Recently Acquired Espada Ancha for Comment

machinist · 28th October 2016, 06:40 AM

These are some very interesting and desirable swords, the finger ringed dirk is pretty typical, if a bit nicer than most but the other two have so many unusual characteristics.
On espada ancha you expect a certain uniqueness with each sword but not this much. The blades are pretty nice with both having such wide ricassos, looking nothing like the blacksmith made blades I usually see.

The spiky rivets on the branch hilt and the extra cross guard out front are features sometimes seen but not common and the provision for a folding guard on the stirrup hilt is something I have not seen on one of these in my limited experience.

The branch hilt having the same style of grip as the dirk is interesting, I saw a Caribbean cup hilt with that same kind of grip and assumed it was a replacement as it was so atypical for that sword. These seem like real outliers.
Were they purchased from the same source?
They really fill me with more questions than answers.

28th October 2016, 06:40 AM	#8
machinist Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 93	These are some very interesting and desirable swords, the finger ringed dirk is pretty typical, if a bit nicer than most but the other two have so many unusual characteristics. On espada ancha you expect a certain uniqueness with each sword but not this much. The blades are pretty nice with both having such wide ricassos, looking nothing like the blacksmith made blades I usually see. The spiky rivets on the branch hilt and the extra cross guard out front are features sometimes seen but not common and the provision for a folding guard on the stirrup hilt is something I have not seen on one of these in my limited experience. The branch hilt having the same style of grip as the dirk is interesting, I saw a Caribbean cup hilt with that same kind of grip and assumed it was a replacement as it was so atypical for that sword. These seem like real outliers. Were they purchased from the same source? They really fill me with more questions than answers.