dispelling Myths about medieval Combat

[Talon]

The most critical are for the sword when it comes to shock absorption is the tang.Though the pommel plays it's part it's not the primary area of stress,the shoulders of the tang are.
The best way to prevent failure is to make sure the shoulders of the tang where it meets the blade are radiused,rounding the shoulders of the tang helps to relieve this highly stressed point.Also the tang should be softer than the blade to help absorb the shock of impact.
As long as the pommel is keyed to the tang it doesn't matter if it's secured by a mechanical fix like a recessed nut,or a hot peen,their main job is there to just stop the pommel from falling off.
If the pommel is just held on by a small threaded bolt then yes there is a greater risk of the pommel snapping.If it's keyed to the tang (where a portion of the tang actually sits in the pommel) it will prevent the pommel from wanting to twist and be a much stronger fix.
I've cut a lot with a mechanical hex nut fitting (as well as hot peened) and it's more than sturdy enough.The only disadvantage is it's not historical for medieval swords,though it's really handy for experimenting with different styles of pommel/cross or grip as it's easy to take apart.