Dave Stephens 442 Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Hi All: Here's another Seax I'm trying to finish in time for Owen's Bushfire gathering. Last night I finished the blade and was pleased at the pattern. The wolftooth stretched a bit more than I wanted, fortuitously it (at least to my eye) has taken on the appearance of a lazy mountain range while at the same time, the highlight stripe in the edge bar appears to be a river running in front of the range. Hence the Old Norse name: Forn-fljót (Ancient River). Standard recipe 1095/15n20. Seven bar construction. Two straight 20 layer bars sandwich two alternate twist bars from the same billet. The monosteel bar in the middle is plain 1095. The two edge bars are high layer (1000+) with some random stripe added in because I love the unpredictable effect it adds. Cast guard/pommel elements are next (hopefully) and a carved blackwood grip w/ a river/mountain scene. All this before Monday! Wish me luck! Dave Link to post Share on other sites
John Page 74 Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Luck, Dave! Fortuitous indeed It certainly has the feel of a wayfaerer's blade to it, ready for the journey across the pond! Hopefully your castings turn out better than mine have been John Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy L. 0 Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 That's awwwwesome.... Really like the effect that came at the wolfs tooth weld. Can't wait to see the finished product. Jeremy Link to post Share on other sites
Miles Hebbard 2 Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Lovely blade! Nice one! Link to post Share on other sites
mseronde 5 Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Oh man ! Dave, I'm really digging your work! I did a quick little search on wolfstooth paterning, but it seems that it usually looks very different from that pretty awesome (literally awesome) mountain range - I see waves - Did that happen because, as you say, you drew those bars out more than anticipated? And the highlight bar? You wouldn't happen to have any WIP photos would you? Link to post Share on other sites
Collin Miller 137 Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Mountain range pattern? I like it! awesome job so far. I'm really looking forward to see this one hilted! Link to post Share on other sites
James R.Fuller 15 Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Wow.. Absolutely stunning. I love how straight you manage to keep the multibars. Link to post Share on other sites
Kip Kaiser 2 Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Looks awesome Dave, did you draw that out with your rolling mill? Best of luck finishing up, I'm sure you got it!!! Wish I was going to see you In London. Next time for sure!!! Kip Link to post Share on other sites
Doug Lester 301 Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Yes, mountains with a little fog hanging on them above a river that runs along them. Have a good time at Bushfire. Doug Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Colwell 143 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 that is looking good, Dave. I think it looks better with some unplanned elements than if it was too controlled. kc Link to post Share on other sites
John F. Ellis 0 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Nice! Can't wait to see more! Link to post Share on other sites
Wes Detrick 488 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I love the way the wolf's tooth/now mountain range turned out. It's very "mellow"... it just flows. Beautiful steel Link to post Share on other sites
james G. 1 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Nice work Dave looks great! Link to post Share on other sites
Karter Schuster 1 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Ohohoho I am loving it Dave! Link to post Share on other sites
Josh Brannen 3 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 That's probably one of the best looking patterns I have ever seen. The "mountain range" seems like something Tolkien himself would have been proud to see one of his characters carry. Link to post Share on other sites
Dan P. 39 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 The "mountain range" seems like something Tolkien himself would have been proud to see one of his characters carry. I thought the same; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUvkxz1nHMM Link to post Share on other sites
GEzell 136 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 The pattern is impressive, but the grooves and fullers are what really get me... Link to post Share on other sites
Scott A. Roush 18 Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Very nice Dave. It is very unique and that is hard to achieve in the seax. Link to post Share on other sites
Matthew Parkinson 233 Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 love the edge bar ... totally going to steel that idea... Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Stephens 442 Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 Thanks everyone! Here's a shot of where it's at now. Just getting ready to cast the guard/pommel elements. The cocobolo handle will be stained a bit darker, and if I have time I'll be carving a river/mountain on it. Sprued up before going into the flasks and the investment was poured. I'm all twitchy and full of Arctic Fire casting PTSD with anxiety about this cast (if you watched AF 2013 you'll remember that we had a wee bit of trouble). . . As you can see, I now have a kiln that is taller than the heat treat kiln. Hopefully this will fix the burnout problems we had. Burning out now . . . casting in the AM. Wish me luck! Dave Link to post Share on other sites
Eric C 1 Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 That's going to be beautiful! Can't wait to see the cast pieces. Link to post Share on other sites
Collin Miller 137 Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 That's just awesome, I love the way this is going, the cocobolo wood is perfect for this seax.Yeah, I remember the Arctic Fire 2013 cast video, I was watching it live and it about scared me to death. lol Good to see you got a new kiln for burnouts though.Not to be nosy or anything, but how much would you say a really bare bones lost wax set up would cost, without a vacuum caster and a kiln and stuff? I'd really like to do lost wax but it seems pretty costly on the front end to get the equipment and everything, so I just decided I'd have to fabricate all my stuff for a while, and maybe save up for last wax someday. Link to post Share on other sites
Lukas MG 79 Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 That is looking spectacular!! Great shape and pattern. Link to post Share on other sites
J.Arthur Loose 102 Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Looks great, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites
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