hello,does anyone have any good recomendations for how to make or buy a crossguard for a waster(for a hand-and-a- half sword),im off to a WMA event in the summer and ive chosen the wood and the length im going to use for the waster and have pommels(s). So far ive seen the idea of pvc piping of the cross variety,cutting off one part so you get a T shape to put down the staff shaft however i imadgine these will break easily even if the drills are light.Most people cut and drill their cross guards from hardwood and attach those, but i have neither the tools needed for shaping one or drilling one. other suggestions have been cardboard reinforced with duct tape en masse,which supposedly quite strong or using stiff leather,but im unsure about these too options as i feel they may be too flexible for any cross guard work. sooo...any suggestions?? cheers
You could use popsicle sticks completely soaked in high quality wood epoxy. Arrange then for overlap, and have it a couple of layers deep vertically and latertally. Let it dry, and tape it up to hide the fact that it's popsicle sticks. Sounds crazy, but I think it might work, since the epoxy will be the main structural strength, not the flimsy wood. That's all I've got, sorry. Best regards, -Mark
I've made several wasters. I make them in (norwegian????)ash, and ash in general should do the trick. On how to make them, I think I've explained the procedure earlier, but I can give it a quick go: Find a piece of straight, dried out ash withoug any branch-marks(? I don't know the word for it, but where the branches sticks out of the log is where the waster will break eventually... Shape the sword in desired lenght. Glue on the pommel (one peace of softer than ash-wood on each side of the "tang". Carv it so it fits around the end of the tang. Make shure the tang goes straight through the pommel, or it will break. Do the same wiht the crossguard.
how about making the blade and tang from one solid piece of wood then making a cross-guard that gets hollowed out in the middle for the tang to slide through. using glue or screws would keep the crossguard in place. along with the blade being too thick for the cross-guard to slide over and the tang being wrapped in leather or handels added.
Hi Tommy.... If it's just to practice the sword positions how about the wooden Claymore/Greatsword which could double as your hand & half (although it's slightly shorter) - at under a tenner you can't go wrong.... http://www.historictoys.co.uk/products.asp?sectionname=Historic%20Swords%20(High%20and%20Late%20Medieval) It's in the 'High & Late Medieval' section They look well made so I've ordered one to see what it's like along with a couple of medieval daggers to try out some Talhoffer! Louie
