RomanArmyTalk

Who does have a belt made by Erik Konig from treverica.de and could send me pictures of the front side (and eventually the back side too) of the buckle? These pictures can be posted in this topic but if desired, I can send my email by pb too. I am interested in article numbers: gm1, gm2, gm3, gm4, gm5, rmg8, rwg40, cingulum xanten, and gurtel ljubljana.

This way I hope to get a better view of the buckles so that I can decide which one I want to purchase.

Hi
You could always e-mail him.
I am sure he would help you.
Kevin

I`ve sent him several emails some time ago and he never replied one of them. As English is not my first language it`s difficult for me to call him and I don`t speak German at all. I`ve heard that it can take a (very) long time before he replies to emails too; (so I hope his waiting list is not too long.)

Quote:I`ve sent him several emails some time ago and he never replied one of them. As English is not my first language it`s difficult for me to call him and I don`t speak German at all. I`ve heard that it can take a (very) long time before he replies to emails too; (so I hope his waiting list is not too long.)

So why are you considering buying a belt from him then? There are many others here on RAT that make belts as good or better and will treat you with respect. I bought a belt from him a few years ago and he acted as though he was doing me a great favor. Unless you speak German, know him personally or are a museum representative I'd avoid the problems that will come from commissioning something as personal as a belt from him.

It`s not my aim to purchase an entire belt from him, but only a buckle (maybe two) with plate as spare part. I can make cast buckles too, but the point is that no one seems to make soldered buckles like the example in the attached document. As he is the only one who makes these soldered buckles, I think I have to put up with his customer service.

Quote:It`s not my aim to purchase an entire belt from him, but only a buckle (maybe two) with plate as spare part. I can make cast buckles too, but the point is that no one seems to make soldered buckles like the example in the attached document. As he is the only one who makes these soldered buckles, I think I have to put up with his customer service.

OK, I see now. Most of the really good belt component artisans out there like Holger Ratsdorf don't post every piece they have made so looking at their websites tells only half the story. He recently made me a set of tinned brass belt fittings that were excellent. Jeffrey Hildebrandt of Royal Oak Armoury can make anything out of metal, large or small, and your e-mails will not go ignored. If I were in no rush I'd contact Matt Lukes as he too posts little of his work online and can make anything you want in anyway you want, and he too will discuss your project in detail until you both are satisfied.

Question may be me being dumb, what is a soldered buckle?
Regards Brennivs :lol:

Quote:Question may be me being dumb, what is a soldered buckle?

Soldered buckles consist of separate parts that are soldered (or brazed) together. They are lighter than the common cast buckle and are often more elaborated. See the pictures attached to this post. You can see that some parts of the buckles like the scrolls are too thin to be cast as a whole. Therefore the individual parts must have been cast, then eventually hammerd and then brazed together.

Quote:OK, I see now. Most of the really good belt component artisans out there like Holger Ratsdorf don't post every piece they have made so looking at their websites tells only half the story. He recently made me a set of tinned brass belt fittings that were excellent. Jeffrey Hildebrandt of Royal Oak Armoury can make anything out of metal, large or small, and your e-mails will not go ignored. If I were in no rush I'd contact Matt Lukes as he too posts little of his work online and can make anything you want in anyway you want, and he too will discuss your project in detail until you both are satisfied.

I`ve contacted Matt Lukes and he told me that he stopped making soldered buckles as they broke too easily. I am going to purchase some cast buckles from him anyway as they are very nice.

Holger sells nice items, but sometimes I am not sure about the authenticity of certain items like nr 551 and 488 which seem his version of the soldered buckle. It seems that they are cast as a whole and the surface of the buckle loop is flat while the originals had a slope to it. Nevertheless I will send him and Jeffrey an email.

I`m still interested in pictures of Eriks`s work, as he`s the only one who makes soldered buckles for sure .

Arrrr more like brazed looking at them got it If you can make the components brazing them together it quite easy if can give me a week or so I could do a how too it will be :lol: much cheaper outlay simple tools and the thought you made it :lol: I do this type of work a lot

This what I made with this method drop me a line if I can help
Regards Brennivs :lol:

Quote:If you can make the components brazing them together it quite easy if can give me a week or so I could do a how too it will be :lol: much cheaper outlay simple tools and the thought you made it

Did I understand correctly that you could make a tutorial so that I can make these soldered (or, yes brazed) buckles myself? If so, then I am very interested. It was my final goal to learn how these buckles were made bach then (and I tought a good replica would help me to get more insight). In the attachment I`ve also added two possible cross sections of this type of buckle.


Matt Lukes told me that soft solder based on lead and tin is not strong enough to hold the parts together, so they must indeed have been brazed.

Matt Lukes told me that soft solder based on lead and tin is not strong enough to hold the parts together, so they must indeed have been brazed.

Quote:If you can make the components brazing them together it quite easy if can give me a week or so I could do a how too it will be :lol: much cheaper outlay simple tools and the thought you made it

Did I understand correctly that you could make a tutorial so that I can make these soldered/brazed buckles myself? If so, then I am very interested! It was my final goal to learn how these buckles were made back then (and I thought a good replica would help me to get a better understanding of its ancient production process). In the attachment I`ve also added two possible cross sections of this type of buckle.

Yes that is correct, but I was to use slightly more modern method. I have a feeling a enamel kiln may have been used to braze as the brazing solder should work this is in my imagination. I can show you how to do it using fire bricks and a heating torch, silver solder.borax as a flux and one buckle at the end of it. From this you can start to see the problems and what sort of equipment may have been used in Roman times. Will be off the grid so it may be a week before I can post
Regards Brennivs :lol:

Sure, I`m very interested in a tutorial how these buckles can be brazed !

I can make all the individual parts of the bucke except the loop. See the attached document that shows the loop in blue. I still don`t fully understand how the loop was made, but based on the pictures attached to my previous two posts, I can conclude at least that they were cast and then hammered to thin the metal. If you have any ideas about this, I would like to hear them.

Very similar model to that buckle which is commented.This buckle model I have already done it once in 2011 .But nearly from 6 months I'm trying to improve it. I think this time I achieved a better result.Тogether with the original that inspired me!
I showing photos from different angle.

Part of my wax work.Geography of this model is specific and it leads to some difficulties in its development .Of course from the inside is hollow as the original.