Hey thanks..hmm..well, to be honest, the sword was 15 minutes' work..;)The pommel and crossguard are just extrusions; the outer edges made hard, the inner edges smoothed. I chose the 'plane' mat mainly for contrast..it could have been anything. I just wanted to have the 'details' of the sword made clear.
One thing I'm seeing a lot of here is Postwork..I don't have Photoshop..but do have an old copy of Photopaint I got with Corel..it's a thought..I'm sure I can sharpen (I've done it years ago..just have to find out which of 299 dang presets it is..;), noise, that's a possibility. The 'greeble' thing in a previous post might be worth a shot.
As far as modeling is concerned, I've never been the one to slavishly make everything out of a cube(well, this time,anyway..;)
Some great ideas folks, I'll have to try them out. It looks like the point looks fairly sharp, but the blade towards the guard and pommel looks too smooth to me..
Lighting..good idea..I do use that on occasion, especially blowing up primitives and placing the action 'inside'..thanks again to everyone..see, even the old-timers ask questions sometimes..;)

I wish I'd said that.. The Staircase Wit

anahl nathrak uth vas betude doth yel dyenvey..;)