The Paladin’s Blade (#004)

The Story of the Paladin’s Blade:

Five knights in holy service to the priests of Illantul were entrusted with sacred daggers (said to have been forged by the gods themselves) to aid in their quest to erase all evil from the wastelands that lay to the West of the sacred city. Doomed to failure, the five spent the ensuing years battling sand-dragons, gnolls, and other denizens of the cursed wastes.  Slowly their numbers dwindled to one, who then abandoned his sacred service in madness and drink.  The remaining Paladin’s blade was used to cover the cost of the knight’s ale (a meager seven silver stags) the night he finally succumbed to death. The priceless weapon has since hung behind the bar in the Lazy Griffon, the barkeep having no idea of its true value and significance.  

Actual Design and Construction:

The blade was forged by Windlass Steelcrafts using 1085, High Carbon Steel. I tapered the final half-inch of the blade where it enters the guard to match the etched shield design. Both sides of the blade are hand-etched with a cross wreathed in fire set into a recessed and blued shield. The curved and uniquely shaped guard is crafted from solid brass.  The handle of the blade’s through tang design sits atop a brass spacer and is carved from West Indies bocote wood.  Two inlaid brass lines encircle the handle. A crown shaped pommel cap, carved of brass completes the dagger’s through tang design.

Specifications:

Blade length- 12 inches

Overall length-17.75 inches

Grip length- 3.5 inches

Blade width at widest point- 1.625 inches

Guard width- 7 inches

Weight- 15.85 oz

Balance Point- 1 inch from the guard

 Sheath Construction:

The Sheath is a traditional dagger sheath design (wet formed to the blade and stitching down the back), constructed of 4-5 oz. premium veg tan leather and is hand stitched. The body of the sheath is tooled entirely with interlocking dragon scales.  The leather throat and chape were left as plain leather with decorative tooling just around the edges. The entire sheath is stained light brown with black antiquing