I just got the following request from one of my wholesale customers:
I have a crazy question for you. Do you know what a "Swordfish Sword" is? It's a sword that old time fisherman & knotsman like yourself used to make by attaching a wooden handle to a swordfish bill, then do some knot work around the handle. They were used as a decoration. I have 2 swordfish bills & would love to have one of these swords made to give as a gift to my father in law. Any ideas on that??
I tried googling it but didn’t find much usefull info. Seems that it has a worked up handle similar to a bellrope with a carved/scrimshawed scabbard. I have asked my customer for more information, but am wondering if anyone else has heard of these and can turn me towards reference materials.
I took a look at the link you gave on ebay and that one is pretty one too. The handle is all fid work which means that the all that cord you see used on the handle work was tied at the top of the handle and a section of cord twisted at a 45 degree angle to the right and then the other section of cord was used to fid the work and design right there on the handle and not on a mandrel.
Now fid work can be a cumbersome job to do but very gratifying when done. Good rule of thumb when doing fid work is to plan out your handle design on a piece of grid paper turned at the 45 degree angle. This way you can follow your design and straighten out the fid work as you go. Remember, take your time with it and do not hurry it. Fid work requires concentration and patience. The work will go on the handle tight because you are tying it as you go. More, or less fid work is similar to braiding leather whip handles. Hope that this help you out in your quest.
I’ve been letting the project ‘age’ but the swordfish bill is in my work area now. I have a friend who goes to art school and is turning me a handle to use as a scaffold to build upon. I didn’t have time over the summer trying to keep ahead of orders, but it is definitely going to happen …um soon ? I feel bad for the guy who sent this to me, but he’s been a customer for 5 years and knows I am good for my word.
What a great find, Znex! Thanks for sharing. I was thinking how cool it would be to have one scrimshawed by Vince and now you’ve shown us some carved and inlay-ed. Those were awesome!
Wow,
Fantastic link. I wish I checked back… I finally finished it and delivered to my customer on Block Island yesterday. Not nearly as fancy as the one you linked, but he said it was the ‘best one he’s seen on the island.’ To score the cool points, I made it a gift instead of charging him. Below is my facebook page, its the most recent album entry.