Sword Display Ideas

[Guy Germaine]

A friend of my wife has a son that collects swords. They are looking for something to display them. They want something that hangs on the wall, that when displayed, the swords would look like a fan. I need ideas!

[Lee Schierer]

I've seen displays like this hanging from a wall. Usually they have a coat of arms or shied in front of them. or

[Shawn Pixley]

I think the challenge is around the swords. I think that the numebr type and purpose are central to the design challenge. For instance, the approach to displaying a curved cavalry saber and a claymore is very different, than a collection of 8 rapiers. Should the swords be available for removal and inspection? Will the collection grow?

If the answer to either of the above issues is yes, I would lean to a case with slits / slots for the swords - sort of like a vertical pen case.

[Mitchell Andrus]

I'm thinking weight will be an issue to keep in mind.
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[Guy Germaine]

My wife is trying to get some more answers. All I've found out so far is that the kid is into Fencing. I've asked LOML to find out if they're all fencing swords, and if so, to get me one so I can get a better idea.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Got thinking about this at dinner. You could make each slot a bit big and use a wedge at the rear to 'clamp' the sword in position. Sheet cork to line the slot and provide some friction... done.
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[Joshua Layne]

I collect swords also (slower lately - the money seems to go somewhere else...) and I will add my $0.02 - build the piece to match the swords. I think given the near infinite variety in edged weapons (you might be surprised...) that any generic solution will not really work. I imagine if you build a tailored display for the exact collection (if they won't loan them out for the build - and I wouldn't, take measurements of each piece) and they are happy with it, they will come back for another piece when their collection grows.

my nickel (longer post than I intended, hope it made some sense)
josh

[Guy Germaine]

Thanks Joshua. She a good friend of my wife, so I won't have any problem getting at least a couple of them to look at. I still need to find out if they're all the same kind (The son is into Fencing), or if they're a variety. My son has a few as well. I'm just hoping they're not all Claymore's!

[John Pratt]

Take a look at some of the aftermarket Military supply sites. Each service has a couple different swords and they make stands/wall brackets to hold these. One such site is Marlowwhite.com but there are several such sites. These might give you some ideas.

[James Ogle]

I have seen a couple of sword collections displayed in a fan pattern. One was in a museum in Austria, IIRC, and another was one some one had made. The museum collection had the tips of the swords stuck into a semi-circle of oak. It looked to be laminated and just basically covered the tips and had an emblem on it. The swords were actually mounted to the wall. These were larger antique swords. The were long sword blades that had been hilted with rapier style hand guards. One of the most beautiful flamberge style swords I have ever seen was in that collection. I thought the pictures were over on MyArmoury.com but I couldn't find them there. The other was just like a large knife block. Same semi-circle design and they had cut kerfs or drilled a hole to accept 6" or so of the points. Obviously sabers, rapiers, and long swords would work well stored like that. Foils and epees might be a little to whippy. The system would definitely be top heavy.

[Shawn Pixley]

One other thought or consideration. You may want to pay attention to the wood used to ensure that it doesn't rust or otherwise damage the blade. Theoretically, the blade should be well waxed.