bit. Even after all I have put her through, she’s still my favorite sword in my collection, and my alter ego. Just like my sword, I’m also a middle-aged lady with visible wear and tear.

I’m attaching some before and after pictures. Please be kind and ignore the lack of professional photography. (Edited to reverse the order of the photos.)

[Bill Grandy]

[Jean Thibodeau]

Well Pamela you just have to stop cutting anvils in half.

I guess what is surprising is not how nicked the blade was but how it's still basically usable after some first aid !

That saw tooth edge should have been able to take nice divots out of someone's skin as well as a nice piece of broken glass

" shudder " / " wince " / ouch.

[Joel Chesser]

OOH! Well done!

[Craig Peters]

Pamela,

If you have not already done so, methinks it might be the time to put an order down for the Liechtenauer.

[Anton de Vries]

Nice work!

My SL Bastard developed the loose & creaking hilt problem almost immediately, and Albion fixed it.
It's still okay after all this time. It won't last forever though and I have already practiced the rehilt/wrap process.
I'll also put in a riser like the Mercenary grip has. (I doubt I'll use yellow leather though... )
I thought rewrapping was difficult, but it isn't. It's pretty easy after you've tried it once or twice.


(First attempt at wrapping. Click for full size.)

My WMA group doesn't use protective clothing when practicing, therefore I file down my bastard's edges about once a week to prevent injury.
(Oops I just noticed that from now on I'll have to file down the full length of the blade or it'll end up a leafblade. )



I really love this sword (and its Next Gen brother). It feels great, handles great, looks great. (It's a bit short-ish though)
It also holds up great. I expected it to last a year but it will definitely last much longer.

[Roger Hooper]

Here's hoping that we get some Maestro line swords out soon. Not that they will be indestructable, but they will be sturdier?

[Pamela Muir]

Thank you, Gentlemen! I'm really proud of the way this project turned out. I do really love this sword. All she needed was a beauty treatment and she no longer needs to be a wallflower.

[Gary Grzybek]

Hi Pam,

It looks like you've got a lot of edge damage there. One of my practice partners has the same sword and it's edge has held up much better and the hilt remains tight. Please don't take this the wrong way but, could it be your technique that's allowing excessive edge contact with the other blades? If this area is restricted to the strong area near the guard then please correct me. I see there's heavy markings along the spine which also indicates hit's on the flat. That seems quite normal to me. What other swords did you train against?

[Pamela Muir]

[Elling Polden]

I used a dremmel tool to grind down the edges of my old Lutel one-hander. this worked quite well.

As a rule of thumb, you should check your blade for nicks every time you use it. Keeping a file in you training bag is a good idea.
We use swords from several different manefacturers; ArmourClass, Lutel, Paul Chen, and a couple of ATs. The ACs can take a lot of punishment, due to their thick edges. The ATs are quite solid, but have narrower edges, wich causes them to get more marks, but they still don't get sharp nicks. The Lutels and Paul Chen are made from softer steel, and get more and deeper nicks. They require regular maintenance to stay safe.

[Gary Grzybek]

[Wolfgang Armbruster]

Speaking of resharpening - how often were historical swords resharpened before they were turned into practice swords or recycled? Any insights from your experiences?

[Pamela Muir]

Anton,
I like the riser! I haven't attempted that yet, but it looks good.

[Sean Flynt]

Well done! I'm always happy to see folks taking a hand in the maintenance and personalization of their weapons. Empowerment! I also like the light golden color of the undyed chamois. I think it looks great next to satin-finish steel. I'll be curious to see how it holds up in regular use. Did you wax it?

[Greyson Brown]

Pamela,

That looks really nice. I'm not sure whether to be embarrassed that I am being cited as a source of inspiration or proud of the work that resulted. I guess I'll have to take the second option.

Anton,

I did a waster grip as well, but I wasn't smart enough to stop short of that strongly tapered portion like you did. It's okay, but by wrapping all the way to the guard, I ended up doing a lot of extra work (cord really wants to slide off of that area) that really didn't end up looking as nice as I would have liked. Still, everyone else who sees it is impressed (I have a tendancy to carry it with me through the barracks), so I guess I could have done a lot worse.

-Grey

[Pamela Muir]

Greyson, you and Sean should both be proud! You did some very nice work which gave me the inspiration to try it myself. Thanks.

Sean, I ended up using ordinary neutral color shoe wax. I experimented on a scrap of chamois with plain beeswax. I should have known better. Pure beeswax is very difficult to work with. It's too dang hard. I thought about using my beeswax blend that also contains olive oil and other vegetable oils, but it works much better in a lip balm tube than trying to smear it on a piece of chamois.

[Helen Miller]

Well Pamela,
I've already told you how I liked your re-hilting job in person. I will second the fact that the color that
you used is perfect for your blade. It's not a bright yellow BUT rather a subtle yellow. You did a terrific
job both in the re-wrap and the choice of color.


Helen

[Pamela Muir]

Helen, Thank you!!!

By the way, you posted just as I was changing my signature. Just for you.

[Helen Miller]

LOL! Perfect timing I suppose

Love it!