01-17-2010, 03:17 PM
Jurjen & Byron,
Thank you!
Yes I do research and design work for Albion, developing their historical swords. However, I do not post on this forum as an official representative of Albion but I will course answer questions regarding this work should there be any interest. I will be active here in the selfish goal to further my own studies of the roman period to help me better understand the swords of the roman period, both within and outside the empire.
...and yes, the Hispaniensis is my own work. The hilt is carved from olive wood from Italy. The rivet washer/ bronze band is actually based on a celtic sword found in France. I have an impression there was some cross breeding between swords from different cultural areas.
I have only just now read the first page on this introductory thread :oops: and see that I did not make my intro complete.
So to fill out the picture: I live in Sweden, Uppsala and have my smithy just outside the city. I do not have a web page yet but hope to have one up and running later this year (something I´ve been saying for quite some time now...). Somehow I have managed without one ever since I started working as a full time sword smith back in summer 1999. Before This change in career I worked as an illustrator. I have always had a strong interest for history as it survives in more or less decayed and broken remains and this has somehow acted with some kind of gravitational force on my life path.
The Medieval period has been a major focus for me and also allowed me to take part in some late 15th C reenactment through the Guild of Saint Olaf in Stockholm and the Compay of Saynte George. I would love to get involved with this some more and would also very much welcome reenactment in the roman period, perhaps from the perspective of the barbaric horizon? (The weaponry and artifacts of the roman iron age in scandinavia fascinates me!)
I spend quite some time and effort in the study of original blades and have documented weapons from the bronze age up to the late renaissance. The last few years there has been reason to study blades of the roman period, both within the empire as well as those on the other side of the limes.
The semi spatha I posted a detail of is in a private collection. It has a blade length of some 618 millimeter and a width at the base of some 46 millimeter. Cross section is a soft octagonal with an almost blended out midrib. Had this blade been more eaten by rust it would have been described as having a lenticular section! Thickness at the base is 5.4 millimeter decreasing to 3.9 just behind the reinforced point. It is constructed by a simple form of pattern welding with two bundles of four dark lines running down the mid faces. Tang length is 181 millimeter, so it is perhaps reasonable to expect it once had a hilt somewhat like that of a pompeii gladius. The shaping of the rivet is larger than can be expected for a mushroom shaped bronze button, so perhaps a washer of some kind was used instead. The blade has a nice, handy & sturdy feel to it with a weight of 676 grams. Edge geometry is excellent. I think it was once a very effective cutting sword.
Thank you!
Yes I do research and design work for Albion, developing their historical swords. However, I do not post on this forum as an official representative of Albion but I will course answer questions regarding this work should there be any interest. I will be active here in the selfish goal to further my own studies of the roman period to help me better understand the swords of the roman period, both within and outside the empire.
...and yes, the Hispaniensis is my own work. The hilt is carved from olive wood from Italy. The rivet washer/ bronze band is actually based on a celtic sword found in France. I have an impression there was some cross breeding between swords from different cultural areas.
I have only just now read the first page on this introductory thread :oops: and see that I did not make my intro complete.
So to fill out the picture: I live in Sweden, Uppsala and have my smithy just outside the city. I do not have a web page yet but hope to have one up and running later this year (something I´ve been saying for quite some time now...). Somehow I have managed without one ever since I started working as a full time sword smith back in summer 1999. Before This change in career I worked as an illustrator. I have always had a strong interest for history as it survives in more or less decayed and broken remains and this has somehow acted with some kind of gravitational force on my life path.
The Medieval period has been a major focus for me and also allowed me to take part in some late 15th C reenactment through the Guild of Saint Olaf in Stockholm and the Compay of Saynte George. I would love to get involved with this some more and would also very much welcome reenactment in the roman period, perhaps from the perspective of the barbaric horizon? (The weaponry and artifacts of the roman iron age in scandinavia fascinates me!)
I spend quite some time and effort in the study of original blades and have documented weapons from the bronze age up to the late renaissance. The last few years there has been reason to study blades of the roman period, both within the empire as well as those on the other side of the limes.
The semi spatha I posted a detail of is in a private collection. It has a blade length of some 618 millimeter and a width at the base of some 46 millimeter. Cross section is a soft octagonal with an almost blended out midrib. Had this blade been more eaten by rust it would have been described as having a lenticular section! Thickness at the base is 5.4 millimeter decreasing to 3.9 just behind the reinforced point. It is constructed by a simple form of pattern welding with two bundles of four dark lines running down the mid faces. Tang length is 181 millimeter, so it is perhaps reasonable to expect it once had a hilt somewhat like that of a pompeii gladius. The shaping of the rivet is larger than can be expected for a mushroom shaped bronze button, so perhaps a washer of some kind was used instead. The blade has a nice, handy & sturdy feel to it with a weight of 676 grams. Edge geometry is excellent. I think it was once a very effective cutting sword.