A Single Edged Viking Sword WIP: Florianek/Stephens Collaboration

[Dennis Mitchell 6]

Man, very nice work! I can not imagine taking on a sword project, mind boggling.

Edited September 9, 2014 by Dennis Mitchell

[Don Abbott 70]

That is really looking good.

 

How fine a grit do you go with the orbital sander?

 

I've never used one. Is the touch light enough to keep everything crisp?

 

Look forward to more.

[Dave Stephens 311]

Hi guys. Thanks for the kind words. I've been out on a biz trip for the last few days so no chance to get in the shop to finish this up.

 

Don -- I go up to 220 grit on the KMG, then switch to 220 hand sanding in the opposite direction of the scratch marks using a slightly soft backed block, then I move to 220 on the random orbit. I etch after that. Usually four to five 15 minute soaks in 4 parts water 1 part Ferric Chloride, scrubbing the oxides off between each soak.

 

I find that the random orbit at 220 is sufficient unless you're doing a really light etch, in which case I hand sand up to 400 grit (I haven't looked for random orbit sanding discs in finer than 220 grit). If you have straight grooves from belt or block sanding the etch just tends to enhance the peaks and valleys, so you need a smoother surface. The random orbit leaves an almost sand-blasted surface, so I get a pretty clean etch from it.

 

After etching I usually sand with some 1200 grit paper on a hard rubber block. If I want the blade slightly 'dark' in appearance, I stop there. If I want it lighter I go over it with some 000 steel wool. Finally I give it a coat of floor wax and buff it out with a clean cloth.

 

Cheers!

 

Dave

[Dave Stephens 311]

Dood. All this time I've been sanding wrong.

While smoking a pipe and drinking ale, you mean?

[Michael Pikula 2]

I really like the profile of the piece Dave, and the fuller really makes it stand out. Diggin' it, can't wait to see the pattern!

[Dave Stephens 311]

Thanks Michael! Where you been, man?! We missed you!

 

Cheers brother.

 

Dave

[Jake Powning 29]

This is looking great Dave! nice fuller and tip profile. This is going to be beautiful! I'm gonna try the orbital sander now

[J.Arthur Loose 38]

Well, Dave, the Pipe and Ale (Damn, that's what I'm going to name my retirement pub!) is a romantic, contemplative and thoroughly unprofitable way to hand sand a blade.

 

Hey Michael, nice to see you!

[Alan Longmire 1,910]

Fuad Accawi was demoing the orbital sander thing at Bowie's about ten years ago, and it really does help with the lower grit cleanup. Keeping lines crisp can be a challenge, and those open brush-type motors just LOVE metal dust...mine lasted about a year and I never replaced it. I may rethink that once I finally get the sword HT setup in place.

[Matthew Parkinson 162]

Profit....? We can make profit on this stuff... who knew?

[Kevin (The Professor) 114]

I used an orbital sander for a couple of months after I had hand surgery. It was the only way I could set up for a final hand sand. Worked good on things without ridges, Personally, and this is just me, I wasn't able to keep the lines crisp if there was a ridge.

 

Smart move, Dave.

 

looking forward to more.

[Dave Stephens 311]

Okay guys, the blade is done.

 

Petr it's all yours now. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with it, bud!

 

Here are some shots of the profile and the pattern.

 

I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out. The blade has some really nice chatoyance when held in the light.

 

Of course it is hard to feel how an unhilted blade will ultimately perform when fitted with a pommel and guard, but it feels pretty light and quick.

 

[Alan Longmire 1,910]

HOLY CRAP, that is an intense pattern! I love the wierd sori too. I think it looks more elvish than viking at this point, but I am also certain the Tolkein would be pleased with it. Especially after Petr works his magic on it!

[Jeremy L. 0]

Holy crap! That's awesome! Just seeing the pictures makes me want to reach through the screen to touch it....ridiculously cool. Very nice pattern and, well, everything . Thanks so much for sharing this. Can't wait to see this finished.

 

 

Jeremy

[James Higson 75]

That pattern is epic! I agree with the elvish look, definitely does it for me though Cant wait to see it finished, thanks for once again being awesome.

 

JH

[Collin Miller 136]

I thought the same thing looking at the pics before I saw your post, Alan.

Looks very Elvish, but from what I've seen, Petr does great with elves, so this should be perfect!

Edited September 21, 2014 by Collin Miller

[Dave Stephens 311]

I think it has a bit of an Elvish feel as well, but the profile is a pretty near exact duplicate of the artifact as extrapolated by Jake in his original post. So . . .Elvish Vikings? Feels wrong.

 

Grins.

 

Dave

[Petr Florianek 23]

wow! man, thats perfect!

i cant wait to get it in my hands and get inspired by that!

How long is the blade?

 

 

Petr

[Jake Powning 29]

This is so cool Dave! Wow! It has an almost Persian feel to it, and I think that some of the Viking Age blades probably had this feel as well. Nice job on the subtle down curve. This will be a spectacular collaboration! The steel is beautiful, I bet it's even better in person.

[Dave Stephens 311]

Thanks guys!

 

Petr, it is 30" long.

[Luke Shearer 15]

That's stunning! It has a very distinctive Stevens look to it as well as the "Norse elf"

[MSchneider 5]

Wow that's fantastic! The pattern is just memorizing. Those parallel bars on either side of the core really give it a 3D snap. Just awesome...

[Kip Kaiser 2]

Dave that blade is awesome!!! I just took a minuet to go back and look at your earlier work, and its amazing to see your work as you have progressed. Thanks for being an inspiration and keep up the great work!!!!

 

Side note I have a blade profiled with the W you sent me!!! Shouldn't be long now. Thanks again!

 

Kip

[Daniel Cauble 67]

I am without words. That is...wow.

[B. Norris 9]

That is a particularly inspired bit of pattern welding! Hard to believe from the picture that it is 30" long. Having Petr's distinctive touch on the furniture will only add to the package. I am looking forward to it... Eagerly!

 

What's wrong with Viking Elves? They did, after all, give us the Ljósálfar (Light Elves - who are "fairer than the sun to look at") and the Dökkálfar (Dark Elves - who are "blacker than pitch" and live underground) concept which dominates the perception of "Elf" in pop culture.

 

~Bruce~