A question for swordsmiths....

ScottRoush

ScottRoush

Joined
Jan 10, 2010
Messages
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I'm about to begin my third full size sword.. a 32" early Scottish backsword blade and I need to do some things differently. My first two swords were Castillion longswords and on each I had a hard time getting an even distal taper (I forge mine in). So what do other folks do to help facilitate this? Part of me just wants to grind it in on this current sword to save the headache.

I'm also curious about the sequence other people go through... i.e. forge to shape, clean up profile and center tip, grind bevels, adjust distal taper... etc. Does that make sense?
 
Scott, I've only noticed a handful of swordsmiths on this site, and I've only made finished one sword so far (although I currenly have two more on my bench I need to HT), but I'll tell you how I do it and hope it's helpful. First of all (and this may be blasphemy), I only heat half the blade. This allows me to freely handle the other half and allows me to have excellent control of the blade as I forge. Once I've forged the upper half of the blade, I repeat the process on the lower part. I don't try anything fancy here, I just forge in the bevels and tip. I let it air cool and start in on the fullers, using a dremel or small grinding wheel. I don't worry about getting the fullers even at this point, as it will even up on the grind. To me, the grind is the key to success. I start with a 60 grit, and work up to a 400 grit. If I have a problem with distal taper, I do not hesitate to put the blade vertically on the platen. I've been success in vertically grinding first 1/2 of the blade (or bevel) and then the other half, turning the blade over and doing it on the other side. (hope you understood that, it's a little hard to explain, but easy to show in person). I leave an edge about the thickness of a nichel, heat the entire blade up to critical, soak for 2 to 3 minutes, and vertically quench. I don't worry about the blade warping, I know it will and I've learned how to straighten it. I hope some of this helps, although I can't help but feel you are further down this road than I am.
 
If you see Scott's new sword posted in the collector's forum, you'll see he solved his problem. He's a good swordsmith!
 
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