Æthelmearc 500 - Prize Sword

I had the honor of building the prize for the Æthelmearc 500. The Æthelmearc 500 was a series of heavy weapons tournaments run at different events over the course of several months. The winner of each leg of the tournament was the first fighter to reach 50 wins for the day. The overall tournament winner was the first fighter to reach a total of 500 wins.

The winner of the first Æthelmearc 500 was Duke Sir Maynard von dem Steine. The prize requested was a sword sheath and belt that combined His Grace’s current knight sword with the commemorative coins he was awarded during the tournament. The completed sword sheath was given to His Grace Maynard at Harvest Raid 2017 (Shire of Heronter). The belt is a work in progress and will be handed out at a later date.

The original sheath was made with low quality leather that was easily damaged and was showing signs of wear. I needed to replace this but still needed to meet the project deadline. Instead of building an entirely new sheath I used the original sheath as a substructure and rebuilt the swords new sheath around it. Using the old sheath as a substructure did not reduce the quality (cosmetically or structural) of the new sheath.

I started by wrapping higher quality leather around the old sheath. The leather was pebble grain 2-3 ounce cow hide. I was a little worried it might look a bit "modern", but once on the sheath it looked really nice. This was glued and sewn into place. This also added a bit of strength to the sheath as a whole. I also added leather bands (under the new leather) that created mounting points for the future sword belt. This is not the period mounting system, but was a close approximation of it.

Next I attached a selection of the commemorative coins to the sheath. I carefully drilled the coins in a way that preserved the surface details and then sewed them to bands of red leather. I glued the bands/coins into place on the sheath and then sewed them onto the sheath. The idea was to create the image of a “wax seal” around a scroll. I opted for this method over attempting to inlay the coins because of the mix of shapes and dimensions (shape of coins, sheath, the mix of flat and curved surfaces, etc.). I considered bending the coins so I could inlay them, but decided against that. The beautiful coins are the work of Master Pearce Redsmythe.

Lastly I tooled and painted Maynard’s device on a small shield and attached this to the sheath. I considered stitching this in place but was concerned it would look a bit “clunky”, and honestly given the glue I use would be overkill.

I was not very happy with this project at first (as is often the case), but was really happy once it came together. Cosmetically I would do one or two things differently, but structurally I am totally happy with the final project. I think the only part of the project that I was really not happy with was the tip of the sheath. I really wanted to

Long time no post!

It has been a while since I updated my blog. I have worked on several projects over the months, but my work and event schedule kept me from updating the blog as much as I would like to. I am just starting to catch up now and hope to have at least a few things up in the next week or so. So for a quick update here are two projects I worked on since my last update.

Painted leather badge:

Full disclosure. I did not tool this piece. It was tooled for a friend (Laird Coinneach Mac an Leigh, CS) by a person who left the SCA (Athyric Pennywise). Sadly it was never painted by the original artist and I was asked if I could paint the piece so it could see new life. Normally I don't work on other people projects, but given the circumstances I made an exception here. Tooled and painted leather. I believe it will ultimately be attached to a rapier sword belt.

Leather half gauntlets:

This was a quick build. My Lady Thalia and my good friend Lord Chebe recently authorized as SCA heavy siege crew. To accomplish this task they needed better hand protection. I built two pairs of leather half gauntlets (wrist and hand protection) for them. They are designed to slip over gloves of choice and are intended for low-profile light hand protection. Not intended for full heavy combat, but perfect for combat archery and siege. There are some technical skills issues with these (cosmetics on the rivet setting) because I built them in two hours one afternoon in time for Pennsic. The empty holes on the back of the hand pieces are for laces that go around the palm and hold the gauntlet in place.

More awards...

My quest to make at least one of every award in the SCA continues. This time I took a break from tooling and went with a assembled project. These are Silver Buckles, the Kingdom of Æthelmearc's award for youth service. I built a leather strap for the buckle to give the award a more "finished" look as well as providing an attachment for the necklace. I was happy with the result and plan to make more in the future.

Gorget - A quick armor project

This was a quick and dirty project I finished the other week (February 2017). It is a simple leather gorget for my girlfriend to wear during SCA heavy rapier. I have one as well that I wear for SCA heavy and rapier. These are made with 8-9 ounce leather and reinforced with aluminum bar stock. Very simple in design but practical and can take a hit like a tank. The tab in the back covers the upper vertebrae of the spine. I made mine because I needed a quick gorget and had a couple days to finish it. I expected to replace it, but it has served me for years now. I will probably only replace it when it falls apart.

New Award Medallions!

As part of a project to return the kind generosity of Her Excellency Sadira, Baroness of Thescorre, I took time to create a few Thescorre award medallions. I also used these as part of a class demonstration at the College of Three Ravens last weekend (1/28/17). The medallions are tooled and painted leather. I only managed to finish three as I was a bit under the weather the week before the event.

Order of the Black Talon: The Thescorre Baronial Order of Merit for Martial Arts shall recognize accomplishments in these arts within the Barony.

Order of the Raven's Feather: The ORF is awarded for service to the Barony Thescorre.