i made this a while ago but didn't have batteries to take picture so today i decided to snatch some from my brother temporarilly for this purpose.

what i did, i cleaned the pieces with rubbing alcohol then hammered it lightly to have a subtle texture. after that i wrapped the fittings in dripping wet news paper for three evenings (woke up at 10 am wrapped them and let them rest until after supper) to create a spot patina (partial patina). after the partial patina process i boiled it in black tea for about 20-30 minutes and after the pieces were cold i used car wax to wax the piece (i used what i had :lol: )

here'S the result:

[ Linked Image ]
[ Linked Image ]
[ Linked Image ]
[ Linked Image ]

thanks for watching :)

That's neat as can be. Gotta try that on some loose fittings I have laying about! Very unique!.......McM

I commend your creativitiy. It can be hard to get a convincing patina,and it's easy to over do it. This is both simple a subtle,and no death inducing acids either ! :idea: Thanks for posting...

thank you for you kind words guys, i'm in the process of aquiring some material for the grip, if all goes well and come out as nice as it is in my head it could become a real beauty. :)

I'm excited to see your end results. Please do a 'DIY' of the whole process on your sword build! I think it will look outstanding!!!...........McM

i have to warn though, the blade is not historical since it is from a DSA squire ( see http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/images/DSA-Squire5.jpg ) , i also cut 1/2 inch of the shoulders to shorten the blade and give a longer handle to it won't dig into my wrist.

the handle will be 4 9/16 inches long (which is not completely wrong for a viking sword according to hurstwic)

i have two places to look for the materials, one for antler (which i'm not completely sure if i should and if i can make the design i want) and the other for exotic wood (burl would be simply too awesome :D )

Edit: oh and forgot to tell that i rubbed the fittings with a canvas like cloth to remove loose rust.

A big piece of elk or caribou(sp?) would be cool looking. If you're short on tools, I've been told that you can soak the antler piece in warm water for several hours, then just push the swords tang through the pithy area in the center. When it dries, it will tighten up and never rattle or loosen. I've done this on some small knives, but never on a thru-tang sword grip. You might give it a try. :D The small knives I have made like this are solid as a rock. :D ......McM

I wouldn't worry much about the antler. I've found that bone, unless very thick, is generally pretty brittle. Antler is very fiberous, and less likely to split or crack. In my experience, I've never had an antler push-tang split out on me---or come loose----especially after epoxy. You can shape and sand and carve the antler almost all the way down to the pith and it's still very strong. I made myself a Scottish sgian dubh with a push-tang in a piece of whitetail deer antler almost 30 years ago, and you CANNOT get the blade out. I used a file to cut grooves onto the tang and the pith of the antler expanded into them once dried. It's permanent. Just FWIW..........McM :D

if i were to choose antler, should i use a drill to at least pierce a hole to guide the tang in?

hey jean, can you believe there was no lemon juice in my fridge? :P so i had to use paper towels soaked in room temperature white vinegar for about 20 minutes to start the oxidation (it was more an experiment on what could work if you don't have lemon juice and i just saw that i forgot to write this process ^_^' )

and thanks for the compliments i appreciate it :)

oh and by the way i heard that there was a good amount of salt contained in the news paper, don'T know if its the case with paper towels and TP though.

Ok. so i've got someone sending my 5'' of antler and a piece of holly, i'll have to take a look at the particularities of both materials to make a choice but knowing me if both is in sufficient quantity i might make two handles :lol: more round oval for the antler to keep most of the antler's characteristics and octogonal for the holly because i'm really curious about how the original idea i had in my mind would look in real :)