Whilst at the Belgium knife show last year I sat looking at some replica Saxon blades that Basher (Owen Bush) had on his table and thinking that I should really have a go at some of this multibar stuff, particularly like the serpent and the wolfs tooth parts of the patterns.

So last week I lit the welding forge and had a go at a few firstsfor me

First multi bar blades (I've done wrought with a steel edge butted on before, but never more than that), first serpent, first wolfs tooth.

Today I had some time to kill between blades that I was meant to be working on (they were tempering), so I got the blades ground up.

Here they are so far. Still some meat to come off after HT, but they were forged a bit too close to finished dimensions so I don't know if my 7 layer (odd thicknesses, left over from some laminated blades) stars will show properly Other than a little cheesing in the edge steel (now ground away) due to the wrought contiuously splitting during thinning, everything went absolutely fine I know these are far from perfect in terms of pattern control, but they were a first attempt and I was having issues with the wrought!




The larger blade is a shade under 11"

Let's hope they survive the heat treat when I get to it later in the week!

wow i reeally like the pattern of the big one

You'll be giving my apprentice ideas with blades like that!

Thom----just keep your eyes closed and move on to another thread!

Thomas, I have already been here and have been preparing questions for you after seeing these. I had been wondering about the surrpent that runns in the blade, as referd to not only here but also in the book about anglo saxon swords. At first I had thought it would be some foem of pattern welding but I see a formed buillets below but the seurpens seems clean and clear in the small of the blades. I have also been looking at the wolfs tooth pattern and trying to figure out how it is done. I could see how to macine it, form one side into a wave, form the next layer to match that wave and then have the top layer match the wave again, then level the top and bottom layers in such a way that the waves on the other side are not flattened. But ithout a form I could see alot of lost effort if done incorrectly.
Just my 2 cents and the threat to Thomas that I'll find him for more questions.

the serpent can be done two ways (that I know of).

This one was done by making a 3 layer billet, flattening it and cutting triangles from each side of the outer layers, then flattening the concertina to give the snake. The other way is to make up your 3 (or more layers and do a 90 degree twist, reversing direction with each twist, then when you grind through you see the layers snaking back and forthe. I went for the first one because it is the more bold of the methods, but I think likely to be less authentic?

the next attempts will be much better, but you have to start somewhere I've not tried any of these techniques before and I really should learn to do trial pieces instead of just trying lots of new ideas in actual to-be-finished pieces

. I had been wondering about the surrpent that runns in the blade, as referd to not only here but also in the book about anglo saxon swords. At first I had thought it would be some foem of pattern welding but I see a formed buillets below but the seurpens seems clean and clear in the small of the blades.

here is a serpent in PW steels

These are the sorts of questions where several different colours of modeling clay come in handy---much easier and faster to experiment in clay and then take the process to steel!

OK, so its the pattern with 90 deg. twists. cool cool.
@ Steve so if I am looking right that is a 5 billet peice, 2 tisted, then the snake, and then 2 more twisted bars. They might be inturupted twist peices, I am not sure,

inner core, 7 layers cut like a ladder pattern, and used on edge, not flat. The stars are 2 twisted bars in opposite directions, about 80 layers each , 300 layer edges heavely peened with small ball peen before grinding. the red in the bronze guard is jasper. The wood came from Oz,. called Tiger Myrtle I think. its nothing like the blade in Daves post, His has a beauty from the flow of the metals that make us all want to make PW blades :)

Very nice, I love how the pattern flows with the Wolf tooth! First time I tried a wolfs tooth I drew it out too much and got a wave...

I dont even know what to say other than, that is really awesome! i like it a lot