Questions on making the Sutton-Hoo sword

A. G. Maisey · 5th October 2006, 03:02 AM

I know of the Sutton Hoo sword, but I am unable to comment on the techniques used in its fabrication.

What can comment on is the way in which a Javanese keris maker using traditional tools will put fullers and other surface sculptural details into a Javanese keris or sword blade.

The tools used are scrapers, finished with files and stones.

I have made a number of keris blades, and other blades and have used these tools to produce the fullers. If I wished to make a fuller like the one in the Sutton Hoo blade I would use a number of different sized scrapers, with the largest about the size of an automotive bearing scraper, and the smaller ones made from three cornered files. I would make the shape of the scraper to fit the contour of the fuller.

You keep the line straight by scribing a line in the material and working carefully.

It is possible to work very quickly with these scrapers. The forging is annealed first, and the scrapers are used by holding with the right hand and driving with the left hand, if you swing the weight of your upper body behind the driving hand, it is not much more difficult than shaping wood.

5th October 2006, 03:02 AM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	I know of the Sutton Hoo sword, but I am unable to comment on the techniques used in its fabrication. What can comment on is the way in which a Javanese keris maker using traditional tools will put fullers and other surface sculptural details into a Javanese keris or sword blade. The tools used are scrapers, finished with files and stones. I have made a number of keris blades, and other blades and have used these tools to produce the fullers. If I wished to make a fuller like the one in the Sutton Hoo blade I would use a number of different sized scrapers, with the largest about the size of an automotive bearing scraper, and the smaller ones made from three cornered files. I would make the shape of the scraper to fit the contour of the fuller. You keep the line straight by scribing a line in the material and working carefully. It is possible to work very quickly with these scrapers. The forging is annealed first, and the scrapers are used by holding with the right hand and driving with the left hand, if you swing the weight of your upper body behind the driving hand, it is not much more difficult than shaping wood.