Viking wire inlay

Wherein Ben endeavors to explain one of his methods for inlaying non-ferrous metals into steel for knives and swords.

Step 1 Layout

The first step is to mark the pattern on the steel. I like to do the layout in pencil.
Then I go over it in pen.

Comments

[zombeastly]

i would really like to learn this language even if it is dead

[Jar Sqwuid]

Hehe luckily for you it's not a language. You don't learn how to speak runes, you learn how to transcribe into runes. Kind of like how we spell japanese words out in english, our alphabet is phonetic. Runes are an alphabet, and super easy to learn. I write in them all the time. This is the younger futhark I think, and the most commonly used. I use the elder futhark. This is the website I used to learn runes with :) (Without the spaces.)

ht tp : // runes . info / rune piece 07 . ht m

[Raynor35]

Ben, at what point in the process did you do the inlay?  I mean in relation to the rough grind, quenching, tempering, final grind/polishing, and sharpening.  It looks like the blade has already been rough-shaped and taken to maybe a 200-grit finish, so I would guess sometime after the rough grind.  And regarding that point, whichever it is, is that a pretty standard process for you, to inlay at that point in the process, or is there sometimes a reason to vary it?  Thanks!

[ben potter]

you have to do the heat treating first or you will melt out the inlay. You have to do a differential heat treat so the the area to be engraved needs to be relatively soft.

It needs to be polished out to about 220gt and its final dimensions.

[Raynor35]

Actually, to simplify, did you do the wire inlays before or after heat-treating?

[ben potter]

After, and you have to do a differential heat treat.

[thepelton]

You could use the runic alphabet from LORD OF THE RINGS.

[ben potter]

I used a modified Anglo-Saxon Futhark.

[Iridium7]

 called elvish writing 

[red-king]

 you mean the messed up writing stuff, like what is on the ring?

[ben potter]

It is not actually an elvish script, but the historical type of writing the the Anglo-Saxons.

[thepelton]

J.R.R. Tolkein was a University Professor, so he probably used the historically correct Futhark.

[ben potter]

Tolkien's dwarf runes are based on the original Futhark but have several differences.

[skimmo]

f,i,r,s, f,r,e,n,d,s first freinds?

[ben potter]

fierce friend.  Anglo-Saxon Futhark. There is no "s" on the end.

[skimmo]

hmmmmm i see, what is that letter?

[ben potter]

it isn't a "letter" just a detail to balance out the chevrons in front of the runes.

[skimmo]

i ment this the sowilo

[MatrixRage]

Truely amazing man, I'm glad I added you to my favorites. I bought a video on engraving with gravers just a bit ago, and this will be a nice addition to my knowledge base.

[strumbot]

Awesome work Ben, just beautiful.  Now I want to do this on my seaxs.  The broken back design really makes it look better too.  This method will be much better than the chemical etch and leafing I planned to do.  Thanks!

Rob

[ben potter]

I'm glage you found it useful.

[imbignate]

Are you using Elder Futhark, or a different alphabet? I'm having trouble identifying the fourth rune (sohwilo?). I can read the runes, but not translate. I get:

Fehu, Isa, Raido, (sowilo?) - space- Fehu, Raido, Ehwaz, Nauthiz, Dagaz, and then what looks like a backwards Kenaz.

Fears Frand = Fierce Friend?

If you're trying to write in English, then that's my guess- if not, then I'll be glad ot hear the answer.

[kelticwonder]

it says fire friend

[imbignate]

you left out the 4th rune, sowilo. It does indeed say Fierce Friend, which is the author's website.

[Malachiore]

It's not Elder Futhark, but it is very simmilar.

[jaythedogg]

I almost yelled "THIEF!" until I saw it was Ben Potter, from the BladeSmith forums. :) Good tutorial though. :)

[cava002]

The sword says Fire Friend?, what kind of alphabet is that?

[mohawk93]

that my friend is the elder futhark the same runes used by the vikings themselves

[PKTraceur]

How exactly does it stay in? Other than that, BEAUTIFUL job, it looks amazing. How well would that work on a kukri blade 1/4 thick? -PKT

[ben potter]

The wires stay in place because of the under-cut in the channels. similar to dove tails in wood working. This kind of inlay, while not traditional for a kukri would work, as long as it is made in the traditional manner with a differential tempered blade. The traditional Nepalese kukri is tempered by pouring water over the edge and not on the back of the blade.

[SixTwelve]

I just can't get over the braid effect from the twists. So obvious, once thought of. But I doubt I would have thought of it in, say, 1000 years. Another surprise is that trinity knot. I was predicting it would be ungainly at best, and, more likely, dorky. I guess that 15 years honed your vision a little bit. Very pretty. Thanks for this window into the process!

[arnivore]

This is very beautiful. Nice work.

[jaysbob]

how well does this inlay stand up to use and abuse? I'd imagine its fine for a blade that is more of a display piece (what I imagine this is) but it seems that for something that's seeing more wear and tear (someone mentioned a hammer earlier) that such delicate engraving would work its way out over time. although I'd imagine repair work probably isn't too much of an issue. amazing work either way though with a range of decorative uses beyond just those for a seax. well photographed and documented too. cool stuff!

[ben potter]

Actual the inlay is VERY strong, short of bending the blade to the breaking point or gouging the silver and copper out it is pretty much there for ever. There are many blades from the viking age where the inlay has out lasted the steel. This piece (as are all my pieces) is fully functional and will stand up to hard use.

[yomero]

thank you for this instructable, it was very helpful to me, i do know how to work with silver, and just recently learnt how to forge a blade, this inlaying just adds up to it. just to be clear, the bottom of the gravers is supposed to be wider than the top, right? and its the spreading of the metal that holds it in place, right?. anyways, great instructable

[ben potter]

The gravers should either be straight or taper towards the cutting edge. the under cut is a separate step (steps 7-10).

[theRIAA]

Amazing metalwork. I would have scratched the blade to hell trying to carve those channels.

[strangebike]

A really beautiful piece of work fella ! I'm dead jealous. Gonna have to try this now just to find some engravers.

[Malachiore]

I don't really know if this matters, or if any-one cares, but you do know that the trinity knot is Celtic, not Norse right? But that's awesome. I've read other descriptions on how to do it, but here you actually showed the steps instead of showing three or so random pictures.

[Malachiore]

Also, what time period of futhark is that. I can read the older version of futhark, but this looks ever so slightly different, although not much.