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[kronckew]

Originally Posted by Congoblades

The cross-guard is loose, is there a way to fix it?

might be due to shrinkage of the wood grip scales. you could try soaking the hilt in linseed oil to swell it a bit, as long as the scales are not also attached with an oil soluble glue; that might however let you disassemble the hilt easier & tighten it back on cleaning and re-assembling it. injecting a modern filler like epoxy steel into the gap is likely to be frowned on & reduce it's value. a big blob of goop like the last photo would also not be a good idea. some middle eastern swords have that area wound with wire, which might be something to try first. it at least will not be a permanent repair that might lessen the item's value.


adding a pin thru the guard like that thru gold koftgari is also not a good career move. i do note in my photo above there was some sort of glue, possibly cutler's cement under the wire which came thru a bit. might even be silver solder. not my weapon.

this one shows the outline of the guard grip languet under the wire a bit better.


i recall someone posted instructions on reconstructing a turkish hilt here somewhere that might help.