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I finally finished my first viking sword that I made all-by-myself. The big challenge on this one is that wide shallow fuller - I've never done that before and it looks difficult to get right. Here's the sword blank (1075 steel) with the bevels forged in. I shaped the initial blank with the power hammer, and then hand forged the tip and the bevels. I didn't take a picture, but the bevels are forged in with a spring tool whose dies are radiused to 6". Here's the result: Slightly crooked, but it gets a lot of the steel to the right areas and significantly widened

Hello: A construction update...well I got the insulation installed..There is so much foil showing that I feel like the world's largest Hershey's Kiss...At least it is keeping all of those e-vile mind control rays out that the gubbermint wants to use to control me....Yeah...that's my story and I am sticking to it...Plus it makes it almost too bright inside with all the lights on..all the reflection and SLTT...but it is done and now I can go onto the other stuff... I already have a good start on the work benches... and I still have like 3 more to make...after that it is tool racks and

Well that is why we live in a world of choices. I know some hunters that want a hardness level in their knife that makes it easy to sharpen others I know want a harder level so they don't have to sharpen as often. There is really no pedantic chart that says "this kind of blade has to be exactly this Rockwell hardness number" . It would be pretty boring if there was.

I wondered how you did the nagel. Either forging it separately and then brazing it on or, as you did, preform it and then forge it from there. Doug

Well, you've definitely got some nice movement. It looks a lot more organic than mine did! I am not sure how you could have got a greater amplitude of the oscillations without using the cutting triangle method. Looking forward to what it looks like finished! James

Brian, there isn't really anything that I would compare it to. I've never worked in Mulberry, but that is a close relative. The finish on the handle is 220 sandpaper and a buffed Carnauba wax. I love the changes it goes through. I was reintroduced to a knife I made several years ago (which this is loosely based on). The earlier one had gone to a deep mahogany brown and was being used as a kitchen knife. g

Brian, Osage Orange is a great wood to work with. The only problem with it is that your whole work shop will be covered with a fine yellow dust from cutting and sanding it. It seems to coat every surface. Doug

"If we are up for it" he says. Now there's a silly question! Post away my friend I am sure we are eager to see how this came about.

Thanks for the extra info Steve. A question if I may. Assuming the locator pins go into the antler, how did you make sure they were straight?