sam uke 5 Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) Greetings, This is my first post after lurking a bit. I pestered @Salem Straub on IG after seeing him forge a cool Mainz gladius, and he suggested I post here. I'm slowly working on a Pompeii gladius (first sword), and trying to work out the pommel, handle, hilt details. I plan on having a wooden pommel/hilt (possibly with non-ferrous inlay on hilt) and a bone handle. I've searched the forums, and watched some YouTube. I'm looking for specific details on how the handle (mostly pommel) fit-up to the shoulders of the blade. I could also use suggestions for tang length, and thoughts about how the shoulders should be filed (eg; 90deg or radiused). Here's what i've done thus far... I used a big 'ol leaf spring and forged to pre-form. I want to end up with a thick medial ridge Forging the bevels took a long time. She's just under 2" wide and ~ 24.5" long (blade len). Rough grind pre-HT. Edited October 1, 2019 by sam uke Link to post Share on other sites
Zeb Camper 787 Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 Welcome aboard! That's all I got... I would suggest looking for historical examples with weights and measurements to make scale drawings to use as a reference. Sword site might have something. I'll get you a link. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Zeb Camper 787 Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 http://sword-site.com/thread/959/fulham-gladius Heres just one example. Oh, there's a guy here you should talk to. Partick something... @Patrick B. P. I think. Not sure if he hangs around much, but he makes a fine gladius! Good luck! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Brian Dougherty 1,376 Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 I can't help much with gladius construction details, but I wanted to also throw in my welcome and say that it looks like you are off to a great start, and that we'll all be glad to see your WIP. The guys who know the historical details on these will be along soon with input. 1 -Brian Link to post Share on other sites
jake cleland 704 Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 Is far as I'm aware, these just had an oval bronze plate, pierced for a fairly neat fit round the shoulders of the blade, and inlaid into the base of the wooden guard. The pommel generally would have some kind of sheet metal reinforcement on top, and a peening block that the tang was peened onto... 1 Jake Cleland - Skye Knives www.knifemaker.co.uk "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." Albert Einstein Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 3,678 Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 That's about all I know about them as well. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
sam uke 5 Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share Posted June 19, 2019 I cleaned up the bevels and profiled the tip. i'm just about ready for HT. I shortened the blade and tang a bit so it will fit in my oven for temper. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to grind the tip post-HT? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 3,678 Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 Not sure what you mean? How have you been grinding it so far? Link to post Share on other sites
sam uke 5 Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share Posted June 19, 2019 8 hours ago, Alan Longmire said: Not sure what you mean? How have you been grinding it so far? I've been grinding the tip to match the parallel portion of the bevels, but was unsure if there was a distal taper (only on the tip) or something i'm missing. Link to post Share on other sites
Zeb Camper 787 Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 I dont think there is a notable secondary grind like the tip of a Japanese sword blade. I could be wrong. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 3,678 Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 And I don't know enough about gladii to say if they have distal taper or not. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Kai Lawson 1 Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 I would highly recommend looking at both historical examples (you can google various versions of the Pompeii gladius--it changes over time), and checking out myArmoury for historical examples with dimensions and discussion. Apparently, copper alloy hilt plates and pale woods (i.e. birch) are the most common hilt components, but specific hilt forms and tang buttons also varied a little with find location and time. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
sam uke 5 Posted July 14, 2019 Author Share Posted July 14, 2019 Survived HT and temper. Post HT clean-up on the grinder. On to hand sanding... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
sam uke 5 Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 Walnut hilt and elk handle bedded and rough fit. Link to post Share on other sites
Zeb Camper 787 Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 I'm interested to see how this plays out! Looks great so far! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
sam uke 5 Posted January 21, 2020 Author Share Posted January 21, 2020 Bronze spacer(?) fitted to hilt. Blade sanded to 60grit. Pommel fitted. G-10 dividing the sphere and some filework on the top end. Link to post Share on other sites
Chris C-S 148 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 This is looking great. A heap of work you've done there. Congrats so far. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
sam uke 5 Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 (edited) Dyed the walnut hilt and pommel. Added some texture to the scallops on the pommel. Used potassium permanganate on the elk handle. Made and textured a bronze pommel nut plate(?). Turned a pommel nut, and threaded the tang to 3/8" 16. Left a banner proud on the circumference where I plan to etch my mark. Textured and antiqued the bronze spacer and used structural adhesive to affix it to the hilt. Took the blade to 400 grit + scotchbrite. Edited February 2, 2020 by sam uke Link to post Share on other sites
sam uke 5 Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 (edited) Roman Pompeii style takedown gladius complete (minus some extra fuss on the pommel nut/plate). 21.75" blade, 30.25" OAL. The sword feels purposeful in the hand and ready to work. This was a challenging build for me, and I'm already daydreaming about my next large project. Thanks to anyone checking this out -- I'd appreciate any feedback. You can follow me on IG @shamulnu for more projects I labor through. Long blades aren't easy to photograph. Dan Carlin (Hardcore History) described the gladius as a "cleaver" in one of his podcasts -- and that seems pretty spot-on. Edited February 2, 2020 by sam uke 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 3,678 Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 That came out well! And yes, gladii are no-nonsense brutes of a weapon. Most short swords are. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
sam uke 5 Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 33 minutes ago, Alan Longmire said: That came out well! And yes, gladii are no-nonsense brutes of a weapon. Most short swords are. Thank you Link to post Share on other sites
Chris C-S 148 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 That's a cracking looking piece. Congrats. Thanks for sharing. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
sam uke 5 Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 15 hours ago, Chris C-S said: That's a cracking looking piece. Congrats. Thanks for sharing. Thank you 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Geoff Keyes 669 Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 What are the finished weight and dimensions, please? Very nice work. Geoff "The worst day smithing is better than the best day working for someone else." I said that. If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly. - - -G. K. Chesterton So, just for the record: the fact that it does work still should not be taken as definitive proof that you are not crazy. Grant Sarver Link to post Share on other sites
sam uke 5 Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 (edited) Thanks for asking Geoff. 21.75" blade, 30.25" OAL, 1.75" blade width. It has a nice thick medial ridge that I will measure once I get a new battery for my calipers. 2.4lbs using the old school bathroom scale method as I don't have a scale suitable for this. *edit: .28" thickness Edited February 7, 2020 by sam uke Link to post Share on other sites
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