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hellize — the marquis's gratitude

Published: 2017-04-05 18:27:08 +0000 UTC; Views: 2586; Favourites: 147; Downloads: 28
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Description ...previously:  www.britishblades.com/forums/.…

...fortunately she didn't anatomize the question further, like enough, she felt my awkward quandary, which her questions arose and let the whole thing sink back to oblivion. Not only leery but a tactful child at the same time.

"So, have you really seen the marquis himself?" -banged her next question with a deafening burst into the depths of my brains, just when I thought that it is over and I have escaped the painful interrogation. Oh no, I won't get away with this one, that easily. This cunning little beast will get what she wants... so many similarities with her grandmother. I could never resist her neither.

"Yes, I did." -replied her seemingly unconcerned.

"AND???" -stabbed me with a growing wrath.

I knew I had to give her something satisfying, before she looses her shadowy patience and brings up the axe topic again, the tiny harpy - oh yes, that's her grandmothers feature as well. 
In a hurry I started to search my remembrance for a child safe memory, which I could freely tell her, but selecting one is a hard task in my case.
I wasn't always the headsman of the marquis. In my youth I marched proudly along my brothers in the imperial army. Was so young and so ignorant of the horrors of the world back then, thought that parading in shiny plates, drinking and courting to the fair ladies were the only obligations a ranker had, but I couldn't be more wrong.
Soon a new order was handed out, and my battalion marched to the borderlands. 
The journey was tiresome, our gear was heavy and the road long, but we still kept our relative good mood, till dubious news started to arrive to us from the frontiers, describing the hellish conditions and revealing the true bloody face of war.
Many of us didn't believe the stories, but for some, these tales were enough to bring the inner coward to surface and make them desert. The retaliation was swift and harsh, deserters were hanged along the way, if they were caught of course.
So the joyful days were slowly left behind, while the blissful villages and smiling wild pear trees were inchmeal exchanged with burnt out farmhouses and stooping gallows along the road to the battlefields.
The stories were true. Suffering and pain reigns in every war, and this was no different. 
I soon learned that a ranker is expendable, only an inventory number in someones log, nothing more, but Fortuna for some reason smiled upon me, and while my brothers in arms fell one after another, I stood still unharmed, advancing ever higher in grade, mostly because everyone else died, soon reaching the rank of personal guards.
At a failed assault on the enemies position, our vanguard got surrounded. We were separated from the rest of the troop. Containment somehow boosted our moral, we fought like hell, drove back every attack on us, but with an ever diminishing number. They bled us out till only the marquis and their guards remained. A cornet's bloodcurdling voice slit the ether in two, indicating the final rush, and after a second it began. They fell upon us like a biblical locust swarm. For every slain man, two more appeared seemingly from nowhere, while our numbers kept shrinking even further, till I found myself suddenly face down in the mud, knocked out by a shield blow, suffocating, inhaling the murky, dirty water, while the enemy trampled on me. With great effort I emerged, just to be witness as a footman gave a heavy blow on my lords sword hand, rendering it unusable. The sword flew far from his damaged hand, landing next to me. Without a moment to think, I grabbed the sword and slew the attacker, pushing its blade into the demonized foe, bathing its thousand snakes in his warm, bubbling blood. I swear I saw them move in joy!
The attack stiffened for a second. The unexpected incidence lured awe into the enemies hearts, but the wonderment past just as quickly as it came and with a rejuvenated strength they rushed us again, only to be suddenly crushed with a shattering, brutal cavalry charge. 
Hmm... the invincible Gendarme, but why so late? -a question never to be answered...

We survived the day, and I received the blade, with which I defended my liege, as a sign of his gratitude.


"And what?" -I replied the little devil. Stood up, went to the fireplace, took out a loose stone from the wall, and pulled out the sword from the hole, furled in old rags. 
Skittish flames danced on the mirror of its blade as I pulled it out of the scabbard, just like a lifetime ago, when I first saw it, but it was well outshined by her bright steel-blue eyes when I gave it into her hands.
And the story of the sword was told for the first time on that cold winter night.


The total length of the sword is 64.5 cm, the blade is 37.5 cm long, 5.2 cm wide and 7 mm thick, forged of 1.2516, L6 and 5160. The accessories are also made of damascus.
The handle is dyed beech.
It is 1020 grams naked, and 1210 grams with sheath included.
The scabbard is made of 3 mm thick cow hide.
Hope you guys like it! 


It is 750 euro

more pics here:  web.facebook.com/csizmar.szila…
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Comments: 40

ellthalion [2017-11-11 02:15:01 +0000 UTC]

is it bad for a sword if I leave it exposed (not in a sheath)?

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hellize In reply to ellthalion [2017-11-11 09:50:34 +0000 UTC]

No, it is not. It is bad if you leave it wet or dirty

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ellthalion In reply to hellize [2017-11-11 10:16:37 +0000 UTC]

thanks for the reply!

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hellize In reply to ellthalion [2017-11-11 13:19:22 +0000 UTC]

you're welcome! Keep your steel always clean and dry. From time to time a few drops of oil won't do any harm either

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ellthalion In reply to hellize [2017-11-11 19:30:56 +0000 UTC]

yeah I tried WD -40 smells funny lol!

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hellize In reply to ellthalion [2017-11-11 20:33:15 +0000 UTC]

not that stuff! There can be found uber-extra fine oil for fine mechanisms like sewing machines, it is completely transparent and odorless. Try it

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ellthalion In reply to hellize [2017-11-12 01:54:27 +0000 UTC]

wow lol thanks!!

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hellize In reply to ellthalion [2017-11-12 07:18:52 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome I usually buy it in thread and textile shops, for about 1 euro a 120 ml bottle, but it is enough for eons.

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ellthalion In reply to hellize [2017-11-12 07:57:26 +0000 UTC]

Lol yeah, i'll give it ago!!!

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hellize In reply to ellthalion [2017-11-12 11:21:20 +0000 UTC]

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ellthalion In reply to hellize [2017-11-13 05:51:16 +0000 UTC]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czx-OI…

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ellthalion [2017-10-24 06:49:13 +0000 UTC]

hey I was wondering is pattern welded steel the same as Damascus steel?

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hellize In reply to ellthalion [2017-10-24 14:12:44 +0000 UTC]

yes it is

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ellthalion In reply to hellize [2017-10-25 10:03:37 +0000 UTC]

Ok cool! How can you tell if a blade made like that is real or fake?

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hellize In reply to ellthalion [2017-10-25 16:27:10 +0000 UTC]

I don't need to tell, since I only deal with my own steels, made by me personally
However a damascus steel has its pattern within its whole inner structure not only on the surface, which means if you grind its surface away and re-etch it with acid or ferric chloride, the pattern will reappear. And you can repeat the process till the steel is completely ground away.

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ellthalion In reply to hellize [2017-10-25 20:40:29 +0000 UTC]

Would sandpaper be a good idea to pollish it with?

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hellize In reply to ellthalion [2017-10-26 12:55:53 +0000 UTC]

yes it would also do the trick. But be careful, if you don't know how exactly these things work, you will probably never be able to restore the pattern correctly.  

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ellthalion In reply to hellize [2017-10-27 02:28:09 +0000 UTC]

Cool! I actually tried it on my sword and the metal seemed to brighten a bit when i did it, but it also kind made it a bit funny, like when you shine light on it there are scratches everywhere, do you think sandpaper is the best option?

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hellize In reply to ellthalion [2017-10-27 09:43:13 +0000 UTC]

yes it is. But why did you do that? I thought it was a theoretical question only. 
As I said, if you don't know how to do it properly, you will most probably only ruin the pattern.

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ellthalion In reply to hellize [2017-10-27 09:50:07 +0000 UTC]

I actually did it before I asked you, I think the pattern is still ok, it's just as long as the sword fine?
oxO

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hellize In reply to ellthalion [2017-10-27 18:16:05 +0000 UTC]

ok

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ellthalion In reply to hellize [2017-10-27 23:30:28 +0000 UTC]

yeah. o_O

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Vek-nilash [2017-06-13 21:13:40 +0000 UTC]

Holy moly, this looks superb, my friend!

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hellize In reply to Vek-nilash [2017-06-14 05:56:09 +0000 UTC]

Thanks a lot!

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Arnolf [2017-05-15 19:12:03 +0000 UTC]

Quite elegant !
This is really a great piece

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hellize In reply to Arnolf [2017-05-15 20:19:33 +0000 UTC]

Thanks a lot! It has months of work in that.

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Medike-KuroNeko [2017-04-07 18:38:21 +0000 UTC]

Amazing job !  

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hellize In reply to Medike-KuroNeko [2017-04-07 20:38:11 +0000 UTC]

glad you like it

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OPFreak34 [2017-04-06 13:14:36 +0000 UTC]

Really nice!!
I especially like the circular pattern along the middle of the blade and the blood groove (possibly the wrong term, sorry). It's a shame that we don't see a lot of sword from you, but I guess as the don't sell as good as knives it's propably not worth it, is it?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

hellize In reply to OPFreak34 [2017-04-06 15:44:41 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!
Yeah, you are spot on with that, unfortunately. It is good if I can sell 2 swords a year, my friend. I bet I will still have this one a year from now too maybe even 2-3 years, since it is damascus and has twice the price as a simpler carbon steel sword.
I don't know the correct term for that either, so don't worry That is a little experiment to try to control the pattern a bit and come up with something symmetrical. It was hard to achieve, glad you like it!

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jmirghel In reply to hellize [2017-04-07 06:57:38 +0000 UTC]

Really nice piece! I like the shape and the Damascus pattern.

And the term for that groove is "Fuller".
A lot of people call it a "blood groove" although it was not made to facilitate the flow of blood (and it would make no difference anyway). The purpose of it is to lighten the blade without losing strength. This is important for long blades like swords and less important for knives where they have mostly a decorative purpose.
In traditional blacksmithing this groove would be made using a spring swage tool but similar effect can be obtain by just removing the material.

Cheers!

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hellize In reply to jmirghel [2017-04-07 08:10:15 +0000 UTC]

I think we misunderstood eachother  
Of course I know what a fuller is, I would be a crapy smith, not to know it
I meant I don't know the name of the circular pattern which arose from my pattern controlling experiment.

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jmirghel In reply to hellize [2017-04-07 10:54:18 +0000 UTC]

yes, I see the misunderstanding.
I don't think there would be a name for that circular pattern.  I saw that some people give particular names to different patterns that they come up with. Bu it's just to describe it. So you can call it what you like since it's your pattern ). To me they looks like the growth rings in an oak tree so I think they give the sword a nice organic look. it looks alive

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hellize In reply to jmirghel [2017-04-07 11:17:26 +0000 UTC]

Hmm... I see.
Yeah, sometimes people do say, that my patterns resemble the growth rings of trees, and I really like that kind of approach too! I am a big fan of trees

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Unkownbrony52 [2017-04-05 19:38:32 +0000 UTC]

This looks fantastic.

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hellize In reply to Unkownbrony52 [2017-04-05 19:58:20 +0000 UTC]

thanks

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Unkownbrony52 In reply to hellize [2017-04-05 19:59:42 +0000 UTC]

Your welcome.

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intimeofplagues [2017-04-05 18:31:01 +0000 UTC]

Gorgeous.

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hellize In reply to intimeofplagues [2017-04-05 19:58:28 +0000 UTC]

thanks

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intimeofplagues In reply to hellize [2017-04-05 20:01:18 +0000 UTC]

Yeah    fantastic work

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