Need it longer

JTknives

Blade Heat Treating www.jarodtodd.com
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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well it looks like im making a sword for a friend and im having truble finding stock thats long enough. any ideas?
 
Long enough is not a problem with a sword, unless you are grinding it. I forge most 36" swords from a 20-24" bar of steel.
If you are grinding it, try Crucible and/or Admiral. They sell most all their steel in any length you want. IIRC, their standard stock lengths of blade steel are 3' and 6'.
Aldo has 1084 in longer pieces,too.
Stacy
 
By the time you have forged a proper distal taper and profile into a sword you'll find you're cutting metal off what started as a 24 inch bar

-Page
 
You can get stock as long as 96 inchs long to do that job. I have links on my site for ordering it. Hope this was of help to you. :)
 
as to the steel im going to use, i dont know yet :D. was thinking 5160 but i dont have a way to heat treat somthing that long so it would need to be shiped out for HT. that being said would i need to go with an air hardening steel and send it to paul boss? i wont be forging it, stock removil for time sake. the other thing is, its being made from a picture of a period peace. its going to push my skills but thats what makes it fun. the hilt and butt will be forged from wroght iron with iron wood grip.
 
here is the picture. its the one on the far left. im also having a hard time nailing down the demensions any ideas?
 

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Looks like a standard broadsword,or arming sword.
The blade would be about 24" to 30". The handle from 8" to 10". The guard as large or small as you desire for aesthetics. These type of sword/guard combinations are referred to as cruciform, obviously, due to the overall shape.

I just looked up some info, and it says that this style sword was also called a knights sword. Popular from 1000 CE to 1600 CE.

Stacy
 
thats a zweihander! you're going have hard time finding someone to heat treat 5 feet of sword. to give you an idea of scale, wrap both of your hands around the grip portion of a baseball bat, that's the distance between quillion and pommel. If I remember correctly from the research I did about 10 years ago the finished sword should weigh no more than 5-6 pounds

-Page
 
Thats a hand and a half sword, I was able to study a period one from the mid 1500's last week. The one I handled was a double ring guard though, blade profile would be the same. If you want I can check on the dimensions and pics I have.
Grant
 
What a consistent set of interpretations :)

I agree that it's a hand and a half based on the grip shape.
 
Thats a hand and a half sword, I was able to study a period one from the mid 1500's last week. The one I handled was a double ring guard though, blade profile would be the same. If you want I can check on the dimensions and pics I have.
Grant

that would be great.
 
I have some of burton's 5160 stock. Are you forging or doing stock removal? these pieces are like, 48 inches long and .23ish thick, 1.5 inches wide IIRC. I could go outside and check.
 
I have some of burton's 5160 stock. Are you forging or doing stock removal? these pieces are like, 48 inches long and .23ish thick, 1.5 inches wide IIRC. I could go outside and check.

I've got some of the same. I think it's 1.75 wide (of course it's at home and I'm not so I can't measure it).
 
I have some burton 5160 as well but onley 12 sticks left. Sad. Im just going to use that and forge to shape. Now for heat treating a beast that size? Any ideas
 
try a piece of old gutter, or pipe from the scrap yard, cut either in half and cap the ends off. or maybe build a quench trough from wood, seal joints.

i don't know maybe the wood is a bad idea, it shouldn't catch fire though.......... at least i don't think so.

Andy
 
Looks like an Oakeshott Type XIIIa Longsword... probably German by the ports.
There may be ports on boths sides of the gaurd (can't tell from the picture)- one port is often larger than the other.

The dimensions will likely be OAL: 43-46"; Blade Lenth:33-36"; Blade width at gaurd: just shy of 2"

You can get 2" x .25" 5160 from Admiral Steel in the lengths that you need. Good Luck

Mark
 
I hope you'll keep us posted on this project as it progresses! I got a weak spot for the big German swords. I really took a liking to the original you posted, and in fact I was curious enough about it myself that I asked about it on swordforums, here. Turns out one of the guys there found the listed stats for that sword in the Wallace collection. Blade is about 37.6" long, and a little over 2" wide. Total weight: 4.52 pounds! :eek:

Swords are challenging enough as is (to me at least), but this one sure looks like a doozy. Best of luck with it!
 
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