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Hi everyone! Hope you've all survived the Holiday feasting without too much abdominal pain! (and yet we have New-Year eve right around the corner! ) Anyhow, I've been working on this Seax inspired blade... It is not exactly historically correct - but I weighed my need for self expression higher than historically accuracy in this project. Below is a preview of the blade itself. Currently I am working on the handle - more specifically the rear bolster. Engraving is a time consuming process I'm afraid... The blade length from where the tang meets the blade and to the tip is approx. 38 cm. All inlay is 24k gold wire, with the exception of the wolf's tongue - which is in copper. It is engraved like this on both sides of the blades, with the verse 40 of the Voluspá. English: Side A: 40. In the east sat the old in Ironwood and there gave birth to Fenris children; Side B: Just one of these of all of them becomes the moon-thief in troll's guise. Old Norse: Side A: 40. Austr sat in aldna í Járnviði ok fœddi þar Fenris kindir; Side B: verðr af þeim öllum einna nökkurr tungls tjúgari í trolls hami. And here's the pics: And that's it for now. Enjoy the New-Year festivities everyone, and wish you all good health and prosperity in the year to come! Sincerely, Alveprins.

Alright, so the Old Wedge is finally completed, and the pictures are all done! History: I wanted to commemorate the importance of hand tools through out history, and especially those which were made with the expressed purpose of breaking harder materials than themselves. In this case I chose to utilize a approx. 300 year old mountain wedge which has most likely been used for everything from splitting granite to securing personnel and equipment in the now closed Silver Mines of Kongsberg city, Norway. I imagine this old wedge lying in the overwhelming depth and darkness of the hollow mountain for hundreds of years, rusting away - awaiting another hand to once more pick it up and put it to use. As such - I have written a poem in Old Norse in honor of this underappreciated tool: Old Norse: langr ek svefn, draumr minn myrkr, biða hondin, gefa mik styrkr. Modern English: long I slept, my dreams dark, awaiting the hand, to give me strength. From the private collection of a generous local - this wedge found it's way into my possession, and by my hands I have given it new life and new purpose. Through fire and oil I have hammered it, tempered it - and crowned it with the purest gold of earth, and most beautiful meteorite iron from between the stars. Unappreciated for several lifetimes of mortal men - finally it is reborn, new and noble! I present to you Fornkili, the Mountain Cleaver! Fornkili stats: Blade length: 13,2 cm Blade width: 2,7 cm Blade thickness: 4mm Hardness at edge: 58HRC Handle length: 12 cm Weight w/o sheath: 225 grams Blade: The blade is forged in a san-mai lamination consisting of a jacket of approx. 300 year old bog-iron; re-purposed from an old chisel found deep inside the now closed Kongsberg Silver Mines. The core consists of 75 layers folded and twisted pattern welded steel - made up from an old sawmill blade from Numedal and modern 15n20 nickel steel. The blade is heavily engraved and inlaid with 24 karat gold in the form of borders around the ricasso, as well as the knife's name "Fornkili" - the "Old Wedge" in Elder Futhark runes. Handle: The handle is composed in a laminate consisting of ergonomically shaped stabilized Poplar wood, set in a frame of deep relief engraved and 24 karat gold inlaid sawblade steel w. vulcanized fiber spacers. The bolster is in 4,5 billion years old meteorite iron - older than our own solar system - inlaid with the knife's surname "Bjargkljufar"; Mountain Cleaver - also in 24 karat gold. Two vulcanized fiber and one copper spacer separates the meteorite iron bolster from the rest of the handle. Sheath: The sheath is sewn in 4 layers of 2mm thick leather, w. a 1,5mm thick hand-cut and engraved brass frame. The frame has a matte front finish with mirror polished bevels on all sides - tightly stitched with Tiger Thread - utilizing saddle maker's stitches. The leather has been hand stamped - and set with a metal plaque carrying my initials "KH" in Elder Futhark runes. This plaque is made from the same bog-iron as the jacket of the san-mai lamination blade - and equally engraved and inlaid with 24 karat gold. A leather strap holds the knife firmly in place in it's sheath. And then there's the pics: And that's it! Now It's off to see if this "Old Wedge" can fetch a pretty penny on the Norwegian market... Chiao! Sincerely, Alveprins.

Hi guys, I recently posted a preview of a blade I have been working on, and I have now finally been able to finish the complete knife - sheath not included... thought I'd give a bit of a new preview of the whole thing. All inlay in both handle, bolster and blade are 24 karat gold wire, 0,7mm in thickness. Bolster is in meteorite iron - which is nerve wrecking to work with when doing inlay. Some areas are more fragile than others, and if you look closely at the "R" - you'll see the outline of a chip. A small piece came off - but I was able to glue it back on, and also lock it in place by having the "R" rune loop through it. It sits solid now. But my heart really dropped when it came loose... Have a nice week guys! Sincerely, Alveprins.

Hi everyone - thought I'd share the latest one... I give you Sǫg Tǫnn (Saw Tooth) - forged in honor of the innumerable abandoned wood mills scattered around the country, left to rot as their purpose has been served long ago. How many a farm has been made possible due to the many-toothed high carbon blades - spinning tirelessly day and night, through summer and winter? How many noble trees has met their end at the sawblade's edge in order to fulfill an even higher purpose of keeping man and livestock dry and warm? Hail to you, old saw-mills covered in moss, with leaking tiled roofs and rotting support beams. Your legs may finally give in underneath you, but I shall pick you up and breathe new life into you! I cannot like Odin, Vili and Vé give you spirit, movement, mind or intelligence - but I can give you shape and purpose! Stats: Blade length: 10,3 cm Blade width: 2,5 cm Blade thickness: 4,5 mm Handle length:10,7 cm Hardness at edge: 58 HRC Weight w/o sheath:167 grams The blade is forged in a san-mai lamination consisting of pattern welded forge folded and twisted sawblade-steel and 15n20 for the core, clad in a jacket of 15n20 for that extra shiny exterior. The ricasso of the blade is engraved in a deep relief, with 24ct gold borders and elder futhark runes in 18ct red gold. The handle is in stabilized Linden with vulcanized fiber and brass spacers - as well as a frame of brightly polished sawblade steel. The bolster is in stabilized white, brown and black mammoth tusk. The sheath is in antique dark brown stained vegetable tanned leather, also with a frame of brightly polished sawblade steel with deep relief engraving and 24ct gold inlay. Everything stitched together using black Tiger Thread. I wanted to do massive engraving and gold inlay on the steel frame and bolster of the handle - but somehow it air-hardened / age-hardened - and it became impossible to cut into it. I instead went for a mirror polish.. Alright, that's about it. I am really bummed out about not being able to engrave the steel frame... Currently I am looking for a type of steel that will not air-harden / age-harden / work-harden to any particular degree. I would love to get some suggestions of anyone have any! Any constructive criticism is as always more than welcome... We must all strive to better ourselves! Alright, now I just need to make a certificate for this bad-boy, and we'll see how the Norwegian market takes to this one... Until next time - thanks for having a look, and Chiao! Sincerely, Alveprins.

Hi everyone... Previously I posted a little sneak peek at something I was working on.. Well, now that little something has come to completion - and I'm ready to share it with those who might be interested at having a look. I've always wanted to give it a shot at a dagger - since this blade geometry has fascinated me ever since I was a kid... And without further ado, after 170 work hours - I give you Vegvisar - the Pathfinder! I have forged this dagger in honor of the four dwarves, Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri - supporting the heavenly dome made from the skull of the jotun Ymir. Today we call this "the sky". Vegvisar is forged in about 140 layers of 15n20 mixed with saw-blade steel - with a core of also saw-blade steel. The sawblade was sourced from a local old sawmill. The ricasso of the blade is engraved and sculpted into a deep relief, with inlaid border of brass, and runes inlaid with copper. On one side the runes KH - my initials can be found, and on the other a single "T" for the god Tyr - as to ensure victory in battle. The handle is in a composite of African Ebony wood, vulcanized fiber, and a steel frame made from saw-blade steel. The steel frame has been engraved in a deep relief, with the names of all four dwarves on their proper side correlating to the cardinal points. Connecting all their names are straight lines of inlaid 24ct Gold. On the front side of the knife - the name "VEGVISAR" is engraved. the sheath is in 2mm thick leather, with a frame of brass. In the middle - near where the handle meets the sheath - there is a steel plaque engraved in relief with my initials in the runes KH, also inlaid with 24ct Gold. On the belt loop I have placed a small brass plaque, engraved with the first rune of all four dwarves. The sheath is hand sewn using saddlers stitches using black Tiger Thread, and stained a dark brown to match the handle. Knife stats: Blade length:10,8 cm Blade width:2,5 cm Blade thickness: 5mm at handle, tapering down to 1mm at tip. Blade hardness at edge: 58 HRC. Handle length:10 cm Handle thickness:1,2 cm And then there's the pictures: I believe that's about it... It has been a learning experience, and having inlaid gold for the first time - I have to say it was a very pleasant experience in comparison to brass - which is much less maleable. For the next one - I'll give it a shot at gemstones... maybe... Alright, have a nice weekend everyone - and peace out! Sincerely, Alveprins.