Integral work in progress

[Sam Salvati]

Got to playin a bit, wanted to make a sword along the lines of the one piece tactikool hawk I made, using a similar idea of

-one piece construction
-tough as heyul
-aesthetically pleasing

Here is what I have so far. Forged from some 5/16" thick 5160, the blade has a slight leaf shape. Let me know what you think

 

[Lorien]

this will be awesome.

 

[Sam Salvati]

LOL! Thanks Lorien

 

[Lorien]

I like your work, very blacksmitherly. Fun watching your progression over the years.

 

[SBranson]

Love the concept. Interesting way to form the handle.. I'm looking forward to more.

 

[Sam Salvati]

thanks guys. I wanted to make something along the lines of bronze age style blades, elegant leaf shapes. Integral hilt with some upsetting of the edges, but tweaked a little.

 

[ScottRoush]

beautiful forging Sam...

 

[Shawn fu]

Very cool ,Sam

 

[Sam Salvati]

thanks guys.

I like to introduce some contemporary techniques into blades where I can, sometimes they fail but sometimes they are cool. I also like to bring new techniques to the table so to speak, most bladesmiths will only ever forge a knife, while out there is a whole universe of different cool funky things you can do, so cross breeding the two introduces people in a way they can understand to new techniques.

 

[ScottRoush]

well said Sam. Having a forge, anvil and hammer (a press helps) opens up a whole world just like you said. For an imaginative person.. it's almost endless in terms of possibilities. The key is to have no fear of failure.

I need to come out and visit you and Aldo sometime and get some schooling in hammer work.

 

[Lorien]

it would be cool to fill that pommel up with gold and carve a knot into it. I love goooooold!

 

[Sam Salvati]

Scott, you are welcome in my shop anytime man! We could do some cool stuff together

Lorien, a friend on another forum commented that in picture 4 it looks like to opposite facing Lion's heads, and I am thinking I will accentuate that by chiseling in some eyes and a mouth and teeth. Cannot afford no gold LOL!

 

[Lorien]

you mean you don't have bricks of gold laying around the shop? I thought all you knifemakers had a huge stash of gold and slept in a big nest of 100 dollar bills.

 

[Sam Salvati]

Yeah right, maybe that Nick Wheeler does......

 

[Sam Salvati]

Photos:

Also a set of tongs I made for myself, and you can see another pair in the photo of the sword.

Started grinding:

 

[Lorien]

that is looking sweet.

 

[ScottRoush]

Sam that handle is really something. It reminds me of some of the integral Japanese umabari... or something that would be unearthed from a pyramid. It would be cool to forge weld some wrought iron onto the tang and then forge in all that character.

 

[Sam Salvati]

Thanks guys! It is very interesting this integral hilt, POB is already 2.5" away from the end of the handle, I expect it to move pack another .5" when I am done grinding and polishing.

Scott, I did Iron Smelting with Lee Sauder this past summer, forged a blade from the iron we made and it had a real cool look to it, it is similar to this one only a simpler hilt, I left the pommel end as a hunk of raw bloom, it's pretty cool stuff!

 

[Mike Davis]

Incredible as always Sam.

 

[AVigil]

Looks great !