- Joined
- Oct 29, 2013
- Messages
- 40
I bought the Windlass Steelcraft's "Qama" short sword about 20 years ago, mainly because it only cost around $30. The blade impressed me as being very sharp and rigid, but the handle was way too short for my hand and had two large rivets protruding from the side which made it uncomfortable to hold. So it sat in a box in my garage for 20 years.
My ten year old son has been reading Lord of the Rings recently and is planning to dress as Frodo for Halloween. This got me thinking it could be a fun project for us to re-handle the "Qama" to be more usable and to be our interpretation of "Sting" from the books.
We sketched out a few ideas and then he picked the guard, pommel and stabilized wood from a big knifemaking supply website. Attaching the pommel was the difficult part. I cut a 1/2" x 1/4" nub out of the end of the tang (pommel was internally threaded 1/4-20) and started cutting threads with a die. Right as I was almost done, the nub snapped right off inside the die. My solution was to take a 3/4" x 1/8" brass strip and make a "frame" around the handle scales, then drill and tap the end and screw it together with threaded rod. The whole thing is epoxied together with G-flex. Our craftsmanship wasn't quite elf- level but I think it is an improvement on the original and hopefully something my son will keep forever.
My ten year old son has been reading Lord of the Rings recently and is planning to dress as Frodo for Halloween. This got me thinking it could be a fun project for us to re-handle the "Qama" to be more usable and to be our interpretation of "Sting" from the books.
We sketched out a few ideas and then he picked the guard, pommel and stabilized wood from a big knifemaking supply website. Attaching the pommel was the difficult part. I cut a 1/2" x 1/4" nub out of the end of the tang (pommel was internally threaded 1/4-20) and started cutting threads with a die. Right as I was almost done, the nub snapped right off inside the die. My solution was to take a 3/4" x 1/8" brass strip and make a "frame" around the handle scales, then drill and tap the end and screw it together with threaded rod. The whole thing is epoxied together with G-flex. Our craftsmanship wasn't quite elf- level but I think it is an improvement on the original and hopefully something my son will keep forever.
