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• 1 2022-06-16T10:06:05-07:00 How was this made? 14 plain 2022-12-21T11:26:54-08:00 This item was created by French blacksmiths through a combination of smelting copper, gold, enamel, and iron. Artisans then applied the colorful designs to both sides. Sword and pommel craftsmanship is a delicate process that requires skill and patience. 
  

  The pommel and steel sword were manufactured in a blacksmith's forge using intensified heat to shape the weapon. Once all the separate pieces were made, attaching the pommel to the sword was one of the most important steps. There are three main pommel attachment methods.
  
  The first and most traditional method is the piened pommel. On a sword with a piened pommel the tang (the extension of the fuller which passes throughout the entirety of the sword and into the grip and pommel) passes all the way through the pommel and is either hammered down tight into the pommel, or a piece called a “Pien Block” is placed over the end of the tang, and the tang is hammered down over it.  
  

  The second and most commonly used method of pommel attachment is the threaded pommel. In this construction, the end of the tang is threaded, and the pommel is essentially a giant nut that screws down onto it.  Since threaded sections must be round or nearly round, and the tang must be able to pass through the guard, the size of the tang as it passes into the pommel must be essentially the same diameter as the thickness of the blade at the guard.  This narrows the tang in one of the weakest areas of the sword, the junction of the grip and the pommel.  A thicker blade allows larger sized threads, and a tightly fitted hilt can help reinforce the junction, but it is still a likely failure point.  A threaded rod is effectively thinner due to the threads cut into it.  This small, threaded tang is especially problematic in swords with overly large pommels, as the added weight of a large pommel puts more stress on this joint.  Another issue with this assembly method is that hilts often loosen over time from use and changes in temperature and humidity, and the only way to adjust the fit is to tighten the pommel.  In many designs this will rotate the pommel out of line with the blade, which detracts from the sword's aesthetics and utility. Last, due to such a large rotating mass pivoting on a small threaded joint, this style of pommel is prone to loosening up due to the vibration of the sword as it strikes.  The major upside of threaded pommel construction is ease of disassembly and reassembly for cleaning and repairs.

  The last style of common pommel attachment, and the one I suspect was used by Pierre de Dreux's blacksmith, is the pommel nut.  Done correctly, this method matches the strengths of the piened tang with the versatility of the threaded pommel. Rather than the pommel itself being threaded, the threaded end of the tang passes through the pommel and the attachment is made with a threaded nut where it passes out of the other side.  If the hole through the pommel is simply round and the tang is round and threaded for the full length of its passage through the pommel, this construction is no better (and possibly worse) than the threaded-pommel construction. However, in a well-designed pommel nut construction, the tang will pass full width into the pommel, with a thread beginning inside of the pommel rather than before it.  The nut being set onto this thread pulls the pommel down tight onto the grip and tang.  Using this method, both the issues of a pommel twisting out of line or having a weak spot at the joint of the grip and pommel, are neatly solved and the nut is much less likely to loosen due to its lower mass and the friction of being tightened onto the pommel.  The sword can still be easily disassembled should it need to be repaired, or polished.

  
  Additional Sword Diagrams: