Hey 1Munk3,

I cheat a little bit with the pins. I ordered the pins we wore at the wedding from a Scottish shop, but at the price I think it is safe to assume they were brought in from somewhere in Asia. They looked alright and did the job, but they were a cheap electroplated metal. Anyway I made a plaster of paris impression of the pin. Then I poured melted pewter into the mould and got a very rough casting of the typical claymore design kiltpin. I used this as a blank (for a rough sword shape) which I then hand carve, file down and polish until it becomes a unique product of my labour.

I battled with the attaching the actual pin to the sword at first because it was an absolut mission to solder. Being so small the smallest amount of excess heat would warp and ruin the whole cast. I now use epoxy or contact adhesive to secure the pin mechanism - but hope to improve on this somehow in the future.

Hope this answers your question

Thorin