Fox Forge

The almighty Meta Copyright algorithm decided that the original post was in violation of what can only be an 1100 year old trademark. Subsequently it changed its "mind" and rescinded the ban, but seeing as the post was already deleted, this is a repost 🙄

Historical replica - attempt
Early medieval bracelet - 925 silver
Gotland, Sweden.

The initial shaping of this piece was forged hot from an 80 gram ingot. Subsequent fine tuning and doming was done cold, through many rounds of annealing.
Once the shape was in place, the design was added using a set of five different punches that I made for this project.
Finally I oxidized and polished the finished piece, in order to add depth and highlight the design.

I am very happy with this piece, but as a replica it didn't quite go the way I wanted. Very early in the stamping process I noticed that I had miscalculated the spacing of the center set of triangles. They are too far apart.. But at that point it was too late to change, so I had to adapt the design to make up for it.

We live and learn 😊

It appears that the Facebook/Meta copyright algorithm has automatically judged that my latest post of a Gotland bracelet replica, is in violation of an existing trademark. Because of this the post is deleted and I've received a warning.

It seems that early medieval trademarks were made of stronger stuff, as this one apparently still holds sway after some 1100 years...

Isn't AI grand 🙄

Historical replica
Cloak pin/Pendular pendant - 925
Haithabu, grave no. 228

Outer diameter: 6.8cm

This piece was made using only a hammer and file, appropriate to the period. The body and pin were forged to shape and the surface was achieved by continuous hammering with a polished hammer, while allowing the material to work harden.

Looking at the original drawing, you can see that the needle seems to be mounted in the "wrong" direction, but the bend indicates that this is intentional. Even the museum has reversed it in the display, but with this configuration it wouldn't work as a clasp.
- I love these little details that help tell a story 😊

Cloak pin - 925

This piece is heavily influenced by find no. 220 in "Die schatzfunde Gotlands. Der wikingerzeit" That said, it is by no means a replica.

Like my last version of this piece I wanted to get the tone of the original, while keeping size and weight at a more practical level. While sticking to period appreciate tools throughout the process.

Once again, many lessons learned 😊

Cloak Pin - 925 & bronze

This piece was hand forged from a cast ingot. It measures 20cm in length and feels both heavy and solid. While I do not have a precise historical reference, it bears a strong resemblance to several early medieval finds from both Sweden and Ireland.

It's been a long time since I posted anything, but the winter has been spent both building and moving into a new workshop. That said I have been busy, and I look forward to showing what I've been up to 😊