Ravens hysterical recreation of the sutton hoo sword

The pommel consists of a bronze core which gives the fittings their shape. The tang protrudes through this bronze core and is then peened over to secure the hilt and blade together. To the bronze core are fixed five plates which cover the whole surface of the core. Each plate has a number of cells for the garnets that Raven has cut, individually to shape. On this pommel there are 41 carved garnets. There are a few garnet pommels of a similar design from the 7th century, found mainly in Sweden, but they were a rare and expensive means of hilt decoration. All the metal parts of the hilt have been gold-plated. I would have preferred solid gold but opted for bronze for cost reasons.

 Raven spent 200 hundred more hours on finishing and polishing the blade and in making the scabbard which is made from alder wood and covered with a fine, red leather. He has used a technique known as "foundation moulding" to provide interest to its surface. The leather dampened and applied to the wood over cording laid in a pattern to make a design which can then be seen on the surface. Near the throat of the scabbard is a belt slide, again of ebony. A bone insert in the throat of the scabbard allows the sword to enter and leave smoothly. Within the insert is a piece of hide that rubs against the blade as it enters the scabbard. To finish the scabbard,Rave spent 200 hundred more hours on finishing and polishing the blade and in making the scabbard . Near the throat of the scabbard is a belt slide, again of ebony. 

Raven added two mounting bosses just as on the original. These have ivory discs as backing material. I have used ivory pegs in order to fix the bosses to the belt and mount the sword. I know of only one other sword that has bosses of this type and that was found in grave 9 in Niederstotzingen, Germany. I have added two sword pyramids suspended on tablet woven braid as extra decoration. The original was also found with a pair. Pyramids of gold, silver, or bronze were found, in pairs, on some swords of this period: the significance is still far from certain. They are quite often found as stray archaeological finds by metal detectors, too, so they are not as rare as was once thought. The particular pyramids that I have used are copies of those found in Mound 17 as I don't yet know of any Mound 1 pyramids of sufficient quality2. The braids can be used as "peace bands". That is, they can be used to tie around the hilt to show that the sword owner will not draw the sword. At other times, as can be seen in the pictures they would be wrapped around the top of the scabbard to provide extra decoration and prevent the valuable pyramids from bouncing around and destroying themselves.

The sword is solidly made, handles well, and is made in exactly the same way, as far as we can tell, that a 6th / 7th century sword would have been. There aren't many swordsmiths making swords from this period so this is an extremely good example of a comparatively rare breed.

Today Ravens Sutton Hoo Historical Accurate Recreation Is On Display In Ireland Museum Of History.