Oooooh this is pretty!

Thank you kindly. I am rather pleased with how this one came out. It was one of the more complicated pieces I have done and it has given me a few ideas for future swords.

How long have you been forging?

Truth be told, my career stated in 2000 when I got a deal on my anvil from an old man during a bus layover while traveling home for the holidays. I got some odd looks as I drug it onto the bus and off to my college dorm. About the same time I started working with chainmaille and other components,

I became an apprentice to a smith in the mountains in 2001 and him set up a new shop and started gathering tools for the day I would hang my own shingle. I opened my 1st shop in 2003 as a journeyman. Since then I have done everything from armouring Roman reenactors to humvees. I now have my 5th version of the shop and this one is a permanent site.

A very pretty sword! The pommel doesn't look very useful compared to that normal ball pommel, but good work! you have a talented future at blacksmithing!

Thank you.

Pommels are primarily used as a counter balance to make the sword more agile. The balance varies between styles of sword aswell. Most one handed double edged cruciform longsword styles are balanced near the guard on the ricasso. Some single edged hack and slash blades on the other hand are a little more blade heavy so they tend to have less mass on the back end.

Some pommel styles do have secondary uses though, such as the hand-and-a-half (bastard) sword has an elongated pommel that is flared at the distal end to allow a footman to use a second hand on what would normally be a one handed horseman's sword.

Aye, my thoughts exactly. Originally I had intended for the ring to be left open, more U-shaped so it would be easier to rivet it to the tang. I realized my mistake the moment I quenched the ring, but I decided that it would me a nice touch and ran with it. Moral of the story, dehydration makes you do unexpected things.