At the end of the topic related to the reconstruction of bronze bladed weapons, I would like to insert materials from two British armourers at once. Neil Burridge and another interesting master Dave Chapman, owner of the Bronze Age Foundry workshop, gunsmith and sculptor, are already well-known to visitors to the VO site. He lives in Wales, where he has a large house with a workshop and a glass studio. Like Neil, he conducts seminars for all comers, whom he invites for the weekend. The number of seats is limited - 12, but it is always possible to book a seat in advance via the Internet. And there you can see a lot, learn a lot and even cast yourself a sword or dagger.
Such is the business and "education" at the same time. Well, the Nile lives in Cornwall not far from the seashore, and right there he has an alley of menhirs and ancient burial mounds.
Menhirs near Neil Burridge's house. In the distance fluffy English sheep. The weather is cold there now, and the sky is covered with clouds. Just in September, he finished another seminar.
And these are two burial mounds of ancient leaders. Involuntarily in such places you will begin to study antiquities.
The house where swords are made. Dave Chapman's workshop.
As already noted, the goal of both masters is not only to make a profit, but also to make copies of ancient products as accurately as possible. For example, he could not make the ancient Egyptian sword khopesh for a long time only because … there was no time to make an exact stone mold for casting! The original is in the British Museum, but its copies … copies can be bought, and the composition of bronze does not differ from the ancient Egyptian.
The same khopesh.
It is clear that not everyone can afford such "products" and for the needs of "cheap" tourists, the Nile makes such knives, and they are also copies of real finds.
Small knife.
Bigger knife. Below is what was found and above what this find has become.
But this gold plate was found in the same place, near Stonehedge, and once it adorned the chest of the leader!
Neal notes that making the blades is one thing, but making the hilts is just as important. For example, if a sword from Greece is being reconstructed, then it is advisable to make it from the tree that grew there at that time. Here is a type B sword with an olive wood hilt.
Type B sword with olive wood hilt.
Undoubtedly, on swords, whose handles had sides, the lining could not only be made of wood, but also of bone. Bone is a convenient material for this and is well processed.
The handle of the sword is type G2 with bone overlays.
But, of course, the most pleasant thing is when the handle was one piece with the blade. Such all-metal swords are known throughout Europe and belong to the culture of the "fields of burial urns".
Two swords of the Urn Fields culture made by Nile for the University of Bergen, Norway.
An all-metal sword and hilt for a museum in Vitlusk, Sweden.
The belonging of certain artifacts to the same culture and time is easy to verify when comparing them. Here we have a sword of type G2, and at the top is the tip of a spear of the same time. Their belonging to the same culture is obvious.
The Selburn "spearhead" sword G2 is clearly made in the same style.
But lining made of ordinary wood is not easy to make. Rivet them especially carefully so as not to break the wooden lining.
The color of fresh wood is different from that of "used", so it is advisable to age it a little.
Handle after antique finish.
Late bronze bronze razor, diameter 10 cm. Surprisingly, they shaved like that.
And of course, swords are inconceivable without a scabbard and sling …
Well, Dave W. Chapman says that he has been making copies of artifacts since 1995 and regularly conducts courses for everyone. You have already seen the house where he does this, and here are the prices: from September 26 to 27, 2015, the cost is £ 245, and from October 1 to 4, 2015 - £ 385. Casting of products is carried out according to the lost wax models. The master will teach you everything you need. And as you can see, the work of these two artists is highly valued. After all, they are examined after completing the order of professors of both British and foreign universities, and they are picky and very meticulous people (I judge this from my personal experience of communicating with the professor of the University of Nottingham Medieval Studies D. Nichol), and they would not have missed the hack. And I especially liked that Khopesh Nile cast in a stone form, which he himself carved in stone, although he could have cast them into a clay chill mold by the method of "lost shape".
One of Dave Chapman's blades
A blade impaled on a hilt
Dave Chapman's diagram clearly shows how the heel of the blade was riveted into the wooden handle.
The author would like to thank Dave W. Chapman ([email protected]) for the information and photos, and also Neil Burridge for his photo and very interesting information (www.bronze-age-swords.com).
