Hacking up a sword

[Sir Brian]

lol No apology necessary amigo! 

My sword has a very basic metal chape or tip that appears to be pressed
and probably glued on.

I feel fairly confident the sand scheme will work but I will take a few precautions
and do some preliminary testing by filling a similar void and evaluating the weight
distribution prior to firing up the drill! 

[Sir Edward]

Yeah, this is a good point. I haven't hacked mine up yet (haven't had time), but I was thinking about this. I might try filling it with sand before gluing it all together. I may look into it next week.

[Dragonlover]

Or, if you're going to put a wooden slab into a leather sheath,
fill the end full of sawdust and wood-glue first....

[Sir Matthew]

If you are hacking up a sword, what about glueing the cut off blade part into the scabbard?  That way you will have the same amount of weight still in the scabbard as you would have before.  I'm actually looking into having a custome made hilt with a small amount of "blade" to secure into a scabbard.  The only thing I have to find is a scabbard then to fit it into. 

[Dragonlover]

Not a bad idea.....

[Sir Brian]

Well that would be the most expedient method…however if you are going to do that then
why hack the blade off at all?
– The most frustrating aspect of this whole endeavor is that the people who will have the
final say as to what is acceptable or not is unknown and also that there isn’t a specific
guideline for them to go by to help them determine what is to be considered as a non-weapon
like prop. 

Update on the sand method:
I've tried it out and the white glue maybe problematic with the long drying time...that and the sand
really soaked it up - no real surprise as that IS what sand does!
I'm not worried about the sand escaping but I do want to limit the shifting of the sand (i.e. weight).
I think I'll next try some epoxy to act as a stopper.

[Dragonlover]

I was figuring that's what would happen with the sand, Sir Brian.
epoxy should do the trick,I would think....

[Sir Edward]

Also, in the case of the sword I'll be hacking up, the scabbard is I'll be using is from a different sword, and the entire existing blade won't fit inside it. So using the cut-off blade is a no-go anyway.

[Dragonlover]

Looks like you'll have to go the way of Sir Brian and epoxy the scabbard.
Going to try to dowel the scabbard or is it a rigid type?

[Sir Brian]

Well the sand method was a bust! 

There was insufficient void space in the empty scabbard to accommodate the
required amount of sand to provide an adequate ballast for the hilt.

I was only able to get approximately half as much sand that I need into the
scabbard. The balance is a little better but not as it should be.

I now have to consider some far more drastic alternatives:
The primary idea I’m kicking around now is to cut the bottom of the scabbard
completely off. Then insert as many lead strips I can into the bottom before gluing
the bottom back on then using wood putty and a sander to close up the seam. I will
then probably have the scabbard painted the same green as my shield. 

[Sir Edward]

Yes, I was going to suggest some sort of lead ballast. I know we talked about the idea of melting plumber's solder in there, but another idea might be to buy some small fishing weights. I don't know how much space you're working with inside the scabbard though. A properly made scabbard has just enough space for the blade. Many of these cheaper ones allow the sword to slip around in there a bit.

[Sir Brian]

I was considering these:
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=cp0271
@ 1/8" thick they should fit fine. I only hope they will be enough weight! 

What about the rest of the idea? Do you think my scabbard will look alright painted the
same green as my shield? 

[Das Bill]

I have to admit, all of this sounds too complicated to me. It would seem much simpler to put a tie on the scabbard near the throat and fix it to the belt so that the hilt can't dip forward. Many sword belts are rigged in a similar way anyway, so you could just use a leather strap that matches your belt, and it wouldn't look out of place.

[Sir Brian]

Well sure I'm working on that as a temporary fix for this weekend, but all these other more
permanent and complicated fixing concoctions is where all the fun is Bill!
 

[Das Bill]

Is is possible to just glue the blade permanently in the scabbard so it can't be drawn? It'd be a non-functional weapon at that point.