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Post by KaOsBlaKbLaDe on Mar 12, 2013 16:55:44 GMT
For me it all started around 1980. Shows and movies like He-man, thundarr, thundercats, clash of the titans, the Beastmaster and a myriad of other imagination inspiring productions, had forged my life long admiration of the blade. I read the LOTR series in 7th grade, was a big fan of the choose your own adventure books, and was introduced to Dungeons and Dragons. My friend Shawn was the most animated DM and really got into "character" when it was time to play. For my first Character i decided on a Drow thief with a chaotic evil personality. My intention was to create an asassin type elf with some similarities to my minds version of the "Arthurian" Black Knight. Dark, evil, cloaked in shadow etc.... Now, given the fact that elves weren't allowed the use of armor any heavier than leather, made it more difficult to make the badass Warlord i wanted, so i was forced to focus on his tools rather than his Suit of armor when it came time to sketch him up and "bring him to life". I must have drawn a hundred battleaxes, spears, halberds etc., but nothing "fit". Long story short, after many failed attempts, i finally came up with a sword design i liked well enough to put to paper as my Thief's blade. As i grew up, i drifted away from D&D and my imagination drifted to other things as well, then college, a job, a wife etc.etc.etc. Then I stumbled on SBG, and after one da of reading , looking and drooling i was thrust back to my childhood, and my imagination flooded right back to the forefront. I started to doodle swords/daggers and the like again in my free time as well as some not so free time. I ended up getting a Katana as my first real sword since joining, but found myself inevitably drawn to the euro's and medieval styled blades. A few more Katana, a DS Gothic, H/T viking and a Fable Blades Wraith sword later, and i'm hooked through both lips. So while watching the Hobbit at the theater with my GF, i see the part with the troll cave, and when they pulled out Orcrist, i quite loudly exclaimed "oh my god". When i first saw the guard on themovie sword, i was immediately reminded of the blade i had worked so hard to conjure when i was a child. Upon returning home that evening, i had but one purpose,........to find my old sketch,..........and make it happen. Well, i found it, and was a little disappointed by my drawing skills from those days, but nonetheless it was just as i had remembered, and still gave me that "awesome" feeling i had when i was a kid. Anyway, here we are today. I've revised my sketch and brought it up to par with my current skills and expectations, and with some digital help from MOK (mikko) i was able to solidify plans with a smith to make this blade a reality. I can't thank MOK enough for taking the time to work with my sketch, and come up with something that is scaled properly and can be used as a blueprint of sorts. I've included MOK's mock up of my blade and am posting here for comments , suggestions and any ideas that my fellow forumites may want to share. In all honesty, I owe a debt of gratitude to SBG and its members for helping me to rediscover my inner child, and allowing me to embrace my inner nerd. I was getting too old and serious before finding this place, and it has made a difference to me in my every day life. I would have never allowed myself the opportunity to have something like this done before joining this forum. Now here's the details: The blade will be forged from 5160 stock, and will be left in blackened forge scale finish with pronounced hammer marks above the single fuller. I haven't decided on handle material as of yet, but it will be an exotic wood of some kind. The plan is to keep the POB as close to the guard as possible. The long-ish handle (14 in. total/11in.grip) should help to pull the POB where i want it, but i'm sure the blade will need to be "tuned" by the smith. This design is almost as old as me, so feel free to comment, as it has no name, i haven't decided on any imbellishments or anything other than the swords shape. Thanks Again to SBG and it's (our) members, without y'all this would never have happened.
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Post by Lonely Wolf Forge on Mar 12, 2013 17:03:25 GMT
thats a very wicked looking blade, but im not sure about the spike pommel, i have nightmares about stabbing myself with a sharp pommel, ive bashed my head with one before. Just a thought.
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Post by KaOsBlaKbLaDe on Mar 12, 2013 17:17:09 GMT
I wondered how long it would take someone to bring up the pommel. All i'll say is that i've never stuffed myself with a 14" tsuka yet, so i'm not at all worried. Besides, that point is nothing if you've seen my motorcycle
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Post by Lonely Wolf Forge on Mar 12, 2013 17:18:57 GMT
hehehe
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Post by LastGodslayer on Mar 12, 2013 23:08:24 GMT
Really cool design. Half of a leafblade turned into some sort of exotic falchion. The tang will be hard to make and the spike pommel might have to be left unhardened. I imagine it with brass and something like aged sandalwood. Would smell nice too!
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Post by ShortbowShinnon on Mar 13, 2013 1:28:17 GMT
Oh man, that's really sweet looking. I can't say I'm hardcore pen-and-paper D&D, but Neverwinter Nights (2000) was one of my favorite games growing up. As ways Baldur's Gate and Icewindale. I have to say, that sword fits the bill pretty well for what I'd imagine a Dark Elf would carry around. A flamberge longsword with wicked acid dripping off the tip, perhaps? Be sure to take lots of pictures of the resulting physical object so I can be jealous of it!
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Post by KaOsBlaKbLaDe on Mar 13, 2013 12:15:25 GMT
As it stands now, the blade has already been started. As far as the tang goes, it's straight as an arrow and the centerline of the blade runs straight through to the tip. I wanted to give the impression of a curved blade without actually having a curved blade. The pommel and guard will be "bonsai" peened and welded due to the shape of the pommel which killed the possibility of a peened/compressed grip. Since the guard and pommel will be fixed without the grip scales, this will allow me to slim the grips more than what you normally would without sacrificing any hilt strength. This is one that i'm having done simply because I WANT IT, and will cut a few bottles and such at first, but will primarily adorn the wall when not being worn around the house while i play dress-up . We're guessing a weight somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 pounds, but if we can make it lighter, we will for sure. Ideally i'd like to see 3.5 and i'd be a happy camper. I don't mind a little extra weight if we manage to get the POB at the guard, but i guess that's part of the fun of waiting. In the meantime, i've collected the leather i need for the scabbard, but i'm drawing a serious blank as to how to decorate the scabbard. I want to avoid the "current" or predominant elvish decorations in lieu of something dark, evil, necrotid etc. I may try to work in some alligator pieces quilted together or something like that , but i am honestly at a loss. I'm sure it will be easier once i have the blade in hand, but i like to have this kind of stuff all planned in advance so i can get busy as soon as its done. I'm all for hearing any ideas you guys might have, cause i'm comin up empty.
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Post by KaOsBlaKbLaDe on Mar 13, 2013 12:30:01 GMT
Well, honestly im not a hard core D&D guy either, haven't played in more than 20 years. I have had very few chances to play any fantasy games, but still have my MTG card collection, a few of the choose your own adventure books and some other silly stuff like that as a reminder of my childhood. I still get a chance to play games like skyrim and fable, but it's been forever since i played BG. I only went with this design, cause it's the first design that , in my imagination, was more than just a drawing. I must have gone through more than thirty renditions as a kid until i found the shape that suited me. The blade will be left blackened from the forge, and i may cold blue some "acid" spattering after the fact, but my wraith sword from Brenno already has that effect, so i may skip it.
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Post by MOK on Mar 13, 2013 13:46:56 GMT
One thing that immediately comes to my mind is that if you're going to be carrying it around the house, you'll seriously want to make a small sheath for the pommel spike, as well, with a toggle around the "neck" of the spike to keep it in place. And I'd keep it on when handling the sword, too.
We're not just being fretful modern pansies here, either! Historical treatises that feature them (and there are surprisingly many) consistently agree that spiked pommels and guards are for armoured combat only. I'm sure you can imagine how waving a sharp object around your middle regions only has to go very slightly wrong for you to be dead, or most grievously maimed and wanting to be dead... :shock:
For the scabbard, how about a snakeskin wrap and a throat in the form of a serpent head, so you kind of pull the sword out of its mouth? Maybe a chape like a rattlesnake's rattler, too...
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Post by KaOsBlaKbLaDe on Mar 13, 2013 15:04:18 GMT
Mikko, i think i like the idea of a small sheath for the pommel spike. Although i'm not overly concerned about the pommel, i do wish to avoid skewering my giblets if i can, so i think i'll look into that for sure. I'm not really a fan of snakeskin for this one, as it seems too cliche'. I know the blackened finish will contribute to the "devious" look of the blade, but without a little something extra, the scabbard so far is pretty,......meh. I will be making a blackened/hammered chape, throat and locket to be engraved, but i really think i need to have the sword in hand to best determine what i wanna see on the scabbard. I even thought of adding some progressively sized teeth of some sort or another down the spine of the scabbard, or even some sort of hair-on hide, but haven't found anything i like yet. The last thing i wanna do is make the scabbard look like i hunted down a cow for his skin!! The other thing is trying to keep costs manageable. After having the sword and matching dagger made, sourcing leather,wood,shearling etc. funds are at about the max.
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Post by MOK on Mar 13, 2013 15:25:55 GMT
Hell, dark elves are cliché to begin with. How about a bare wood scabbard matching the grip? You could carve it, maybe continuing the engravings on the throat and chape onto the wood core. Alligator skin could also be cool - you could use the softer leather from the belly for a grip wrap and the armored back for the scabbard cover, or something.
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Post by KaOsBlaKbLaDe on Mar 13, 2013 15:49:41 GMT
Touche', i guess maybe they are a teensy bit cliche' too I'd love to do a natural wood scabbard, but given my affinity for exotics, that usually winds up being a very expensive option. I'm currently saving some coin to have Ernie whip me up a solid Gabon Ebony scabbard for my Fable wraith, and the ebony for the scabbard alone was over 150.00. I have another project in the works that uses flame red elder for the grip, and yet another scabbard/grip of american holly. I actually want to do some leather carving on this one, as it's been a long time since i've done any of that, and i recently found all my leather tools. I've been hoarding a ton of stuff for a couple of years now, and once i get moved into a new house, i'll have projects to keep me outta the bars for a couple of months anyway. You have got me thinking about doing a 2tone with carved leather and some exposed wood, kinda like the Orcrist scabbard in the hobbit. I'll start playing with some ideas,.......good call MOK. If you're bored and feel like making a design or 2, i'll always be happy to see your ideas.
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