In Progress - 15th C Scabbard & Hilt Work (lots of pics)

Strongbow · Post by **Strongbow** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 7:41 pm

That's looking AWESOME. What weight leather do you wrap the core with?

Aaron Schnatterly · Post by **Aaron Schnatterly** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 7:45 pm

Strongbow wrote:That's looking AWESOME.

Thanks, brother! It will be something wicked when it's all done... a nice compliment to the rest of Chef's kit, I hope.

Strongbow wrote:What weight leather do you wrap the core with?

The leather I used here was some 1.5 oz veg-tanned kip. It takes tooling really well, burnishes nicely, and does mold around things like the riser and wing wonderfully. I love the stuff.

Cedri · Post by **Cedri** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:20 pm

Looking good, looking good!! Aaron what thickness (oz) and type of leather do you use with the wood cores? Is this stretched over
core then stitched for form a tight seam? Chef are you excited yet!! LOL

Cedri · Post by **Cedri** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:21 pm

never mind on the leather wt :-)

Posted answer while i was typin!!

chef de chambre · Post by **chef de chambre** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:51 pm

Of course I'm excited! I wished I had it at the filming we did tonight at the Higgins. C'est la Vie. I had to use a loaner Lutel to stab someone through the occularum, and it just didn't feel right...

RenJunkie · Post by **RenJunkie** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 9:24 pm

That is friggin gorgeous.

Did you get the wood pre-laminated, or did you take nearly invisible layers and laminate them yourself?

Christopher

Aaron Schnatterly · Post by **Aaron Schnatterly** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 12:11 pm

Cedri wrote:Looking good, looking good!! Aaron what thickness (oz) and type of leather do you use with the wood cores? Is this stretched over
core then stitched for form a tight seam?

Crossing posts happens... but I didn't answer your whole question. It is 1.5 oz veg-tanned kip. Fantastic stuff. I do measure and cut the leather, and then sew it up the back to pull it snug. Wetting and drying does help get things to form properly... There is more than one right way to do this stuff...

Aaron Schnatterly · Post by **Aaron Schnatterly** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 12:16 pm

RenJunkie wrote:That is friggin gorgeous.

Thanks.

RenJunkie wrote:Did you get the wood pre-laminated, or did you take nearly invisible layers and laminate them yourself?

I laminated layers. If not, it would be flat, and not blade-shaped.

Joking aside, this is why the core is as stable and strong, as well as form-fitting. It is effectively custom-tailored.

RenJunkie · Post by **RenJunkie** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:44 am

So, you didn't just take sides (like welts) that were thinner than the thickness of the blade, and then bend the top and bottom of the core to meet them?

Damn, I gotta go find the articles on myarmoury.

Christopher

Aaron Schnatterly · Post by **Aaron Schnatterly** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:13 pm

Earlier in this discussion, there were questions about how thick/thin the core is...

Sorry the photo is a bit blurry (best one of a dozen or so... crazy auto-focus). The top edge of the scabbard core is right on the 2" mark, and you can make out the 3" mark near the bottom of the photo - other side of the ruler is in centmeters...

Chris - GSMBristol · Post by **Chris - GSMBristol** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:44 pm

Show off.

Once I figure out how I'm going to come up with the $11k for my foundation work I promise I'll swing out and help out around the shop some. Absolutely great work again Aaron. Looks like another spot on capture of soldier equipment.

Aaron Schnatterly · Post by **Aaron Schnatterly** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 8:13 am

Ugh, Chris... $11k? :shock:

Not cool. Let me know if I can help... winning lottery ticket isn't probable...

I'll have a new installment here today... with a bit more of the mental process as well as further process pics.

Fire Stryker · Post by **Fire Stryker** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:05 am

Hey Aaron, I just got word that my sword is almost finished. :twisted:

We need to start kicking around ideas.

I'll put Bob to work on the Netherland/German designs.

Aaron Schnatterly · Post by **Aaron Schnatterly** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:09 am

Outstanding! Never too soon to start with ideas...

Aaron Schnatterly · Post by **Aaron Schnatterly** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:16 am

Well... now that the scabbard itself is technically built, it's time to dress it up a bit.

As mentioned before, Chef gave me pretty much total design privilege for this project. I wanted to do something elegant, but not over-done. The piece should have lots of distinct elements of interest, but none individually should overrun the rest. I wanted a piece "at peace" in it's design, if that makes any sense, without loud, gaudy baubles or things out of harmony or disruptive to the aesthetic. It should clearly belong to a Gentleman. I wanted it to entice from a distance, and continue to please as one approached. Ultimately, I wanted it to seduce... We'll see if it is possible to get there.

The pretty bits started early, with the wing riser and the central riser. No... before that... with the silhouette. We've seen these elements develop already. The bold red color and sleek silhouette grabs your attention from a long ways off. A little closer, and the wing riser and central riser emerge... a bit more interesting. So what happens when you get a little closer yet?

Tooling.

Ok, so the target idea is elegant, not overdone... Given the elements already in place, we have 5 panels - the space above and below the lower cinch on either side of the central riser, and the space above the wing riser. This suggests complimentary designs above and below the cinch, and mirrored ones on either side of the central riser. The panel above the wing is it's own space...

Two ideas came to mind that seemed to fit without overdoing things. First was a roped edge, and the second was a simple geometric border. I did a sample tooling run on some scrap, and then traced parts out in sharpie to make them clear.

Chef preferred the geometric border... right choice?

I think so... from 20 or 30 feet the tooling starts to emerge. A little closer, and the edging does stand out.

The top section is still a blank canvas... I think I'll leave it for a finishing touch - some new inspiration may come up.

Metal bits are next... Dan (the jeweler) and I are working on waxes to be cast in silver. Yeah... silver. :shock:

Chef's going to extremes on this one, and it should really pay off.

This is literally where things are at the moment. As things progress, we'll post more photos.

Fire Stryker · Post by **Fire Stryker** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 12:54 pm

Side note: Bob asked if you received the rondel.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton · Post by **Oswyn_de_Wulferton** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:02 pm

Are the finger gauntlets in the background going to Chef as well?

Did you just cut the tooling design, or is there a height difference in the leather from tooling?

Fire Stryker · Post by **Fire Stryker** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:11 pm

Nope, the gauntlets don't belong to Chef.

Aaron Schnatterly · Post by **Aaron Schnatterly** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:17 pm

Fire Stryker wrote:Side note: Bob asked if you received the rondel.

About 2 minutes ago, sure did! Cool things came to mind immediately, too... He'll understand. :wink:

Aaron Schnatterly · Post by **Aaron Schnatterly** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:32 pm

Oswyn_de_Wulferton wrote:Are the finger gauntlets in the background going to Chef as well?

I'm playing with 3 different gauntlet patterns - one from Wisby, one off of Doug's hourglass pattern, and one a simplistic Gothic design. They're primarily for exercises in metal forming and patterning, but if anything turns out, they should be nice low-profile ones for WMA with rebated steel. They just happened to be on my bench when I took the pics...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton wrote:Did you just cut the tooling design, or is there a height difference in the leather from tooling?

Given the tooling is simply lines without any fields of tooling (like in Cat's recent projects), the technique is really straight-forward. I did just score the leather, then ran the fine edge of my bone knife down the slit to make a bevel. The dots were put in with a stylus - just wet the ball end, and press in.

There are other ways of doing the same thing, for sure... but this one worked nicely here.

Hopefully that helped...

audax · Post by **audax** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 8:27 pm

Lord that is looking amazing.

Wait'll ya'll see what I'm gonna do with an old sword of mine. Aaron has put all kinds of crazy ideas in my head.

Alcyoneus · Post by **Alcyoneus** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:56 am

No rainguard?

Aaron Schnatterly · Post by **Aaron Schnatterly** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:14 am

audax wrote:Lord that is looking amazing.

Wait'll ya'll see what I'm gonna do with an old sword of mine. Aaron has put all kinds of crazy ideas in my head.

Thanks!

I'm definitely looking forward to your project! Glad I've been able to help get the creative juices flowing.

Disclaimer: I don't claim responsibility for those voices though... those were already there.

Aaron Schnatterly · Post by **Aaron Schnatterly** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:16 am

Alcyoneus wrote:No rainguard?

Like this one (on the Albion Svante)?

We talked about it, and opted not to. We see them a lot in German sources, but not as often in English, which Chef is portraying.

audax · Post by **audax** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:08 pm

Aaron Schnatterly wrote:
audax wrote:Lord that is looking amazing.

Wait'll ya'll see what I'm gonna do with an old sword of mine. Aaron has put all kinds of crazy ideas in my head.

Thanks!

I'm definitely looking forward to your project! Glad I've been able to help get the creative juices flowing.

Disclaimer: I don't claim responsibility for those voices though... those were already there.

You're one of the few people the Voices actually like. :wink:

chef de chambre · Post by **chef de chambre** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:12 pm

Englishman in Burgundian service, just to clarify. Most of my archers in my lances are English portrayals, with a stray German, and a stray Hainaulter.

Aaron Schnatterly · Post by **Aaron Schnatterly** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:49 pm

chef de chambre wrote:Englishman in Burgundian service, just to clarify. Most of my archers in my lances are English portrayals, with a stray German, and a stray Hainaulter.

... and if it were logistically possible, I'd be seriously inquiring if you'd like a second German in your "employ". Someday, I definitely need to make it out that way, just to catch up with you and your whole crew. Shan-Aan's all hyped up about the idea, too, when it's possible and responsible for us to do so.

audax wrote:You're one of the few people the Voices actually like.

That's a good thing - of that, I have no doubt.

chef de chambre · Post by **chef de chambre** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:32 pm

Sure Aaron! The more the merrier!

chef de chambre · Post by **chef de chambre** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:36 am

Jenn says if you ever come out this way, and I agree, you can stay with us. We have plenty of room.

MJBlazek · Post by **MJBlazek** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:43 am

chef de chambre wrote:Jenn says if you ever come out this way, and I agree, you can stay with us. We have plenty of room.

Aaron, You should, I would even make a day trip down to NH from Maine to meet you, and Chef to of course.... if it was alright with him.

chef de chambre · Post by **chef de chambre** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:47 am

Sure! Why wouldn't it be?

MJBlazek · Post by **MJBlazek** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 12:30 pm

chef de chambre wrote:Sure! Why wouldn't it be?

I am not one who is comfortable inviting myself to things, I like to make sure it's ok with everybody!

Aaron Schnatterly · Post by **Aaron Schnatterly** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 3:06 pm

I'm not sure when, but getting together would be a blast. Seriously on my radar...

Aaron Schnatterly · Post by **Aaron Schnatterly** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:24 pm

Well... it's been a little while since the last update on this project. I had to turn the reins over to Dan for him to get some other work done for us.

Early in the discussions I had with Chef regarding this project, it was clear to me that this sword has been his personal and preferred piece for a long time, and that there is a lot of sentiment and attachment with it. This is a special piece.

Here's the sword as it was...

Here's what Dan's been working on...

He replaced the "cross" with the Chef de Chambre's arms! The yellow parts are 14k gold, with the black and red being enamel.

Nice personalization, I think. :wink:

MJBlazek · Post by **MJBlazek** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:42 pm

That is FREAKING AWESOME!!

In Progress - 15th C Scabbard & Hilt Work (lots of pics)

Scabbard construction, part 3