rashystreakers

neil-gaiman:

mercurialme:

I knew y’all would have a gif set of this by morning.

Truth.

I get it, I do and I feel bad about the white takeover. However, at what point can the people who are born here be considered natives. I mean I can’t send my family back to Germany now that we’ve bred that line thin. Oh, wait maybe my 10% Italian will take us back, or hell, I could cut myself up and ship a little bit of me to every country in Europe just so I can actually be native somewhere. If we aren’t native here now then what’s the point? Are we just squatting for awhile while we put the real natives in jail and one day we’ll leave and give it back, no we won’t. I’m white and I’m native to this country.

(Source: sandandglass, via mrgammakay)

(Source: zeniale, via oatmealartistry)

Final Product

It’s been a long time coming but I finally reached the end. I’m pretty happy with the final piece. I learned a lot in this build. Going to do a quick brain dump on what I learned:

1. Copper is fun, but super soft. It’s not great for butt caps.
2. Antler is also fun to work with. It also presents some challenges but overall I liked working with it. I want to do some more and maybe buy a better piece. I let the cracks go this time because I liked the worn look but I want to try a really clean piece next time.
3. I used templates this time. I cut them out like patterns and it shows in the balance and symmetry.
4. I still have lots of waves in my blades from the forging. I also got a few pits from letting it get too much oxygen during the forge. I didn’t want to grind them all the way out because I didn’t want to thin the blade too much.
5. I still need to learn to take deep breaths and slow down. When I feel rushed, walk away and try later. 

I can’t wait to deliver this to the owner and see what he thinks. Until then I can’t stop touching it.

Pommel Cap:

1. Drill and file out tang slot from a piece of copper.
2. Cut out copper blank and grind to shape and apply desired finish.
3. Place on the end of the sword and beat the shit out of the tang till it mushrooms over the butt cap and locks the whole piece in tight.

Adding Copper Inlays:

1. Tracing the “S” template onto a piece of copper pipe (it was the right thickness and I found it in a junk pile, so it was free).
2. Cutting it out using a dremel and cutting discs. The discs kept exploding in my face, thank God for eye protection.
3. Hammer the “S” flat. Super easy.
4. Align on pommel, trace and dig out slight depth.
5. Hammer finish and epoxy the copper into place and viola, it’s beautiful!