Progress on my first sword

 And here it is. With a bit of help from Nick, I have come this far with my first sword, the "Sword Of The Muttental". I am not too glad with the proportions of the guard in relation to the blade and the pommel, but I have little time to correct this now. But as is, the tempering on the blade, tempered after the traditional European method is on the spot, resulting in a centre of percussion exactly on the second third of the overall length, with the balance point without the handle fitted at the end of the ricasso, some 20 cm from the guard. It has to be ready for testing on September the 6th. As is, it stands the British sabre test and the Zlatoust test of lateral strength and shows just a minor dent in the cutting area when slammed full tilt edge first into the anvil. The guard is hot-fitted. It is made from cold-worked mild steel to aid in shock distribution.

 The pommel, however, is a different matter. Still rectangular, and I guess I´ll leave it that way, it is made from a piece of steel I found in the woods. When we drove the hot-punch through, this is what happened. Ever seen anything like this? I have still something lying around, and I guess this will be used for my personal sword.

 As you can see, the blade length is more of a one-and-a half hand-sword  length than a two-handed sword. But the Scots wanted to keep it that way. The shape is inspired by a late medieval sword in the Royal Armoury Of Leeds and fantasy designs, but certainly will not get some goofy dragon handle;-). It was a bit difficult to get a continuous edge line with all the nicks and dents, and I have to work on that still. As is, it is a light-feeling and relatively stiff, but lively sword that still has a tiny bit of weight towards the tip so that it contributes to a dynamic style of combat. That will change a bit when a handle is fitted, but I´d like to keep this character, for those I made it for are more accustomed to an axe or stage combat swords.

Of course, there is no Fimbulmyrk post without a dose of superstition*ggg*... When I rode to the smithy, I saw a grey Egyptian cat sitting by the trail in the middle of nowhere. I said hello and was a bit surprised, for you do not see this species very often around these parts. They are rare and beautiful, and I greeted her with a smile. The real gooseflesh experience came when I had quenched the sword and held it high when some great bird-of prey circled three times just some 10-15 m above us. I was fitting the guard and pommel, and wanted to greet it, but it was already away.

Swordsmithing can be beautiful.;-).