Silk Road sword project
Oct 23, 2017 21:10:09 GMT
Post by lincoln on Oct 23, 2017 21:10:09 GMT
I'm finishing up my art degree with a sword (I'm so damn happy to be able to write that sentence). Back in February I bought a Windsteel Jian from Ronin Katana's S&D sale, with the intention of rehilting it as a project. Then the stars aligned and I was able to go back to college to finish up my last class (an advanced sculpture course), and I managed to talk my professor into letting me use the sword as my assignment for the semester. Now I want some opinions and input from my fellow sword geeks on what I have in mind! I'll be redoing everything but the blade itself.
I did some research on the Han Dynasty and its relations with the outside world, and learned that they are the ones who blazed the first legs of the Silk Road. My basic idea was that I wanted to blend several cultures together, because just recreating what the sword came with wasn't conceptual enough to satisfy the class requirements. So, I decided to have the sword travel along the Silk Road over the course of a millennia or so, and to reflect that journey in the hilt, scabbard, and sword belt. As we know, most old sword blades would have been rehilted to suit the newest owner's tastes, so the hilt will have to be the youngest part. Given that we are talking roughly 138 BC (when Han explorer Zhang Qian left China for Central Asia, but the blade could be a bit older) to around 1000 AD, that gives us a ballpark timeline to make cool stories. I wanted the sword to have completed its journey from one end of the Silk Road to the other by then (let's say from China to the Byzantine Empire), so let's look at the baddest warriors in Byzantium at the turn of the millennium, the Varangian Guard. Yes, this is pretty much an excuse to put a Viking guard and pommel on a Han jian blade.
Guard and pommel are a Petersen type Z, and will be cast in bronze shortly. If the test pieces work out I'll inlay them with silver wire, a la Patrick Barta and Robert Moc. If not, I'll carve some knot work relief into the surfaces instead. Any ideas on patina? With fine silver wire inlaid into the bronze, we should get some really nice contrast. The grip will be left long, as I don't want to modify the tang at all. Right now I can't decide if I want to wrapt the grip in leather, or use a nice hardwood and leave it bare.
So, now we have the beginning (Han blade), and the end (Viking hilt). What do we do with the scabbard and the belt? I'm much more flexible here, since I haven't started these parts! I'm almost done carving the waxes for the guard and hilt, so those are effectively set in stone... Does anyone have suggestions for cultures/motifs for the belt and scabbard? I'd like to do different cultures for each. Initial thoughts for the belt is to make it Central Asian nomad, as some of those cultures designated military rank by how complex and richly decorated their belt mounts were. Another idea for that would be to rivet replica coins to the belt, like stamps on a passport. Maybe each owner added to the collection, as a kind of signature?
For the scabbard, I don't really have any fleshed out ideas. I was toying with an early Arab style, but I could really use some help here. My leather working skills are minimal so far, but I'm a quick learner and good with my hands. I've also been working metal and wood for 15 years now, and I have access to a fully equipped sculpture studio. In short, bring on the suggestions! Except stone carving; that stuff is witchcraft as far as I'm concerned.
What are the rules about linking to vendors, to show an example of the original sword?
Thank you all in advance!
I did some research on the Han Dynasty and its relations with the outside world, and learned that they are the ones who blazed the first legs of the Silk Road. My basic idea was that I wanted to blend several cultures together, because just recreating what the sword came with wasn't conceptual enough to satisfy the class requirements. So, I decided to have the sword travel along the Silk Road over the course of a millennia or so, and to reflect that journey in the hilt, scabbard, and sword belt. As we know, most old sword blades would have been rehilted to suit the newest owner's tastes, so the hilt will have to be the youngest part. Given that we are talking roughly 138 BC (when Han explorer Zhang Qian left China for Central Asia, but the blade could be a bit older) to around 1000 AD, that gives us a ballpark timeline to make cool stories. I wanted the sword to have completed its journey from one end of the Silk Road to the other by then (let's say from China to the Byzantine Empire), so let's look at the baddest warriors in Byzantium at the turn of the millennium, the Varangian Guard. Yes, this is pretty much an excuse to put a Viking guard and pommel on a Han jian blade.
Guard and pommel are a Petersen type Z, and will be cast in bronze shortly. If the test pieces work out I'll inlay them with silver wire, a la Patrick Barta and Robert Moc. If not, I'll carve some knot work relief into the surfaces instead. Any ideas on patina? With fine silver wire inlaid into the bronze, we should get some really nice contrast. The grip will be left long, as I don't want to modify the tang at all. Right now I can't decide if I want to wrapt the grip in leather, or use a nice hardwood and leave it bare.
So, now we have the beginning (Han blade), and the end (Viking hilt). What do we do with the scabbard and the belt? I'm much more flexible here, since I haven't started these parts! I'm almost done carving the waxes for the guard and hilt, so those are effectively set in stone... Does anyone have suggestions for cultures/motifs for the belt and scabbard? I'd like to do different cultures for each. Initial thoughts for the belt is to make it Central Asian nomad, as some of those cultures designated military rank by how complex and richly decorated their belt mounts were. Another idea for that would be to rivet replica coins to the belt, like stamps on a passport. Maybe each owner added to the collection, as a kind of signature?
For the scabbard, I don't really have any fleshed out ideas. I was toying with an early Arab style, but I could really use some help here. My leather working skills are minimal so far, but I'm a quick learner and good with my hands. I've also been working metal and wood for 15 years now, and I have access to a fully equipped sculpture studio. In short, bring on the suggestions! Except stone carving; that stuff is witchcraft as far as I'm concerned.
What are the rules about linking to vendors, to show an example of the original sword?
Thank you all in advance!