My sword

tryppyr

tryppyr

Joined
Feb 5, 2010
Messages
3,911
Okay, I admit it...the title is a teaser. I did not make a sword.

However, during my trip to Oregon we stopped by an antique mall and I bought a cheap replica sword (made in India). Looks to be a replica of a cavalry sword from the 19th century. It's total crap of course, but for $25 I got a souvenir of the trip, and something I can work on improving.

Yes, yes... I know... lipstick on a pig. So be it.

Anyway, I'll take a picture or two later today and add it to the post.
 
Here are the pictures of the sword as-bought.

SwordRs.jpg


SwordLs.jpg
 
I've been giving this project some thought. I see a few things that must occur.

First, though the pictures don't convey it very well, the bevels on this blade are attrocious. They are as flat and smooth as the ocean during a storm. The transition from bevel to flat is rounded and ugly. So the first thing I want to do is grind the bevel to a flat even angle. This is not something I will attempt with the grinder, though I will use it to bring down some of the worst high spots. Most of the work will be done with sandpaper and a steel sanding block.

The thing is, I need to find a way to secure the blade to a level surface so I can get some reasonably long strokes with the sanding block. Anyone have any ideas for a blade this long?
 
Superglue it to a iron or aluminum plate. Can release it with a little heat and remove the residue with acetone.

-Sandow
 
why not keep is as an exaple and make a reproduction in good materials......
 
A couple of answers to that question.

I bought this crappy sword as a project... something cheap I could buy to play with. I had no intentions of displaying it or using it as anything other than a project.

The reason I don't strive to make something better out of better materials is that I have no means of heat treating anything even half this long, so it would be pointless to attempt that sort of project.
 
He is using a pitch bowl. Chasers and engravers use it to hold an object while working it. Notice how in some cases he places a paper towel under the object and presses it in the warm pitch. After the pitch cools you trim the towel, and then can place the work tightly in the recess or remove it as needed. Normally you just press the object to be chased in the pitch directly. The pitch comes in a variety of grades. He is using red pitch. It comes in black(soft), red, ( medium), and green (hard). You warm the pitch to a semi-liquid state and pour it into a bowl. or along a wooden surface for longer or odd shaped objects. It has been used for centuries to hold swords while the blades were carved and engraved with burins. To release the object, merely warm it. There are new synthetic "pitch" products that are thermo-set plastics, and are becoming popular, but I haven't used them.
 
bladsmth said:
He is using a pitch bowl. Chasers and engravers use it to hold an object while working it. Notice how in some cases he places a paper towel under the object and presses it in the warm pitch. After the pitch cools you trim the towel, and then can place the work tightly in the recess or remove it as needed. Normally you just press the object to be chased in the pitch directly. The pitch comes in a variety of grades. He is using red pitch. It comes in black(soft), red, ( medium), and green (hard). You warm the pitch to a semi-liquid state and pour it into a bowl. or along a wooden surface for longer or odd shaped objects. It has been used for centuries to hold swords while the blades were carved and engraved with burins. To release the object, merely warm it. There are new synthetic "pitch" products that are thermo-set plastics, and are becoming popular, but I haven't used them.
Click to expand...

Thanks Stacy.:thumbup:
 
Remove the handle and clamp it to a board with padded C clamps (I use leather scraps for padding).

I bought a sword just like it when I was about 13 (for $15), I still have the handle and about half the blade... the other half was never found. I strongly suspect they are mild steel, but a 13 year-old boy can break anything, given time and lack of supervision.
 
Actually, I decided to clamp it to a piece of square pipe I had laying around after knocking down the worst of the high spots on the grinder. The project is well under way, albeit slowly.

Sword5.JPG
 
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