Kevin Colwell Posted August 27, 2022 Share Posted August 27, 2022 this is an impressive project all around. The grip, and the lessons learned, are great. Thanks for sharing it with us. 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...
Bjorn Gylfason Posted September 7, 2022 Author Share Posted September 7, 2022 Scabbard core covered in linen. I used waterproof glue for it to help seal the core And then leather sewn on. And a dry fit of the hilt components just to see how it looks and then a lot of little fiddling to get the parts to fit better to each other Making pins for the upper guard. And then a peen block that fits quite snugly inside the pommel cap. I could have made it much thinner but this way someone could still demount and rehilt the blade as it passes down from one chieftain to the next and now that all the parts were finally fitted it was time to finish samding the blade. Appleseeded the edges and sanded it to 800 grit for the etch Vinegar acid works great. First I let it sit for a couple of hours and then scrub all the oxides off with 2500 sandpaper, second soak was about two hours again with scrubbing and the last soak was overnight The vinegar is mild enough that that long soaks don't really eat much into the steel as the oxides build up and slow the etching down. And then going over the whole blade with 2500grit backed with a rubber block And assembly time Thick leather pieces in the vise protect the blade while I peen One of the things I don't really like about pattern welding and specially on big blades like this is how difficult it is to take good pictures of it. and I still find this so interesting, the polished horn looks almost like marble and then when held up against the light you can see the tang, nails and pins going through it And now back to the scabbard. Though the original didn't seem to have any metal fittings I do think it should have some as even though they were rare on the british isles they were common on the continent For the chape I started by making a form And then it was annealing and hammering and annealing some more followed by more hammering 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerhard Gerber Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 Bjorn, I'll need to start swearing next because I'm running out of nice words to express my amazement! One last try - masterful My favourite part is the tip, horn in the handle a close second. Beautiful! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 That looks as good as, if not better than, the other three I've seen. This puts you in the company of Patrick Barta and Vince Evans, for what that's worth... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Dougherty Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 Dude The etch and polish on the blade is exceptional. The hilt is a work of art. I'm blown away. This is one of those projects that is going to leave a big void in your life once it is done -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Gylfason Posted September 8, 2022 Author Share Posted September 8, 2022 20 hours ago, Alan Longmire said: That looks as good as, if not better than, the other three I've seen. This puts you in the company of Patrick Barta and Vince Evans, for what that's worth... Aaaah, give me a decade or so to practice and I might get closer to those guys 19 hours ago, Brian Dougherty said: Dude The etch and polish on the blade is exceptional. The hilt is a work of art. I'm blown away. This is one of those projects that is going to leave a big void in your life once it is done The worst part about this build is that now I really need to try out a few more different kinds of patterns and blade shapes so the void will be filled up with lots of fire and glowing steel 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Dougherty Posted September 8, 2022 Share Posted September 8, 2022 31 minutes ago, Bjorn Gylfason said: The worst part about this build is that now I really need to try out a few more different kinds of patterns and blade shapes so the void will be filled up with lots of fire and glowing steel That is good news for the rest of us! -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary LT Posted September 8, 2022 Share Posted September 8, 2022 This is a beautiful project and in depth WIP you’ve made available. I am glad it’s pinned. One question is, (if you can take a minute), how did you peen the four pommel pins? I am guessing a blunted or dimpled nail driver. Gary LT "I Never Met A Knife I Didn't Like", (Will Rogers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua States Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 (edited) 14 hours ago, Bjorn Gylfason said: Aaaah, give me a decade or so to practice and I might get closer to those guys And I need a few years to get close to something like this! On 9/7/2022 at 8:16 AM, Alan Longmire said: This puts you in the company of Patrick Barta and Vince Evans, I have held some of Vince's work, and yeah this looks like it can hang. Edited September 9, 2022 by Joshua States 1 “So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.” The only bad experience is the one from which you learn nothing. Josh http://www.dosgatosdesignsllc.com/#! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdJMFMqnbLYqv965xd64vYg J.States Bladesmith | Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dos.gatos.71 https://www.etsy.com/shop/JStatesBladesmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Gylfason Posted September 9, 2022 Author Share Posted September 9, 2022 23 hours ago, Gary LT said: This is a beautiful project and in depth WIP you’ve made available. I am glad it’s pinned. One question is, (if you can take a minute), how did you peen the four pommel pins? I am guessing a blunted or dimpled nail driver. Gary LT The tiniest ball peen hammer I could find and then a dimpled nail driver. The biggest challenge of it was holding the whole thing upside down with a sharp blade in my face while also focusing in the peening 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary LT Posted September 10, 2022 Share Posted September 10, 2022 Thank you Bjorn, I am sure it was tricky but no other way I can think of! Gary LT "I Never Met A Knife I Didn't Like", (Will Rogers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Gylfason Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 Got the scabbard dyed and bronze bits attached, zip ties are very helpful to hold everything where it should while drilling holes. The pins are brass nails annealed before being put in, cut to size and peened over The original didn't seem to have any kind of bridge or slider so I went with Paul Mortimers idea of attachment to the belt not completely set on the way I bound the braided wool cord but it's easy enough to redo and try different methods. And now I'm just waiting for more brazing rods to arrive so I can make some sort of buckles for the belt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 I have had the honor of playing with Dr. Mortimer's Vince Evans Sutton Hoo sword. That's how I know yours is at that level. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Gylfason Posted September 17, 2022 Author Share Posted September 17, 2022 Never made a buckle before and not entirely sure how exactly the ones from this era are supposed to work Began with a 4mm brass rod, annealed and bent it into a square, silver brazed it and then did some shaping with a small hammer but it ended up looking alright and it works everything oiled up and wrapped in cloth before going in the box. The inspector is making sure the box is up to standards This project led me to spend hours looking for methods and how to do both filigrees and cloisonne, filled my head with ideas for blade patterns and reminded me yet again how nice it would be to have the needed equipment for casting. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Hobbs Posted September 17, 2022 Share Posted September 17, 2022 A truly awesome project, beautiful work! What did the dimensions and point of balance end up being? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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