Haithabu Handbag the Handbag Strikes Back

Here it is almost July and hot as Muspelheim. A few months back I offered to make a raffle prize for an event so here I am sweating in the workshop.

The shoulder bag I made in February went over well with everyone who saw it so I decided to make a few more. I used one of the existing patterns ( the one on the top) and modified it to be a little larger and away I went.

I used the same walnut from the last bag. It was a little on the hard side but I had it laying around.

All was going well and I was very pleased with how it was shaping up, and with all the holes cut and drilled I hit it with a sanding and cut it down the center to make the two halves.

And this happened. The blade warped at the end of the cut and one side ended up too thin. I had hoped it would still be sturdy enough being a hard wood but after giving it a flex it broke in half.

So....Back to the drawing board.

Just hanging

Hedeby shoulder bag. Walnut with dark walnut stain and green wool.

Mocking

With boxes in the workshop mocking me I decided to do some mocking of my own. Skjoldenham hood mock 1.

Boxing round two

Having taken some time off after the initial box debacle Sir Kazimir and myself decided to take another shot at the viking rowing bench concept basing it off the pattern below.

This pattern is not mine, it was found on the internet and I have since forgotten where from.

Kaz notching the ends

However, approaching it with clear minds we were able to cut out and dry fit most of the pieces with only minor tweaks left and then staining and securing the pieces together.

 

Pandora's box

So here we are, 2012.

As it turns out the last year was not so productive and the Viking in Progress did nothing of the sort.

Today I took that long walk off a short pier and got together with some friends to make a Viking box... Long story short, historical accuracy got us historically nowhere and after a few false starts ended up with a lot of saw dust but no Viking chest to speak of. Well Rome wasn't sacked in a day.

Day two to come...

The axe pt.2

Here is the semi final product. Needs some clean up but I am reasonably happy with the turn out so far.
At this point I have decided to leave the engraving open and become more familiar with the silver inlay process.

The Axe

This axe was given to me as my first project under my apprenticeship to Sir Donngal. I have chosen to inlay the blade with silver and carve the handle with an approximation of Mammen designs.

Here is the rough drawn designs on the axe

I am hoping this project is not to ambitious of an undertaking. But the way I see it. Go big or go home.