Sword Prop/Decorator item/????

not2sharp · 17th May 2011, 06:59 PM

This appears to be a solid one piece steel or iron casting. The sword-like-thing is 32 inches long and the blade is approximately 5/16" thick at the hilt. The whole thing weighs about 3-3/4 lbs. While the blade is blunt, the weight and stiffness of this thing would have made fencing with it very dangerous. We can see a single deep impact from a similar sword on the blade near the hilt. A tiny remnant of the leather lacing which once formed a grip remains attached.

I don't know what to make of this thing. The form is pre-1100 viking, so I don't believe this would be a prop made for an armour suit display. It seems too heavy and stiff for a stage sword, and I haven't seen any home projects that involved taking iron to a flowing molten state. If it is a factory item I would expect someone to have seen others like it.

Does anyone care to take a shot at identifying this thing? I guess it is also possible that this is some kind of unfinished intermmediate production item. That the same casting may have been fullered, polished, sharpened, and coated or painted to produce a more familiar decorator sword. But, I do not recall seeing anything like that either.

n2s

17th May 2011, 06:59 PM	#1
not2sharp Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 210	Sword Prop/Decorator item/???? This appears to be a solid one piece steel or iron casting. The sword-like-thing is 32 inches long and the blade is approximately 5/16" thick at the hilt. The whole thing weighs about 3-3/4 lbs. While the blade is blunt, the weight and stiffness of this thing would have made fencing with it very dangerous. We can see a single deep impact from a similar sword on the blade near the hilt. A tiny remnant of the leather lacing which once formed a grip remains attached. I don't know what to make of this thing. The form is pre-1100 viking, so I don't believe this would be a prop made for an armour suit display. It seems too heavy and stiff for a stage sword, and I haven't seen any home projects that involved taking iron to a flowing molten state. If it is a factory item I would expect someone to have seen others like it. Does anyone care to take a shot at identifying this thing? I guess it is also possible that this is some kind of unfinished intermmediate production item. That the same casting may have been fullered, polished, sharpened, and coated or painted to produce a more familiar decorator sword. But, I do not recall seeing anything like that either. n2s