A custom display for a custom sword

[Teufel Hunden]

I posted about this a LOOOOOOOONG time ago, but the thread has since fallen into the forgotten thread abyss, so here's another one, with updated pics of the display itself.

For those that don't remember or didn't see the original thread, I had a single handed sword made by Rob Miller in Scotland. It's one of his stock pieces, a 12th century knight's sword, with a couple customizations thrown in.


Here's the beautiful piece. I was on the waiting list for two years... it was well worth it.




My coat of arms is on a silver coin inlaid in the pommel. I wanted the chain wrapped handle for durability sake, but it ended up being MUCH more delicate looking than I imagined. It was a very pleasant surprise.




Here's the etching. It's in Welsh and reads, "Behold the pale horse. The man who sat on him was death, and hell followed with him." One of the many translations of Revelation 6:8. This sword is paying homage to a few areas of my heritage, which (in addition to being very Scottish on one side), is full of men of the cloth from Wales. So, having such a deeply religious heritage, I thought a biblical reference would be best for this particular blade, and for an instrument designed to chop people's heads off, what better than Revelations?




One of the sheath, which is wood wrapped in calf skin, with silver fittings.




NOW, on to the display. I decided a non-funtional display shield would be best, and most fitting, so my artist friend and I built one out of pine and painted it black.




The design was originally going to be a custom coat of arms featuring my family coat:



But we decided against designing something new, and stuck with just the lion. I thought something more intricate or detailed would detract from the sword too much, which is supposed to be the centerpiece accompanied by a shield.

[Teufel Hunden]

My friend hand painted the lion on the shield:




Then we used some silver leaf, and a hard bristled brush to score the surface. It catches the light in some really interesting ways... I'm very happy with it.




Then finally a gold leaf border, as well as some accenting on the lion's claws. We did all this by hand to keep the hand made look, and I think the small imperfections here and there add to the character.





The next stage is actually a display cabinet, built into a section of my wall. I'm remodeling my house, and it just so happened that one particular corner ended up being perfect for a display like this after we put the cold air return into it. I put in some LEDs across the top, and I've got a very nice velvet backing, so it'll be a VERY fitting home for the pride and joy of my sword collection. I'll post more pics as the project continues.

[artificer]

...

(that's me being struck speechless by the gorgeousness of the sword and the very nice display)

ith:

[Dale Seago]

*mopping drool off keyboard*

[celt72]

Absolutely beautiful! That is definitely something to be proud of!

[be da veva]

It's a beauty.
And it looks a lot like the sword I want. You can see it here, http://www.albion-swords.com/Discerner/Discerner.html
It is related to the Lindsay clan.
Congratulation, it is a wonderful piece. And I know you will enjoy it for a long time.
(If you ever get tired of it, you can send it my way... )

[Danwell]

That is incredible..........utterly gorgeous.

Show it with pride!

[Lallans]

Awesome. Beautiful. Splendid. Gorgeous!

(I would have called this a 'claymore' if I saw it in a Scottish setting- no doubt someone can tell my why that would be wrong? )

[Dale Seago]

Awesome. Beautiful. Splendid. Gorgeous!

(I would have called this a 'claymore' if I saw it in a Scottish setting- no doubt someone can tell my why that would be wrong? )

Because it's more of a kaniggetly one-hand sword. The Scottish claymore or claidheamh da laimh (two-hand sword) had a distinctively different crossguard & quillions as well as a fairly wide but comparatively thin blade and longer grip.

[kennethrmc]

Truly an heirloom. Delightful!