*winces* About the sword hilt.... it looks neat, but I don't think I would want to fight with a weapon with a hand-guard like that. Mind, I've done barely any fighting, and none with a weapon that short, but you need far more room in a guard than you think, and almost none of that on the sides - it really goes more around from the front (look at, say, the basket-hilts prevalent in the lighter fencing blades). My reccomendation, if you want to keep the snakes - get rid of one of the sets. You have the heads start on the back side of the sword (where the wrist starts), then have the rest of the current curve come out the other side and form a front guard, before curving back around and meeting at the base of the handle. You don't have to worry about the gap, that should be fine. Oh.... and one more thing - you might want to make the handle of the sword covered in something that doesn't slip as easily as most metals do (leather is probably good - otherwise think tennis racket).
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