Swowd making Question

Shawn fu

Shawn fu

Joined
Dec 10, 2005
Messages
1,207
Hi all,
Recently,a very good friend of mine asked if I would help with a project-that being to make a dozen swords for his medievel fighting group.What they want are swords that will take alot of punishment,and they don't have to be pretty,just functional.My first thought was to use the pile of 5160 ocs that I have lying about-but thats alot of hammering and would be very time consuming.My next thought was to buy a plate of the desired thickness and cut them out to rough shape and finish.This brings to mind the following questions:
1-what type of steel to use-what is going to give me the best durability vs. price.
2-HT&tempering-would it be better to have a slightly softer blade to avoid breakage?
3-how much time am I really looking at,given that I only make knives(not swords)in my free time.
I know there are alot of you here with alot of expertise in knives and swords and all forms of cutting implements-
any advice,comments,suggestions and or links would be greatly appreciated.Thank you.
Shawn
 
Good Morning Shawn fu , Are you planning on making fully functional, hardened, "hold an edge" type swords ? " how much time am I really looking at,given that I only make knives(not swords)in my free time. " for a dozen (real) swords "in your free time " If thats only a couple hours a night probably the next 3-4 months , (or more) Do the guys that practice sword fighting wear full protective gear ? Sounds fun ! :) I know you're asking about steel swords but I have seen guys in martial arts use "hardwood" implements for practice (I'm guessing you already know this ;) ) You're looking for more ?
 
Thanks Robert,that may be the best bet.By the way how do I edit the title on the thread(SWOWD-what a knucklehead!)
 
Hi David-the swords are NOT going to be sharpened,and they all use proctective gear-they make thier own armor:eek: -very cool-and it is very fun-we have tried all sorts of wood and it just cannot take the punishment.I know this sounds a bit over the top-but this is done in a very controlled environment and is quite safe.
 
Aluminum can make a good "Stage Sword" (or knife). It is light (a big plus on a hand-and a-half sword) cheap,easy to cut and grind, and can be straightened and touched up easily.It comes in bars in any needed size.Scrap yards often have lots of it for very cheap prices.
Other choices are mild steel (1030) ,bronze, and whatever the scrap yard has lots of.
Stacy
 
bladsmth said:
Aluminum can make a good "Stage Sword" (or knife). It is light (a big plus on a hand-and a-half sword) cheap,easy to cut and grind, and can be straightened and touched up easily.It comes in bars in any needed size.Scrap yards often have lots of it for very cheap prices.
Other choices are mild steel (1030) ,bronze, and whatever the scrap yard has lots of.
Stacy
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You can also hard anodize (sp?) aluminum. This would help it to take a bit more abuse. Personally i would use 5160 with a low rc with a rounded edge. Rounded edge because it will be less likly to get damaged with a low rc than if you used a flat edge.

Another option would be some cheap stainless steel even unhardened it will take loads of impact abuse. I got a kanatana i made out of some stainless stock that is unhardened and ill tell you with the rounded off edge this sucker can be slammed against another peice of the stock and show very little bruising of the edge.
Obviously for re enactments you want the sword to remain in nice looking condition and not break yet another advantage over 5160. Once the edge bruises noticably you can re dress it with a good 00 bastard file a little sanding with say 220 grit da paper or other sand paper to give it a little touch up after filing and your set.

As for bending not to much of a worry really takes only a few secounds over your knee to fix that right up. The person holding the sword will see any bend long before any one else does so no problem there.
 
If it could wait till spring you could come down here to press out the 5160 for the Swowds.:confused: :confused: It may be a little hard to make them Swords. HEHEHEHEHEHE!!!
 
Thanks Stacy-unfortunately the aluminum has been tried also-pretty much a one use item.
Nova-the stainless may be a good idea and I do have a good source near by.
Hi George-I may just take you up on that one-he doesn't need them till sometime in august(btw I hear if you draw a line with your HT'd relish it'll eat through 1/2" steel in under 60 seconds :eek: )
 
Shawn fu said:
Thanks Stacy-unfortunately the aluminum has been tried also-pretty much a one use item.
Nova-the stainless may be a good idea and I do have a good source near by.
Hi George-I may just take you up on that one-he doesn't need them till sometime in august(btw I hear if you draw a line with your HT'd relish it'll eat through 1/2" steel in under 60 seconds :eek: )
Click to expand...
I still have to send you a jar of the relish. I just keep forgetting.:confused:
 
A friend of mine runs Baltimore Knife & Sword Company and specializes in making swords for display and theatrical use. He uses 4340 (or maybe 4130) since it can be hardened somewhat but remains VERY tough. Depending on what your buddies are willing to spend, look into getting a sheet of 4340 or 4130 and having the blanks laser/plasma/waterjet cut. It'll save you boatloads of time and all you'll have to do is grind bevels. HT for both of these steels is also pretty simple.

-d
 
thanks Deker-great idea-and a great site.your friend has some really amazing stuff,thanks.-I've never worked with 4340,but if its fairly easy to HT then its right up my alley:D
George,no worries bro-I see you,ve got alot going on,congrats on the write-up in K.I.:thumbup:
 
If they're going to be beating them up, you're pretty much stuck with 5160 or 1075 hardened into the lowish 50s.

This is not a small project, especially if you're unfamiliar with making swords. If these are to be wieldable weapon-like things, there's a lot to know about the proper proportions for the historical forms you're replicating. There's distal and profile tapers that complicate grinding and special attention to the tang area --this is where many, even experienced smiths screw up when making something that is really going to be thrashed around.
There's a learning curve. Swords are NOT just long knives.
Of course if these guys are unfamiliar with how the real thing should handle, you could probably just blank stuff out and give it to 'em and they wouldn't know the difference.
 
i use to belong to a recreation group, we used rattan wrapped in duct tape. a relative of bamboo. rattan is very tough, it will take a beating every weekend of a couple years before it breaks. the tape keeps pieces from flying when it finally does break. best of all is you can fight at full strength and speed. i would come home with new brusies every weekend.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone-you have been a tremendous help:thumbup:
 
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