This clay tempered blade was hand forged from an automotive leaf spring about 20 years ago. Some natural texture from fire, file, and hammer marks have been left on the surface of the blade.
The guard and pommel are hand forged and shaped from some heavy duty dock chain from the Jordan River area, a gift from Justin of Foggy Mountain Forge. The wrought iron was finished by cold texturing and upsetting micro mimi with the stone pattern hammer before being heat blued to give a rich blue/black oxide colour.
The hand carved maple handle began as a piece of discarded furniture built in 1968. A drilled hole was hot fit and filed to the tang and then the outside shaped with a saw file and rasp. After hand sanding and a coat of 100% pure tung oil, the whole assembly was riveted together through the pommel. The blade is 4.5″ long and the overall length is 9″.
The sheath is designed and handcrafted by Armando DosSantos, a Vancouver Island artisan known for his unique decorative style and use of leather. His involvement in the arts started at The School of Decorative Arts in Lisbon, Portugal and he is also a trained Architectural Draftsman. Working from his island studio, his handcrafted and decorated chests, boxes, mirror frames and bowls have sold in Europe and North America for several decades.
The intent of my work has been to fuse an ancient European way of working with leather and a sophistication that is available today, making it meaningful by depicting vast themes. Armando DosSantos
Material: Reclaimed automotive spring steel, reclaimed wrought iron dock chain, reclaimed maple furniture
This piece is in a private collection in Italy.