Info Favorites Register Log in
myArmoury.com Discussion Forums

Forum index Memberlist Usergroups Spotlight Topics Search
Forum Index > Makers and Manufacturers Talk > Bamburgh sword 12 bar composite Reply to topic
This is a standard topic  
Author Message
Richard Furrer
Industry Professional



Location: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Joined: 11 Jun 2004

Posts: 77

Feedback score: None
PostPosted: Fri 11 Dec, 2009 1:40 pm    Post subject: Bamburgh sword 12 bar composite         Reply with quote

Hello All,

Several years ago (well in the 60's really) a sword fragment was found in Bamburgh, UK and I learned about it a few years back. Some info on the 7th century find is simple to get with a web search for "Bamburgh Sword".
This is my take on the 12 bar that it may be.
Do keep in mind that the famed Sutton Hoo sword at the British Museum is but a mere eight bar (four on each side).
I do not know of another 12 bar out there made up by a modern smith..nor possibly and ancient one either for that matter.


Here are the six bars of wrought iron for one side and the six bars for the other layed out ready for cold assembly
That center flat sheet is for the core. The twist series is more complex than it appears.

Welded

Preparing the 20 layer twisted cutting edge from 15N20 and 1080

Cutting edge wrapped around the 12 bar core ready for welding

Welded

Me with the billet which will be forged out into a proper sword blade when I get a client interested in it.



 Attachment: 40.25 KB
core prep 2.jpg


 Attachment: 31.65 KB
core welded 1.jpg


 Attachment: 58.19 KB
twisting edge material.jpg


 Attachment: 79.43 KB
Edge and core prepared.jpg


 Attachment: 34.51 KB
tip welded 1.jpg


 Attachment: 53.26 KB
Ric edge welded.jpg


Ric Furrer
Sturgeon Bay, WI
www.doorcountyforgeworks.com
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
J Helmes
Industry Professional



Location: Lanark Highlands Ontario Canada
Joined: 06 Mar 2009

Posts: 120

Feedback score: None
PostPosted: Fri 11 Dec, 2009 7:09 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

wow! I cant wait to see this progress. I see you mention that the core billets are wrought. are they just bars or iron or are they laminated billets of iron containing iron from different sources?
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Richard Furrer
Industry Professional



Location: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Joined: 11 Jun 2004

Posts: 77

Feedback score: None
PostPosted: Sat 12 Dec, 2009 6:11 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

J.
It was some rather nice wrought iron plate from the 1860's.
In the future I will make pieces like this from bloomery iron/steel I smelt here in the shop.

Ric

Ric Furrer
Sturgeon Bay, WI
www.doorcountyforgeworks.com
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
J Helmes
Industry Professional



Location: Lanark Highlands Ontario Canada
Joined: 06 Mar 2009

Posts: 120

Feedback score: None
PostPosted: Sat 12 Dec, 2009 3:31 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I will very much enjoy seeing those Ric.

thank you for sharing.

cheers Jeff
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Ben Sweet




Location: 831
Joined: 21 Aug 2003

Posts: 519

Feedback score: None
PostPosted: Mon 14 Dec, 2009 2:01 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thanks Ric for taking the time to share these with us!
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Matthew Stagmer
Industry Professional



Location: Maryland, USA
Joined: 23 Jan 2008

Posts: 493

Feedback score: None
PostPosted: Tue 15 Dec, 2009 9:17 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

You have done it again my friend. 12 bar. Wow. Hard enough to keep the lines clena on a 3 bar. Should be fantastic!
Matthew Stagmer
Maker of custom and production weaponry
Youtube.com/ThatWorks
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Paul Hansen




Location: The Netherlands
Joined: 17 Mar 2005
Likes: 5 pages

Posts: 845

Feedback score: None
PostPosted: Wed 16 Dec, 2009 12:04 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Awesome work Ric! I look forward to seeing the finished blade. There must be somebody with both the interest and money?
View user's profile Send private message
Richard Furrer
Industry Professional



Location: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Joined: 11 Jun 2004

Posts: 77

Feedback score: None
PostPosted: Thu 17 Dec, 2009 5:43 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I would prefer to do the fittings up similar to those found in the recent Staffordshire Hoard with either enamel or stone set in gold. There are other good examples of such work from other hoards as well.

This would be both proper given the time period and rather striking.

Ric

Ric Furrer
Sturgeon Bay, WI
www.doorcountyforgeworks.com
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Richard Furrer
Industry Professional



Location: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Joined: 11 Jun 2004

Posts: 77

Feedback score: None
PostPosted: Mon 21 Jun, 2010 7:37 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hello All,
I put together a short video montage of the forging of this composite blade.
There are some new photos not included before as well as some more information and some old blades I saw at the British Museum.

http://www.doorcountyforgeworks.com/Work_in_progress.html

I believe it illustrates the forging process quite well.

Enjoy,
Ric

Ric Furrer
Sturgeon Bay, WI
www.doorcountyforgeworks.com
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Jared Smith




Location: Tennessee
Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Likes: 1 page

Spotlight topics: 3
Posts: 1,532

Feedback score: None
PostPosted: Tue 22 Jun, 2010 3:01 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I am excited about the fact that you made the cutting edge from twisted laminate. It generally outperforms linear in terms of slicing performance in my opinion. (Hard to explain, but the weld zones form high concentrations of hard carbides at boundaries. These end up in the cutting edge when you twist a billet!)

I am wondering if you, or a researcher, assessed the original as having twisted material in its cutting edge?

Absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence!
View user's profile Send private message
Richard Furrer
Industry Professional



Location: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Joined: 11 Jun 2004

Posts: 77

Feedback score: None
PostPosted: Tue 22 Jun, 2010 3:07 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hello Jared,
Most of the cutting edges were straight grain, not twisted.

I am not aware of weld zones forming carbides any more so than any other portion of the billet. Where did you locate that information?

Ric

Ric Furrer
Sturgeon Bay, WI
www.doorcountyforgeworks.com
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Tim Lison




Location: Chicago, Illinois
Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Likes: 1 page
Reading list: 6 books

Spotlight topics: 1
Posts: 1,606

Feedback score: 100%
(11 total ▮ 100% positive)
PostPosted: Tue 22 Jun, 2010 5:27 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Looks like it'll be a beauty when it's done. How long is it? It looks a bit short.....How will you hilt it? I don't see a tang... Am I just not looking hard enough?
View user's profile Send private message
Jared Smith




Location: Tennessee
Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Likes: 1 page

Spotlight topics: 3
Posts: 1,532

Feedback score: None
PostPosted: Tue 22 Jun, 2010 7:38 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Richard Furrer wrote:

I am not aware of weld zones forming carbides any more so than any other portion of the billet. Where did you locate that information?

Ric


There are two or three technical papers (Verhoeven and a couple of others) by researchers who sectioned and examined some modern pattern welded samples. I am sure that I can locate and forward at least one paper from my external hard drive to you if you send me your email. My "two bar composite" of two twists welded together on the show off your home made blades thread also illustrates this qualitatively. (Two twisted 100 layer bars ground to somewhat rectangular shape and welded yielded a pure nickle weld seam similar to a "feather pattern".... the twisted alloys rearranged at the weld zone. ) The carbon does in general diffuse, but not evenly at the weld zone. Carbon piles up as a high concentration of cementite or carbides (roughly equivalent to ceramic particles embedded in the material) in a region within about 15 microns near each high-lo nickel layer transition. The weld zone is generally a layer of high nickel or low carbon plain iron with heavy concentrations of cementite just beside it. If you compare slicing or drawing action of some tightly twisted material, versus straight laminate formed from the same bar against some tough and thick leather, you can easily tell the difference subjectively. It seems to become pronounced ( would match a "just sharp" twisted edge versus a hair shaving sharp straight laminate edge any day) such that it is great fun to give comparative examples to youth and adults unfamiliar with the performance aspects of it and watch their jaws drop when they test cut with 100+ layer tightly twisted edge material.

Absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence!


Last edited by Jared Smith on Tue 22 Jun, 2010 7:44 pm; edited 1 time in total
View user's profile Send private message
Richard Furrer
Industry Professional



Location: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Joined: 11 Jun 2004

Posts: 77

Feedback score: None
PostPosted: Tue 22 Jun, 2010 7:41 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hello Tim,

The hilt will be settled, along with the final size, when a client shows interest. Presently it is bar waiting to be told what type of sword it will become.
Below the video there on my webpage are two examples of old blades which would benefit from this form of pattern-weld.

Ric

Ric Furrer
Sturgeon Bay, WI
www.doorcountyforgeworks.com
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website


Display posts from previous:   
Forum Index > Makers and Manufacturers Talk > Bamburgh sword 12 bar composite
Page 1 of 1 Reply to topic
All times are GMT - 8 Hours

View previous topic :: View next topic
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum






All contents © Copyright 2003-2024 myArmoury.com — All rights reserved
Discussion forums powered by phpBB © The phpBB Group
Switch to the Basic Low-bandwidth Version of the forum