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J.D. Crawford




Location: Toronto
Joined: 25 Dec 2006

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PostPosted: Thu 15 Dec, 2011 6:52 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Tim Lison wrote:
Nice one JD!!! That is really looking good. The scabbard is really nice. Are you going to have a belt made with it? Seems only fair... I'm looking forward to your impressions when you get it.


I'm not sure Tim. I asked Jeff to do what he could on the scabbard within a limited budget - he mentioned something about a suspension but I don't remember what the plan was. Should be done this week, we'll see.
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J.D. Crawford




Location: Toronto
Joined: 25 Dec 2006

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PostPosted: Tue 20 Dec, 2011 1:12 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Look what Santa put under my tree this morning!

So this brings our development thread to a close. Next week I'll post a review of the sword and scabbard on a separate thread. There are also a few interesting details about this sword that I did not report here, but will be saved for the review.

I hope you enjoyed this thread at least a fraction as much as I did. Watching a sword 'grow' is half the fun of a custom piece. Many thanks to Jeff Helmes for moving this along so quickly and for his numerous progress reports and pictures, only some of which were relayed here. And thanks to those of you who posted your thoughts, especially for pictures and advice that greatly helped to guide the project along to its conclusion.

Looking back, I could have done a better job at explaining some things as they were happening. in general, Jeff sticks with pretty tradional methods. He started the metal pieces with forging (including the sword edges) and then moved to grinding the blade and filing the pommel shape, finally polishing things by hand.

So, thanks again to all for looking, and I'll let you know how the sword turned out soon.

Regards, J.D.



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J.D. Crawford




Location: Toronto
Joined: 25 Dec 2006

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PostPosted: Thu 22 Dec, 2011 7:34 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Slight change of plans folks...at the prompting of one of the moderators (Chad) I'm going to submit a formal review for this sword. It may take a while to get on line, so Chad said it would be OK for me to post some brief impressions and a few quick pics for those of you were waiting to see the end result. So:

In a nutshell, Jeff has turned out one big, beautiful, beast of a sword. I really admire Jeff's attention to detail and historical accuracy (both in the production and the product). He's a true artist of his craft. This really comes across in details of the blade geometry and hilt construction.

For a one-handed piece of this size (see it pictured below between the similar Windlass Transitional Viking and Albion Caithness) there was a definite danger of producing an unwieldy sword. But Jeff has kept the overall weight down (exactly 3 lbs) and provided an excellent mass distribution. Its no fencing sword, but quite manageable. You can tell from dry handling that long wide thin blade is eager to cut, and has no intentions of stopping till its gone right through its unfortunate target. (I'll leave detailed stats and observations for the formal review).

The fit and finish are superb, I would say on par with an Albion museum line piece.

One cool detail I left out before is the Runes on the upper collar. Originally they said 'Asmund made me; Asleik owns me' (in old Norse). In this case, it seemed appropriate for them to say 'Jeff made me; Doug owns me'. The impressive thing is that Jeff enlisted emminent Historian and Runologist Stephen Pollington to translate this modern phrase back into late Viking-age Norse language and runes. This process revealed some interesting things about the sword, but I will save those details for the formal review.

The scabbard is still under my Christmas tree (it was a present from my wife), so again I will save that for the formal review, but I peeked a bit at the unwrapped ends and it looked nice!

Finally, it was a great joy to work with Jeff. He was always prompt, humble, and helpful. The only times we disagreed were when he insisted on making things more historical than my original inclinations! How could I say no to that? And so talented - it seems like he can do anything with his hands.

Do I reccomend Jeff Helmes to anyone interested in custom Viking-age or medieval replicas? Hell Yeah!!! Big Grin

Happy holidays everyone. I'll get to that formal review as soon as spossible.



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Jeff Helmes 'Korsoygaden' sword: Blade View

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Jeff Helmes 'Korsoygaden' sword: Hilt View

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Jeff Helmes Sword between two other 'type M' pommel medieval sword replicas: Windlass Transitional Viking and Albion Caithness
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Tim Lison




Location: Chicago, Illinois
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PostPosted: Thu 22 Dec, 2011 9:23 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

WOW! It looks fantastic! It's especially cool to see it next to some friends. Great sword JD. Your collection just gets better and better! I'm truly envious on this one... It's nice to see what a great job Jeff did. Having another choice in the custom field is good. Thanks for giving him a try!
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Luka Borscak




Location: Croatia
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PostPosted: Sat 24 Dec, 2011 8:12 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

It turned out really great! Great sword both in size and beauty...
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William Swiger




Location: Reston, VA
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PostPosted: Sat 24 Dec, 2011 8:35 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Outstanding. A beautiful and stunning sword. Big Grin
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Patrick Kelly




Location: Wichita, Kansas
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PostPosted: Sun 25 Dec, 2011 1:36 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

What an outstanding Christmas present. Congratulations to the owner and a big well done to the maker.
"In valor there is hope.".................. Tacitus
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J.D. Crawford




Location: Toronto
Joined: 25 Dec 2006

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PostPosted: Sun 25 Dec, 2011 11:21 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thanks guys, on behalf of Jeff, I know he appreciates it (and comments he has recieved from his peers at Bladesmith Forum and Britishblades).

Patrick Kelly wrote:
What an outstanding Christmas present. Congratulations to the owner and a big well done to the maker.


Yes indeed! I got lucky with the timing - had no idea this would happen so quickly when I contacted Jeff about 6-7 weeks ago. And now I'm looking at it propped against my living-room wall in it's scabbard (which by the way is more of a drark reddish brown than it looks in Jeff's photos). You would like the size and heft of this one Patrick. A manly sword!
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J Helmes
Industry Professional



Location: Lanark Highlands Ontario Canada
Joined: 06 Mar 2009

Posts: 120

PostPosted: Mon 26 Dec, 2011 7:32 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I haven't made many posts on here but I wanted to thank everyone who did for their kind words of encouragement and for their help on this project. It was a really great opportunity to tackle a very interesting sword and the feedback went a long way in working out the details. I also wanted to say that it was a real pleasure to work with Doug. He was clear about what he wanted and very communicative throught the entire process. It is a great thing when a friendship can be formed over a job.

Jeff
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J.D. Crawford




Location: Toronto
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PostPosted: Mon 26 Dec, 2011 7:49 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

J Helmes wrote:
It is a great thing when a friendship can be formed over a job.


Nice of you to say my friend. Something tells me there are more adventures ahead for Iefr and Dugr.

By the way, I've never been whimsical enough to name a sword, but I've had a name rattling around in my head since this project started. Maybe because I watched the Norwegian film 'Troll Hunter' a few months ago (and it was a hoot). Anyway, my pet name for this big Norwegian sword is 'Troll Slayer'. I kept Troll Slayer close this evening while watching the final battle scenes of LOTR with my family - just to be on the safe side. Wink
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J.D. Crawford




Location: Toronto
Joined: 25 Dec 2006

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PostPosted: Wed 28 Dec, 2011 1:43 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

J.D. Crawford wrote:
By the way, I've never been whimsical enough to name a sword, but I've had a name rattling around in my head since this project started. Maybe because I watched the Norwegian film 'Troll Hunter' a few months ago (and it was a hoot). Anyway, my pet name for this big Norwegian sword is 'Troll Slayer'. I kept Troll Slayer close this evening while watching the final battle scenes of LOTR with my family - just to be on the safe side. Wink


Heh, heh, Jeff translates 'Trollslayer" as follows: "I believe your sword might be called "trollbandi" or "trollbanamadr" the d being pronounced like a th of course."

I'll stick with Trollbandi if that's right - I don't think I can pronounce the other one. Happy
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