Hi Norman,
Thank you for your response. When I saw the tang was not peened over the pommel button, the first thing I did when I took delivery of it was to try to unscrew it, thinking, as you, that the tang might indeed be threaded. It is not. I can apply a fair amount of torque bare-handed as it is, but do not get so much as a hint of movement even with my best efforts. Even using steel vice grips over a protective cotton cloth, all I managed to due was to give the equatorial bulge of the not-quite spherical pommel a nice friction polish!
I presume I could try to latch on to the pommel button directly with the vice grips and give it a go, but given the pliability and malleability of brass, I would rather not, as I would not want to permanently scar or otherwise mark up the brass. I am however left with the distinct impression the pommel button is not threaded onto the tang... I could be wrong, but I can apply quite a bit of torque - especially with the vice grips.
The idea of a recycled sword blade has occurred to me, and the Scottish BHBS I own (dating to ca. 1790-1802), like this dirk, is double edged and tapers lightly and evenly to the point. However the sword blade differs from the dirk in that it has no discernible medial ridge (as well as a central fuller running half the length of the blade).
Best Regards,
Chris
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