[B. Bird]

Hello to all I've been lurking for quite some time and I came to the conclusions it was about time I said something and being the polite person I am I though I would say Hi first. I'm from Caithness in the far Noth of Scotland, an area blessed with quite a few ruins which I suppose is what kicked off my interest in swords and other older weapons. I was blessed with a grandfather who would take me out to all these sites as a child and tell me their history including any battles and if theres one thing a ruin has over any well preserved castle is that it gives your imagination free reign. My first loves sword wise were claymores and baskethilts because those were the swords I most commonly saw when I looked for Scottish swords and my first 2 swords were a claymore and baskethilt both wallhangers. My collection has grown since then and I have gotten into making the fittings for the odd blade myself as well as a scabbard every now and then. Here are a few pics of my most recent work if your interested.







For the sake of my vanity I have to point out I'm wearing some very baggy jeans in the first picture. The sword that the scabbard was made for is a custom piece from Rob Miller of Castle Keep and to be honest I couldnt praise the mans work highly enough. The design is carved into the ash and then enhanced by rubbing dark beswax polish as a finish as well as bringing out the design a little more it prevents any rain that may land on it getting settled in the creveses of the design and causeing damge





For this knife I made the blade myself which is only the second time I've ever tryed, the grip was inspired by a hunting knife Ied seen a few years back and the runes basically say who made the knife as well as saying how sharp and strong the blade is. If anybody would like to see any of my other pieces I'll be happy to post. To finish Ied just like to say how much I admire you all for building up a site thats informative as well as being friendly without the eliteism that I've seen on some other boards.

[Kirk Lee Spencer]

It is so good to have you here with us...

And that is some very fine work.

I really like the overall design of the knife, especially the grip.

Welcome!

ks

[J. Bedell]

Welcome to myArmoury!

Those scabbards are absolutely stunning. Thats some great work you do. That knife has a very nice look to it too. I am very impressed (and jealous ).

-James

[Ken Rankin]

Heya

The scabbards are beautiful! I am envious and in awe at the same time! How long did the sword scabbard take? What tools did you use? Did you use a pattern or draw the design free hand? What is your favorite color?

Welcome!

Ken

[Jean Thibodeau]

Welcome to the site and very nice patterns to the carvings on the scabbard and knife hilts.

And do post more pictures.

[B. Bird]

Thanks for the warm welcome The scabbard took about a month working when I wasnt at my job it was all done with handtools the carving was mostly done with carving knifes and the patteren was drawn freehand. I have to confess that the bird pattern was taken from a Gerorge Bain book on zoomorphics but the other 2 knots I came up with.
This is my athame the blade is made by Rob Miller. Most of the grip is bog oak but there are 2 copper bands near the base with an ash band between those and the end cap is silver. The 2 copper disks were endgraved with various runes before they were put on, not going to go into details but they basicicaly are all about purity of purpose, strength clear sight ect.

[David Martin]

Welcome to myArmoury! Thank you for posting the pictures of your work. I'm a big fan of knotwork designs (and runes, for that matter), and yours are absolutely beautiful. I'm looking forward to seeing additional photos of your work.

Best wishes,

David Martin

[Lee O'Hagan]

Hi BB,
How are ya,
Nice to see you here,
The sword from Rob turned out really well,i like the work with the scabbard, very fitting
Good job on the knife too,
Later