Jake Powning Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Hi Guys, sorry for the long silence. I'm working on a few projects and I thought I would share some of the process of this seax. I haven't made a seax in a while, and I've been very inspired by the work many of you have done in this area in the last few years, especially Petr Florienec. This piece is a bit of a departure from history. When I look at some of the Germanic ornamentation I see a kind of grimness to it, this design extrapolates on that a bit. I'm working with the idea of a more atavistic heart of some of the myths from before they were written down. I have a blade done, it just needs to be sharpened and I have the design. I've just finished carving the hilt. today I'm planing on experimenting with doing an amonia finish on the oak and I will start making the fittings. here are some pictures— you can see an Owen Bush blade in the backround there and this one gives you a sense of scale Jake Powning Swords Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F. Ellis Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 (edited) Very beautiful! Can't wait to see it completed. Edited March 20, 2013 by John F. Ellis My website- Dunstan Forge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Crislip Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Very nice, as usual, your ability to bend metal and wood to your will never ceases to amaze me! Fred A bad day forging... is still better than pretty much anything else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pikula Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 The twist in the carving of the grip is just freaking sexy, I love it. Great work Jake! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Hynninen Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 WOW, this is so cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Shearer Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 (edited) You know what I think of this... Incredible work Edited March 20, 2013 by Luke Shearer “Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Hardy Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 That is awesome Jake! Do you find that Oak is chippy (for lack of a better word) as you carve or could that just be my lack of skill Lol. Geoff The blacksmith and the artist reflect it in their art. They forge their creativity,closer to the heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Johnson Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 That is awesome Jake! Do you find that Oak is chippy (for lack of a better word) as you carve or could that just be my lack of skill Lol. Geoff I have tried to carve oak before too, and I agree, I've found a bit of a chippy-ness to it as well. "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail"--Ralph Waldo Emerson"Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves."--Henry David ThoreauMy DeviantArt: http://wildwolfworkshop.deviantart.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Noffsinger Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Thats a really awesome contrast in your pattern, very stunning. The handle carving is rockin' as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoy's Forge Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Thats nice work, I didnt realize how big it was, kinda like a short sword! I always pictured a seax as a GP knife. Sheath design is cool too! www.hoyfamily.net Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.Lu 22:36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. Mr 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Hardy Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Heeeeyyy what is that blade hiding out beside the seax in that one pic the blade with the wolfs tooth????? Is that a sneak preview. The blacksmith and the artist reflect it in their art. They forge their creativity,closer to the heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David D. Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Breathtaking Jake. Very sexy indeed. Thanks for sharing!Love the deepness of those grip carvings! really powerful. That's something I really need to push myself with and improve upon in my carvings. I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend" J.R.R. Tolkien www.CedarloreForge.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Powning Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 Thanks everyone! Oak is challenging to carve. I find it much easier to work with if I keep my tools very sharp. I keep a stone with me and sharpen the chisel as soon as it starts to complain and get draggy. Oak is also very resistant to carving against the grain, that's when it gets chippy, always being aware of the grain direction makes a big difference. and I regulate the blade pressure, gliding over the open grain and baring down on the denser sections. Heeeeyyy what is that blade hiding out beside the seax in that one picthe blade with the wolfs tooth?????Is that a sneak preview. That's an Owen Bush blade that I'm going to make a hilt and scabbard for well spotted. Jake Powning Swords Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Powning Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 While the grip was hanging out with the ammonia fumes, I started making the fittings for the scabbard this afternoon. Jake Powning Swords Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard van Dijk Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 (edited) That is beautifull already Jake and is going to be absolutely amazing when it is finished. Where on earth do you get the patience from to do that carving, it would drive me insane, not to speak of the sore neck and arms. Richard Edited March 20, 2013 by Richard van Dijk Richard van Dijk My link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Powning Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 Thanks Richard! Haha, yeah my back was complaining today. Jake Powning Swords Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Falcone Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Beautiful work Jake, I have lurked these forums for quite some time now, and I still seem to have a hard time finding (or affording for that matter) the necessary things to begin working on my own blades. Your work, among others on the forum keep that drive to get going alive. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Burrell Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Its really nice Jake, Im glad its big. Onen Hag Ol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Hardy Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Thanks everyone! Oak is challenging to carve. I find it much easier to work with if I keep my tools very sharp. I keep a stone with me and sharpen the chisel as soon as it starts to complain and get draggy. Oak is also very resistant to carving against the grain, that's when it gets chippy, always being aware of the grain direction makes a big difference. and I regulate the blade pressure, gliding over the open grain and baring down on the denser sections. That's an Owen Bush blade that I'm going to make a hilt and scabbard for well spotted That is etremely helpful Jake thanks for being so gracious with your knowledge!! I look really forward to seeing the complete piece. The blacksmith and the artist reflect it in their art. They forge their creativity,closer to the heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEzell Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 It does have a grim, ominous vibe going, and that makes me smile for some reason.... Evil is easy, grim and ominous, not so much. This piece will be epic. George Ezell, bladesmith" How much useful knowledge is lost by the scattered forms in which it is ushered to the world! How many solitary students spend half their lives in making discoveries which had been perfected a century before their time, for want of a condensed exhibition of what is known."Buffonview some of my work RelicForge on facebook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter johnsson Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Look at that!It looks fantastic in the sketch and will be all the more powerful when made. Very rich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Parkinson Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 The twist in the carving of the grip is just freaking sexy, I love it. Great work Jake! don't you meen seaxy? .... had to do it sorry.. Jake this is totaly amazing. MP Web site http://www.dragonsbreathforge.com Insagram account http://instagram.com/swordmatt# Blog http://mpmetal.tumblr.com/ Facebook https://www.facebook/dragonsbreathforge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Colwell Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 very cool ensemble. It seems that the carving on the grip is deeper or has more relief than some of the things I have seen (pictures) of from you. Maybe it is just may imagination. But, it is great work on the blade and the handle and sheath. nice. please visit my website http://www.professorsforge.com/ “Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living things, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on the earth. I said then and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.” E. V. Debs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Chalifoux Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Oh man I'm lovin' this. Facebook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas pludra Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 That´s wonderful, really impressive work and I love that carving on the scabbard. http://www.highland-dirk.ag.vu http://www.messermacher-thomaspludra.de "If I have an apple and you have an apple and we exchange these apples, then each will still have one apple. But if I have an idea and you have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas" (George Bernard Shaw) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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