I'm looking at the excavation report of the Amesbury Archer (some info here: http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/projects/amesbury/archer.html). I've developed a curiosity about some of his kit and have decided that my first ever experiment in making a knife will be to try to replicate (albeit using modern tools) his 'dagger'. The grave is dated to the UK Copper Age (chalcolithic) between 2400 and 2200 cal BC and is of the Bell Beaker set.
I've cut out the blade shown in the photo below from some 2mm copper sheet and have hammered it around the edges to work harden it somewhat before filing bevels on it prior to sharpening. Before I work on finishing the blade I now come to the question of how to put a handle on it. The picture below shows the blade laying on top of the archaeo-artist's impression of how it might have been handled shown in the excavation report. All we actually know is that the tang had oak next to it, as there is a trace of mineralised oak attached, and that the didn't find any rivets in the grave. I've decided to come to the experts here to see if you have any ideas how this could have been handled. The blade section is 7cm long, the entire thing with tang is 11cm.
Would pine pitch or birch tar glue have been enough to hold two handle scales together and to the blade in use? I suspect not, but I'm no expert.
Would the handles have been two scales with some form of glue as above and a cordage binding around them?
Could it have been a one part handle? If so, how could they have hollowed out a cavity for the tang in the Copper Age?
How would you handle a blade like this if it were modern and made of steel?
Your thoughts please?
Here's an image of the blade as found:
Peter
I've cut out the blade shown in the photo below from some 2mm copper sheet and have hammered it around the edges to work harden it somewhat before filing bevels on it prior to sharpening. Before I work on finishing the blade I now come to the question of how to put a handle on it. The picture below shows the blade laying on top of the archaeo-artist's impression of how it might have been handled shown in the excavation report. All we actually know is that the tang had oak next to it, as there is a trace of mineralised oak attached, and that the didn't find any rivets in the grave. I've decided to come to the experts here to see if you have any ideas how this could have been handled. The blade section is 7cm long, the entire thing with tang is 11cm.
Would pine pitch or birch tar glue have been enough to hold two handle scales together and to the blade in use? I suspect not, but I'm no expert.
Would the handles have been two scales with some form of glue as above and a cordage binding around them?
Could it have been a one part handle? If so, how could they have hollowed out a cavity for the tang in the Copper Age?
How would you handle a blade like this if it were modern and made of steel?
Your thoughts please?
Here's an image of the blade as found:
Peter
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