That's a really elegeant set Nathan. I love how well the four knives, grosse and klein, compliment each other.

Nathan,
I really admire the approach you have taken with assembling these individual items into one cohesive grouping. Your scabbard design is incredible, and I am sure it will be doubly impressive when it comes to fruition. Every once and a while members post items that make me reconsider jumping into the realm of quality historical re-creations--this is one such instance!

Jonathan

Hey everybody-

I received the scabbard for my Albion Soldat grossemesser a couple months ago from Christian Fletcher. I haven't had time to do photographs and post it until now.

Here are some quick shots for you to see how it turned out. Note that the by-knife/pricker and hauswehr (with its own scabbard) were all made by Tod's Stuff.

[ Linked Image ] [ Linked Image ]

Click images for full-sized photographs

GORGEOUS! I loved this set without the scabbard. Now it's just too nice.

Sighs in jealousy...an excellent en suite Nathan!

That has all worked out really well Nathan, Christians scabbard looks fantastic and all together a really nice cohesive set to have put together, so well done for thinking of it and credit to Christian for a very slick job.

Nathan Robinson wrote

Quote:

I like the look of "black", too, and would wonder what period-appropriate wood would give that effect

Other than bog oak which is not great to work and does not have many good characteristics for weapon handles I would be stumped to know what European wood is black - none I think. However high tannin woods like Oak and Chestnut react strongly to the presence of iron salts by turning black. Try leaving a nail on a slab of oak and draping a damp cloth on it for a day or two. So if you wanted to turn wood black authentically, sweep your shop floor, pour it over your oak and add a bit of water. Also works for veg tan leather.

I have it in my mind somewhere that there were late medieval ordinances that prohibited the dyeing of wood in England to prevent one wood being passed off as another.

Regards

Tod

Nathan,
The new scabbard looks fantastic. As a set, the messer/by-knives and hauswehr are quite enviable! As always, you leave me wondering what you have up your sleeve for your next project. :)

Jonathan

FWIW: Here's a DIY page (yellow sidebar at left) on ebonizing.

http://www.paintpro.net/Articles/PP701/PP701_ebonizing.cfm

Sean Flynt found this

Quote:

FWIW: Here's a DIY page (yellow sidebar at left) on ebonizing.

This is producing iron salts in a solution (iron sulfate I think) which reacts with the tannin in the wood, so will work far less well for pine than oak as an example. You tag this with a FWIW implying that perhaps it is a modern discovery; but this is a simple leather stain for veg tan and is an effect that it just would not be possible for our forebears to have missed, so you can bet that the staining of wood and especially leather in this way would have been known about and presumably practised.

I have a lot of iron based dust in my workshop and when I have wet leather in there, it is nearly impossible for it to come out without some iron staining.

Tod

The bauernwehr really ties the four together as a transition between the soldat and the smaller knives, having the nagel of the soldat and the handle of the smaller two. Pretty neat set.

That really is a gorgeous set as a whole.
though it seems to have a bit of a fault in the photograph. maybe your camera's broken, but the images are all green to me... :D
no, joke aside, utterly gorgeous.

Leo Todeschini wrote:

So if you wanted to turn wood black authentically, sweep your shop floor, pour it over your oak and add a bit of water. Also works for veg tan leather. Tod

and conventiently, I've not swept up the small mountain of fresh filings from yesterday lying on my workshop floor yet. was going to do it "tomorrow"*.

I think I might have to actually get round to it, and try that out on some wood and leather for fun :)


(you know. Tomorrow. that tenebrous target point somewhere in the near future that good intentions is approaching while distractions are receeding away from at unequal rates of knots...)