Here's the latest - the blade has been heat treated, then foundation ground, then rough stone ground down to 50 grit (I hope I got that right). Apparently it weighs about 1.5 lbs. After the foundation grind the blade thickness ran from from just over 5mm to just under 3mm thick. Note that the camera angle likely exaggerates the length of the tang and the profile taper.

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JD-

This one is shaping up nicely and FAST! The blade looks like it wil be just right. 1.5 pounds seems light for such a large blade. I look forward to seeing your impressions of it's handling. The finish looks really well done. I am excited for this project! It is really seeming like it'll be a beauty!!!

Yes, Jeff mentioned that his scale is not very accurate so I wouldn't be surpised if the blade weight is actually higher than 1.5 lbs. For comparison, Michael Pikula's recent Ulfbehrt blade, which was 32" long and 2.5" wide, came in at 1 lbs. 11 Oz, although I don't know how thick it was.

I know many of you like the satin finish (like Albion) but I have requested a semi-mirror finish (like A&A products). So Jeff has more polishing to do.

That's a neat looking blade :) You are a lucky man ;)

I did not manage to drop by the museum this weekend, but I found something that might be interesting:

http://www.unimus.no/foto/#/P=search/S=C9981

It is a database for all the university museums in Norway.

If you want to search for other objects then:

sverd = sword
spyd = spear
hjelm = helmet
dolk = dagger
skjold = shield

Nice to help you out :)

The scabbard was made from 2.5 - 3 mm thick spruce wood. This was probably made flat, then pressed around the the blade (wet?). The skin around it was probably calf 1.5 mm thick with stitches 5-7 mm apart.

It was decorated with simple patterns which can be seen here.
http://www.unimus.no/foto/#/I=214887KHM

The piece in the right bottom corner has a "cross" pattern. This is from the front side of the scabbard covering the width together with some smaller circular patterns inside the crosses. This can also be barely seen on the piece to the top right. There is probably also some lines following the outline of the scabbard.

The same circular patterns is also used on the back side and can be seen on the piece to the left of the picture, second row. There is also one in the third row, second from the left.


This is by the way fragments of the buckler found with the sword:
http://www.unimus.no/foto/#/I=203495KHM


Here is what is reported about the findings in the museums database:
http://www.dokpro.uio.no/perl/arkeologi/viset...3495%40=on

You can try to get google to translate it, but it might turn out wierd since it is fairly old norwegian. Can also try to translate it from danish (as the languages where fairly close at that point).

Great stuff Nils. JD, are you going to have a scabbard made for this one?

And a matching buckler ? ;)


http://www.unimus.no/foto/#/P=search/S=C31924

http://www.unimus.no/foto/#/P=search/S=C30707

http://www.unimus.no/foto/#/P=search/S=C1568


I just love those bucklers...

Sorry to derail - when are those bucklers dated to? Cheers.

-Gregory

Sorry, I should have put this into context :)

They are dated to about the same time as the sword. 13th - 14th century. There are no exact date on them, as far as I know.

The sword was found in a stone "box" (to small for a body, so it was not a coffin) together with a small wooden shield/buckler. The fragments of the shield looks like it would have come from a large buckler similar to the ones I posted. The diameter is estimated to be about 40 - 45 cm, which corresponds with the other findings.

The link I posted on the shield did not contain all the pictures, so I'll try again:

http://www.unimus.no/foto/#/P=search/S=C9982

Hello everyone,

WOW Nils! Those photos are amazing! Thank you so much for your help. The translation does seem to work better from Danish too.

It looks as though I am headed on the right track. I appear to be only 2mm wider that the original. As for the weight, I don't really trust my scale for accuracy. But, I do feel that it gives a decent ball park figure. I don't think the blade is much heavier that 1.5 lb if it is heavier.

The tang is much larger than it's intended finnish. As I am making a 2 part pommel with a round peened over tang on the top, I wanted to make the tang and the holes match, so that the pommel is rigidly fixed with a rectangular hole passing through the lower pommel and partially into the upper where it will transition into a round tang. This also prevents the pommel from relying on a press fit against the handle, Which in my opinion is just wrong.

Jeff

Just some minor updates for anyone following this story. Jeff has done some more work on the blade and acheived the desired non-linear distal taper: 5mm at the base, ~3mm at the mid-section, and ~2mm near the tip. He got a more accurate scale and now the blade weighs 2lb 2.5oz, which sounds about right to me. A blade this size (35" long, over 2 1/4" wide, gentle profile taper) cannot be expected to be a feather weight. But with this distal taper I think it will be managable by my standards.

We're also talking about a scabbard - Jeff makes these too!

Now getting interesting - apparently the current assembly comes in at 3lb 4 oz with a PoB of 6" from guard - sounds about right for this size and type of sword. Can't wait to see the the finished cross and pommel. :)

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That IS getting interesting! I think Jeff nailed the basic shapes. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with the details!

Here's an updated shot, showing the shape of the cross and pommel coming together, waiting for some final refinements. Jeff's currently not happy with the pommel so I don't know if this will be the actual version, but it gives a pretty good idea.

One concern is the PoB, which of course moves out as the pommel gets lighter. I've asked Jeff not to worry about this, as swords of this age often had crazy PoBs of 8" or more. Take Albion's similar sized St. Maurice, which I believe has a PoB of 9". The trick on this particular type of sword is the short grip and pommel shape, which allows one to use the pommel as leverage against the heel of the hand...but we'll see how it goes when I do my final hands on review.

As I said to Jeff, I just want to feel what that Norse warrior felt 900 yrs ago, before he hid away his original sword!

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Here it is - a sword, except for handle, final blade polish, and peening together. I don't want to shoot off all my rockets before the final review, but I must say I'm getting pretty excited about this piece!

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That looks great J.D., really beautiful,

The long blade is very striking and the whole package has a noble character about it.

Looking good! I think the pommel could be a bit more canoe shaped when looking at it from the bottom, hopefully that's not overly critical. The cross is super. The blade is perfect! What are you thinking for the grip? Will you use leather covered wood? Or just plain wood? Something more exotic maybe? It's going to look very cool with the runic ferrules. I'm really excited to see this one. It sure is coming together fast!

Thanks guys.

Tim - I'll let Jeff respond in public or private to your comment about the upper guard. By now he is more familiar with the original than I am. For the grip I have requested a plain dark brown leather wrap, 1) to match the scabbard, 3) because I like the feel of leather, and 3) because I don't want to distract from the bronze collars. We have a final touch in mind for those that will be revealed in time.

Regards, JD

PS - although I like shiny swords, Jeff has convinced me to go with a lower grit finish which he believes to be more period accurate. I don't want to interfere with his artistic integrity on this piece.