Gladius Hispaniensis.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

I have had a blade (2 actually)from Mark Morrow waiting to be hilted for several years now,
With expert guidance, I managed to botch this hilt together over a three day period.
It is a bit rough still, and while not as fancy as I would have preferred, it is functional, I think.
Once some final sanding and then oiling of the wood is done, I hope it will look ok.

[attachment=6816]521486_10151290614907132_1287802072_n.jpg[/attachment]

[attachment=6817]299296_10151290617497132_591505680_n.jpg[/attachment]

Any thoughts?

[Robert]

Yep, nicely done as it is an appealing simple design. There is precious little evidence for the early handle shapes. I know, as I am currently researching a handle for just that period for a very nasty Fontilet (Miks)I will be doing after I get a Falx finished. He doesn't "do" Hispaniensis, so some of the blades he calls Fontilet spatha's have all the makings of a stabbing sword.

The guard looks to be made of beech, what is the pommel made of?

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Thanks Robert. Both are the same wood. And yes, beech.
I was hoping to put a bit more design on it, but time gets away when you become absorbed in these things!

Still, simple, so no tears.....

This is quite a long blade, closer to spatha in length.

[Robert]

Gladius Hispaniensis unfortunatly is not described in Miks as a type, but indeed I have also noticed these blades are longish compared to gladii of the Mainz variaty. Miks classes them as Fontilet spatha, I presume because of the blade length. But if you look at the point, it is also very much a stabbing sword. So it is no small wonder your Hispaniensis is a bit long. Is your blade based on any specific find?

I would go no further then perhaps adding a ring to the pommel and leaving it at that. Could you do us the whole sword with a yardstick to see the length :wink: ?

[arklore70]

Bryan,
I think it is very well done! Like Robert, I would like to fully see the blade as I bet its a real beauty.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Yes, i did not see the word mentioned in the section with the hispaniensis, but they are easy to recognise. The Delos plus 3 - 4 others are shown on the one page.

It is also similar to another blade shown further on.
I would like to be able to post more pics, but I left it wrapped as I still have further work to do
on it.
If I had had te time, a more elaborate ring set up would have been preferable, but
as this was very much a learning curve, I was over cautious on much of the fabrication process.
I think the final peening was done as the time raan out.
Fortunately Owen was patient.
And excellent to see his work.
I'll see if there is a picture on Mark Morrows website to give an idea.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

http://02a045c.netsolhost.com/swordsmith...%20015.JPG

I would say the blade shape is very much identical to this one, more or less!

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Hmm, I cannot edit my posts??

@ Robert, when you said add a ring to the pommel did you mean metal ring or a carved ring in the wood?
That had been the plan, but as I said, I was running out of time.
Possibly I will add it later. Also a second ring on the guard.

[Robert]

Oh no, not metal! A carved ring in the wood is what I meant.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

I realised that after, but initially thought you were talking about the ring attachments on the peenblock (which I had originally considered, but left it to olate in the planning stage). 8-)