Here, finally, is one that I've been working on for the past few months.
I was inspired by a Lord of the Rings thread on the bladesmithing forum I frequent. December. In it, David DelaGardelle from the Mad Dwarf Workshop posted this sketch.
I really liked the design and asked David if I could have his permission to use it. He said, go for it.
I wanted to create a pattern that was suggested some sort of mythical power. Since actually having it glow around Goblins was out, I opted for a high-density feathered W's pattern, with the "cut" going right along the spine of the blade. The idea was to have it look as if the sword was radiating mystic energy or something. You may remember I posted shots of the finished billet a while back in this thread.
At any rate, attached are photos of the finished blade. While I'm 90% pleased with the end state, it was a *frustrating* blade to assemble and build. Lots of problems with asymmetry, gaps, crooked fits, etc. that required hours of tedious work with small files and sandpaper. The really frustrating part was now that I have a milling machine--and realize what it can do in terms of squaring shoulders, getting sides parallel, etc.--I was thinking about how I could have avoided all these custom fits if I had just had the mill when I profiled the blade in the first place. Oh well, the next one will be easier I suppose.
Hope you like it. Here are the specs:
19.5" Blade.
28.5" OAL.
Brazilian Rosewood handle.
Brass spacers.
Blued damascus and mild steel fittings.
Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
Dave
