Noel Manis

Thanks guys! The blade is 27” OAL is 33”. I’ve got the side pieces and middle fitting in the kiln right now. Cast this part night before last.

Whoops! This picture didn’t make it in there. Here it is next to the design.

Hello everyone! I’m just posting this as a little sneak peak into the project I’m desperately racing to finish in time for blade show west, weekend after this. If you’ll be there, come visit me at table C12 and meet this blade. I’ll be posting a WIP and finished pictures with some more info, as soon as things settle a little bit. I’ve taken probably close to 100 hours of terrible video so maybe I’ll be able to squeeze 20 mins of acceptable footage out as well. Only time can tell. The sword is inspired by the art of more than a 1000 year spread of Celtic artifacts. More on that soon!

Hah, yes I suppose he just might!

Hey hammer folk! I am whipping up a couple of blades and thought I'd give Jim Hrisoulas's Hugs and Kisses damascus pattern a whirl (I've always admired it). I was planning on grinding in the fullers, having bent up my last fullering tool. However, when I looked at the pattern on the partially forged blades I realized I might just grind straight through the X's & O's if I don't forge em in. Anybody have much experience with this pattern? Noel

How many oz is the leather you guys are using? Also what sort is it- a tooling leather? I have been using a garment leather for wrapped handles, and it feels a bit lightweight. Definitely too lightweight for the kind of heavy wear you would get with a sword. Also, great looking class, and swords! Super jealous I'm not there with you guys.

Hammering during the early hours as a courtesy is a sentiment I share, since I work close to neighbors as well. However heat treating at night should produce very little noise, and reveals the true colors of temperatures to the naked eye. Sunlight makes it near impossible to tell the temp, especially considering that if you are in shade the color will be different from if you are in direct sunlight. I would recommend that if you are going to forge a blade, start with a material thicker then 1/8th inch. A 1/4 in chunk of flat bar allows a little elbow room to test the waters for various forging techniques. It also allows you more material to play with on the grinder, since that is an entire skill set in and of itself. One thing that used to always get me when I was younger was leaving the blade in the forge too long, and allowing it to get too hot. That can cause some serious grain growth. When I was 14, I used to leave a whole series of blades in the fire while I worked on one, and after long enough, they will literally crumble in your bare hands(when cooled down, of course). Best advice I can give you is read read read. Excellent sources here on the forum. Best of luck!