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Pugios and silver inlay - Caballo - 12-02-2005
How would I go about adding silver inlay to a pugio? The aim would be to reproduce an original design, in order to make it look more authentic.
Cheers
Britannicus
Re: Pugios and silver inlay - Matt Lukes - 12-04-2005
Ave Britannicus,
If you can post an image or a link to an image of the pugio design you want reproduce and one of the pugio you're starting with, perhaps I can make some suggestions as to how to go about it.
Matt
Re: Pugios and silver inlay - Caballo - 12-06-2005
Thanks- well, I'd be pretty happy if I could do something like this?
But how to even begin?
http://www.romanarmy.com/cms/index.php? ... ail&id=195
Cheers
Britannicus
Re: Pugios and silver inlay - Matt Lukes - 12-06-2005
Now did you actually mean inlaid silver plates or did you really mean silver inlay? I ask because 'Silver inlay' refers to silver being added into another material for decoration, but I see nothing like that on that scabbard. There are however silvered plates inlaid with niello or enamel. I'm not being picky- the answer to your question would be quite different depending on which it is. Silver inlay would be added as solid metal, either epoxy glued or soldered in place, or powdered silver could be melted in if the base metal's melting temperature is higher than the silver, whereas enamel/ niello or an epoxy paint alternative would simply be 'poured' in place and melted or just allowed to set in the case of epoxy.
The engraving portion of the process would be the same whatever the case- that would simply be done by hand either using a high-speed rotary tool with a flex shaft and various carbide burs (the type used by jewellers), or with a number of punches used to stamp the figures into the scabbard plate(s). It'd be advisable to make the engravings/ stampings deeper than you might first think to to allow the filling to be sufficiently solid and not pop out at the first little knock to the piece.
Once the engraving is done, enamel powder can be added and melted in place in a proper kiln or you can apply epoxy paint into all the grooves. Niello is one of the things that the Romans really used however it's not fun nor easy stuff to work- you have to be able to melt copper and since it contains lead and sulfur it's dangerous and thus requires a specialized setup to use safely.
What I would do is actually start with a brass plate- anneal it, draw the design out with a marker or trace it from a photocopy or something using carbon paper, engrave/ stamp it, pickle it to clean the surface, tin it with tinning flux then fill the engravings with epoxy paint. It'll look a lot like niello inlaid silver without the cost and difficulty of actually producing that. The paint can be applied to very small areas efficiently using a hypodermic syringe.
Is this the kind of info you're looking for? If I'm way off, please correct me and I'll start again :wink:
Matt
Silver inlay - Peroni - 12-06-2005
Paulus,
Take a look at the beautiful work by Erik Lechtl at Aurificina Treverica in Germany. (Under Roman empire/Waffen/Dolche)
http://www.replik-online.de
Erik uses jewellers chisels to etch the pattern out of the iron/steel plate and then hammers in the silver wire. The results are stunning.
Crispvs has a set of these chisels and is working on such a pugio plate. He may be able to give you some hints and tips!
Regards,
Re: Pugios and silver inlay - Caballo - 12-06-2005
They are stunning......how does he get the black effect, and how does he manage to hammer in the silver wire without damaging the surrounding metal? Look forward to Crispus' response as well- this is right up his street!
Regards,
Britannicus
Re: Pugios and silver inlay - Matt Lukes - 12-06-2005
Quote:how does he manage to hammer in the silver wire without damaging the surrounding metal?
Well if one just exercises care, doesn't hammer particularly hard, and uses a relatively light hammer that has a large flat face and rounded edges, it's not difficult to avoid marring the surface. It's also possible to polish out minor 'injuries' as well
Matt
Pugio inlays - Peroni - 12-07-2005
Paulus, the Black effect, is just the iron/steel plate. It's not blackened at all.
I guess the contrasting shiny silver could make it appear so!
Regards,
Re: Pugios and silver inlay - Matt Lukes - 12-07-2005
Indeed all one would have to do is oil-blacken the steel, then polish it- the low spots (i.e. in the engraved areas) would remain black. Even easier than using enamel or epoxy paint :lol: This would only work with steel though.
Matt
Re: Pugios and silver inlay - Martin Moser - 12-09-2005
Hi,
for a description of the technique see
Practical Goldsmith 12 Chasing and Inlay Work
[url:888vi1lx]http://www.gz-journal.de/en/books/books.cfm[/url]
The books of that series have their texts in both German AND English!
For gold/silver smith work you may want to I can recommend
[amazon]Basic Jewellery Making Techniques by Jinks McGrath[/amazon]
I did some silver inlay work on my reconstructions of medical needles, see that topic in this folder. I'll provide pictures as soon as I can.
FWIW, I know Eric Lechl personally and can recommend his pugios very highly.
cheers,
Martin
Silver inlay - Crispvs - 12-12-2005
Paulus,
Sorry for the delay in responding. Unless you have a very steady hand I would not recommend trying to use a rotary engraver to engrave lines on a pugio sheath, as many of the lines will be long and consequently very difficult to execute convincingly with the engraver. I have tried many times in the past to use a Dremel tool to engrave lines in metal and have rarely been able to produce a straight line anything over two inches in length, although I am sure there are people out there who could do much better. Acid etching has also been suggested to me but I have rarely seen acid etching which could successfully produce the consistent depth of engraved line needed for successful inlaying.
The best option therefore is to cut the lines with chisels, as was done by the Romans and as is done by Erik Leckl.
Make sure you use mild steel for your sheath plate (I am assuming that like me you will have been unable to obtain iron), rather than copper alloy. To the best of my knowledge the Leuwen sheath is the only copper alloy sheath known (apart from frame type sheaths of course) and this was not inlaid but decorated with applied pearled strips. This does not mean that there were no inlaid copper alloy sheaths - it just means we haven't found any yet (as far as I know).
I spent a good deal of time talking with Erik earlier this year about inlaying and he pointed out a number of useful things to me: firstly, he recommended using a small hammer to rapidly tap the chisel along, striking firmly but not too heavily.
Secondly (and obviously), different size chisels will be necessary for different thicknesses of line.
Thirdly, rather than cutting off pieces of wire which are cut to the length of the engraved trench, use a longer piece of wire which is progressively tapped in from one end of the trench to the other with a punch. When the other end is reached cut the wire with a chisel and flatten the end into the trench. This should ensure that there will be no small gaps at the ends of lines due to slight miscalculations of the necessary lengths of wire
Fourthly, cut the depth of the trench equal to two thirds of the thickness of the wire. If the trench is deeper than this the silver may not be properly compressed into the trench and may fall out. If the trench is not deep enough the silver may not get enough purchase on the iron/steel to stay in properly.
Fifthly, if silver strips (i.e. wider than wire) are to be inlaid, the sides of the trench need to be undercut to form a trapezial section, so that the silver can be compressed into this undercut space for better purchase (I believe that the two thirds rule still applies here).
Sixthly, I noticed that after inlaying two or three lines, Erik brushes over the newly inlaid area with a fine wire brush. I did not ask him about this but I assume he does this to ensure an even surface to the sheath plate.
Lastly, if an area is to be inlaid with enamel, the trenches should be cut the same way as for silver (or brass as an alternative if you are inlaying a type 'A' sheath).
As Peronis rightly states I do have a set of jeweller's chisels (technically known, I believe, as Swiss gravers), although I have not yet started to engrave my sheath plate. I am still practicing my technique on pieces of scrap metal so as not to cause irreparable damage to the sheath plate before I can engrave properly. I have not started practicing inlaying yet but I have spoken with staff at the School of Jewellery in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, who have recommended practicing with copper wire, as this is similar to silver in terms of softness and is, of course, much cheaper. They recommend not practicing with brass as it is not as soft as silver or copper and so would not compress in the same way when hammered into the engraved trench.
I bought four different sized gravers from Sutton tools in the Jewellery Quarter (numbers 6, 8, 12, 16) but I was unable to get a flat ended punch such as Erik was using. In the end I bought a normal centre punch and ground it down to what I think is the right shape. I will not know if what I have produced is suitable for the job until I start to practice with inlays. If you intend to buy gravers form Sutton tools they will set you back about £9 each and you will need to buy the handles separately (45p - £1.20 each depending on what shape you prefer).
I hope that helps a bit.
Crispvs
Re: Pugios and silver inlay - LUCIUS ALFENUS AVITIANUS - 12-12-2005
Well, the first pugio mentioned in that post was made by myself.
That's the way i have make it:
First of all, you must to try a real pugio sheat. I have tried one from Italy, from the Obmann's book:
J. Obmann, Studien zur römischen Dolchscheiden des 1. Jahrhunderts n.Chr. Archäologische Zeugnisse und bildliche Überlieferung, Kölner Studien zur Archäologie der römischen Provinzen Bd.4, Rahden 2000 ISBN 3-89646-132-X
Then you transfer the pattern to a metal plate. Copper alloy is easy to work, but sorry, it's not authentic. Ideal to use is unardened steel or better iron (soft iron?).
To transfer the pattern, first i have painted the metal plate in a white colour and then i paint the pattern in black using a autocopiative paper (i do'nt know what's the name in english)
Then with a pointed tool i do a little engraving.
The next step is do the engraving. Using jewellers tool it's the better option, but it's very slow and hard to do. Next pugio i will use that technic, but the pugio depicted in the photo was made by acid etching, using ferric chlorure :oops: .
Then, i make a little silvering of the surface, with heat and silver. Then you can make the coluring of the pattern. I make a compound to do the niello looking. (Sorry, it's no authentic niello...) :oops: . The original one was inverted: a silver inlay with a blackened sheat.
The black colour of the metal is maked putting some oil in the metal and then heating it. It's the same process used in the fire weapons. That colour is a controled oxidation of the surface.
That's the way i have made that pugio. Next time, i want to do the authentic procces, i promise.
Re: Pugios and silver inlay - Matt Lukes - 12-12-2005
Funny- I'd have said the exact same thing about using chisels as Crispvs said about the rotary tool. I've got the dexterity to use engraving burrs but found chisels and hand engraving VERY time-consuming, making straight lines was difficult and it was far too easy to slip and scratch the piece. Each their own I suppose. :wink:
Re: Pugios and silver inlay - Crispvs - 12-12-2005
Don't worry Matt,
Even Erik slips sometimes and he was able to show me a number of examples of actual Roman artifacts where the engraver had slipped and then simply gone back and started again. The same applies to punched decoration (have a close look at the Velson sheath).
Crispvs
Re: Pugios and silver inlay - Matt Lukes - 12-12-2005
Oh, I'm quite familiar with the 'defects' of original artifacts, and I'm a big proponent of 'imperfect' reproductions (little bugs me more than super-shiny perfect replicas) :wink: My dislike of the slip scratches was mainly because the process seems to require a fair amount of time so to slip riiiight at the end and mar the surface was REALLY frustrating :lol: So I recommended what I felt was the easiest for those without a great deal of experience or the time or inclination to gain it- but then it seems it can be seen the other way too. Maybe I should re-visit the chisels sometime- the more techniques one can use the better I say
This thread has actually gotten me interested in trying silver wire inlay- so thanks Brittanicus for asking the question!
Matt