This has been a long time coming, so I thought I'd just post pics and type as I go-
The core is 1" bandshoppe pole that was originally 6 feet long- I ended up cutting it down by five inches to make room for the stab tip and pommel, as well as better suit my height (I don't want a sword that's taller than myself, and I'm only 5'11"). Here's an idea of how big the thing is, with the first blade layer, compared to an average, run-of-the-mill bokuto
![Image](http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f330/Sieglatan/196860_804348741578_6704817_42765864_4416664_n-1.jpg)
I couldn't use my original method for attaching rigid cross guards, since I was working with hollow material (I usually work with solid fiberglass), so I asked Forkbeard for some advice (Thanks again!), and I made this as a result. The leather is 16-18oz for each layer, formed, steel riveted, and hardened.
![Image](http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f330/Sieglatan/189329_804349275508_6704817_42765865_1204788_n.jpg)
Here's the two put together without making it permanent- I'm probably going to pull the guard towards the pommel by a few inches to better fit the historic model I'm going for. Once the cross-guard is fully dry, I'm going to slather the core with adhesives, draw the guard into place, lace the leather ties as tightly as possible, and let it set overnight!
![Image](http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f330/Sieglatan/199164_804350014028_6704817_42765867_5501259_n-1.jpg)
The six to eight inches below the cross guard are being reserved for the ricasso, protected by a blade-safe set of parierhaken. Ultimately, I'm going to build the entire thing except the pommel, then add lead weights to it until the thing is balanced the way I want. I'm experimenting a bit on this one, and it's a slightly different direction than the 12.001 oz speed bat that most fighters seem to prize, but I'm already liking it~!
This is close to my proportional goal, minus the blistering steel, and a wee bit shorter. As tempting as it is, I'm going to abstain from making the blade flamberge-style- cutting power doesn't mean too much in a hit based sport.
![Image](http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f330/Sieglatan/4.jpg)