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Forum Index > Off-topic Talk > Three ODINBLADES for Stokes.... Reply to topic
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David Stokes





Joined: 23 Aug 2003

Posts: 250

PostPosted: Wed 10 Dec, 2008 1:48 pm    Post subject: Three ODINBLADES for Stokes....         Reply with quote

Im Speechless........

Now, If you know me, you know that is quiet a difficult task to pull off! Usually you cant get me to shut up, but these swords have floored me!

It started off with one sword a while back (The Stokes Sword) and then i decided to add another sword to my order, and then another.... and now I have THREE ODINBLADES arrive to me today!

The first, is the Stokes sword, This sword was a project I have had in mind since the old days of ArmArt, and John was the man to pull it off. His etchings are second to NONE and we threw around some ideas and the result is nothing short of a miracle!

The second is the two handed saber that I have named THE GREEN DRAGON (you'll learn why later...) On this project, i let John do is magic. For as long as I have known John, I have promised him that one day i would order a sword from him and let the design be 100% up to him. Thats how much i trust him. Well... this is that sword, and it paid off!

The third sword is the S hilt Baskethilt. The Basket is of course made by Eljay Erickson and is a EXACT copy of a historical example. I forwarded photpgraphs of the original which had a 3 fullered broadsword blade , to John and he was able to duplicate it precisely. Some say that John only makes fantasy swords, well, think again! take a hard long look at this sword and it is 100% historical! For those history buffs interested, its replica of an example shown in the Mazansky text....E6a (JS)

All three of these swords are the purest example of what a custom smith can do to PERSONALIZE a custom sword for their customer.
The Stokes sword features my family crest on the pommel and "S" on the guard.
The warder has a "S" shaped cross and the Baskethilt is an "S" hilt...
All very personalized......

I plan to take better pictures later, but it is raining today, so alas, these will have to do for now....

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...0_3947.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...0_3946.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...0_3950.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...0_3951.jpg

The Stokes Sword...
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...0_3949.jpg
More to come.... stick around...
(just wait until you see the BLADES!!!!!)


Last edited by David Stokes on Wed 10 Dec, 2008 7:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Christopher Gregg




Location: Louisville, KY
Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Reading list: 2 books

Posts: 675

PostPosted: Wed 10 Dec, 2008 2:09 pm    Post subject: OMG!!!         Reply with quote

David, I hate you very much. How am I supposed to enjoy Christmas NOW??? Razz Evil Razz Laughing Out Loud

Now let me return to slobbering all over my monitor..... oh, yes, ehhh plllbbb.

Christopher Gregg

'S Rioghal Mo Dhream!
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Joe Fults




Location: Midwest
Joined: 02 Sep 2003

Posts: 3,646

PostPosted: Wed 10 Dec, 2008 2:52 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Interesting stuff and just in time for the holidays too.
"The goal shouldn’t be to avoid being evil; it should be to actively do good." - Danah Boyd
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Chris Fields




Location: Tampa, Fl
Joined: 03 Aug 2008

Posts: 114

PostPosted: Wed 10 Dec, 2008 3:48 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

gorgous! I love the ray skin wrap btw. John always does great work
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Jordan A.





Joined: 09 Oct 2008

Posts: 15

PostPosted: Wed 10 Dec, 2008 5:37 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Oh man I wish I could see the blades right now! The green Warder is awsome looking, the pommel is sick! I love Johns work too bro, grats on some sweet swords.
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Stirling Matheson





Joined: 12 Jan 2007

Posts: 36

PostPosted: Wed 10 Dec, 2008 6:07 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

And you even have time to gift wrap the S hilt and send it to me. PM me for the address.
Fac et Spera
Moderator - www.swordwiki.org
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David Stokes





Joined: 23 Aug 2003

Posts: 250

PostPosted: Wed 10 Dec, 2008 7:31 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Jordan A. wrote:
Oh man I wish I could see the blades right now! The green Warder is awsome looking, the pommel is sick! I love Johns work too bro, grats on some sweet swords.



Oh yeh! I want to wait until i can photograph them WELL..........
John's Hilts are spectacular for sure, but there is a reason its called odinBLADES !!!
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David Stokes





Joined: 23 Aug 2003

Posts: 250

PostPosted: Wed 10 Dec, 2008 7:46 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

just a note on the Baskethilt for those interested.
Heres a shot of the original:



John and I had alot of discussion about what to do with the basket... should we leave it bare steel? blue it? brown it? and in the end we decided that a nice brush finish would be best and just let it age naturally. I will maintain it with renn wax, but i think letting it patina on its own will be alot neater....
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David Stokes





Joined: 23 Aug 2003

Posts: 250

PostPosted: Thu 11 Dec, 2008 12:47 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I have known John Lundemo for several years now. In the past, the swords I have ordered from him have been ones that I have been pretty specific about. During one conversation some time ago, I promised John that one day I would order a sword from him and let him have 100% design control over it. Well, this is that sword. I didnt even specify what TYPE of sword i wanted, I just left it all up to him and trusted he would do his magic.... well... he did.
The result is what I lovingly call the "Green Dragon"
because well... its green.... and has a dragon on it.... didnt take too long to come up with that name :-)

The handle and scabbard were made from one peice of wood so all the grains match perfectly. The blade is etched on both sides with an INCREDIBLE dragon design and the blade actually has hamon! but due to my requests for a tough cutter, John heat treated it differently than a Japanese type blade.

I will let the pictures tell the rest.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...onFull.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...onHilt.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...lBlade.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...tBlade.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...onEtch.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...Dragon.jpg
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David Stokes





Joined: 23 Aug 2003

Posts: 250

PostPosted: Thu 11 Dec, 2008 12:53 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Of the trio of swords I just recieved from John, this one has the oldest history.
The original idea was spawned nearly 10 years ago, back in the ArmArt days. I had come up with an idea for a sword that I wanted to have made that would be very personalized with my family crest etc....
It wouldnt be until years later that the idea would be realized.
John was very excited to take on this project, and I must appolgize to him because i was VERY picky about alot of the details.
He did alot of work on the artwork for the etchings...
The etchings on the pommel are of the Stokes Family crest, the etchings on the guard feature an "S" logo that John designed as well as the Musashi dragon head logo that has somewhat became my personal logo that i use on my stationary, business cards etc...
The hilt fittings are made of bronze, the handle is wrapped with white ray skin and the blade is single fullered, made of random pattern damascus that is just mind blowing.
This is my FIRST damascus bladed sword, and its really something else to see.
John did a spectacular job on this sword, not only with the way it looks, but it also is very well balanced. The 31" blade is super sharp, which is to be expected from John, and VERY light and fast in the hand.
This sword was designed from the ground up to be an heirloom peice, but its functionality is equaled only by its beauty.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...rdFull.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...deFull.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...sHilt1.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...rdHilt.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...dHilt1.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...dGuard.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...Pommel.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/shag...kesTip.jpg


Last edited by David Stokes on Thu 11 Dec, 2008 1:21 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Matthew Stagmer
Industry Professional



Location: Maryland, USA
Joined: 23 Jan 2008

Posts: 493

PostPosted: Thu 11 Dec, 2008 1:18 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Gosh I love John's work. He doesn't make swords...he makes treasure!
Matthew Stagmer
Maker of custom and production weaponry
Youtube.com/ThatWorks
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Eric Bergeron




Location: New Hampshire
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Likes: 1 page

Posts: 249

PostPosted: Thu 11 Dec, 2008 5:06 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

David never pictured you as a cruciform type sword wielder but I must say John does some awesome work!
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David Stokes





Joined: 23 Aug 2003

Posts: 250

PostPosted: Thu 11 Dec, 2008 5:44 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Eric Bergeron wrote:
David never pictured you as a cruciform type sword wielder but I must say John does some awesome work!



My tastes have DEFINANTLY changed...
but honestly ANY Odinblade is to my tastes
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Steve Halston





Joined: 26 Nov 2007

Posts: 18

PostPosted: Sat 19 Sep, 2009 1:12 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Images appear to have been removed.
Tempered steel and tempered spirit are the foremost attributes of a man at arms.
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Justin King
Industry Professional



Location: flagstaff,arizona
Joined: 12 Apr 2004
Reading list: 20 books

Posts: 551

PostPosted: Sat 19 Sep, 2009 7:05 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I think we might need to organize an intervention. 3 Odins at a time is surely a cry for help Eek!
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Tom King




Location: florida
Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Likes: 2 pages

Posts: 429

PostPosted: Sat 19 Sep, 2009 8:53 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Nooooooooo!!! the photobucket links stopped working! please repost!
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