designing a new sword, some ideas/advice?

it looks like im starting to focus on a certain type of blade, that is dark age migration period swords, "viking swords" which i dont believe were originally viking designed, and other dark age and ancient swords like the spatha.. one sword ive always liked for its characteristics is the chinese jian sword.. similar a bit to these other swords but these other ones give me far more flexibility and options for general designs of the hilt

the spatha hilt itself does happen to be very blade heavy in general.. i may consider this one but id probably drill out the pommel and fill it with lead weights to bring the POB closer to the hilt while still using the wooden hilt idea.. i dont think ill go with the spatha.. i think itll be more of a migration/viking style blade, focusing on 2 1/2lb overall weight, 30 inch blade, probably another 7 inches for the hilt.. i think im going to design the hilt from scratch and select the style of components i want for it.. a blade typically has to be made like other blades, unless i wanted to get into some useless fantasy stuff which i do not, so i'll be focusing on things like the hilt and the scabbard

for the hilt as i said i wanted it to be a bit longer, i have larger hands but it also allows more leverage to bring the POB further back, so i'll just costomize the hilt entirely and focus most of my efforts here, first the general shape of it and its components, and then color combinations and grip materials.. itll be a winter project so i have time to design it and make tweaks
 
anyway, with the profile in mind and thinking up hilt options, what sort of grind do you think it should have?.. most european swords seem to be lenticular but im open to other options if someone could make a good case for it
 
What sort of grind are you capable of doing evenly and consistently? That would be my first concern. Keeping the grind even on a long blade isn't the easiest thing, and you'll need to be good at correcting warp if you plan on doing your own heat treat.
 
have you ever tries using radiused blocks underneath a long sanding belt?.. its a trick i used for making guitar necks.. you cut a series of wooden blocks the profil you want.. and position them accordingly the length of a long sanding belt, then when you press the material into the sanding belt it actually sands the material to match the shape of the blocks underneath..

what i was thinking of doing was getting a grinder belt and make a tool to stretch a grinder belt over top of a series of radiused blocks i will shape to the profile of the blade cross section at various points, chamfer and polish these metal blocks so the grinding belt can freely glide over them, then pressing the flat bar into the belt it will force the grinding belt to cut the metal into the profile of the blade, fuller included if its a wide fuller without sharp corners.. if i ever wanted to make any other blade i can simply change out the radiused blocks underneath the belt to whichever profile id like.. and when the profile is cut i can run it through increasingly finer sanding belts to smooth out all the scratches and clean up the metal

thats how i was thinking of doing it.. seems like cheating
 
I would suggest not doing a jian just yet. They are really long and require keeping a difficult grind centered the whole way. I am working on one now, and I am actually getting a better grinder to help make it.

good luck, though. You can't make swords unless you are willing to get started an make that first one (my first was double-edged. The next 15 were single-edged, because it is hard enough to get the thing straight and tapered properly, with proper geometry and all. They are great fun, and also hard.

just go into it realizing you will learn a ton, and you will be a lot better with each one.
 
well im going to design it in a 3D solid modeling program (autodesk inventor) first.. might even CNC machine the parts later on when i get a mill
 
Just do yourself a favor and give it a healthy distal taper.
 
before i give it any kind of taper im going to need to find better measurements for blades, i mean, i can copy a profile from a sketch, sure, but as for distal taper, another aspect i need to know is how wide a blade should begin.. if i go with a viking style blade im looking at a 28-30 inch blade

correct me if im wrong, but the jian and the viking sword are roughly the same length blade and roughly the same weight.. the jian doesnt appear to have any fuller, but is a narrow blade while the viking sword is much broader with a much wider fuller giving the two blades similar length and weight, am i wrong?
 
The following is not to be considered the best or definitive in methodology but how one man is approaching stock removal for longer blades.

http://www.sword-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=15122

Kevin did a very nice migration type sword some years ago with a cog way out there about eight inches from the hilt. It felt more like four inches. The hilt components were quite light.

My point I guess is that the grind was such that the mass distribution was quite good, even without a lot of counterweight. Another maker, Gus Trim, used to mention that pommels were for fine tuning the mass distribution, not a primary counterweight. For awhile, there was a buzz about "low polar moment" but as I had described it long ago somewhat the differences of front or rear wheel drive power applications when steering and trailing throttle oversteer in a Porsche 911 (cog too close to the hilt). A balance or neutral steering not necessarily just what one wants in a particular sword. Toss pivot points into the equations and it can get to a level of overthinking the whole design process but all due considerations are something effecting different sword types. Don't confuse pivot points with a moment of inertia or center of percussion.

Distal taper can be concave, convex or quite linear. A generality I see of 18th century swords (both straight and curved) is a tendency for rather radical distal taper starting with stock 3/8" or more and losing half that thickness by the cog. More linear distal to the last quarter of length and then often ending at 2mm or less at the point. Heavier pallasches/cavalry thrusters a bit less radical a distal and more meat to the point but most sabres and other straight swords often exhibit this formula of losing half the thickness by the cog. This puts a lot of the mass towards the hilt.

Cheers

GC
 
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As to blade dimension and cross sections, there really isn't a substitute for actually examining period swords. Some do visit museums and are able to gain hands on access allowing direct calibrations. Other than that, one can copy what production has to offer. There is so much variation in period swords across culture and history that narrowing down to a specific interest can be difficult. Keep in mind that modern reproductions are usually a compromise, often beginning with thinner stock than originals. One can get an idea of modern reproductions from dealers such as Kult of Athena. KOA actually gives some distal data along with a few blade profile dimensions. Books from authors such as Ewart Oakeshott are good for profiles but scant in the specifics of distal properties. Auction houses also have some basic information.

Cheers

GC
 
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