Month: August 2016

Sorry I’ve been quiet guys! I caught a gross plague last week and it took me out. I’m still kind of goo-filled … sorry TMI? (And not the TMI we’re fans of!) Haaaah. Ha. Yeah I need more sleep. But I’m semi-back in the workshop today and working on the last of the three longswords for this month.

I finished the Azrael that you can see in all its shiny glory above.

Aaaaand here’s the Ouriel:

Love how the handle came out. Best one I’ve done so far I think.

Yay shiny!

Okay back to work. *shuffles off coughing and sniffing disgustingly*

Bam! Here’s my table as of five minutes ago. How’s that for hot off the press?  Here we’ve got an Ouriel and Gabriel both buffed up to a 600 grit polish at the moment. The Azrael on the right there is all polished up and has passed its Reading Test.

Yay! So the polishing on the Ouriel and Gabriel will probably be finished either tomorrow or Wednesday depending on how charitable my muscles are feeling. Haha! Want really buff shoulders? Polish swords for hours a day! Fun fun for everyone!

For the last part of the week, I’ll be fitting these beauties with their leather hilt wraps. The Gabriel in the middle there is destined for something a little special. 😉

That’s all from the Studio for now. Stay safe out there Shadowhunters!

GAH! I’m sorry, this is more like “What HAS BEEN on Ethan’s Table This Week?” I’ve been running back an forth to appointments in between chugging away in the workshop. On top of that, I’m painting my living room. I’ll post pics when it’s done, promise. You’ll cringe at the absolutely hideous wallpaper that was there before. Well uh … I hope the landlord likes bright red! Lalalaaaa …

Okay, here’s what I’ve gotten done so far on the three longswords:

Ouriel, Gabriel, and Azrael all have their light slots cut. I’ve gotten a stock of smaller, but just as powerful, LEDs so I can now make much smaller recesses in the handles. I like this because the less material I remove from the hilt, the stronger the sword will be.

Azrael has been polished up to 1000 grit and the polishing should be completed today. Ouriel and Gabriel still await polishing but I have an apprentice coming in to help me on the weekends now so it shouldn’t be as time-consuming as usual. 🙂 Woohoo!

Now back to the workshop with me! Stay awesome everybody.

I apparently had a secret wish to kick my own butt this week. I accidentally scheduled three longswords this month. That means a certain weird little guy is going to be working on weekends in an effort to get all three swords done on time.

*sad trombone*

Oh well! I might have kept my screw-ups to myself, but you know, I really want to let you all know that even professionals make mistakes and there really is a human being behind the keyboard here. To claim the title of “professional” though, I really feel it’s important to take responsibility for mistakes and do what is necessary to make them right. For me, that means overtime. So it goes.

We’ve got a Gabriel, an Ouriel, and a Raziel on the table this week.

Halfway done cutting out this Raziel, who I also like to refer to as “The Shotgun” cause it looks a bit like one in the beginning. (I also like Angel With a Shotgun. Don’t judge my music preferences! *sings into his dust mask*) The cutting will be finished by tomorrow.

Now it’s time for me to crash for the day. Got a busy week!

Here comes the bride,

Blades at her side …

Yes indeed, these beauties were made for a Shadowhunter’s wedding. I wish the happy couple a prosperous and demon-free life together. Huzzah!

Zaapiel was modelled after the Chinese ring-sword, a very stylish blade. According to the historical writings we can find, the rings were meant to entangle the other person’s clothing or weapon, or foul up the edge of the opponent’s blade.

The rings and wrapping around the handle are made of anodised aluminium wire.

The pommel holds a resin jewel that I cast and then adhered in place with liquid acrylic. I like using this method to make jewel “sockets” because the acrylic bonds with the acrylic of the sword and becomes all of one piece. This way, there is no chance of any glue coming unstuck. There is no glue! It’s all solid plastic holding everything in place. Much more stable.

The gold leading I decided to add because I really wanted that gem to be eye-catching.

If you’re squinting at the jewel and thinking “It looks like there’s something in there …” you’re right!

It’s the angelic rune “Agape” for love.

Tauriel is a dagger with a “leaf blade”. This shape was very challenging to carve because I had to get all the edges the same angle and even on both sides. Gah! Made me a little crazy but I think the end result was worth it!

The leaf blade shape is featured in many knives, spears, and swords and is useful for extracting the blade from the opponent’s body. While demons go poof when killed, if you don’t get ’em on your first strike, you’re going to want your blade back to go for a second poke right quick!

So how do they look in the dark? Oh y’know …

AWESOME!

I was very pleased with how they turned out. The engraved lines and rings really added something special to the way the light played on the surface of the blades.

Even the pommels, while not as bright as the blades, still received nice illumination even with the light pointing the other direction. This is in part because of the shape of the blades. They swoop inward after the crossguard to give more interference to the light’s passage. That means the light reflects back toward the handle of the sword and we get more glow on the end.

These beauties tested my skills and forced me to learn entirely new ones. Never before had I worked with casting resin or wire-wrapping.

Totally worth it. Hopefully I’ll get to see some wedding pics!

So, I’m back from vacation now. I wanted this to be my first post for my “triumphant return”. I think you can see why! I’m all caught up on my emails and I’m already totally covered in dust. Haha!  It’s great to be back. More updates coming soon!