10-21-2009, 06:30 PM
Salvete Omnes!
There is question bugging me and I hope someone on this great forum can shed light.
As many of you will know I forge replica's of Roman spearheads. I have studied the odd few to get things right, but one thing eludes me. How were these finished?
I have seen several originals in good condition with forgemarks and filemarks clearly visible, most often those with a folded socket, open at the top. Attached a picture to show the type. These are not ground and polished, are forge blackened and just have the edges sharpened. Then there are the ones with a fully closed neck, which are made in a different manner (working on that technique now) and would seem to have different degrees of finishing. So I would really appreciate some thoughts on this subject, if at all possible backed by references to actual finds.
There is question bugging me and I hope someone on this great forum can shed light.
As many of you will know I forge replica's of Roman spearheads. I have studied the odd few to get things right, but one thing eludes me. How were these finished?
I have seen several originals in good condition with forgemarks and filemarks clearly visible, most often those with a folded socket, open at the top. Attached a picture to show the type. These are not ground and polished, are forge blackened and just have the edges sharpened. Then there are the ones with a fully closed neck, which are made in a different manner (working on that technique now) and would seem to have different degrees of finishing. So I would really appreciate some thoughts on this subject, if at all possible backed by references to actual finds.
