Gil Hibben Sword

Chuck Bentley

Chuck Bentley

Joined
Jun 7, 2019
Messages
50
Cool sword I picked up.
By Gil Hibben, 1980.
Mint condition, with original sheath.
Gil didn't make a lot of swords.
Blade Length:32"
Overall:43"
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Gil
 
Thanks!!! Blade and overall length are posted, above. Not sure about metal, handle etc. Handle looks like some kind of bone.
What other specific data are you looking for?
 
Pretty sure everything Gil did back then was 440C.
 
Chuck Bentley said:
I am no expert, you could be correct. I would like to sell it, but don't know how to evaluate it
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If you buy a gold membership here, the members here can help you put a value on it and then you can sell it here too:thumbsup:
 
In general, I suspect that most of your value will be as a hibben collectible. As a sword it's a fairly mediocre effort, if it's stainless it's also not all that desirable except as a collectible.
 
Can you screw off the pommel, slide off the handle and it reveals a long screw? Just wondering what the tang is like on this and the construction method.

EDIT: I checked the web and can't find anything at all on that sword- not even a picture.
You just might have something there, seems kinda rare.
 
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Triton said:
In general, I suspect that most of your value will be as a hibben collectible. As a sword it's a fairly mediocre effort, if it's stainless it's also not all that desirable except as a collectible.
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Yes, my thoughts exactly. Besides beein stainless or not, it looks heavy an unbalanced as hell too. A decorative item in form of a sword IMHO.
 
BladeMan said:
Yes, my thoughts exactly. Besides beein stainless or not, it looks heavy an unbalanced as hell too. A decorative item in form of a sword IMHO.
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I have noted this with many knife makers, even very talented knife makers. They have not studied swords. They just assume that They can make a really big knife. It does not work that way.
 
Triton said:
I have noted this with many knife makers, even very talented knife makers. They have not studied swords. They just assume that They can make a really big knife. It does not work that way.
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Yup, if you've ever handled an ATrim or Tinker blade they are anything but big knives. The balance and harmonics that go into making a true sword are amazing:thumbsup:
 
Triton said:
I have noted this with many knife makers, even very talented knife makers. They have not studied swords. They just assume that They can make a really big knife. It does not work that way.
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Yes, absolutely true and i noted this too. Scaling up a perfectly fine dagger to sword size does not make it a good sword. In general, making a functional knife is not very hard compared to a sword which is a totally different level. So much things to consider and to get right. You need to truly understand harmonics and everything too to create a sword from scratch.
 
JJHollowman said:
Can you screw off the pommel, slide off the handle and it reveals a long screw? Just wondering what the tang is like on this and the construction method.

EDIT: I checked the web and can't find anything at all on that sword- not even a picture.
You just might have something there, seems kinda rare.
Click to expand...
I spoke to Gil's wife, this is a one-off, made for a friend of theirs, which is where I got it.
 
Oh wow. So it's custom and there's no other anywhere. There are Hibben collectors out there , find the right one and who knows? I've never been a huge fan of newer Hibben production stuff because of the steel he uses although I do admit he's probably made more money selling those than he would have offering his stuff with a better steel. A custom one of a kind is interesting, who knows what he used in his own shop making a blade for a personal friend in 1980. 440C is a respectable steel albeit not really a "sword steel" -not that you'd want to use that sword anyway, one scuff or chip and the value tanks. If you could get something in writing from Gil declaring the sword is one of a kind and he made it that would help I'm sure. Personally I think it's gorgeous and as i said I'm no Hibben fanboy.
 
It is a one off item so it is going to be hard to price. Your best bet would be to list it at a well publicized auction that will carry other Hibben's custom items to see what interest there is on this.

n2s
 
handle is ivory paper micarta. It was very popular with knife makers of the time (I used a lot of it). Story I heard was that it was a batch from the company that the color didn't work right, never made again. It slowly yellows over time, but is a beautiful look.

DanR
 
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