cheapest way to arm yourself

[Crispvs]

About time for me to speak up then.

Following the examples from Mainz and Dorchester (as well as a number of component pieces from Vindonissa) I made my pommel from three pieces, using part of a cow's femur for the main section with caps made from a cow's shank bone at the top and bottom of the main drum section. I also cut a piece of wood to fit inside the pommel to improve the fit of the pommel over the tang and the adhesion of the caps. Departing from the Dorchester and Mainz examples, I made my guard from a piece of a large cannon bone, placed horizonally, following another example. On both the Mainz and Dorchester pieces the guard was made in the same three parts as the pommel, the only difference being that the guard was wider at the bottom than the top whereas the pommels were more rounded at both ends. Naturally my grip is of one piece of bone, this being from a calf's cannon bone.

Here is the Mainz sword:



Here is the Dorchester handle:



And here is mine. Note that the guard is copied from a different find:



The total number of separate pieces of bone in both the Mainz and Dorchester handles is seven. Including the bone plugs I have inserted into the ends of my guard mine also has seven. Please note that each of the elements of the handles has been made using the largest piece of bone which will fit the purpose. They are not made up from many small slivers glued together as some of the presently available Indian ones are. If you have a mind towards authenticity I would avoid any bone handle made up of small parts joined together. A bone handle should only include the following parts:
- A pommel made up of either a drum shaped piece and two caps; two ball joint pieces joined horizontally at the centre; or a single piece of large (probably cannon) bone laid horizontally.
- A grip made from a single piece of bone, normally a small bovine cannon bone but other bones are known.
- A guard made up of either a drum and two caps or a large piece of bone (probably cannon bone) laid horizonally.

I do not know of any other known arrangements of bone from Roman sword handles.

Crispvs