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Bruce Tordoff
Industry Professional




Joined: 13 Aug 2007

Posts: 120

PostPosted: Mon 07 Nov, 2011 10:31 am    Post subject: Vendel Madness         Reply with quote

Just to add to that, here is a pic to advertise the show, courtesy of Mel Morpeth, Fulcrum TV.


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Jeffrey Faulk




Location: Georgia
Joined: 01 Jan 2011

Posts: 578

PostPosted: Mon 07 Nov, 2011 11:22 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Without intending any offense, this picture reminds me a lot of advertisments for Nordic metal bands! :P

Seriously though, I really wish I could afford a better source for television so I could watch this...
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Aed Thompson




Location: Staffordshire, UK
Joined: 04 Nov 2011

Posts: 26

PostPosted: Wed 09 Nov, 2011 2:10 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

The Vendel madness is catching. I met Paul Mortimer and the Wulfheodenas fellow with the Thorkil Valsgarde-8 at Tamworth Anglo-Saxon festival.
Inspired me to make this over the summer (my first ever attempt at metalwork);



What do you guys think?

Aed Thompson
Thegns of Mercia


Last edited by Aed Thompson on Thu 10 Nov, 2011 12:52 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Bruce Tordoff
Industry Professional




Joined: 13 Aug 2007

Posts: 120

PostPosted: Thu 10 Nov, 2011 8:27 am    Post subject: Vendel madness         Reply with quote

Hi guys,
Now, here is a Valsgarde inspired helm made by my friend and fellow forumite Paul Holwell. Modelled to stunning effect by yours truly.Lol!

To put things into perspective this is also his first ever helm attempt, (he normally makes swords), it is also the first time he has ever beaten sheet metal.
The helm was inspired by the works of Ivor Lawton and Thorkil, courtesy of Dave Huggins who owns helms from both makers. The fittings (eyebrows, crest) are based on the V8 helm, but the helm is essentially conjectural, but leaning towards the imagery represented on the Torslunda press blech dies. hence the inclusion of Cheek plates.

The helm is heat blued, which has achieved a lustrous bluey/ gun metal finish.

The eyebrows were hand carved, the crest terminal 'heads' were cast from a master which Paul carved, the crest is hand formed in one piece from 3mm sheet brass with the vane attached separately by rivets.
For any English Living Historians out there, who will be attending The Original re enactors Market this Sunday, I will have the helm with me to drool over! So give me a shout.
Paul is a friend of Wulfheodenas and as such has promised 1st refusal to one of our members. But shortly he will be posting pics of the helm himself on the makers and manufacturers forum. Any requests for commissions etc, should be broached on that thread, to Paul directly.
Paul wants to do an accurate pres blech helm at some point, personally i can't wait to see that one.

In my opinion Paul has really grasped the essence of the theme perfectly, he did his own research but was big enough to accept advice and guidance from both myself and Dave Huggins.
from a personal and purely selfish point of view I would be proud to have this helm gracing our groups displays,where it would not look sad or out of place alongside the works of Ivor lawton, Dave Roper, Gzrzegorz Kulig and Tim Noyes.

Well done Paul mate.

Bruce



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E. Storesund





Joined: 10 Jan 2011

Posts: 101

PostPosted: Thu 10 Nov, 2011 10:30 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Looks fantastic! I really like the cheek plates.
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Paul Holwell
Industry Professional



Location: East Yorkshire, England
Joined: 13 Jun 2011

Posts: 24

PostPosted: Thu 10 Nov, 2011 11:51 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hi guys.

Thanks Bruce, and thanks to Dave too. Without your joint input, i don't think the helmet would have turned out so well. It was a big learning curve for me and a lot of effort to get to this point. That said, the compliments on my work form you guys has made it all worth it.

Cheers lads, Paul
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Myles Mulkey





Joined: 31 Jul 2008

Posts: 250

PostPosted: Thu 10 Nov, 2011 12:55 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

God that one's perfect, Bruce. Tell him to put up a tutorial, especially on those crests and eyebrows haha. Laughing Out Loud
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Aed Thompson




Location: Staffordshire, UK
Joined: 04 Nov 2011

Posts: 26

PostPosted: Thu 10 Nov, 2011 12:55 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Looks great. Very Vendel but with something of a Coppergate spirit to it too.
Aed Thompson
Thegns of Mercia
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Matt Corbin




Location: U.S.A.
Joined: 16 Jan 2004
Likes: 9 pages
Reading list: 12 books

Posts: 336

PostPosted: Thu 10 Nov, 2011 2:16 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Paul,
Wow! That is stunning. Especially for a first try. Congratulations.
I think the cheek plates add a lot.

“This was the age of heroes, some legendary, some historical . . . the misty borderland of history where fact and legend mingle.”
- R. Ewart Oakeshott
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Paul Holwell
Industry Professional



Location: East Yorkshire, England
Joined: 13 Jun 2011

Posts: 24

PostPosted: Thu 10 Nov, 2011 4:59 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thanks very much guys. Its really great to get feedback like this. It was a challenge, esp the crest and eyebrows. As for a tutorial, well, after all the bad language has been edited out, there wouldn't be much left to watch. so i recon, if you swear at a piece of metal enough, you can get it into any shape you like!! Big Grin

Paul
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Matthew Amt




Location: Laurel, MD, USA
Joined: 17 Sep 2003

Posts: 1,456

PostPosted: Thu 10 Nov, 2011 5:12 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Geez, I hope some day my LAST helmet ends up looking as good as your FIRST one! But there is hope, since it sounds like we share some of the same metalworking techniques!

Congratulations, and KEEP AT IT!

Matthew
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Paul Holwell
Industry Professional



Location: East Yorkshire, England
Joined: 13 Jun 2011

Posts: 24

PostPosted: Sat 12 Nov, 2011 3:22 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thanks Matthew. I will keep at it, got a few to make now. It keeps me busy Happy

Paul
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Matthew Bunker




Location: Somerset UK
Joined: 02 Apr 2009

Posts: 483

PostPosted: Tue 15 Nov, 2011 2:24 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

William P wrote:
if his is 'beating it until it fits"

i eagerly await the time you use even more complex techniques because that is really good,


Thanks William (and everyone else).
Finished this one last week, again 5th century. Got a little more complex than brute force and determination would allow....



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"If a Greek can do it, two Englishman certainly can !"
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David Huggins




Location: UK
Joined: 25 Jul 2007

Posts: 490

PostPosted: Tue 15 Nov, 2011 3:11 am    Post subject: Vendel Madness         Reply with quote

Excellent Matt, and very nice tooling too.
and he who stands and sheds blood with us, shall be as a brother.
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David Huggins




Location: UK
Joined: 25 Jul 2007

Posts: 490

PostPosted: Tue 15 Nov, 2011 3:34 am    Post subject: Vendel Madness         Reply with quote

Following on from the completion of Paul Howell's new Vendel inspired helm, a new project is under-way. This time we will use a self imposed brief of taking the construction and elements of the known Early Anglo Saxon helms to build a Staffordshire Hoard boar crested inspired helm.

Below is a mock up using the Wollaston Helm and Coppergate Helm as a basis, each having not dissimilar structural features, using pressbleche from the Staffordshire Hoard decorating the circumference of the helm all surmounted with the boar crest from Benty Grange. The terminals on the eyebrow crests will also need to be changed from hounds to boars reflective of the style we are aiming for, and we will drop the existing beast on the band terminating at the middle of the eyebrows as again this does not reflect the 6-7th C style.

We think a sound conjectural helm can be manufactured that would not look out of place on one of the warriors lords of battle amongst the Early English kingdoms.



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and he who stands and sheds blood with us, shall be as a brother.
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Paul Mortimer




Location: England, Essex
Joined: 28 Aug 2003
Reading list: 1 book

Posts: 285

PostPosted: Tue 15 Nov, 2011 12:45 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Brilliant effort Aed -- it was good to meet you in the summer -- you chose, possibly the hardest of the Vendel helms to do and a very creditable result. Well done. You are quite young, too, I think.

Very nice helmet from Paul, too.

It is good to have talented metal workers taking in an interest in our period.

Paul
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Bruce Tordoff
Industry Professional




Joined: 13 Aug 2007

Posts: 120

PostPosted: Sun 27 Nov, 2011 2:58 am    Post subject: Vendel Madness         Reply with quote

Hi All,
After the US airing of the Documentary on the Staffordshire hoard a couple of weeks ago, Here is the date for its airing in the UK,


SAXON GOLD: NEW SECRETS REVEALED
UK Premiere on Wednesday 7 December at 9:00PM
National Geographic Channel

Its repeated the next day also.
Featuring Wulfheodenas, Owen Bush, oh and some bits of Anglo Saxon gold.
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Dave J Elliott




Location: Derbyshire. UK
Joined: 17 Dec 2011

Posts: 2

PostPosted: Sun 18 Dec, 2011 11:21 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hi Folks,
This is my first post on the forum and i'd just like to say beautiful work on the helm Paul.
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David Huggins




Location: UK
Joined: 25 Jul 2007

Posts: 490

PostPosted: Fri 30 Dec, 2011 11:28 pm    Post subject: Vendel Madness         Reply with quote

Hi

For those that have been following this and the other Vendel/Sutton Hoo threads they may be interested to know that Paul's much anticipated book 'Woden's Warriors' is now available from Anglo Saxon Books. Amazon UK appear to have become temporarily out of stock in very rapid fashion but no doubt will restock very shortly.

The book is a large 30cm X 30.5 cm format hardback printed on catalogue grade paper, large enough to best display the lavish illustrations and diagrams of artifacts and reconstructions. Having previously had access to the preprint draft it was a delight to see the books many illustrations and one of the authors aims was to provide images of artifacts previously unpublished and I do feel that he has been successful in this aim. Great images of reconstructions too from some of the best craftsmen working in the field!

While within the text Paul acknowledges the book is not difinitive and that many answers on a period that continues to beg questions remain unanswered I do feel for those interested in the period it provides thought provoking stimulation and provides glimpses into a warrior culture that can often be difficult to discern and that previous books have not tackled to this degree.

Top book, well done Paul and a fitting complimentary companion to Steve Pollington's 'Wayland's Work' from a publisher with a shared passion for the Anglo-Saxons culture.

All the best to fellow forumites for 2012
Dave

and he who stands and sheds blood with us, shall be as a brother.
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Mick Jarvis




Location: Australia
Joined: 18 Jul 2010

Posts: 78

PostPosted: Sat 31 Dec, 2011 2:34 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

i have the book in my grubby hands, ASBooks were great to deal with and they had a copy down here to Australia for me in no time!

the book is easy to read and has alot of information in it. and the photos in it.. well all they do is make you drool at the works of art they show

Thanks Paul for such a great book and thanks to ASBooks as you were great to deal with


Mick
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