Pics of my new practice blunt

T

the possum

Joined
Jul 31, 2002
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Thought I'd share a few pictures of my new aluminum practice blunt. I've been studying German Longsword in the Liechtenauer tradition for about a year now, with a group in Saint Louis. Total length is a little over 51".

altrainerks8.jpg

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pommeldetailzu6.jpg
 
Hopefully nothing. :eek: The edges are totally rounded over & probably around 1/4" thick, so I don't injure my fencing partners. We mostly just use these for controlled drill work. It will probably help me destroy a pell or two, though.
 
Absolutely stunning! Kind of makes one afraid of mucking it up...but that just adds character! Have fun with your new toy! :D
 
very clean work at the guard. do you have access to expensive machining equipment? that looks too good for a couple of hand tools.
 
I did the rough shaping with an angle grinder, and a little bit on an old wood sander. Pretty much all the final shaping and detailing was done with files and sandpaper. Blade, guard, pommel, scales, everything. (Well, a pocketknife, blowtorch, & cheap drill press came in handy now and then too) You don't know how many times, after filing for 4 hours straight, I wished for a lathe and mill. :D
 
that really is amazing how nice it looks for homemade:thumbup:

i have been thinking about making a couple of bowie trainers out of aluminum. my brother works at Musco Lighting here in Iowa and i have been pestering him to sneak me in after hours to use the millions of dollars worth of equipment they have. a cad milling machine should do a pretty good job for a hells belle i hope;)
 
That IS a very impressive piece of work. One thing I'm not clear on exactly, is that a metal inlay going from the cross up the side of the handle? Or is it actually the tang with wood grips on each side of it and it all shaped together. Have you ever considered trying your hand at a sharp?
 
i have been thinking about making a couple of bowie trainers out of aluminum. my brother works at Musco Lighting here in Iowa and i have been pestering him to sneak me in after hours to use the millions of dollars worth of equipment they have. a cad milling machine should do a pretty good job for a hells belle
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Really, if you're determined, I don't think you need a bunch of fancy equipment for a design as simple as a Hell's Belle. The hard part is just designing it so you get the mass distribution right; not the actual shaping/machining itself.

One thing I'm not clear on exactly, is that a metal inlay going from the cross up the side of the handle? Or is it actually the tang with wood grips on each side of it and it all shaped together?
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That's just the sides of the tang showing- it's a full tang design. Really if I had it to do over again, I would have made it a hidden tang like the originals, but my instructor has this thing about liking full tangs, and I didn't think it was going to be so much extra work.

Have you ever considered trying your hand at a sharp?
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Well of course. :D Already have a big bar of L6 sitting in the shop for it, but it will probably be years before I find the time to work on it. I wanted this to be a learning experience before trying a "real" one too. I've made a couple shorter pieces though, and have already started the grinding on a big falchion for a special customer.
 
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the possum said:
Well of course. :D Already have a big bar of L6 sitting in the shop for it, but it will probably be years before I find the time to work on it. I wanted this to be a learning experience before trying a "real" one too. I've made a couple shorter pieces though, and have already started the grinding on a big falchion for a special customer.
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Invest in some more tools man so it doesn't take you so much time! :)
 
the possum said:
Triton, have you ever heard the expression, "Poor folks have poor ways"? :D
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No, but it's apt. Having said that, you could do what I did with the scabbards. Do one of these things the hard way if you have to and sell it. Take the profit from that (and a couple of more as necessary) and buy a tool that will help you turn out the next one faster. Repeat. After you have all the tools then you can upgrade them. Seriously guy, you appear to have some talent I think it would be a shame to hamper yourself for lack of tools.
 
the possum said:
That's just the sides of the tang showing- it's a full tang design. Really if I had it to do over again, I would have made it a hidden tang like the originals, but my instructor has this thing about liking full tangs, and I didn't think it was going to be so much extra work.
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Excellent work! You can turn pro when you have that kind of skill.
Keep the full tang. Let this character differentiate your work from the rest of contemporary swords.
 
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