I just got these pics from Erik Stevenson on my new clamshell claymore. Since Erik is getting out of the business (or at least not taking custom orders anymore) this is probably the only sword of his I will have the privilege to own.

Here goes: I got the Idea from an Historical example in the Archives here.

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I don't know why it didn't post all 3 pics.

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:wtf:

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Which blade is that, David?

Hi David

Very nice ..... Erik did a wonderful job on this ! ( that hilt is inspired by the clamshell at the Livrustkammaren,Stockholm , right ?)

Please let us know the stats when you can ! Congratulations on a fine fine sword! Great job, Erik, Mac

sigh ----- (had my chance to order from him once and changed my mind)

A bit of history on the original .....

*Photo & text: 13th Park Lane Arms Fair catalogue (1996) , article by Tony Willis "Scottish 'twa handit Swerdis"

[ Linked Image ]
[ Linked Image ]

Now THAT is nice!

That's the nicest reproduction of a Clamshell Claymore (a highly under-reproduced type of sword, IMHO) yet!

And it will be even nicer when in hand. I know, I've got two Erik Stevensons myself... :lol:

Yup Mac, that is the sword I had Erik base this one on. The blade is the AT 1319 and is 37.25" with an 11" hilt. (don't know if Erik changed the hilt length.) Erik emailed me the finished weight is 4.34 lbs. so it should be pretty beefy without being too heavy. Somehow Erik shaved off .75 lbs when he refinished the blade. That was as much as he felt comfortable doing. basically, I emailed the pic to Erik and had him run with it. Based on the finished pics, I am glad I did.

I went with the 1319 as it was the biggest Atrim blade in production waaaay back when I ordered this sword. I also love fullers even though it doesn't appear the original had one.

After seeing Nathan's E/S swords, I have been chomping at the bit to get this. btw Nathan if you ever just want to "Thin out" you Erik Stevenson Shiavona, I'll take it off your hands

:lol:

I'll post my impressions when I receive this sword. Despite the wait, Erik has truly been a pleasure to deal with.

Cheers
Dave Lannon

I'm not a huge fan of clamshell hilts but that sure is a beauty :eek:

Congradulations!

Hey! I think I've handled the original! :eek:

That's a sweet lookin' sword David. Congrats!


Bill

What a great looking sword :eek: That handle would have been a nightmare for me even to think about wrapping....Gus's blades sure do clean up nice...congrats on the beauty!

Amazing- pity he isnt able (or want to) do more work. He's an amazing artist.

I just don't understand why Erik is getting out of the business. He has such amazing talent. Judging by the waiting list he has he doesn't lack for customers. Is cabinet making really that much fun? Sigh...

I didn't know Erik makes cabinets......Now I DO need to remodel my kitchen, now I just have to figure how to incorporate turks head knots into the overall design. :D


Cheers
Dave Lannon

Hi all!

As always I am glad that people are happy with my work. I haven't had a big presence on the boards for a while and Russ' post made me feel the urge to clarify the state of things a bit. I guess the reality of things is I don't' have much of a choice about getting out of the sword business as a full time gig. I injured my shoulder whilst running around in the Marines and had surgery on it resulting in some troublesome internal scar tissue. The repetitive movement from daily filing etc. has lead to chronic pain due to the scar tissue in and around my shoulder joint. There are some other elements that contributed to my decision as well that have to do with the nuances of catering to the demand of the market and production efficiency but I would say that even if I solved the other problems I can't keep up a full time production pace with my bum shoulder. As for cabinate making ;-) I was thinking about trying my hand at designer furnature for a while but after exploring that a bit and discovering the same physical limitations I think I will be flying a desk once I finish my degree and doing swords/creative work as a hobby. I love doing the work but I can't keep up a pace that will make it feasable as a career unless I move to India or somewhere where the cost of living is really low.

At any rate I don't intend to dissappear all together, I would love to do some prototyping for a production setup and have been tossing about the idea of writing or co-authoring a "How To" sword hilt making book but at this point I have a full plate with trying to fill the orders in my back log, help plan my wedding and finish my degree/get a "real" job, so can't commit fully to sword related stuff more than I currently am.

Take care, thanks again for all the support!
Erik