Misc > The Sage's Guild - Historical Discussion

Sword Hilts

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Eogan:
What are the common (and not-so-common) ways to wrap a sword hilt that you know of?

I was pondering how much I hate wire-wrapped hilts (they just feel wrong to me, like chewing tinfoil or rubbing cottonballs), when I remembered a mention in a Jack Whyte book about using shark skin, which was supposed to keep its grip, even when slick with blood, and then I recalled this velvet-wrapped beauty I saw in the Bayerisches Armeemuseum in Ingolstadt, Germany labelled 'München um 1600"STANTLER ME FECIT"'



So now I'm curious as to what other materials and techniques were used for grips.

I also want to know if "ME FECIT" means in German what it looks like in English. ;)

Iguana-on-a-stick:
If my Latin isn't gone altogether, it means "Stantler made me", from facere which is "to make."

Nothing puerile here.

Merentha:

--- Quote from: Iguana-on-a-stick on March 02, 2007, 12:46:32 PM ---If my Latin isn't gone altogether, it means "Stantler made me", from facere which is "to make."

--- End quote ---
Your latin is sound.

Feanaro:
Wood can serve as a base or the grip itself. Leather over wood, plain or with some wire wraps underneath to create ridges. Wire wrapping. Cord and other cloth coverings were also used. Various kinds of bone. Sometimes the whole hilt was metal though this was more common with bronze and early iron swords, AFAIK.

Taka:
It depends on the style and location largely.  Japanese swords would often be wrapped in ray skin or shark skin, while Scandinavian would be me more likely to be solid wood or solid metal.  Roman blades tended to be wood, and greek was often just poured bronze.  As has been said, cording, cloth and leather were also used to make a good solid grip.

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