WIP A Seax at Last

[Rob Toneguzzo]

8 hours ago, Alan Longmire said:

I like the subtle look, how long and how many times have you etched?  For serious contrast I do four or five 10 to 20 minute etches, wiping off the oxides in between.  That creates enough topography to make the bright layers pop.  You can alao try the coffee etch...

Thanks Alan. I did a couple of etches but not as long as 20 min. I will give it some more and a for bit longer after work...work gets in the way of a good etch.

[Chris Christenberry]

I'm retired, mate, so "work" doesn't get in my way................but other responsibilities tend to rise up and keep me from doing whatever it is I'd rather be doing!   When you are retired, most everything other than fun is work.

[Joshua States]

A bit of information on acid etching PW steel.

1. Most guys dilute the FeCl with 3 parts water to 1 part acid.

2. Agitating the solution while etching makes for displaced oxides and a faster etch. I use a fish tank bubbler to agitate the tank.

3. The contrast will generally be fairly low. unless additional steps are taken to increase it. Coffee etching, gun bluing (hot or cold blue), and baking soda applied before wiping the oxides off are three methods I know of increasing the contrast.

4. Generally speaking, I etch until the depth is enough that I can "feel" the topography with a bare finger and light pressure.

5. Only etch after HT is complete and the blade is at final tempered hardness.

Edited October 31, 2019 by Joshua States

[Rob Toneguzzo]

3 hours ago, Joshua States said:

A bit of information on acid etching PW steel.

1. Most guys dilute the FeCl with 3 parts water to 1 part acid.

2. Agitating the solion while etching makes for displaced oxides and a faster etch. I use a fish tank bubbler to agitate the tank.

3. The contrast will generally be fairly low. unless additional steps are taken to increase it. Coffee etching, gun bluing (hot or cold blue), and baking soda applied before wiping the oxides off are three methods I know of increasing the contrast.

4. Generally speaking, I etch until the depth is enough that I can "feel" the topography with a bare finger and light pressure.

5. Only etch after HT is complete and the blade is at final tempered hardness.

Thanks Josh, much appreciated.

[Joshua States]

23 hours ago, Joshua States said:

Coffee etching, gun bluing (hot or cold blue), and baking soda applied before wiping the oxides off are three methods I know of increasing the contrast.

 

Just to clarify: The coffee and gun bluing are applied after cleaning. The baking soda is the one where you leave the black oxides in place.

[Rob Toneguzzo]

Thanks again Josh,

 

I did another 3 etches and the pattern is much better. I will come back to it again once I have made the hilt and before I finally glue it in place.

 

I have decided on Ironwood which grows in my area for the hilt.
 

Here is my progress so far.

 

As always any comments, critique, advice etc very much appreciated.

 

 

[Joshua States]

This is looking awesome! 

[Clifford Brewer]

Plus one on that................

[Alan Longmire]

Plus two, actually. 

[Will Wilcox]

Dare I say three? I do! 

 

Seriously though, this is looking really good Rob. Cant wait to see how it progresses. 

[Chris Christenberry]

Personally, Rob, I like the intensity of that figure in the blade.  Something "uncomfortable" about the stark high-contrast blades that bothers me.  Yours is very tastefully etched, I think.  Can't wait to see the finished product.

[Adam Weller]

I really like this blade! I want to say the simplicity of the pattern is what gets me, but I know this isn't a simple process. This is going to be an awesome knife!

[Zeb Camper]

The subtle look is looking good!

 

I dont think I'd carve the ironwood. It's tough to carve and it might take away from the blade. Just my $.02

 

What are you thinking for the sheath? 

[Rob Toneguzzo]

Thanks all for the feedback.

10 hours ago, Zeb Camper said:

The subtle look is looking good!

 

I dont think I'd carve the ironwood. It's tough to carve and it might take away from the blade. Just my $.02

 

What are you thinking for the sheath? 

Hi Zeb,

I have a friend who is into wood seeing what he can get for me.
 

I know what you mean about being tough to carve. It is a very tight grain dense wood.

 

Where I am There is a lot of soft woods but we have red gum hardwood and while it’s chips are great for smoking a beef brisket every handle I have made seems to crack.

 

I have some buffalo horn and antler but not the right shape.
 

In 2013 I did a thread. ” WIP....A sword at last “. and used Ironwood on the grip and it was hard to carve but came out ok.  

 

Once oiled it goes much darker. In any case I thought I would have a bit of a practice and see but I am still undecided.

 

I have been researching up on the correct sheaths that go with this style of knife and aim to make one as best as I can and do some sort of artwork on that too. If you have any good reference material I would love to see. 

 

I will have to make my own leather tools but I have been meaning to do that for a while anyway so it will keep me busy. Will post as I go and as always I really appreciate the feedback.

 

 

 

 

Edit..Oh.... I see the hilt for this type of knife is quite long. Is there a preferred hilt length to blade ratio?

 

P.S. Sorry  if I have been burdening you guys with questions more than I usually would ...... it is just the first rains of the wet season are here along with the heat and humidity and my Shop dog and Chief Adviser Jock has been otherwise preoccupied.

 

 

Edited November 1, 2019 by Rob Toneguzzo

[Zeb Camper]

Yes! Long is good! Look up "the hunting knife of charlemagne" AKA "the aachen seax" the (i think) only surviving example of a fully intact broken back seax handle. Horn was apparently the most common handle material in angleland whilst the mainland more often used wood. Oak was I think the most common. @Andrew W knows more than I do on that. 

Ornamentation in the birds eye or fisheye motif inlayed with silver wire was found just recently I think tucked into the remains of a sheath bound in copper fittings. 

There is info on that and more in the pinned topic over in the history sub-forum. 

Hey, if you have facebook you should join the "seax files" group. Dont forget to answer the questions. Mounds of info on all types. 

And that's just if you care. I personally get some satisfaction making something that could have been.

Edited November 1, 2019 by Zeb Camper
Last edit I swear!

[Zeb Camper]

A screen grab from another post: 

[Alan Longmire]

Yeah.  Most of this stuff is in the various pinned threads on seaxes in the History subforum, for those of us who don't Facebook.  

 

I had to look up that Iron Jack stuff to see what you were drinking.  Sounds like decent stuff with your hot season coming on.  Our cold season is upon us (rather suddenly I might add, dropped from 79 (26 C) to 32 (0 C) yesterday!) in this hemisphere, and the beer is getting heavier to compensate.  I believe tonight will see a Chimay cinq cents...

[Rob Toneguzzo]

3 hours ago, Zeb Camper said:

A screen grab from another post: 

 Thanks Zeb for the info.

The blade is a fraction under 23 cm so I think I will make the hilt 20cm

 

49 minutes ago, Alan Longmire said:

Yeah.  Most of this stuff is in the various pinned threads on seaxes in the History subforum, for those of us who don't Facebook.  

 

I had to look up that Iron Jack stuff to see what you were drinking.  Sounds like decent stuff with your hot season coming on.  Our cold season is upon us (rather suddenly I might add, dropped from 79 (26 C) to 32 (0 C) yesterday!) in this hemisphere, and the beer is getting heavier to compensate.  I believe tonight will see a Chimay cinq cents...

 

I had to do some googling myself . That looks like a powerful way to tame a cold night.

just been looking through the History threads some great info and reference images shared there. 

Edited November 1, 2019 by Rob Toneguzzo

[Rob Toneguzzo]

Well here is an update. 

 I rough fitted the tang to handle. I will still make a small collar for the final fit.

I did up a sketch and carved it out.

Still got more refining to go but here it is so far.

 

[Zeb Camper]

OH MY ACTUAL HOLY BEANS!!! THAT is cool! 

[Alan Longmire]

Dang, Rob, that's too cool!  I knew you were an excellent artist in many media, but not carving as well.  That's gonna be great!

[Charles dP]

Awesome Rob. Love the design.

[Chris Christenberry]

That's beautiful, Rob.  Rotary tools come in right handy at the bench, don't they?  I eventually want to make an EDC for myself and your carved handles are tugging at my creative juices.  Too many ideas and too little time.    Can't seem to quit looking back through your pictures of this knife.  It's really tastefully done.  Totally agree with Zeb, the subtle-ness (is that even a word?)  of that figure in the blade is perfectly executed.  I can't wait to see the finished piece.

[Conner Michaux]

Wow, that’s really cool. 

[Adam Weller]

This was cool before, but this is whole different level! Love it!