buying a basket-hilt

[Alan H]

A buddy who used to be very big in the local historical re-enactment crowd is selling off some old kit. One of the items is a very well-used basket hilt broadsword that is blunted for live-steel theatrical combat. I doubt that I have time to learn this, much less to set up with a partner and choreograph an actual fight, but I suppose it's not beyond the realm of possibility. At any rate, he tells me that the item was made by Windlass Steelcraft and while the blade is beat up and ugly, it's solid.

My last basket hilt was a purely decorative affair for toting in the Clan parade. I finally gave it to a dance school to lay down on the stage.

Here's the item.



I will need some sort of frog to tote it around with me on days when I'm playing with the local "Highlanders" guild, which purports to play a Highland family around 1715. I'll have it on with a totally period incorrect great kilt, Jacobite shirt, cadadh and lapped "ghillies". It used to drive me nuts that we were asked to wear stuff which isn't even vaguely correct, and then the Court folks would go on and on about correct language, how to hold your hat and so on, but I've come to accept that it's all a show and we give the patrons what they expect to see.

James tells me that the blade is solid, but it's not "ringing" on impact like it used to so it will probably fail at some point, probably in the tang. He says that when that happens, I can replace it with an appropriately-sized blade from Amour Class (in Scotland), Baltimore Knife and Sword (In the USA), or Wulfland (in Czechsovakia) and the hilt will carry on.