myArmoury.com - Home Improvement Group Photo (photo-intensive)

Posts: 820 Location: Texas

Mon 15 Nov, 2004 5:31 pm

Home Improvement Group Photo (photo-intensive)

Hi All...

On my "Godfred Redid" thread a while back my fellow forumite Jesse Zinn ask if I might do a family photo of my finished home improvement projects. Well I finally got some good filtered sun and some free time. So here are a few pictures.

ks

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From Bottom to Top: Albion's Odysseus Sword, Cheap Gladius (My First Sword), Godfred Viking, MRL Arbedo

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Patrik Erik Lars Lindblom

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Posts: 411 Location: Göteborg Sweden

Mon 15 Nov, 2004 5:46 pm

Good work Kirk, They really look like survival's from that time. :)

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Alexi Goranov

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Posts: 1,191 Location: San Francisco, CA

Mon 15 Nov, 2004 5:57 pm

Hi Kirk,

Great job!! How did you get the hilt components of the arbedo sword blackened? I have seen similar colors on several "aged" swords and I'd really like to know how to get this effect. I suspect it is just the way you let it rust, but how long does it take to get this effect, and is regular acid/salt solition going to do it?

Alexi

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Patrick Kelly

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Posts: 5,739 Location: Wichita, Kansas

Mon 15 Nov, 2004 6:34 pm

That's a great group kirk. I especially like the bronze sword.

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Kirk Lee Spencer

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Posts: 820 Location: Texas

Mon 15 Nov, 2004 6:43 pm

Patrik, Alexi and Patrick...

Thanks!

Alexi... I used a hot browning solution called "Plum Brown" It is produced by Birchwood Casey I think... I got it through Dixie Gunworks Catalog. It also has a coating of cold browning solution around the edges. I think the cold browning is just rust (probably some vinegar and salt like solution). For more info you can check this thread:

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...ght=arbedo

Thanks again.

ks

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Tom Carr

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Posts: 148 Location: Dallas TX

Mon 15 Nov, 2004 9:58 pm

You have the touch Kirk! Those look great. I ve been lucky enough to hold all but the Gladius and they are even better up close. The detail work that goes into his swords is hard to see from photos, but I can tell you there are all sorts of little touch's you dont notice right off. Notice the etching of a bull's head just below the guard on the Arbedo.

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Sean Flynt

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Posts: 5,981 Location: Birmingham, Alabama

Tue 16 Nov, 2004 7:16 am

Aww, man...and I was just starting to discipline myself to not get any new replicas before summer :mad:

I should know by now to stay away from your posts, Kirk. Beautiful work :D

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Adam Lloyd

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Posts: 91 Location: Chicago, IL

Thu 18 Nov, 2004 12:43 am

I have the Arbedo sword from MRL and was first wondering if you remade the grip because mine looks very different than that. Did you do anything to the leather? It looks great! I look the idea of having something that looks antique and so I was reading the instant antique article on this site and was thinking of doing some of that to one of my MRL pieces. Do you think that's a good idea, Kirk?

also, did you add the "ball-peen" texture to the wood parts of the hilt of the gladius? i really like that look

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Kirk Lee Spencer

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Posts: 820 Location: Texas

Thu 18 Nov, 2004 4:59 pm

Tom Carr wrote:

You have the touch Kirk! Those look great. I ve been lucky enough to hold all but the Gladius and they are even better up close. The detail work that goes into his swords is hard to see from photos, but I can tell you there are all sorts of little touch's you dont notice right off. Notice the etching of a bull's head just below the guard on the Arbedo.

Thanks Tom...

You were the first one I found on the forums that was doing the whole antique thing... Thanks for the encouragement!

ks

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Kirk Lee Spencer

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Posts: 820 Location: Texas

Thu 18 Nov, 2004 5:01 pm

Sean Flynt wrote:

Aww, man...and I was just starting to discipline myself to not get any new replicas before summer :mad:

I should know by now to stay away from your posts, Kirk. Beautiful work :D

Hey Sean...

So sorry... I just can't help it. If you don't want to be further tempted then don't read the next post because I am going to talk about my current project! :D :D :D

ks

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Kirk Lee Spencer

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Posts: 820 Location: Texas

Thu 18 Nov, 2004 5:54 pm

Adam Lloyd wrote:

I have the Arbedo sword from MRL and was first wondering if you remade the grip because mine looks very different than that. Did you do anything to the leather? It looks great! I look the idea of having something that looks antique and so I was reading the instant antique article on this site and was thinking of doing some of that to one of my MRL pieces. Do you think that's a good idea, Kirk?

also, did you add the "ball-peen" texture to the wood parts of the hilt of the gladius? i really like that look

Hi Adam...

It is good to hear from you. You're right I did change the grip quite a bit. I took the leather off and reshaped the grip to match the grip on the original in the metropolitan Museum in NY. If you check the link I gave in an earlier thread it will tell more of how it was done. I had to build up the grip a little in places with JB Weld epoxy and then grind it and the wood down to the final shape. I would have made in process shots but I did this before I thought anyone was interested in these types of projects. The leather of the grip is 1.5 ounce burgundy leather I bought from Tandy Leather. The "Arbedo Redo" thread mentioned above will give details on how I got the leather attached to the corded grip. Sean has an even better thread on his technique... you should read this also if you decide to change the grip.

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...ht=leather

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...ht=leather

As for whether it is a good idea to age the Arbedo?.... If you think that you will sell it in the future to try to get everything you have in it, then no you should not antique it. You will probably have a harder time selling it antiqued. To tell you the truth it is very unlikely that you will be able to find a buyer that will pay retail price for an MRL. Of course if you got a great deal in the first place then you might even make a little money selling it . (I got an MRL Irish Hand an a Half sword for $70 in the discontinued barrel at MRLs showroom in Conyers.) Also if you hate do-it -yourself work and you think that everything is going to go perfectly from start to finish, and your frustration threshold is very low, then you probably should not age the Arbedo. However if you want a sword which is beautiful in form ( I think the Arbedo has one of the most beautiful forms I have seen) that is one of a kind and distinctly yours then go for it. If you don't mind a few "do overs" (finding creative ways to cover your mistakes which actually adds to the aged "cherished tool" aspect) then you should have alot of challenging fun with this project. There is some concern that if you are really good at this someone in the future will try to sell it as a genuine antique... so I etch my initials on the forte of the blade.

My advice would be to keep in mind that there are very few things that you could do to the sword that can not be corrected if you mess up and need a do-over. Also when doing the antiquing think in terms of layers. The years were added one layer at a time to the antiques and so layers look more authentic. Also any wear-and-tear would not be evenly distributed over the surface. It's distribution will be due to chance as well as necessity. Whent the sword is used certain parts would be more likely to receive damage. For instance the pressure points on the grip will wear more.

As for the dimpling effect on the gladius. I used a small cutting bit on my dremmel tool and took small bites out of the wood all over the surface. I then took fine sand paper and knocked the tops off the ridges. This gives a hammered look. That gladius was my first sword. I loved the movie "gladiator" so my wife bought me a cheap gladius out of a catalog... (boy is she sorry she did that!!!) I have found the same sword on ebay for about 20% of what she payed... But I will not tell her that). As a project I began changing the gladius to look more like one of the movie props (you should have seen her face when I began cuting, drilling and hacking away at her gift). I took off the cheap pot metal grip and replaced it with a nice dog bone I found at the local pet shop.

I am now working on that $70 Irish sword I got at MRL. I really like the Narsil sword from Lord of the Rings but I could not bring my self to buy one because it is not a historical sword (among other things). I read an interview with the fantasy painter that designed the sword for Peter Jackson and he said that there were no historical swords with pierced pommels. I thought that was a strange staement because both the old protoceltic bronze swords and Irish ring swords have pierced pommels... But it got me thinking about an Irish Narsil. Mac and other forumites helped me get more info on the original in the Dublin Museum upon which the MRL version is based. And now I am attempting to add a period type grip to my MRL Irish H&H to make it look as much like Narsil as I can. I have posted an process picture... You can see how I have added JB Weld Epoxy to the wood core and then reshaped it. I also let super glue soak into the wood to help strengthen and stabilize it.

keep postin

ks

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Irish Narsil Project

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Tom Carr

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Posts: 148 Location: Dallas TX

Sat 20 Nov, 2004 1:11 am

I still have that Ox blood leather you used for the Arbedo. Let me know if you want to cover the Irish's grip with that and I'll drop it off. If you want something different I have just got a wholesale membership with the local leather outlet and we'll go find you something! ;) Cant wait to see what you do with this one!

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Kirk Lee Spencer

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Posts: 820 Location: Texas

Sat 20 Nov, 2004 10:27 am

Hey Tom...

Thanks for the offer... I will take you up on it in the future. I already have some thin plain calf skin I am going to dye a nice Irish green for the lower part of the grip. The upper part will be mild steel wire wrap. Hopefully, if it is done right, it will look something like Aragorn's Narsil and at the same time fit within the confines of an original find.

thanks for the interest

ks

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