Fall 1999 Cover Sword
Custom Sterling Silver Scottish Basket Hilted Broadsword by Garth Duncan

Photograph by Adrian Ko.

Garth Duncan has a passion to preserve the old art of Scottish culture. This is most evident in the loving care and attention to detail given to the elaborate artwork of the basket hilt which is cast in sterling silver as a single piece. On one side is the crest of Clan Duncan, and the other side the personal crest of a historical figure, Admiral Duncan.

The blade is a 250 original blade salvaged from an equally old but decomposing sword. The blade is likely to be Italian in origin, as blades were imported into Scotland from both Italy and Germany in old times.

50 ounces of sterling silver went into the construciton of the basket hilt. Despite the mass of silver, the sword handles extremely well, with a Point of Balance less than 1 inch fore of the hilt. The sword has an overall weight of 4.1 lbs. and an overall length of 39 inches, sporting a 33 inch blade.

A sword similar to this one would be in the arena of US$4,000. However, around mid-2000, Garth has plans to release a line of sterling silver basket hilts for the $1,000+ range, which when mounted with a blade will likely be priced at around $2,000. It is likely that the blade will be forged by a leading bladesmith of Scotish descent. We will provide coverage on this special sword when this happens.

Garth Duncan is this quarter's issue's featured Cover Sword Maker. Read about him in our "Spotlight" section in an article entitled "Garth Duncan: For the Love of All Things Scottish". Also, be sure to read Garth Duncan's Cover Article!

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