Dithmarschen Mjönir
Hroð-
Etsy back up.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NorseWest
After forever the forge is back in action. Trying to find a trip to Denmark/Germany. no customs just what is on here is available for now. Not back to knives yet. Hammer arm is a bit rusty yet.
Skål.
Hröð-
Anglo Saxon word of the day: acweorna
Anglo Saxon word of the day:
ācweorna (squirrel)
The first denotes “oak” the second element “weorna “ denotes squirrel.
Proto-West Germanic: *aikwernō
Old English: ācweorna
Middle English: acquerne
Old Frisian: *ēkworna, *ēkhorna
Saterland Frisian: *Eeker (in Kateeker ?)
West Frisian: iikhoarn, iikhoarntsje
Old Saxon: *ēkhorno
Middle Low German: êkhōrn, êkhōrne, eikhōrne, êkhorn, êkōrn, eikōrn, êkōrne, echhorne
⇒ Dutch Low Saxon: Eekhoorntje
German Low German: Ekkern
Westphalian:
Ravensbergisch: Aik, Aikern
Sauerländisch: Ēksken, Aikerte
⇒ German Low German: Eekhoorntje
Old Dutch: *ēcorno
Middle Dutch: êencōren
Dutch: eekhoorn
Old High German: eihhorno, eihhurno
Middle High German: eichurne
Alemannic German: Eichhore
German: Eichhorn
⇒ German: Eichhörnchen
⇒ Hunsrik: Eichhernche
Old Norse: íkorni
Icelandic: íkorni
Faroese: íkorni
Norwegian:
Norwegian Bokmål: ekorn
Norwegian Nynorsk: ekorn, ikorn
Old Swedish: ēkorne, īkorne
Swedish: ekorre, (dialectal) ikorn
Old Danish: īkærnæ
Danish: egern
Westrobothnian: ickȯrn, ikårn, ikkårn
Elfdalian: aikuonn
Jamtish: íkuðn
Gutnish: eikånn
Scanian: igarne
Bonus:
maniġfeald (manifold, many fold, of many parts)
Old English: maniġfeald, mæniġfeald
Middle English: manifald, monifald, manyfold, manifold
English: manifold, manyfold
Old Frisian: manichfald
Old Saxon: managfald
Old Dutch: *manigfald
Middle Dutch: menichvout
Dutch: menigvoud, menigvoudig
Old High German: manicfalt, manicfaltīg
Middle High German: manecvalt, manecvaltec
German: mannigfaltig
Old Norse: margfaldr
Icelandic: margfaldur
Norwegian: mangfoldig
Old Swedish: mangfalder
Swedish: mångfald, mångfaldig
Danish: mangefold
Gutnish: manggfaldur
Gothic: 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌲𐍆𐌰𐌻𐌸𐍃 (managfalþs)
Hröð-
Žaltys of Saule
Large Snake charm inspired by Žaltys of Saule. The Grass snake in Baltic mythology is a sacred animal of the Sun Goddess Saule. Forged iron.
Hroðbeorht-
Alpendahl Forge.
First strike 2020
Hammer strike that is.
First forging since 2018. This amulet is inspired by a variety of sources, Primarily Hallstatt style spiral brooches but also Bronze age Axe cultures across Central and North Eastern Europe. The Axe could represent any of the Axe wielding Thunder Gods from Perkuns, þunar or Perun.
Forged Iron.
Hroðberht-
Summer Selections! lots of made to order designs ready to go!
I have the largest selection of made to order items yet and tons of in stock items! Please check out my Ebay and Etsy.com for the new items including some items on Ebay not available on Etsy.
http://myworld.ebay.com/bertoviking
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NorseWest
New Creations April 2013 (Gallery) Jewelry and Knives.
Detailed obscure Celtic amulet etched into 24 gauge brass.
Scandi edge riveted 1080 modern Viking knife.
Germanic -Anglo Saxon eagle etched in brass.
New smaller iron Mjollnir design.
Not metal but an antler Mjollnir!
Bronze Athame or Witches dagger.
1080 Scandi edge (utility) with stag handled.
Arm and Neck rings in Nordic bronze style.
A good variety of projects!
Hrodberht-
Iron: Maximum Hardness For Weaponry (1018) (Low Carb Steel) BULLET POINTS.
What We know:(1018)(Low Carbon)
If you heat iron and quench in water it will get a bit harder.
Quench in oil it will get harder.
Hammer while cold it will get even harder like copper/brass/bronze.
Forge in coal for long enough in the right circumstance you can carburize/surface harden.
Coal forging can help maintain carbon content.
What actually happens: Quenching.
Carbon molecules get trapped inside iron molecule formations causing a hardening effect. Less carbon=less effective.
What actually happens: Cold hammer hardening.
The crystal structure in the steel is forced to deform causing hardening effects.
BEST WAY TO GET MAXIMUM RIGIDITY AND HARDNESS:
All the above methods are true and work to some extent, but if you find your self in the Zombie apocalypse as has been a hilarious and enjoyable topic as of late then you may need some on the fly Macgyver skills in weapon creation.
Take you bar stock or junk steel: flat,square or round (Round/Square may yield better results than flat)
Hammer the steel flat or lengthen the flat by hammering on edge then on flat side (Were deforming crystals)
Continue to work the steel while hot and create as much of the blades form while hot (Edges, point, handle)
Once done with you shape use your Ball-Peen (Round side) to pit the flat body of the blade while hot. Do both sides thoroughly.
OK NOW STOP!!!!!!!!Do not quench!!:
You have through the above process changed the crystal structure of the iron by deforming it while hot. Allow to cool naturally until it is able to be handled.
It should be extremely hard if not impossible to bend at this point by hand. Keep thickness at around the thickness of “2 quarters”.
Place cold steel on anvil and begin using the round end of your Ball-Peen on the cutting edge and main body.
As you hammer, the steel will continue to harden.
Straighten blade by hammering.
The blade will now be at maximum hardness and rigidity. If your edge is uneven simply grind/stone to desired level.
The result is now much harder, and more durable than quenching because the interior structure is effected more than when quenching in liquide.
This is now a primitive but formidable weapon with high durability. I had read some similar info a long time ago but I have always used this kind of material for ornamental purpose, after a week of forging a Athame and the quench actually softened the thin steel, I realized I had actually undone the hardening that occurred while hammering. This in my opinion is the best way to finish anything ornamental or otherwise when using a low carbon steel. The end result also looks beautiful! A good technique to remember when crafting an on the spot tool as well. Again nothing will ever make this as good as HC steel but this material continues to be the most fun to test and experiment with. Again not my own original concept I but it has been enjoyable testing it and coming upon it again in a way by accident. Good knowledge to have.
Final Note:
Know what you have and how it works!
Blade (hot hardened) and then cold hammer hardened (No Quench). Will not bend or budge.
H-
Weld Gallery/Explanation.
The blade above is as described in my last post, the very first really solid forge welded blade I have done. Please refer to the last post regarding the change in techniques I made. As you can see, some pattern is starting to show after acid cleaning. The circled area is where the fold was and did not weld correctly. If I would have continued to fold this would have solved itself but it was more an experiment on proper technique. This material is just stock 1018 for practicing the welds. I used borax as the flux. Strength was increased greatly after folding for a low hardness steel. Forged in very high carbon content coal fire.
Reverse side.
Another good clear shot of the folding points. These issues solve themselves throughout longer welding projects however this was consistently folded without issue and welded in a coal forge which I am very proud of, I built the forge and it works very well for this process as it reaches steel melting temps easily. Next project is doing Swedish lamination. Surrounding 1080 with 1018 for max edge hardness and max spine durability.
Till next time!
Hroðberht-
Gallery November 2012 and Exciting new skills
More new images will be posted soon. In the mean time I will talk about my recent success with forge welding carbon steel in a coal forge. After many attempts with no success or unpredictable success I decided the other night to try 2 basic techniques and just see what happened. On the advice of a German smith I setup a miniature anvil right next to the fire so almost no distance existed between heating and hammering. Normally a distance of about 5 feet . The next thing was to change my attitude toward the process. I simply relaxed and worked gently and slowly instead of working fast and trying to get the welds done before the heat lowered.
Process so far:
I took a piece of general 1018 1″ x 1/8 stock and began heating it on my forge until orange and wire brushed it between heats.
I started using borax at the beginning before folding.
Bent the steel on to itself 1 time.
Fluxed and heated to Yellow/orange working it very gently on the anvil.
Heat and hammer gently morphing the two pieces together.
Tap flat-tap on sides.
Fluxing between each heat.
Wire brushing before hammering.
And as easy as if I had done it my whole life the first 2 layers were nicely welded together into a solid piece. After this I folded it one more time making a total of 3 layers and slowly gently tapped it until it fully welded using the same process over and over again. The difference is patience, distance between fire and anvil and the smooth gentle hammering. Now that I have at least repeated work I can begin working toward doing Swedish laminated steel which is putting a piece of HC steel between LC steel to create a perfectly alloyed tool with strong durable spine and hard HC edge. I greatly look forward to these experiments.
A pattern in the 3 layer blade appeared after I acid etched it, it is very interesting to see how the carbon got distributed. the strength of the blade when quenched increased amazingly from its original form but many mistakes also showed in cracked or partial welds. I kept the piece as a reference and will post photos soon. A good reminder of what needs to be corrected.
NEW ITEMS IN SHOP NOW!!!!!!
Until the next post.
Hroðberht-
Oktober
Oktober is in Nordic culture (Winterfyllith) The beginning of winter on the 31st. Happy Samhain as well. Very important month for us Barbarian people =)
H-
1018 The how and why of the most commonly found steel. MODERN IRON
This material seems to receive the most interest and curiosity of any metal for up start Blacksmiths/Knife makers and for a very good reason! It’s cheap and really easy to get at any hardware store or scrap pile. I have basically explained how and when to use this material for blades (In my opinion) but I decided to get a bit deeper into the actual details with a post solely about this material.
Modern Iron-The Tech:
In ancient times iron weapons were very low carbon forged “Coal Iron” blades that were hammer hardened instead of quenching. These blade had enough carbon to quench but the technique of hammer hardening was still popular from the bronze age materials. Essentially 1018 is the modern equal to this primitive iron in many ways. The carbon content is a reliable 0.18% and reacts to ancient iron techniques in a positive way but in reality is far superior to its ancient ancestor. It is durable, does not crack while forging, welds easily, hardens by water quenching, is easy to mill and does not require tempering.
So the big question is can I make a knife from it?:
YES AND NO:
Yes you can make an prmitive iron knife from 1018 that is stronger, sharper and holds a better edge than a alot of bronze age knives. Yes You could even make a formidable primitive sword that would do great damage and be dangerous but the edge retention would be very low and bending during battle plagues longer pieces like a sword blade then and now.
No you cannot make a modern utility knife from 1018 as the edge retention is too low.
The problem with 1018 as a blade steel is that the carbon content will cause it to harden but it in thin pieces can only achieve 42RC. The average knife is 52RC or higher. When forging a flat piece you may achieve higher carbon through the process of case hardening as the steel absorbs more carbon as it heats at high temperature but using this technique is only so successful. After quenching 1018 it will harden and be tough to bend and grind in your shop, the durability is extremely high which is a net positive in most uses.
So this the data available from me regarding this type if steel but I say use it for Athame and ceremonial pieces because it, in its own right has good features with durability and ease of forging for decorative and symbolic work. Iron is in fact a sacred metal in Norse culture and believed to ward off evil.
Hope this helps better explain 1018 because I know how it’s availability makes it very tempting to the beginning Smith.
GALLERY:
The above gallery are all 1018 creations and were very enjoyable to make. The French nail is actually historically accurate because French soldiers often fashioned them from mild steel L bolts.
H-
Scandi Edge Jig THE MIRACLE TOOL
First off before get into explaining this item the original place I saw it was http://www.youtube.com/user/captjeff78/videos and from a few other concepts of static knife edging jigs used in professional factories. I am not associated with Captjeff78 personally but he deserves credit for this great design and honestly the difference maker in my knives going forward. Youtube and many of these great knife video makers are adding valuable if not invaluable hands on info to the greater amateur knife making community so thank you to everyone in the education field regarding Blacksmith and knife making based information. I myself run this blog to help anyone who may be going through the head scratching parts of making knives and doing forge work.
Now onto the Visbjorn Scandi Edge jig!
Forgive the bad graphics but this item is rude, crude and ready to use!
The jig above I use to make Scandinavian Edge style knives to great effect! I can make the same knife with any depth of hollow ground I want and they are basically ready to use right off the sander. I use 80 grit to remove material and 120 to finish my knife edge. I leave the steel at factory finish to creat a more earthy realistic feel that I prefer. I then 3500 RPM wire brush after all heat treating. Sometimes it is nice to hit the master bevel one more time to brighten it up after heat treating. I use a Ryobi 4″-36″ belt sander and generic 1″ by 30″ sander.I prefer using fresh factory made 1075/1080 High carbon steel. Please refer to my Trade off steel post for more info on how to get 1080 and other alloys.
As the graphics show, it is rather self explaining how to make and use this item. Simply creating a secure static for the knife to sit on and move it slowly but firmly across the belt until the desired edge is created. I modified mine to be more adjustable and use the large clamp as a handle which can be a pain but creates a more flexible tool if holes are not desired on your tang. I typically mount in antler so I use a Scandinavian tang shape.
Examples of blades made on my jig:
A finale note I would like to share regarding this jig concept is the profound effect it has made on my freehand knife making. It has steadied my hand and given the proper example of thorough steady grinding required to make a nice functional knife. Now when a roughly forged blades is needing an edge but does not fit on the jig I can easily achieve a nice uniform convex/scandi edge with great success>
Example:
I hope this will help on the road to better knife making, it has helped me greatly in my own progress and has redefined my art form in many ways.
Cheers!
H-
Knives And Jewelry Gallery 2012
Jewelry and Athame in 2012.
HC Rebar 40 Grade. Polish/natural finish.
Mjollnir Amulet. Upcycled steel with SP ring.
HC Railroad Spike Knife
Norse Serpent
Forged Mjollnir With Loop.
Coin Silver Mjollnir with Solid 925 Ring.
These are just a few of the items being produced in my fire between late 2011-2012. Hope you enjoyed the gallry.
H-
Norse West Shop. Tons of New items!
Spring Steel Heating Color Guide For Knife Making
This will be a short but important post. Above is a piece of heated spring steel showing the color needed to do different things. Sometimes having a true to life visual reference is the best way to get a feel for a certain technique or process. I hope this helps all the people just now jumping into the world of knife-making. The red color in my experience gets the most hardening but you can also quench at orange with good results.
Cheers
Working with Larger scale blade: Bullet points and Explanation.
Forging a larger blade 14″-30″ can be very frustrating to do because of the time and consistency of the heating required to shape or heat for quenching. This post will address these 2 issues. First take a close look at the two photo’s above. you notice that the brick box is fitted with a drilled copper pipe, this is your air source and will allow you to create enough heat to do your work. I built this forge for the purpose of quenching a 24 inch Seax blade so I drilled the holes very small along to the pipe. This allows me to add just enough heat to get to red without worrying about burning the steel. Adjust the drilled hole size based on what you are doing. If you are forging then add larger holes for more air. I use old bricks because they retain a great amount of heat and are easy to get. I use briquettes because they can burn hot enough to melt steel or can be heated and maintained just to heat to red as I have done here. In the fire is briquettes and a mixture of hardwoods and ever green limbs. This setup can be built anywhere and works very well, if you shorten this exact design it makes a perfect small blade forge.
Step by Step:
Build forge.
Lay your drilled pipe and attach to air supply.
Lay coal around pipe.
Lay blade on top of coals (briquettes)
Add another layer of coal.
Add a layer of wood and light fire.
Allow fire to gain strength before turning air supply on.
When fire is ready turn on air and allow heat to build in the forge.
Heat steel to noticeable red color.
Remove and quench.
1040 and lower quench in water.
1050 and higher quench in oil.
Hope this gives an idea of how to tackle larger projects.
H-
Cold Chiseling Runes Gallery
- Katala spelled in Elder Futhark. Chiseled pre hardening.
Athame: A tool used by a Witch, Sorcerer or Shaman for various energy practices and rituals. Done in Nordic style with chiseled Runic marks.
Recycled Wrought Iron with Visigothic influence. ATHAME.
Wrought Iron Athame with Chiseled Runes.
Wrought Iron Athame with Antler handle.
Recycled Steel: Wroughr iron Athame with brushed finish.Cold chiseled Runes. Heat Steel to orange and allow to cool fully for best result.
Hand stamped Runic engraving. (Cold chiseled in to steel while still soft)
The Call Of Steel 