QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Why so expensive? Our prices reflect basic, and comparatively low, hourly charges for skilled labour work corresponding to the cost of living expenses in the United Kingdom. And to cover high quality material costs. This is very different than slavish machine operators working questionable materials in mass production facilities in the far east. The benefits of buying handmade from Scotland are the obvious differences in quality, as well as collectability - instead of soon becoming worthless, truly handmade one-of-a-kind works of art can be expected to gain value in a reasonably stable economy. In other words, not just a collectable, but an investment!
What's the difference between 'pattern welded' and 'damascus'? Though 'pattern welded' is sometimes referred to as 'Damascus', this is actually incorrect. Damascus is a city that was, many centuries ago, associated with good blade steel that apparently had a visible pattern on it. Pattern welded blades go back at least 2000 years in Europe. But a pattern on the blade does not necessarily mean it is made of different layers welded together. India has been producing 'Wootz' steel since the 3rd century AD. This steel is not pattern welded at all but has the same swirly patterned appearance of what's marketed as 'Damascus' or even 'pattern welded' today. Wootz is a steel that can be ok if the carbon content is correct. It is simply raw iron mixed in the crucible with hardwood charcoal (carbon). When this primitive type of steel is quenched, the scattered particles of iron carbide form into bands, leaving a 'watered' or 'raindrop' appearance after acid etching. My guess is that the cheap damascus blades all over the internet today are some type of Wootz. The low price would never justify the many hours of forging, pressing , layering, and twisting that goes into pattern welded steel, even for low wages in a 3rd world country. Don't get scammed.
What is meant by 'hand forged'? Obviously, man-made rather than machine-made, therefore a collectable piece of artwork that should translate into greater value with time. Less obviously, only forged sword blades start with the proper thickness near the hilt tapering down to the proper thinness near the tip as it is drawn out by forging. This produces the proper balance of not only weight but also strength and flexibility over the entire length of the blade and tang. Modern cheap swords are not forged at all but ground down from flat stock. This creates a weak spot where the shoulders of the blade meet the tang, rendering the blade unrealistic and dangerous for actual use, as well as inaccurate historically. Furthermore, it is believed among bladesmiths that the microcrystalline structure of the steel is actually 'packed' tighter, or compressed, by the hammer when forging the edges of the blade, creating the hardest possible cutting edge on an overall flexible tempered steel blade.
Why are there so few swordsmiths in Scotland? In short, swordsmithing in Scotland is still recovering from it's collapse following the battle of Culloden Moor in 1746. Tartans, bagpiping, the wearin' o' the kilt, and other things were banned by the English for over a hundred years, the right to bear arms, carrying of the sword, outlawed. There were prominent swordsmith family businesses in Glasgow and Stirling making beautifully artistic basket hilt baroadswords in the early 1700's. The Simpsons and Allans respectively. The Swords and Dirks were of an altogether different nature to those of post-Culloden military-issue English manufacturers. At Vogie Forge we're fully invested in attempting to recover the traditional ways and craftsmanship that once thrived in this country. Politics and safety restrictions are still the greatest obstacle.
What standard of quality can be expected? The best of effort in handcraftsmanship and highest grade in quality of materials. As much as possible, everything is made by raw materials in house, not outsourced from other makers or other countries. Traditional methods and tools are used when possible with the exception of household power tools to save time when necessary. No industrial equipment or computerised machinery is used, so do not expect precision machined geometry of parts or finishes. Nothing we make has perfectly straight lines or perfectly flat surfaces. Things are made here to please the eye, so surface flaws are hidden and structural flaws are rejected. Imperfections are made beautiful. We aim for eye pleasing 'aesthetics' (proportions of dimensions and symmetry) at a natural glancing distance, the closer you zoom the microscope the more you will see it was made by a human. But that's what makes it art, that's why it is scarce, and therefore, of value.
Are your blades 'heat treated'? There is much confusion about 'heat treatment' and it's relation to 'quenching' and 'tempering', so I will try here to explain all three. Heat treating is the modern term used for the relieving of stresses in steel by means of a temperature controlled furnace, typically done after the steel is hardened, or 'quenched' in a medium (oil, water, air, etc.), but is not the only way to 'temper' steel. Heat treating acheives this by holding the steel to a certain temperature for so many hours, and letting it cool down. This is dependent upon there being no pre-existing defects in the steel itself, and should result in a more flexible peice of steel. The old fashioned traditional way of doing this was 'blueing' or 'tempering' the steel by slowly heating a blade until it begins to show colours of yellow, then red, purple, and blue (each representing exact temperatures), with attention to acheiving an eveness of the colours, followed by air cooling. Then the process is repeated a number of times, rather than a number of hours in a heat treating furnace. Although both ways have their disadvantages, the old way has come to be considered obsolete because modern heat treatment is so push-button easy. But the bladesmith loses his ability to correct warps and twists from quenching when he sends it off to a heat treatment facility. As the steel's critical temperature is reached, this is the window of opportunity to ensure all is good. I've seen blades come back from heat treatment with an unfixable bend. But for all practical purposes, both methods aim to acheive the same result - a less brittle, more flexible blade that springs back to a straight position. At Vogie Forge we use the traditional method of tempering until a reasonable temper in the blade is acheived. Either way, if you for some reason plan to defend your life with this steel, (do I need to say this?) there are no guarantees!
How sharp? At Vogie Forge, we determine the proper sharpness of any blade by it's intended purpose. 'As sharp as possible' may be the general rule for kitchen knifemakers, but there is more variety of intended purposes concerning swords. For example, you wouldn't sharpen your log splitting ax with the same edge as your fish fillet knife, and vise versa. Some of this has to do with the shape of the blade itself, whether it has thick, stout edges for forceful blunt blows (Viking swords), or more acutely angled edges for slicing action. The sharpest knives are grinded down to a nearly paper thin thickness on the edge, then sharpened to an angle of only 25 to 30 degrees. Very little mass, very light. What would be the outcome of this, if you can imagine, taken to battle against a fully armoured foe whose weaponry is your next surprise? In my opinion, reliable battle blades were probably a reasonable balance between sharp and dull, brittle (hard) and flexible (softer), light for speed and heavy for power. In Hans Talhoffer's 'Medieval Combat' training manual there is ample evidence that swordsmen actually gripped all parts of the blade while fighting, without gloves! Regardless, if a blade from Vogie Forge is 'sharpened', it is made sharp as possible considering the blade's overall edge geometry, thickness, and intended purpose.
What's the best steel? There is no perfect steel, and all steels have their advantages and disadvantages. In our quest to uphold the old traditions we use the classic high carbon and spring steels, 1075, 1095, EN45, 5160, 15N20, O1 and 440C. There may be better modern blade steels out there (yet to be proven), but these classics are tried and true both in the world of modern steel standards and in our workshop experience. They are undoubtedly superior to the blades of medieval times and earlier, with today's industry standards and exacting tolerances of percentages of each ingredient, mixing evenly and completely without air pockets in the molten steel, etc. In the Viking age, pattern welded blades of many layers and twists of iron and steels were made famous because they not only looked good but actually were better at the time, as the more strands of metal in a blade gave the warrior a better chance of survival than a single solid piece. More trust was put in the man at the anvil than the man at the melting pot. The opposite is true today. Pattern welded blades certainly look good, but nothing beats modern spring steel in functionality, ability to flex, hold an edge, etc. If not forge welded with enough pressure, welded steels will break apart, therefore only as strong as the steel itself plus the pressure with which it was welded. Hence, great care must be taken when forge welding just to maintain the strength of the steels, rather than weaken their bond. And the same goes for all the legend and lore of the Japanese layered steels, no real evidence they were any better, hard to believe. We use the best steel available to us depending on the desired properties for the intended purpose of the blade. Our steels are typically made in the UK and also Germany, because historically, Scottish Claymore blades were often made in Solingen, Germany. We will never purchase steels or premade blades from India and Pakistan, and every effort is made to avoid using anything made in China. That's not racism, or nationalism, but the honesty we owe to the customer as we seek to preserve the heritage of our craft.
What's the risk in shipping to my country? There is always risk in shipping, especially international, even more so for blades. Be sure to carefully check your nation's customs clearance laws. In general, it's the aggressive and concealable weapons that are not allowed in some countries, but historic military replicas (like what we sell) are allowed. Some of our customers have experienced delays in shipping, the item being held up at customs, but nothing has ever been confiscated, lost, or sent back to us.
What makes them a good choice for collectors? If you consider the reasons anything is considered valuauble (age, condition, beauty, work hours, material cost, etc.), scarcity should be near the top of your list. Everything made here thus far has been the only of it's kind, not another like it in the world. We don't produce large quantities of the same thing, or even 2 exactly the same. Our line of pocket knives are the only blades made in a limited quantity, but each is slightly different and have their own unique serial number. We do not typically make exact replicas or work from the design patterns of any previous work. If we do, it is ensured to be unique and the only of it's kind, regardless. In terms of 'supply and demand', so long as there is some demand for handcrafted swords, our supply is never more than one of each in existence. If it's name (branding) that is a concern, consider what's in a name. Vogie Forge is a relatively new name (est. 2019) in the very small market sector of medieval swordsmithing. There are no qualifications, credentials, or universities to study this field, no big companies to work for climbing the ladder of success. In the small world of Medieval Swordsmithing, there could be no greater honour or qualification than to have been commissioned in the making of a sword for a king. In 2023, Vogie Forge was commissioned to make the scabbard and finish work of the blade for Scotland's new Sword of State, the Elizabeth, presented to King Charles III. We believe this, and our other happy customers, makes the Vogie name an investment opportunity worth considering for sword collectors.
Can they be refinished if they rust or lose their shine? We do not typically make blades with stainless steel because it is not a traditional Scottish blade steel, and other reasons. But we do use it for some knives. Hence, our blades can rust if not maintained. A light coat of oil wiped on after it is handled will prevent this. Also avoid storage in places where there is any kind of moisture. There are rust removal products that may work. Some of our blades were finished by hand with steel wool, some buffed with wax, which can be easily refinished, so please contact us for instruction. If the blade was etched with acid, engraved, or plated, greater care must be taken to remove rust or tarnish. Bronze parts can be brought back with steel wool, brass can be buffed, woodwork can get it's shine again being lightly buffed with solvent free beeswax. We seek to give all parts a good looking finish that is not too difficult to maintain or bring back to original lustre when necessary.
Why all the artwork? Historically, a man's side arm was one of his most prized possesions, and as such, became a symbol of status, much like cars today. Archaeology and museums reveal how common it was for swords to be partially or fully decorated with artwork. After spending weeks on a single blade doing it all by hand, it doesn't seem right to leave it looking plain and ordinary. The smiths of old sensed this better than we do in our rushed and impatient world, and decorated their best pieces abundantly. In times of war things were rushed, simplified, and produced in mass quantities, but that is not the gold standard of the swordsmith. There are already plenty of much larger firms out there producing large quantities of plain, usable swords of all kinds at the push of a button. Assembly line workers and computer numerical control machinery produce in hours what the craftsman produces in weeks. Soon, AI robots will design and create almost anything imaginable, and with the capability of making repeated carbon copy clones to exacting standards. But how can the craftsman compete with all this, what does man have that machines do not? Art. Identity. The personal uniqueness that exists nowhere else on the planet. Vogie Forge strives to do what machines, manufacturing, shortcutters and copycatters will never do, producing true art and keeping the heritage of traditional bladesmithing alive.
What's the religious origin of Celtic and Norse artwork? Contrary to popular belief, most of what has survived of Celtic and Norse artwork is actually from Christian sources. It is known as ‘insular art’ in this region because it is associated with the islands. Many islands all around Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and Northern England were home to the early Christian missionaries who were trying to communicate the faith to the illiterate Celtic people through their form of written language, artistic decoration and symbolism. Many of the best examples of Celtic knotwork and zoomorphic imagery we have today come from the four gospels translated on these islands like the Book of Kells, the Lindisfarne gospels, and the Book of Deer. The native Celtic people of Scotland, the Picts, had no written language at all, and they seem to have vanished from history by the 10th century due to the sophistication and influence of the Britons and Gaels. This was due to them having written language. Yet the Picts carved symbols on stones all over this land and the scholars still debate as to what they mean. Early Christian Celtic Crosses are adorned with these same Pictish symbols. Carved church doors, tombslabs, and Christian artifacts also afford this same type of decoration. Pagan groups in the centuries following often laid claim to knowing the ‘true meanings’ of the symbols and are making up many stories to this day, for the propagation of their religion. Because the early Pagan and Christian forms of art were so indistinguishable, and often used together, I am of the persuasion that their art had little to do with religion and more to do with communication. The Celtic and Norse symbols may have been no more images of gods than Moses’ ‘brazen serpent’, and their knotwork no more graven imagery than the ‘woven work’ of Israel’s Tabernacle in the wilderness. Artistic decoration has been around a long time, and is usually just an attempt to fill in a blank space with something less boring, it would be wise to not read too much into it.
Why have I seen other things 'hand made in Scotland' at such low prices? Anyone who visits the ‘Royal Mile’ in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city, will soon realise all the ‘Scottish’ gifts and souvenirs in the many shops, all managed by foreigners, are not really made in Scotland. This has been going on for a very long time, but in recent years, some have gone further to say ‘made in Scotland’, though the price is far too low to reflect Scottish material costs and hourly wages for someone living here to produce such a thing. Even more recently, to pick up internet search keywords, they’re using ‘handmade’ in Scotland. Perhaps some part of it is made here, or final touches, but it is basically a complete lie. This has carried over into the business of Sgian Dubhs, Dirks, and Swords, making truly handcrafted blades in Scotland a quickly dying national heritage. Any attempts to advertise are quickly buried by the endless web adverts of false claims from the far east. The point is, if something is truly handmade (not machine made) in a country with set wages for skilled labour corresponding to the cost of living in that country, this should justify the price of the item.