In 2016 I commissioned Rob Miller of Castle Keep to make a Viking era sword with pattern welded. Rob told me that the blade was forged by Mick Maxen.

I was and remain impressed by the craftsmanship and balance of the sword but would like some members opinions on the blade.

You will see from the photographs that the blade contains small pits, little holes in the steel, which over time attract moisture. I did raise my concerns with Rob Miller, but he assured me that this is normal, and referred to the pits as 'inclusions'.

I am not qualified to comment, other than the fact that I own several antique pattern welded swords from Solingen that do not contain these 'inclusions'. I also have studied the pattern welded replica of the Sutton Hoo sword at the British Museum, and can find no pits in the blade.

Could members of this forum please express their honest opinion. I did pay £2,700 for this sword, so would like to know if the blade is 100%.

---

 Attachment: 107.05 KB



 Attachment: 192.79 KB
[ Download ]

 Attachment: 189.89 KB
[ Download ]

 Attachment: 169.42 KB
[ Download ]

 Attachment: 172.22 KB
[ Download ]

Hello,

I would say that he is right, in a sense, those are from inclusions causing a poor/imperfect surface on the weld line. Is this correct to the period? Yes.

Is it a fault? That depends. A pit like the ones shown, but in which the weld is solid is not a *fault* per say, it is only a cosmetic issue. A deep pit/ that causes a pause of cohesion in the weld (essentially a bit of delamination) is. This is hard to prove from the photos, but it looks like the welds are solid.

You could, however, get a much better surface and weld. It is a cosmetic issue at the least. Prior to finishing the blade he would have been able to notice the pitting and throw it out. I’m surprised he didn’t. That isn’t something you see come out of the shops from most of the top of the line makers these days.

You are on the cusp, £2,700 is the budget end for top of the line (with exceptions) for a patternwelded sword like this. That being said, the hilt furniture isn’t overly complicated (i.e. there is no complex inlay, etc), so I would think that a huge part of that was going into the blade (where you would expect numerous throw outs for bad pitting like this).

It depends what you are after —a perfect sword, or a historically accurate sword. That being said, I think I too would be disappointed, given the price.

Hadrian

Greetings,

Your post motivated me to closely examine the only pattern welded sword that I own. It is a Viking style sword made for me about thirty years ago (OMG !) by a U.S. knifemaker, who was intrigued by the challenge of making any sword, let alone a pattern-welded one. After two unsuccessful attempts, he made one that he was satisfied with, and so was I. So anyway, I examined the welds carefully, and I could not identify any inclusions. So, there's that.
Your sword is aesthetically more attractive than mine, as are the patterns. I quite like the look of it, especially that wide fuller which I am guessing, probably gives the sword a lively feel due to lightness. Mine is somewhat blade-heavy. I confess, the only information I have about metallurgy comes from watching a weekly US television show called "Forged In Fire." I cannot venture an opinion as to whether those inclusions are "normal," or not. Purely as an aesthetic opinion, they would bother me somewhat. Due to the overall appeal of the sword, however, I might learn to live with them, or perhaps not, I cannot say.
Well, there's my tuppence worth,

Henry

I wouldn't be very happy with pits like this on such an expensive sword.

FYI —I once bought a pattern welded blade like this (as in it had a similar amount of pitting). It was being sold by Paul Binns in the UK for £300. He was selling it ‘as is’ and cheap, as there was nothing functionally wrong with it... and like Hadrian said it is probably historically accurate... but he didn’t want to mount it/sell it with the expensive commission he had been intending the blade for. As the welds were good, just pitted, he finished the blank and sold it to me cheaply, and remade a new one for the commission.

Z

I feel so let down by this so called producer of bespoke hand forged swords!

When Rob Miller supplied it to me, I was going through a pretty tough time and didn't have the energy to push back on this unacceptable failure of quality control. It was supposed to be a once in a lifetime commission that I would hand down to my son.

Does anyone have any opinions on my options?

I will write to Castle Keep and ask them to take it back, and replace the blade, or refund me. If they will not then get ready for my review of this sword, which will appear on this and several other sites in the coming months.

Those inclusions do look pretty big, especially given the cost.

Well..I think a few folks are over-reacting , maybe. One thing no-one is mentioning is..does the purchaser intend on USING this sword ? IF he is..then the pits *might* be a *potential* problem. If it's purely for display..well,,it's a fairly authentic example of a REAL pattern welded blade :)

When someone buys a sword at this price, one expects a certain level of aesthetic presentation.

I have a shear steel knife which I got for around $500. It doesn't have any flaws or pits of this size though it does have some grain to it as one would expect.

I have 2 other shear steel composite swords at a much higher price and though there are very small imperfections- they are small. I have extensive inlay on one and that does have some gaps- though due to the design and nature of inlay is to be expected.

The sword being discussed here differs in degree. These pits are just too big I think. Whether they affect the stability of the sword we can't say.

When I commission something exceeding $2000 I'm going to expect a pretty high standard from the maker and I haven't been let down yet thankfully. Hopefully a good resolution is found here.

The pits by themselves might not bother me so much, but at the £2,700 ($3461.59) price point is where I would have heartburn...

Were this at the $2000 level or less, given that I don't think the structure is compromised and that the hilt looks magnificent, I would probably not be so discomfited. I might even be somewhat happy, knowing that historical artifacts had these sorts of imperfections. Heck, finances permitting, I might even pay a bit more. But not $3461.59, or really even close to that.

For comparison I bought a bare pattern welded blade from Michael Pikula years ago for ~$1600 and that blade is flawless. You deserve better, William.

Most antique medieval swords have any number of flaws that would appall a modern collector. These include, but aren't limited to, twisted pommels (done deliberately for gripping purposes), very short grips (also deliberate so you can cradle rhe pommel while grasping the grip), canted pommels, disproportionately small or thin pommels, asymmetric crosses, sometimes really short crosses, wandering fullers, wandering central ridges, not to mention problems with blade warping that may be less easy to discern centuries later. All of these are part of the medieval aesthetic. Even what would have been costly Viking Era and pattern welded swords are not immune.

Whether or not these are acceptable to a modern collector is a different story. We live in a society that increasingly demands visual perfection as the criteria by which we evaluate products or even people. Given this context, it's understandable that people may be upset with a less than immaculate sword.

Yet, I do think there's something more to be considered. There is a peculiar irony when people comission a high-end medieval sword, presumably because they are looking for a maker who will make it similarly to a real sword, only to not want the sword to be "too close to the real thing" by having some of the very characteristics that make antique swords real, "medieval" swords. Something to think about.

For the record, I cannot comment specifically about pitting in a blade. I don't know enough about how common it was on newly made period swords. It may be that these flaws are not even consistent with most medieval blades. My purpose is to invite more consideration, in general, as to what we count as acceptable in replica swords.

A few observations on this if i may.

I have always offered a full refund to ANY customer who is unhappy with my work in any way.

If Mr Fox had asked me 4 years ago for a refund on a purchase he was not happy with then my position would be exactly the same,there would be no dispute.

I received no request from mr Fox in this regard. I did answer his queries concerning the blade welding and was prepared to re imburse him if that were his wish.I received no request.

Now 4 years later i have been sent a thread that puts my reputation in a poor light. Mr Fox appears to be using this as some form of leverage,although ironically enough i have had no e mail from him on this matter since 2016,so the complaint is new to me. I see that i am to either offer a full refund or this will be reviewed with a view to damaging my reputation.hmm. It would seem fair to me that after 4 years it seems a bit late to ask for a refund,looking at the blade it would also seem that it may not have been cleaned and oiled for some time,there is a slight bloom from one of the weld inclusions.

I have no problem in principle with refunding any customer who is unsatisfied with my work,but the manner in which this has come to light and the time elapsed do not make me feel particularly beholden, i would have prefered to have heard from the customer directly rather than from the ‘internet’,the horse has bolted now.

I do not make my own pattern welded steel,i get it from an excellent maker,and it is always a joy to work with. I think people confuse ‘pattern weld’ with damascus steel though,Damascus very seldom shows any faults,pieces i have had in the past may have the occasional small blister,but pattern welded steel requires a different type of welding altogether,the twisted core is welded to the cutting edge,and you can see where the twists meets the edge,this can sometimes be a deep joint,not a fault. But by the same token i would also say that this can stick out like a sore thumb too.I tend to etch the blades a lot deeper now so that the overall billet is darker,this could benefit from that and a clean and oiling,i would be happy to do so as a compromise of sorts. I think in view of the manner in which this has been handled that is a very reasonable response.

I would be interested to see the antique pattern welded Solingen blades that Mr Fox has for comparison.

Oh it's been four years- that's different.

If Mr. Fox knew that he could get a refund but didn't do so at the time and now is bringing up the issue 4 years later then the craftsman wouldn't have any obligation to provide the refund- in my mind anyway.

Hopefully, with some cleaning and etching the appearance of the pits can be lessened.