Hanwei/Tinker 9th Century Viking Sword: Grip Shortening

Yesterday I reported on getting (and dulling down) a new sword for practicing the sword-and-shield study I do at Asfolk. Today, after getting a great piece of advice from my classmate Kai, I set out to shorten the grip. This went quite well. My goal was to make it on the longer end of what I like, so something like the 3.4″ (86.5mm) of the Anglo-Saxon Sword from Arms and Armor.

I documented the heck out of this one.

First, I found what a bare blade looked like; Tinker sells (or used to sell) replacements. The nub shown is almost certainly cut off during the usual fitting process.

The next step was to mark and cut the wrapping, and shorten the handle to the proper length. I ground out the peen and then cut on the last one I did, and my buddy Kai pointed out that was doing it the hard way…and he was right.

After the leather, cord, and wood were removed, I was able to gently knock the pommel down the tang, freeing it from the factory peen.

Obviously, the pommel won’t go much further, as the width of the tang prevents it. So I marked the width…but ultimately used a fine-point dremel bit to grind out the “mushroom” on top of the peen, which let me remove the pommel completely as I needed. That let me grind the tang down to a good thickness, remove the handle (woo hoo, it’s shimmed for tightness! Well done Hanwei/Tinker…much more friendly than epoxy).

After that, it was just a matter of test-fitting the pommel and ensuring the grip was what I wanted…which it was.

Then carefully cutting off the protruding tang with my dremel and cut-off wheel.

You really don’t need a lot of protrusion here. But after this, it was fit and ready for me. Initially it was all quite tight, but the crossguard did loosen a little…so I cheated and glued it in place. A more historical way of doing the same thing would be either wood shims or beeswax, I think.

Now…it’s ready for me to use in class this coming Thursday!