Material suggestion for sword

T

toolmaker

Joined
Jun 23, 2003
Messages
122
Good day.

I am seeking some help in material selection for a cane sword i will be making. I have looked at Stellite, Haynes25(L605), Waspalloy, powdered metals,pretty much everything under the sun.
Is there anyone with practical experience that could suggest Material for manufacturing a Cane sword. It is a gift for my Dad.
I am a tool and die maker with many years experience machining and grinding Hardened alloys, any material would be welcome as long as it will perform.

Particulars;
Blade will be 28 inches long
Handle is carved Bone, 9 inches long
the blade will be almost straight, a very slight curve

if there are any questions that would help suggestion, please let me know. I truly appreciate any help along these lines.
 
You might check on swordforums, as they will give you far more advice than you can shake a stick (or sword) at.

A2, L6, O-1/L6 Damascus, 1095 can all make good sword blades.

Send mail to Don Fogg or Kevin Cashen and I'm sure they will be helpful in your selection of a good steel.
 
Go in shop forum and search back for suggestions on this. About any high carbon steel will do though. Stellite will not, and Not something I would use any stainless for either. WIth a thicker blade, might get away with it, but with how thin a sword cane is no way I'd use anything but a good high carbon. the 10xx series, 52100, 5160, maybe A2(hink there was some argument on this), L6, O1, etc.
 
thank you for the responses so far !

My dads favorite movies are the blind swordsman series. From what i have been able to tell, that sword is about .090 - .120 thick, maybe an inch wide, 28-30 inches long, which is what i will use as well. I should have included this in original question.
 
I don't know enough to answer your question, but I'd like to suggest that you post pictures of the sword when you're done, if you're able and willing.
 
1095 is too high in carbon for a sword. 5160 is ideal, and don't temper it too hard or it'll break too easily. Swords are subject to much more stress than knives and many of the steels that work well for knives aren't suitable for swords at all.

There's a sword forum at this website, and you might have a look at the maker's forum at www.netsword.com too.
 
Hey, Cougar. I just got a 1095 sword from Don Fogg.

Master03L.jpg
 
I think that yet again, there is too much blind faith put into materials without giving the credit to the makers that use those materials.

If you pick a steel, be it 10xx or 5160 or L6 or 52100 or whatever, it will work just fine and can make a spectacular sword blade if done correctly.

Are you heat treating the steel yourself? Have you experimented with steel to figure out what you like and what YOU personally attain the best results with?

Or are you sending it out for someone else to heat treat? Perhaps they would have a preference.

Heat treat and geometry/shaping are what will make a blade great, good, ok, or bad. Some makers can take the most simple of steels and make absolutely wonderful weapons out of it, and some makers make excellent blades out of higher alloy steels.

If you want something that will likely accept a generic heat treat well, I would probably suggest 5160. However, if you want to make something really excellent, your steel selection is probably not going to be the greatest of your worries.

I love how people are so quick to just shout out this or that steel. We in this thread aren't making the thing, and we sure as hell don't know exactly how you plan to go about making it or how "attuned" you are to certain materials. Might be best to take these suggestions rather lightly and just pick something you like and make it work. :)
 
Heat treating is a specialized skill, i will be sending it to the shop that does our heat treating for other projects. They are very good, inexpensive and have worked miracles for us in the past.
The geometry i copied from an antique sword i have, it retains its edge and still cuts very well. I used a shadowgraph and coordinate measuring machine to develop prints of the angles.
I wanted to get some feedback from people here, even though as you post it would be difficult due to people not knowing exactly how i will be machining, grinding and polishing.
I appreciate all the feedback, and the suggestions, thank you very much. We have extensive experience in machining hardened alloys and most materials, but i have never made a sword...till now.
 
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