March 3, 201214 yr I have just finished this sword, I have been making seax and axes for a while now and its nice to do a sword again.
March 4, 201214 yr Simplicity is beautiful. A question: Why is it called a short sword? At what stage is it a knife and when does it become a long sword?
March 5, 201214 yr It looks like there is an internet smilie on the blade. I think its a pretty fine example of metalwork indeed!!
March 5, 201214 yr It looks like there is an internet smilie on the blade. I think its a pretty fine example of metalwork indeed!! I could be wrong, but I think that what you are seeing is "Owen Bush" with a stylized O butted up to a B. Inlayed brass, bronze, or gold? I can only imagine the amount of work and skill it takes to craft such a "simple" :rolleyes: sword. It has been difficult enough for me to just make passable knives. Robert
March 6, 201214 yr Nice, I like the round end thingy. How did you make that part? Good photo. It is a counter weight, the sword itself can be heavy and unweildly without a balance, so a counterweight is added to make it easier to swing and handle. Truly awesome work Owen. What material is the blade and counterweight?
March 6, 201214 yr Author thanks for the replieys. the smily face is indeede an OB its been my blacksmithing mark from year dot. It is onlayed in fine (pure) gold. I have only just started this technique . the blade is EN45 (closest US steel 5160) the pommel and guard are in En8 (1040). the en8 polished up better than mild. the blade is forged and then ground , the guard is hot punched forged and ground , the pommel is upset under the press and then ground leaving a little of the surface from the forge. the handle is lime wood with a chord wrap and pig leather on top. All the best Owen
March 6, 201214 yr All those times i saw you punch that mark in and i never realised it was O B, :lol: I think the gold mark is seriously stylish
March 6, 201214 yr The term for the fitting on the end of the sword tang is pommel. As well as forming a counterbalance they also serve to keep the hand from slipping off the grip when in vigorous use. As such they are generally designed to not damage the hand/wrist area so smooth shapes are preferred to spiky ones. In general it is considered wrong to damage your enemies by having them laugh themselves sick at you hurting yourself with your own weapon.
March 6, 201214 yr how wonderful that you can make something like this! i love that youve left texture on the pommel, and your inlay is extremely beautiful. the whole thing is extremely beautiful, and i would love to USE it ! :)
May 1, 201214 yr " Was it hard to make???" Not for Owen but most of the rest of the answer would have to be "YES!". Very clean looking work, any man at arms would be pleased to use that one.
May 2, 201214 yr Before I started fiddling about with hot metal, I thought swords would be relatively easy to knock out. (What'd I know?) After the little I've done, I've realized that if I'm LUCKY, I might get good enough someday to attempt one, especially considering how little time I have to light the forge up, but it will probably always be something just out of reach. Unless of course I win the lottery and can spend 40-50 hours a week playing around instead of going to work. ;)
August 1, 201213 yr That pommel appears to be peened on to me??? Either way that is a gorgeous piece of work! Thanks for sharing!
August 1, 201213 yr Author thanks for the comments, the tang was hot peened over the pommel. the pommel was first punched to fit the tang with a tint guide hole drilled to guide the punch.
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