Caedmon asserts, "we do have recovered silk in northern dark age & viking contexts, so since that's how it got there in historic times, trade routes and is a plausible explanation for elites" Asserts?!??! Am I a minstrel that I Assert? :D Here's an article that details some VIking sil...

Man, that's perty. I agree with Udwin, this seems reasonable for Gondor Rangers and Elves. But I think probably not for Bree. My rule is, if I have to do mental gymnastics to explain how I got a piece of kit, it's not appropriate. ...But... we do have recovered silk in northern dark age & viking...

I think pairings between men & elves happened more than just the big three. You have the story of Imrazôr and Mithrellas, and the Elf taking on the doom of men is not the foregone conclusion that the stories of Luthien and Arwen might suggest. You're just going to have to deal with the fact tha...

Ok, my take on the elves. They are biologically humans. The difference is that they have a different and special grace conferred upon them. In trade for an immortal soul unconfined by the rings of the World, they have a fea and (sometimes) a hroa that will last until the end of Arda, and everything ...

Sometimes it seems that, whenever I think I have a good idea, and start casting about for inspiration...

I find that Gullinbursti (Gulli) has done it first, and better.

Beautiful. I second Udwin & Elleth, pics of the back & and tooling details please!

Cool! ... "homeschool blacksmithing classes" - how old are your students going to be? Like Middle/High School age? Whatcha gonna have 'em making? :) We have two classes 6 week classes, one with 9-10 year olds and one with 13-14 year olds (and a beefy 10 year old younger brother) We are st...

Cimrandir wrote:Very cool! The wife and I are visiting Alaska next summer near Palmer. I'd love to take a class from you!

That would be awesome, let me know when you start firming up your plans and we'll try to get something cool on the books.

We've done a few hives, but not in about 4 years. My wife & I have been talking about getting started again, and are keen on overwintering strategies.

What are your winters like? Do you have to do anything special during the cold months?

Just reconfigured my smithy for a set of homeschool blacksmithing classes my wife & I are giving, thought I'd share the pics. Not entirely period, but it is non-electric. The big changes are the new sawyer's anvil and that all anvil stands are sunk into the ground. The main anvil, and the post v...

I love the Pelican Inn in Muir Beach California, only stopped in for a pint, but would love to stay someday.

So the tang would be something like this?

I can see why that would keep the sword fittings tight.

This is completely new to me. (Not that I could ever be considered an expert) Is this common for higher end blades? And/or attested in the archaeological record?

Hey, just looking at the Albion Royal Armoury’s I.33 practice sword, https://www.albion-swords.com/ROYAL%20ARMOURY%20I33.html , and saw something odd at the bottom of the cross guard. What’s with the metal bits below the guard? If it’s a bit of the blade; doesn’t that make a really bad stres...

the professor himself wrote:Chip the glasses and crack the plates!
Blunt the knives and bend the forks!
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates-

We know fork exist, at least in the quaint technological/cultural anachronism of Shire. But do we have any other references and/or descriptions?

A new nugget of Numenor I've dug up for y'all to make use of. Some stylized vegetative designs, an elvish-named plant 'Pilinehtar', and a Numenorean-style border. This is plate #45 in Pictures by JRR Tolkien . I’ve seen these illustrations before. But had no indication they were Numenorean. How d...