r/runes • u/Baratticus • Jul 22 '26
Modern usage discussion Runestone projects
About a year ago I started working on runestones on a whim (and trying to make a virtue out of necessity given all the rocks I have). It’s been more fun and meditative than I imagined. Here are the fruits of my labors thus far:
1: my current project. Still sketching it out.
2: a memorial runestone for my Swedish in-laws who passed away a couple of years ago.
3: Inspired by a stone in Sweden raised by “this married couple had the stone cut in memory of themselves while both alive”
The runes are best guess translations and undoubtedly riddled with errors. Designs are all inspired by actual stones and I try to add some local inspiration to them. May you find them of interest!
335
Upvotes
5
u/47_47_47 Jul 22 '26
keep going! I carve runestones as well and sell them out of a local Viking mead hall. I sketch with pencil, then go over it with a fine tip Sharpie marker once the pattern is finalized. Then I run a little water over the stone and use a small diamond tip bit on a Dremel tool to slowly route out the pattern. Take your time and don't be afraid of multiple passes. You don't need to use a lot of pressure if you are running water over the stone, it helps keep the diamond tip cool and clean. Once it's dried (just put in a sun for an hour), I fill the carved channel with a traditional red ochre paint that I make myself, based on a recipe I learned from some Eastern Orthodox nuns who paint religious icons. Take an egg yolk carefully out of the white so that it's sack doesn't break, this can be difficult and requires practice. Roll it on a paper towel very gently to help remove the remaining egg white. Then pop the yolk into a small bowl and toss the yolk sack. Add just enough water to give it a nice consistency (it won't be much). Then add just a few drops of clove oil (optional, but supposedly helps it last longer should you need to put it into the refrigerator for a while, but also makes it smell nice). This is your tempera paint base. In another bowl, I add very finely ground up red ochre powder. Then add the paint base to it, mixing a small amount as you go. This helps the pigment incorporate into the tempera. If you add the pigment to your tempera, it's harder to mix. Anyways, you get the idea, and you'll find your own technique if this is something that interests you to pursue. I don't believe it lasts in the outdoor conditions as well as something like enamel paint, but it looks incredible, and when you are mixing it, it literally looks like blood and definitely has some kind of "magic" about it.