[Scott Roush]

I posted a video a while back but here it is in it's essentially finished form. Still have a bit of cosmetics on the pommel. It is based on the Irish two-handed ring swords but has more of a Danish blade. It is 3 pounds (1.4 kg) with a 4 inch balance point. The blade is 34 inches (86 cm) long and forged from 200 layers of 15n20/1095 in a random 'wood grain' pattern. The total length is 50 inches. There is a copper 'seppa' and then old wrought iron for the guard and pommel. The pommel was a fitting from a Lake Superior steamboat wreck. The grip is wire brushed wenge. All elements have a wood grainy theme hence the name in Irish gaelic.. Craobh or 'The Branch'. It is nice that the word also means victory.













This will be available for display and purchase at the Atlanta Blade show at the end of this month.

[Bryan W.]

This isn't in my usual range of interest but man that pattern on the blade looks stunning. Good work Scott.

Did you consider sprucing up the handle more? Or would that take away from the rest of the piece?

[Myrick J. Hethington]

wow! Is it just me or does that look like a FAST sword to anybody else??

[Matthew P. Adams]

You have an eye for proportion that is rare in modern makers. Many times a guard looks short or a pommel to small. Everything in this sword looks "right". And that's before accounting for the way you can harmonize the grain structure of dissimilar materials. Stunning.

[Scott Roush]

Myrick.. it is fast! It has a little 'jump' when you first pick it up. I love swords like this.

Bryan I did consider and AM considering.. but anything I think of just keeps seeming superfluous because the geometry of the grip is so nice for indexing and feel. Wire wraps don't work unless I file in some grooves. Otherwise the wire would ride high across the ridge and over the hollows. (The grip is hollow ground in case that isn't obvious).

If I do anything else it might just be some file work at the halfway point in the grip.

[Eric W. Norenberg]

Little bit of a Swedish accent there too, in that wide curving guard. If the ends were curled a little more toward the hilt it would be more noticeable, but I like it as is. The curve on the guard is a bit asymmetrical, yes? Again you've hit that blend of refined and rustic that you do so well.

If the grip was longer I might also encourage some more detail there, but as it is I am not sure myself. Your work in progress shots showed a wire ring didn't they? How about a solid copper ring to match the seppa, at about the 2/5th's point down the grip from the cross? I think any wire accents might be one texture too many. I sure wish I had plane fare for Atlanta!

Nice font on the photo titling too! Ever consider what an Arts & Crafts, William Morris -inspired sword might look like?

Cheers!
Eric

[Mark Moore]

Mastery of steel, with a harmonious infusion of grace and style. And....yeah....It looks fast. Beautiful piece. Beautiful..............McM

[Scott Roush]

Thank you for the response folks!

Matthew you and I must have posted at the same time as I didn't see your post. Thank you very much! And thank you Mark!

Eric... I played around with sort of a two part grip where their was a filed ring separating two different geometries.. but It just didn't seem right some how. And I kept thinking how nice Albion's 'Dane' looks with it's long simple grip. And interesting idea on incorporating 'arts and craft' into sword design. I haven't yet thought in those terms yet for design... utilizing any of the arts movements as inspiration. Something to think about.... hmmmmm...

edit: I just had a thought.. why not an Impressionism sword? Pastel colors throughout, mosaic damascus, you have to squint your eyes to 'see it'? :-)

[Daniel Wallace]

3 lbs, and 50 inches, this thing must move like a lightning bolt.

one day Scott, i hope you can publish a little book with all your greatest creations, because your art is truly worthy of refocusing laypeople that steel is art just as much as it is craftsmanship.

stunning and i wish i could get my hands on it

[Jean Thibodeau]

Really beautiful work and a wonderful blend of contrasting textures.

I know that this is in great part a " fantasy piece " ( And nothing wrong with that: Just mentioning it ) I wonder what period people would make of it ? It does look sort of magical and the metallurgy and consistency of the steel and heat treat probably better than 99% of period swords.

[Scott Roush]

Daniel.. I'd love to some day! With so many 'self publishing' avenues now I would at the very least like to do portfolio in book style.

Jean.. I don't mind the term fantasy. :-) I even called it that on Facebook when I first showed the video of the blade. And I immediately got comments about how folks were scared of what I was going to make! Like I've said before.. I'm a bit sad as to what the term 'fantasy' has come to represent to people in the sword world. I really believe that its the child inside of all of us that once 'fantasized' about this weapon that contributes to it's imperial status as adults. I wish I could remember the words of Stuart Branson (an amazing up and coming bladesmith in the knife world).. something to the effect that a sword is like a talisman snatched from a childhood dream. Anyway.. those are the sort of things that the term 'fantasy' means to me. But... Like I've also said before.. fantasy loses so much (to me) when it's not anchored to something in the real world. So when I have the opportunity to make a non-commissioned sword and I have no boundaries to what it will be.. then I start to fantasize about a sword from a particular culture or time period that I really want.. or wanted to exist... or more likely the kid that still resides in me wanted to exist.

As to time period... to me the ring is such a prominent aspect that in my mind I consider it an Irish ring sword... and if I'm not mistaken... late 1400s to early 1500s???

[Jean Thibodeau]

[David Lewis Smith]

This is a really handsome blade and the pattern is Very dramatic.

[Daniel Wallace]

Scott's work in general is what i would like to point to when i speak to the lay person about the art and science of blade smithing.

it's science in the way that your taking metals that do not bond in the natural world (at least for the most part you won't see welded alloys in nature) and blending them together.
the art is in the Asiatic that you have a thought out plan of how they will come together in a composition and the piece as a whole. not just the blade by itself - but the other fittings as well.
its an understanding of geometry that allows for a calculated edge to maximize cutting ability while also saving on the mass of the object. not to mention all the other contributing factors that geometry give to a blade.

weather you'd approach this work as metallurgy, art or, craftsmanship, its just a damn fine harmony of work.

[Robert Rytel]

[Scott Roush]

Thanks again for the kind comments!

Jean.. sorry to rant so strongly on my soapbox. I was just annoyed about the negative comments I got on Facebook about 'fantasy'. But yes.. it sounds like you have a good healthy perspective on the term!

I appreciate your comments Daniel... What you are talking about is stuff that is very important to me. I have so much to learn from a detail perspective in this craft... but I always hope that the bottom line of the sword will be something that has scientific and engineering level performance and construction combined with elements that call back to antiquity... tied together with elegant lines and proportion.

Thanks David!

Robert.. yes I decided not to change anything. Although I have added some small copper nails to hold the twisted wire in place at the grip/pommel junction. It seems to be just the right touch.

I will try to get some detail pictures up soon as the copper peening block wasn't complete at the time of those pictures....

[Jean Thibodeau]

[Chad Arnow]

And this is what i love about this site: the diversity.

Scott,
You have a clear artistic vision and love of surface texture(s) that makes your work so distinctive. There are some makers whose work is recognizable and identifiable from a mile away; yours is among those. This doesn't mean they're all the same, not at all; rather, they have a unity of craft and vision to them that is wholly yours.

My own tastes run far more to the historical, so I don't know if I'd add something like this to my collection, but I love how much you delve into and own the look and feel your stuff has. It's art, man, art.

[Matthew G.M. Korenkiewicz]

I gotta agree with Mr. Arnow, there ...

JT as well ...

Mr. Roush, like Mr. A wrote, your work is distinctive. Very cool. Said something
similar once before, about axes I think ...and I for one among the many TRULY
enjoy the effort you take to show it being done by photographing the process and
results ... ( I will say I'm not that thrilled with the hilt, but that's just me ... )

For what its worth, I've given some thought to the idea of what may categorize
any sword as a " fantasy sword " ... There are likely some very strange looking
sword-like objects based on equally strange stories, or someone's vision, or
whathaveyou. And they may function quite well, just as a " sword " is meant to ...
Anyway, I kinda ramble ...

But in my mind, just me as far as I know, I kinda think EVERY sword EVER
made started as a " fantasy sword " ... If you follow me.

Keep up the wonderful work, sir.

[Chad Arnow]