People kept going and coming back from the long ship and my compatriots were getting anxious about all that heathenry thing. The head of my caravan was cursing them in our language because the son of that dead king didn't accept our prices while at the same time was sending a full load of pelts to a ship doomed to be burnt with a deceased man who was sitting on a crate for a week. I was intrigued, trying to see a purpose on all that.
At the ninth day the son of that king entered the long ship and laid his father's body on a bed and the men, obviously warriors, started to bring in more gifts. At the shore of the North Sea were bold women and men watching a dead body sleeping proudly forever on a ship and with him a young lady, a horse, a dog and a spear.
At last, the son entered his tent and when he went out, he carried a sword. I wasn't an admirer of those broad blades of that folk, but when I saw the sword I felt like the stories those men used to sing at the fire camp were somewhat real. I ask for Alah and the prophet to have mercy on my thoughts, but that piece of steel was more than a simple tool of war, as if by some means of magic the blacksmith who forged it had the power to bring iron into life.
The dark brown linen covering the scabbard was almost black and strips of very light coloured leather wrapped a belt bridge made from a imported wood I couldn't recognize. At the very tip of it there was a piece of shining iron.
But what really caught my eyes was the hilt.I can remember the patterns on the wood, a bright, almost orange woodwith black lines, probably from the root of a tree, but looking like a spit of fire from the mouth of an efreet. And on the guards and pommel there were those golden lines... so polished that they stole all the light of the sun just to deliver it into my very eyes. Curved entangled lines, like trees, or snakes or even words.
I couldn't see the blade of that sword, as it was never unsheathed, but such a wealthy hilt would probably have a blade made from the best steel these men could afford.
After he came with the sword he profered some words in their own language and our translator didn't understand them very well, but apparently the sword belonged to the father of the old king and was passed down to him and would be given to his son, but the young man decided it would be better with his father in their heaven.
The son laid the sword with the body, then he and other men killed the horse, the dog and the girl and then they poured oil on the ship deck and all of them came out. They pulled the ship from the shore and after a while, with a flaming arrow, the man put his father on fire. And then no one spoke a single word till everything sunk into the North Sea.
+++++++++
This sword was the most challenging piece I made so far and it really let me with a wish to achieve some more on my next swords.
The blade was mainly made by stock removal, except for the tip and about 10cm of the cutting edge, as the owner wanted it to have some forging on it. It is 1070.
Guards and pommel are made from a piece of British wrought iron from the Victorian Age and the inlays are brass. They are heavily inspired on the designs from a type S sword from Gjermundbu, Norway, but it is not made to look like the original. As some of you may notice it also resembles some interpretations of the Gjermundbu sword made by Patrick Barta, although I'm really far from his skills with inlays. At least I have the chance to practice more of this amazing technique on an actual piece, rather than on scraps and left overs.
The handle is karelian birch burl from Russia, with one of the most outstanding patterns I've ever seen. The wood was ground to shape and then spent a whole week submersed in linseed oil for stabilization and it got this darker orange-ish color.
On the scabbard I used pinewood and it is lined inside with natural wool. Outside I covered it with linen and then painted with very dark brown. The chape is mild steel and the belt bridge is maple wood and although it is glued with modern methods to the linen cloth for safety, the leather strips would do the job alone fairly well.
I loved the final result and it really made me feel like a talented crafter, even with all the flaws it have. This excitement is the best part of being a blacksmith/bladesmith.
Overall length: 94,5cm
Blade length: 78,5cm
Blade width: 5,3cm
Blade thickness at the guard: 0,5cm
PoB: 18,0cm
Length of the grip: 10,0cm
Weight: 1,240kg
At last, the son entered his tent and when he went out, he carried a sword. I wasn't an admirer of those broad blades of that folk, but when I saw the sword I felt like the stories those men used to sing at the fire camp were somewhat real. I ask for Alah and the prophet to have mercy on my thoughts, but that piece of steel was more than a simple tool of war, as if by some means of magic the blacksmith who forged it had the power to bring iron into life.
The dark brown linen covering the scabbard was almost black and strips of very light coloured leather wrapped a belt bridge made from a imported wood I couldn't recognize. At the very tip of it there was a piece of shining iron.
But what really caught my eyes was the hilt.I can remember the patterns on the wood, a bright, almost orange woodwith black lines, probably from the root of a tree, but looking like a spit of fire from the mouth of an efreet. And on the guards and pommel there were those golden lines... so polished that they stole all the light of the sun just to deliver it into my very eyes. Curved entangled lines, like trees, or snakes or even words.
I couldn't see the blade of that sword, as it was never unsheathed, but such a wealthy hilt would probably have a blade made from the best steel these men could afford.
After he came with the sword he profered some words in their own language and our translator didn't understand them very well, but apparently the sword belonged to the father of the old king and was passed down to him and would be given to his son, but the young man decided it would be better with his father in their heaven.
The son laid the sword with the body, then he and other men killed the horse, the dog and the girl and then they poured oil on the ship deck and all of them came out. They pulled the ship from the shore and after a while, with a flaming arrow, the man put his father on fire. And then no one spoke a single word till everything sunk into the North Sea.
+++++++++
This sword was the most challenging piece I made so far and it really let me with a wish to achieve some more on my next swords.
The blade was mainly made by stock removal, except for the tip and about 10cm of the cutting edge, as the owner wanted it to have some forging on it. It is 1070.
Guards and pommel are made from a piece of British wrought iron from the Victorian Age and the inlays are brass. They are heavily inspired on the designs from a type S sword from Gjermundbu, Norway, but it is not made to look like the original. As some of you may notice it also resembles some interpretations of the Gjermundbu sword made by Patrick Barta, although I'm really far from his skills with inlays. At least I have the chance to practice more of this amazing technique on an actual piece, rather than on scraps and left overs.
The handle is karelian birch burl from Russia, with one of the most outstanding patterns I've ever seen. The wood was ground to shape and then spent a whole week submersed in linseed oil for stabilization and it got this darker orange-ish color.
On the scabbard I used pinewood and it is lined inside with natural wool. Outside I covered it with linen and then painted with very dark brown. The chape is mild steel and the belt bridge is maple wood and although it is glued with modern methods to the linen cloth for safety, the leather strips would do the job alone fairly well.
I loved the final result and it really made me feel like a talented crafter, even with all the flaws it have. This excitement is the best part of being a blacksmith/bladesmith.
Overall length: 94,5cm
Blade length: 78,5cm
Blade width: 5,3cm
Blade thickness at the guard: 0,5cm
PoB: 18,0cm
Length of the grip: 10,0cm
Weight: 1,240kg
