Historically forged Fulham Gladius

[jackmcauliffe]

Hey guys! My latest work has been to create an extremely accurate example of a fulham pattern Gladius. I am not doing a reproduction of an archeological find but a sword of my own design following strict guidelines of style that the Romans used. I understand some of you will have different ideas of what "historical accuracy" is but this fulfills my own idea and here is my reasoning through the description.

The blade is probably the most accurate part. It is made from bloomery and hearth steel me and my friend Jeff Pringle made from ore and recycled wrought iron exactly as the Romans did. I folded layers of the bloomery iron and hearth steel together and forge welded more steel around the edge. This "piling" is precisely how most roman swords were made. It also leave a beautiful and subtle pattern showing off the many layers of forged steel, in total about 800. I estimate the carbon in the steel to be around 0.5% which is historically correct. Right by the hilt I inlaid a star and moon which is my blacksmithing touchmark and a common Roman motif. The moon is silver and the star is bronze.

On this note I do not believe any modern steels to be historically accurate. The look and feel is entirely different. Smelted steels work differently and have different tolerances which leads me to conclude that their metalworking techniques were different than modern blacksmiths, although I am trying to replicate that.

(stepping down from my soapbox)

The hilt is made entirely of antler and held together by a resin and the peening of the tang. The glue I used to hold this together was made with pine pitch and beeswax just as the Romans did. The bolster, pommel cap and ring are made of bronze.

I made the scabbard out of wood and riveted a bronze jacket to the surface. It is chased and reposed with different scenes I created, however all the images themselves are taken from Roman mosaics or other artwork. The baldric is made of veg tanned leather. The buckle and rings on the scabbard are tinned brass and copper. The chape is carved antler with Mars under a crescent moon and star. All of the rivets are silver.

This sword is for sale, and the current asking price is $2000. I am also available for custom work so feel free to PM me or check out my website.
www.underhilledge.com
[email protected]

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[jackmcauliffe]

more pics

[jackmcauliffe]

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[Creon01]

Why not use boxwood for the hilt? It is accurate and available without much hassle.

[jackmcauliffe]

Why not use walnut or olive which is also available and accurate? The answer is simply that I like the look and feel of antler. It's more durable than wood and can last longer.

There are many options for a lot of the hardware. It's personal preference at that point. I also believe boxwood is used so often in reproductions it's rather boring. It is also rather boring in both grain structure and color. Again just my opinion.

[markusaurelius]

Why not use boxwood for the hilt? It is accurate and available without much hassle.

There are a lot of examples made with horn, although basswood is the simplest.

[Robert]

I would beg to differ. There is very few finds of horn and almost none of antler. Both horn and antler finds are third century Scandic finds.

Also, there are not many makers that use boxwood at present, although archeological evidence does favor this woodtype as the predominant one used in making both guard and pommel and even the grip. I know of only one all basswood hilt, the spatha found in the Netherlands.

[Creon01]

I don't want to sound critical as I very much applaud any effort at historic accuracy such as this. Although boxwood is indeed rather plain, but hard and durable as well, why not consider it as the effort to create an accurate metal blade is so commendable. Those seeking a 2k sword know a bit about swords and if the makers take this experiment to its logical conclusion I think they will not only sell more than a few swords, but set the standard.

[jackmcauliffe]

Robert, hilt I based this off of was a 1st or 2nd century Roman Spatha with antler cross guard and pommel. I apologize I do not have photos on this computer. Antler was a commonly used material for many applications by both Romans and northern folk outside of sword making too. Just because it is uncommon here does not make it historically inaccurate. One of the hugest problems with Roman reproductions is people get stuck in the "cookie cutter" assumption that things were uniform and the same, I want to break that up a bit here.

The whole point of having a sword with a little flash and bang is that it is different! The Romans loved that. If soldiers can afford it they want to "show off." This is what I am demonstrating all around. I choose not to use box wood. I don't like boxwood. Its common, its boring, and Ive see a lot of makers especially here on RAT using it. I dont see a problem with that. It does not make it "more accurate," it only makes it more common. Thats a big difference.

Ya know I really wanted to spark a discussion on steel and iron patterns if anything... :razz:

I also dont think I will sell more swords if I make my own custom swords out of boxwood :dizzy: But Id have not problem doing this work for a specific customer. Thats a big difference in my eyes. What you see here is an example of my personal tastes within the realm of historical accuracy. 8+)

I should hope someone who would want to buy this would know a bit about swords. I really want someone to appreciate the time effort and choices I made with this. The fact that it is different from common swords and that it reflects the design of the maker. Well never truely know but I can assume this mattered to the Romans as well.

[Creon01]

Here are two boxwood hilts I hope you would consider for your next project. One is ornate and one plain. Both are on well made swords with the ornate one on a Fulham like yours. Not a handsome wood compared to others for sure, but most Roman swords were not made to look pretty - just functional.

Keep in mind serious reenactors are a conservative bunch and bling is welcome as long as it's somehow-somewhere documented.

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[jackmcauliffe]

Joe, what you clearly are not understanding in all of my posts is that the materials and styles I used in this sword are all documented and not fantasy. I know it is not your intention to come across as offensive, but asking me to "consider" copying someone else's work comes across really condescending. What you are saying is that I should put all my artistic judgement aside to replicate a more typical and "functional" piece. Even if only one out of every thousand gladii was made using antler, it still makes it a historical choice for hilt hardware.

I get it, you want boxwood. If you want to commission a boxwood handle gladius, please be my guest. I have no problem with using boxwood, it makes sense. I didnt use it here and I probably wont use it in the next sword I design myself. In the mean time I'd like to ask for more critical discussion based responses having to do with areas of the sword you do or don't like. Not just the most common wood choice for a cheap typical gladius.

[Creon01]

It's a nice sword - good luck.

Those "cheap typical gladius" are mine and from the Matt Lukes, one of the world's leading makers of Roman swords and both have been displayed at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

[LUCIUS ALFENUS AVITIANUS]

Hello,

What are the lenght of the blade?

[Augustus Janus]

I don't know much about smelting steel but I have to commend you for doing so especially using a Roman style furnace and starting with raw ore. I think the effort was outstanding and the results look quite good. Sorry that I can't afford the $2,000 price tag. Well I could afford it but justifying it to my wife would be difficult haha.

I know what you're on about Jack. You were striving for a design that was pleasing to you, not common and yet still being historically accurate. I have to say that I am impressed with the result. I really can't critique all the design elements as I am not an expert really but I do have to say I really appreciate the effort you have put into this. Well done.

Jim

[jackmcauliffe]

Hello,

What are the lenght of the blade?

total length 26.5"
blade length 20"
width at hilt 2.1"