“Only in silence the word, only in dark the light, only in dying life: bright the hawk’s flight on the empty sky.” -Ursula K. LeGuin This is a bronze sword I made for the upcoming exhibition, “The Sword- Form and Thought” at the Deutsches Klingenmuseum in Solingen Germany. It is …
Torc Triath 2008 Blade – 31 1/2″ Hilt – 6″ AOL – 37 1/2″ Weight – 2.6 lbs / 1.2 Kilo The embellishments on this sword are inspired by La Tene period ornamentation from Britain and Ireland. The overall design is inspired by the Kirkburn sword from yorkshire and other …
Tveirhrafnr – 2010 This is a dirk I made in 2010 depicting the ravens Huginn and Muninn from Norse myth sitting at the base of the world tree. OAL – 13″ Blade – 8 1/2″ Hilt – 4 1/2″ The blade is forged from 600 layer 1075/8670m steel, the fittings …
Sun rises over spruce ridged hills through morning mist, hummocks and trees cast long shadows. Leaves hold the light like lanterns or translucent hands, their veins showing. It’s been fire weather lately, my chimney trails a white plume, the Jøtul in my shop is back to work, and so am I. …
Autumn seems full of secrets. Flame colored leaves cast the forest in a different light than the clear light that touches the fields. Mist hangs over the trees where the hidden brook wends its way through the valley. It’s a time for bonfires and gathering the last things in— stacking wood, …
Here is an interview I did a few months back with Joseph Parker, it was used to create this cool infographic about how to build your own iron throne. Use this Infographic to Build Your Own Iron Throne | Mental Floss. General Questions How did you become interested in …
I filmed this with help from my dad (Peter Powning) and a tripod back in 2009. It demonstrates some of the process of making the Viking sword Vardhllokur. It was edited by the good people at Galatia Films for the special features of the movie “Reclaiming The Blade”. If you’re …
This is a short slideshow of the sheath-making process I demonstrated at the ‘Oakland Axe ‘n Seax in‘ in Oakland California. The sheath design is based on one found at York in northern England. The knife is an Anglo Saxon broken-back seax constructed from six bars, the decorative spine is …
The year dims down towards its last gasp. Black mornings slowly merge into short days, but the work pace doesn’t slacken. Some mornings I am starting the forge at six thirty and working in a bubble of light like a craft in an ocean of darkness. The open door gapes …
In the spring of 2009 I documented several swords at the British Museum and the Wallace Collection In London UK. While there, I photographed many of the artifacts on display in the prehistory and Europe section of the British Museum. This kind of expedition is like a cattle raid of …