Matthew Parkinson 162 Posted February 5, 2016 this sword was started at our hammer in last Oct (swords through the centuries) I welded up all of the billets and did some of the initial patterning in my demo. I have the sword all most finished at this point, so I will start were it is now and then go back to the beginning... might be a few posts I tried to get photos after each day I worked on the sword. patterning the 19 layer billet 19 layer billet welded to the serpent core, 40 layer edge bar ready to weld to the core billet welded, beginning to forge the blade blade forged to shape along with the second blade I forged from the billet (with an added edge bar) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matthew Parkinson 162 Posted February 5, 2016 rough ground blade with a quick pattern check etch Hand sanded to 120 before heat treat to pull the fuller straight. heat treated (the second sword took a good deal of nose dive.) re polishing sanded to 320 grit and a light test etch from heat I will finish out the fitting before finishing the polish and doing a final etch Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matthew Parkinson 162 Posted February 5, 2016 punched and drifted guard ... upper guard made and fit pommel made and fit to upper guard inlay started on lower guard channel for inlay cut on lower guard lower guard inlayed and handle core formed with under wrapp. upper guard pommel inlayed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matthew Parkinson 162 Posted February 5, 2016 inlaying the last panel the channel prepared inlay finished these are the tools I used to do the inlaying. Â 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
James Higson 75 Posted February 5, 2016 That inlay is MAD. So perfect. Love the pattern and everything else . Looking forward to seeing the whole thing finished! Â James Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Stephens 317 Posted February 5, 2016 WOW!! Beautiful inlay work, Matt. Beautiful sword. Â Thanks for the WIP pics. I learned a lot from them. Â Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wes Detrick 480 Posted February 6, 2016 I came to say what they said. That inlay is impressive in it's cleanness. Man that is impressive Matt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deker 32 Posted February 6, 2016 Beautiful work! So many thoughts my brain is vapor locking. Will this one be around at see at Ashokan or does it have a home? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Austin_Lyles 118 Posted February 6, 2016 So clean and so neat. Awesome work Matthew. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joshua States 1,094 Posted February 6, 2016 I've been watching bits and pieces of this on FB. I've been too much in awe to comment before. This is just incredible. Thanks Matt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
James Helm 107 Posted February 6, 2016 Dang, these are gorgeous! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Josh A Weston 35 Posted February 6, 2016 Beautiful work! Thanks for the process pics. I love seeing the tools. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 1,921 Posted February 6, 2016 Impressive! Great stuff, Matt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matthew Parkinson 162 Posted February 7, 2016 Beautiful work! So many thoughts my brain is vapor locking. Will this one be around at see at Ashokan or does it have a home? sold and will be long gone by ashoken, planing to have something special to show for ashoken however. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kris Lipinski 134 Posted February 8, 2016 I love it! Admire it! It is really inspiring! Thanks for sharing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MSchneider 5 Posted February 8, 2016 Beautiful work! Is the pommel actually hollow or did you just grind a recess for the peened tang? If it is hollow all the way up, how did you go about making it? Â Thanks! Mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin (The Professor) 114 Posted February 9, 2016 dude, that rocks so very much. I am really impressed. Some really challenging inlay, or at least it seems so to me. I love that you practiced engraving on your engraving vise, by the way. Â Hopefully, you are getting the credit you deserve (and money) for this beauty. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrea Sanson 1 Posted February 9, 2016 simply amazing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matthew Parkinson 162 Posted February 9, 2016 Beautiful work! Is the pommel actually hollow or did you just grind a recess for the peened tang? If it is hollow all the way up, how did you go about making it? Â Thanks! Mark I cheated a bit and used my milling machine to mill out a pocket in the pommel. not quite fully hollow but it has a considerable percentage of the material removed. Â dude, that rocks so very much. I am really impressed. Some really challenging inlay, or at least it seems so to me. I love that you practiced engraving on your engraving vise, by the way. Â Hopefully, you are getting the credit you deserve (and money) for this beauty. I took a engraving class at NESM last year with Jay close, upped my game a bit, I ended up abandoning the bowling ball, but keep the center hold vice, I need to do a bit more work on it bu tI think it is going to be super useful. Doing OK on this one, custom orders are good and bad that way. MP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matthew Parkinson 162 Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) Stressful day getting the final Assembly glued up.. so far so good Edited February 18, 2016 by Matthew Parkinson Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joshua States 1,094 Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) Somebody clue me in on how the inlay stays in the grooves. Is it just a pressure fit from hammering it down or are the inlay channels undercut somehow on the bottom/sides? Â One more question: It looks like you forged the bevels before the fuller. Are there just two schools of thought about which one comes first? (if so what are the benefits/downfalls of each) Edited February 18, 2016 by Joshua States Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matthew Parkinson 162 Posted February 18, 2016 the channels are undercut slightly, you can inlay in to a square groove but it needs to be deeper. I do my undercuts with a wide graver and lift up the edges of the steel a bit at the same time, when doing the undercutting you can also push the line a bit if your channel wasn't as even as it could have been. I made this video for the ABS on doing the inlay , that might help explain it . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joshua States 1,094 Posted February 18, 2016 Thanks for that. How did I miss this on the ABS youtube channel? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jheinen 41 Posted February 18, 2016 Good lord that is beautiful! I hope that someday I can produce a blade half that amazing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matthew Parkinson 162 Posted February 18, 2016 I give you Trufullrvegr (faith Full glory) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
