On my homepage you see the tagline ‘Storytelling through the forged blade’. I thought I’d take a second to explain what I mean by that. I believe that a forged blade can tell a story in multiple ways. The most obvious is the story that it tells about itself and it’s intended purpose. For example.. a skinning knife. Elements of it’s story are the facts of itself.. a thin, sharp, lasting edge that is comfortable to hold and has the right edge geometry to do it’s job. Then the story evolves as...
read moreCold Iron Gold is for the mistress — silver for the maid – Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade. “Good!” said the Baron, sitting in his hall, “But Iron — Cold Iron...
read moreI’ve recently become fascinated by the somewhat mystical and alchemical nature of the varnishes that were being made and used by the old master violin makers. The varnishes had lots of mystery involved including secret ingredients, the use of blood, magical substances. So I’ve started experimenting with making my own using jack pine sap collected from the trees on my land. I’m trying a variety of different methods to see what I can produce. So far I’m very excited by the natural tints on the jack pine resin.
read moreHere is a two-hander I’m making for the upcoming Atlanta Blade show. The blade is 35″ and forged from 200 layers of random/wood grain damascus. 15n20/1095. Fittings will be wenge and wrought iron. The sword will be a two-handed longsword based on Danish and Irish swords. It should be considered a contemporary art sword.. although fully functional. See video… This will be on display at Blade Show and available for purchase there for $2750
read moreThis one is forged from a single bar of 5160 tool steel using the punched and drifted eye method. The haft is oak and 28″ long. 5″ cutting edge and 6.5″ from edge to poll. Light and fast!
read moreHere are the first images of my next commissioned sword. A multi-bar composite Viking blade with type H hilt (bronze caste). The blade will have a 3 bar core.. two bars with 14 layers of 15n20/1084 and a center core with 20 layers of 1095/1045. The center core will have a serpentine pattern which will give the ancient ‘serpent in the sword’ effect. The edge bars have not yet been made and at this point I’m planning to carburize antique wrought iron in ‘shear steel’.. an ancient process of...
read moreThis blade started out as a dirk I was making for a friend who then decided to go a different route. I wasn’t sure what to do with it until I saw an Arms and Armor skeane (based on a specimen from the Irish National Museum).. or Irish fighting knife. This blade is a little short for those.. but the shape is right. I recently decided to finish this when I gave up on a bog oak grip that I was making for a Viking sword. The size and shape ended up being perfect for use on this skeane so I went with it. The shape is a little more...
read moreHere is a Japanese style carpenter’s scribe made from a steel that I make by melting down antique wrought iron nails in a carburizing fire. This steel was combined with modern 1095 and given a gentle twist. This technique is an ancient one and goes back to both Scandinavia and Japan. In Japan it is called orishi-gane. I’m selling for $215...
read moreHere is the beginning of a Scottish basket hilt project in which I’m using 3D design and printing to aid in the construction of the hilt. Basket hilts are complex in their structure and it helps to have some sort of bench model to work off of. I recently discovered ’3D printing’ technology and I immediately recognized it’s potential use for making these models..as well as actual structures since the ‘printing’ process also includes the use of steel. But for this first project I’m simply using the...
read moreThis knife is currently unfinished. I’m planning some handle embellishment.. just haven’t decided what yet. Birka knives were found with wire wrap on the wood grip so that is an option. And I may use it to advance my efforts in learning to carve. But the blade is a three bar composite with wrought iron on the spine and two bars of opposing twist 15n20/1084. The metal spacer is my own ‘hearth steel’ made from melting and carburizing wrought iron in a traditional Norse manner, fossil walrus ivory, birch bark and...
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