a Pattern Welded Sword...

Since my return to Wareham, I have been working seriously on a (slightly) postponed commission : A Norse type pattern welded sword *

The two starting blocks were composed of a total of 13 individual plates :

M-I-M-L-H-L-M-L-H-L-M-I-M

M = MILD STEEL, inner at 1/8", outer at 3/16"
I = WROUGHT IRON, 1/4"
L = L-6 (nickel mid carbon alloy), 1/16"
H = 1095, 1/8"
All pieces at 1" wide x 6" long

After welding to blocks, each was drawn to a rod roughly 70 cm long x 12 cm.
Next each was facetted to octagon, then given three sets of twists (alternating with straight sections).
The two  cores were forged square, and fitted to two pieces of 1045 (coil spring) and prepared for the next stage.

Rods wired, prepared for welding

Showing starting length

Detail of tip construction

At start of welding, the bundled rods were roughly 80 cm long X 5 cm wide X 12 cm thick.

There are two possible ways to fit the mid carbon steel cutting edges, a one piece wrap or two separate pieces. Both present their own forging problems, in the past I have chosen the two piece method. (The challenge here is welding tight the small triangle where the four pieces interlock.)

The welding process took me 3 1/2 hours, something like 16 (or more?) individual welding heats. The first cycle over overlapping 'travelling welds' were all done by hand. This was followed by a second series of heavy compaction welds using the air hammer.

After welding, note length and width change

Detail - The tip after welding

The finished billet produces roughly 95 cm of solid material (it is expected to cut at least 5 cm from the tip end).  At this point the billet is roughly 4 cm wide and 12 cm thick. It currently has a weight of 3.2 kg.

The next step will be to grind the surface down, removing surface flaws in the welds. These are primarily caused by the slightly rounded edges of the individual cores and edges. Some of the excess weight will be lost at this step.

In the creation of the final sword, this represents close to 2/3 of the actual work - and most certainly the majority of the difficulty.


* There is a lot of confusion on language here.
I use 'pattern weld' the way I first learned the term - as the archaeological definition :
Two or more layered rods, twisted, which form the core of the blade.
The starting stacks combine separate low and higher carbon plates, usually as low layer count.
The twists will alternate and match with clockwise and counter-clockwise direction, often including straight sections.
Most commonly a separate mid to high carbon rod is welded to each side of the cores to form the actual cutting edge.
The method was used primarily in Saxon and Norse blades, known samples ranging roughly from about 400 - 1000 AD. The ultimate example is the complex blade from the Sutton Hoo burial (a royal status object, consisting of eight individual cores, mirrored in pairs side to side and top to bottom. It was most likely created in modern day north Germany or south Denmark, about 600 - 625 AD.)

The Sutton Hoo Sword (in the British Museum)

 from : http://dailymythogies.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/p10102341.jpg

Replica created by Scott Langton

from : http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm36/cerishields/SuttonHoosword-resized4.jpg

Turf to Tools - Input and Output

Regular Readers -  I am way behind in documenting my recent 5 weeks in Scotland, primarily at the Scottish Sculpture Worskhop and the Turf to Tools project!

One thing those interested in the mechanics of the visual arts / historical work might find illuminating : How 'what you say' gets formed into 'what they read'.
The following were my original responses to a series of questions from Emily Wyndham Grey - fully intended to be re-shaped into a blog entry.

The final blog posting (with images) that Emily crafted can be seen on the SSW blog.
It might be useful for comparison to open that link in a separate tab / window...

 Darrell, you and Eden are both collaborating for an SSW Slow Prototype, how did this come about?

Eden had send a sort request abour advice for finding natural 'primary bog iron ore' to an discussion group 'Early Iron' (on Yahoo). Since I was one of the moderators (and instigators!), and had some small experience in looking for bog iron in Canada, I answered him back. This lead to a back and forth, as he worked up to his first epxerimental iron smelt last year. One thing lead to another, gradually shapping into the Turf to Tools project. I was quite flattered to be asked to lead the project, and certainly jumped at the chance too come to Scotland and SSW.
From a rough concept last fall, a lot of pre-event planning and background research was undertaken over this last winter. I also did some experimental and prototype work on both Pictish Late Iron Age iron smelting methods and towards the Rhynie Man Axe in particular in early spring at my home workshop.


Can you give us an overview of some of the roles, responsibilities and activities that are taking place?

The *end* result of Turf to Tools is intended to be a replica of the (somewhat puzzling) Rhynie Man Axe, carved some point about 600 AD. The outline of the methods undertaken are based on the archaeology of the Culduthel site, just outside Inverness. Guiding the project are concepts of how the local environment, through available raw materials, shapes possible process. Overall, the technical and cultural references are centred on the local region, and to what could be called 'Pictish Late Iron Age' (so post Roman and pre Viking).
The whole is also an exercise in experimental archaelogy. As much as possible, we will be working with individual elements at least suggested by historic methods, attempting to reduce more modern practice as the project progresses.
There are four major components to the chain of Turf to Tool : Gathering materials / smelting ore to iron bloom / compressing the bloom to working bar / forging bar to object.
We are intending three individual iron smelting attempts. A first smelt needs to include the building of a furnace, in this case patterned after the archaeological remains of those found at Culduthel. (A site with a longer occupation, but with a total of 9 furnaces uncovered, the latest dated roughly 200 + AD.) The plan for the second smelt is to utilize the specialized 'Macaulayite' ore, a type distinctive to only the local area around Lumsden / Rhynie. (Scheduled for Saturday August 16.) For the last smelt we hope to utilize human powered air - using an early period drum bellows. Scheduled for Saturday August 23, this will be more of a public demonstration event, with planned assistance of staff from the  Scottish Crannog Centre and visiting archaeologists and researchers.
A less understood element is the conversion process of compacting a raw iron bloom down into a working bar. There is more art than science here, as each bloom can be quite distinctive in terms of quality, size and shape. In simple terms, the spongy bloom needs to be cut to working sized pieces, then compacted down. This is all done at a high 'welding heat, formed under the hand hammer, and repeatedly drawn, folded and welded to remove slag impurities and seal voids and cracks. 'Bloom to Bar' work is scheduled after each of the individual smelts, working with the blooms produced.
It is only once all that is accomplished that the work turns to actually forging out a replica of the Rhynie axe. Before the valuable bloom iron is used, several prototypes of modern steel will be made. The axe is actually an 'unusual' object, for which there no existing examples are known from Scotland. Just what the Rhynie Man represents, or what the axe might have been intended for, is open to several interpretations. Those in turn effect the possible shape in detail of the object, which also effects the possible way the forging itself needs to be undertaken. The intent is to make a number of replicas, so to examine these possibilities. Finally, one axe will be made from the bloom / bar material created within the project.

What in particular inspired you regarding the archaeological finds in Rhynie?

For myself, my primary research and practical experimentation as been with slightly later Vikng Age / Norse archaeology. The raw technology utilized to smelt iron ore, then compress it to working bar, is certain to be much the same for the Picts of the post Roman era. Axes themselves are working tools, and as such generally conform to basic shapes and methods of production. If anything, one of the overall problems in shaping Turf to Tools is the how uncommon axe finds are for pre Viking Age, with only 15 found, all to the south in England. Rhynie Man's Axe thus depicts a 'rare' and quite distinctive object in itself.
The technical requirements of a correctly functioning iron smelting furnace are always modified by the interplay of available raw materials. Even in ancient times, there would be modifications required from a kind of 'theoretical template' furnace into something best suited to those precise local resources. One of the challenges of any attempt to replicate past process is having an awareness of how centuries of human activity have in fact modified, or in fact totally consumed, what where the original resources.
One of the most interesting aspects to the puzzle of history is attempting to get some understanding of just what might be the original intent of a figure like Rhynie Man. A king at cerimony? A mythic figure 'chained' in a representation? The defeat of an invader memorialized?
Creating a working replica of the Rhynie Man Axe may yield some clues. An object in hand can often tell you far more than a carving by some long dust ancient artist.

How have you found your experience of collaborating with SSW so far?

I am long used to working quite alone inside my interest in ancient object and processes. I extremely excited by the chance to put my past experience in 'Early Iron' into the mix for the Turf to Tool project. (And honestly, at first a bit intimitated by a potential leadership role.)
There is nothing like SSW existing in my home region of Ontario in Canada. So, as an artist, the concept of working inside a larger collaborative group is outside my noral experience. The oportunity to shape a project within a larger framework of working artists is one I know will enrich my own practice, even after this project is over. 

As Rhynie Man - 2

Image by David Porter

the Rhynie Man

First Iron Smelt for 'Turf to Tools'

This is a fast overview of the progress so far at the "Turf to Tools' project at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop:

Team : (L-R) Thomas, James, Eden, Darrell

Air System, just as first graded charcoal is being added.

Initial Compaction - slag mass has been struck off at this point.

Forging the edges of the bloom.

I arrived at SSW later on Friday.
Saturday was filled with general preparations, and forging up some of the specialized tools expected to be needed for the smelting processes.
Sunday was preparing the ore and charcoal, then mixing the materials for the furnace and building it. (For a general description, see the earlier blog posts.)
Monday was smelt day - expected to be the first of three over the project.

31 kg of mixed ores were prepared. Primarily this was a mix of the local (unusual!) Macaulayite ore, with added industrial taconite. There was a small amount of red iron oxide analog used as well.

The furnace ran extremely well, consuming 2 kg of graded charcoal an average of every 11 minutes. This rate was much more consistent than normal in fact. Charges started with 1 kg, and mounted up to 2 kg per charcoal measure.

There was in fact more slag produced than normally seen.
The slag bowl formed higher than usual, and had a sharp edge turned up only about half way across the furnace. This was thought to be because of the blower used, which likely was not producing as much delivery pressure as the standard unit employed back in Wareham.

The finished bloom weight was just over 2 kg, not the best yield. This is considered to be an effect of the Macaulayite ore, which in fact may be a bit low in iron content. (Visually, this material looked quite 'sandy'.)
The extracted bloom, cleaned of slag, was a saucer shape, about 5 cm thick at the edges and roughly 20 cm in diameter.
Several compression steps were taken  on a large block using two strikers. At this point the 'plate' was transferred to a coal forge, where the edges were worked in and the entire mass was further compressed.
Work for this day (!!)  finished up by cutting the bloom into two rough half pieces, ready for further compacting and welding to consoldate the iron to a working bar - the work planned for Wednesday.
The initial furnace build was done