Martin Troy

That's the plan. Ideally I would do it in purpleheart but the prospective buyer isn't interested in waiting for me to get some or paying the extra money so I'll use some mahogany I have here

Nice. Funny enough I have a very similar design currently destined for a clip point I forged a few months ago. Must be something in the water

Cannot wait for this.

I'm pretty sure you can count on me being there.

Have a look for Niels Provos video of the serpent in the sword videos on YouTube it isn't as complex as the examples you used but it should give you an idea of what you want. The best way to understand the process is to do it. I'd recommend you find a smith near you and do a short course. Once you have the basics you can experiment.

Not sure if this is any use to you but check out High Grade Steel. They're based in the UK and have a Facebook page and eBay store. Prices seem reasonable.

Very nice. I really like the way the pattern runs down the centre and the contrast between it and the edge and spine steel.

Great news as Im in the same/worse position since we in Ireland have to order steel in from England anyway. Also don't be shy about showing your work thus far. The guys here are forgiving. We've all been at that stage.

Oh it's much nicer to work with for carving. It's hard as nails so it can be a bit tough on the chisel but it's so much more stable and solid you can go for what you want without fear of chunks just flying off the piece. My first ever attempt at carving was done on some bog oak I was given and I was delighted with the material and the results. For reference: http://bladesmithsforum.com/uploads/monthly_03_2014/post-39039-0-92267200-1394732470.jpg

Thanks for the suggestion Brian but to be honest it would feel dishonest and I've tried carving regular oak before and found it very chippy so I'd rather not.

Yes Kevin it is a bit of round stock welded onto a stub of the original tang. I had an unfortunate accident with the original and it cracked clean straight across. It's gone through it's first tempering cycle and Im currently going through the fun process of removing file marks. This one will take a while to finish as I have to get hold of large enough pieces of bog oak for the scabbard and sort someone/somewhere to do all the casting for the fittings. For those who don't remember the drawings I posted here's a reminder. Although the base of the blade ended up about 1cm narrower than the drawing pretty much all other dimensions are spot on.

Hi all, It's been a long time since I posted anything but it's been very hard to get forge time. That being said I did get to do a bit at the weekend and thought I'd share the results and see what ye thought. Please be gentle . The blade is a 240 layer En45 and 15n20 in a random pattern.

Sorry to hear that.

Sorry to hear about your illness Jim. I wouldn't say your not special because to me and probably quite a few people your books were my introduction to bladesmithing and in a small country with very few smiths of any description they were an invaluable help and I have to thank you for that. Keep well.

They are absolutely gorgeous.