Armbygel cast or stamped

[Ted Bouck]

Hello,

I live in the USA. I enjoy Norse reenactment as good as I can accomplish, and being a metal worker, I enjoy iron smithing and especially making Norse arm rings. I mostly have made hiberno-norse style flat and stamped arm rings, but wish to start making other versions.

I am interested in making the Armbygel style, but am running into a serious question. Using the Historiska Museet site, I have research a number of these styles, and determined that they appear to have been made in 2 slightly different ways.

The first method would be to cast the silver blank shape in the straight, physically stamp the armring, then form into final shape.
see http://mis.historiska.se/mis/sok/exhib. ... 3&id=51519 and goto Inventory numbers 2372 and 6070

The second method appears to be fully cast. See same link and goto Inventory numbers 7815 and 8873

What I hope to learn is if my "Visual" evaluation is correct?, and if not, I would be happy to be corrected, and gain the understanding needed to make these in the correct period style.

Also, the cast versions must have been originally made by hand stamping and forming to create the "Master" for any that are subsequently cast afterward. Right!?!

Thank you for all your help!

Ted Bouck

Aka EikBrandr

[Eric Hejdström]

I'm quite sure that your observations are correct. The types with punched design seems to originate from bars of silver but several of the others are most likely cast in silver, probably with lost wax method. Ofcourse, there is a possibility that they can be cast first and then more througly finished with additional punching marks. I guess that if you want to make several cast ones in the same design you could carve the original shape in wax, flat on the table and then make a negative cast in palsteror something similar. Then you have a mould to pour new wax into whenever you want to make another. The deformation of the patterns or onamentation should not be too great if you bend the wax carefully. Hope this helps.
/Eric

[Ted Bouck]

Thanks Eric , great response!!