Swordsmithing

I've not met a smith (who wasn't a bladesmith) who knew anything about swords. No matter how well you can forge weld, you also need to know enough about their history and use to understand how to shape and balance it so that someone can actually swing it. Nor are there just "swords" - there are dozens of local traditions, all with their own style of use and shape.

If you haven't already read Hrisoulas, Kapp and a bunch of other books, you haven't been looking.

"BigHammerBoy" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@localhost.talkaboutcrafting.com:

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I've also been using swords, allthough not since I was four. My interests lie in blade/swordsmithing too. I do believe though that the point is that you need to learn how metal reacts under heat and hammer before you attempt to make a sword. Bladesmithing is the pinnacle of the smithy trade and to get there takes years of practice. I expect the first 50 blades I make will be complete flops in one area or another. Ie, the temper is not right, or it is too hard and brittle, or too soft... this kind of thing...

As for the use of the swords you wish to make, it would be wise to research on google or whatever the specific methods involved in making that particular style of sword. Some swords are folded over and over such as the Samurai swords (whereas katana are not as far as my history of ninjas go).

A good search on google for Damascus Swords and Daggers will yield a few nice results. I had a bunch of these bookmarked but lost them all in a recent PC crash so I can't point you in any more specific direction, my apologies.

Good luck :)

Hrisoulas used to participate in this group. Last post I see on Google was about five years ago, but pretty sure he lurked here later than that. I once received an email reply from him because he thought I was

Then you already know everything and there is nothing else that anyone can teach you.

BigHammerBoy explained:

and hunt for them.

Hello all, I'm new around here and I've been interested in smithing for a long time, however, I've never been able to find any information on the web about smithing, and my budget is currently nill for going out and finding books, or paying for a college corse in smithing. So I'd like to ask for some advice and direction, specifically about swordsmithing, as its a hobby I've been interested in for a long time. I know its not an incredably useful talent, but its what I'd like to smith all the same.

Well, I agree with Spaco, the best thing to do is to find some other smiths in your area. In addition to ABANA, you might try some local Rennaisance Fair/Society for Creative Anacronism groups, as they sometimes have blacksmiths around. If you're lucky, there might be a blacksmithing business somewhere in your vacinity. Or maybe a knifemaker. If so, give them a call and ask for a tour.

Just a thought, maybe you could start out making knives before moving on to swords? You can make a perfectly acceptable knifes out of old leaf springs. I think if you start out and make a few "good enough" knifes, then you can gradually progress to a "perfect" sword. That way you're learning as you go along, and you keep your expenses a little lower as you start.

You're going to have a very hard time doing it if you don't even have enough money for a library card, though. (Unless library cards are very expensive where you live).

You're going to need to buy a few hammers, an old anvil or railroad rail, or at least a hunk of iron you can pound on, a few files, coal/propane, etc... You can pull it off on a budget, but you're going to have to spend something.

Good luck!

Is this your full cup grasshopper?

If you cannot afford a library card... ( WTF is with that, all I have ever needed to get a library card is ID that said I lived in the library's area).

Perhaps the next question is along the lines of "What color rocks work best as hammers?" or some such.

Talk about trying to do it the hard way.

If you want to find information about the stuff, you'll have to get a bit more specific in your websearches. Wanna build Japanese? Traditional methodology? Modern? Do you want to build European? Some other ethnicity? Theres lots of good info out there and probably twice as much bad, if not more. Setting up shop ain't gonna be cheap, either.

Best book that I have personally read on Japanese swordsmithing techniques was The Craft of The Japanese Sword

Lot's of luck! Look's like you'll need it all.

Cheers Trevor Jones

In responce to spaco's suggestion, my location is Canada, Bc, surrey. And thanks for the advice spaco :D.

In response to Andy Dingley, Like I said, I don't have the budget to go out looking for books on amazon or barns and noble, nor can I even afford a bloody membership for the library, -_-

As for the use of a sword, pal I've been training with the katana since I was 4 years old. I know how to use a sword, I know what to use it for, but I don't know how to craft them. Its a subject I've been interested in, but found little information on. I can certainly google swordsmithing, and get a crap load of hits, but nothing I've found has actually told me how to make a sword, what materials to use, how specifically I should fold the steel or w/e else is entailed.

Thanks for the book refferences though, maybe when I have some cash I'll go out and hunt for them.

You should start with some basic smithing and knife making first.

I th> In responce to spaco's suggestion, my location is Canada, Bc, surrey. And

Thank you all for your comments, direction, and critasism. Doug Roberts? If you could send me an email with a little more information, it would be appericiated. my full email is snipped-for-privacy@fastmail.fm, a phone number would be appericiated as well, so I could give you a call, maybe ask a few more questions.

Thank you all for your comments, direction, and critasism. Doug Roberts? If you could send me an email with a little more information, it would be appericiated. my full email is snipped-for-privacy@fastmail.fm, a phone number would be appericiated as well, so I could give you a call, maybe ask a few more questions.

How to make a sword...

Method 1) stock removal. Go the the spring shop and get some steel. Grind away everything that doesn't look like a sword. Go back to the spring shop and have them run the sword through a heat treatment cycle.

Method 2) the Traditional method. Sift beach sand with a lodestone to seperate the black grains. When you have about twenty pounds of black sand, go to the smelter and reduce it into a raw iron bloom. (see 'Iron from Stone 101' for details) Start folding the iron billet while adding carbon from finely ground charcoal or rice straw rubbed across the heated surface. Do this for a while, usually ten to twenty folds. Draw the billet out into a sword. Allow to cool and send to the shaping bench for final shaping by stock removal. After the final profile is set, mix up the mask clay and apply to the blade spine and flanks, leaving the edge exposed. Heat to quench temperature and quench in water to harden. Polish the finished blade and assemble.

Tools needed: forge, hammers, anvils, grinders, a couple hundred pounds of coal or a big natural gas line, a thousand hours of hand labor in very hot conditions.

Nothing to it...

Charly

Method 1) stock removal. Go to the spring shop and get some steel. Grind away everything that doesn't look like a sword. Go back to the spring shop and have them run the sword through a heat treatment cycle.

Method 2) the Traditional method. Sift beach sand with a lodestone to separate the black grains. When you have about twenty pounds of black sand, go to the smelter and reduce it into a raw iron bloom. (See 'Iron from Stone 101' for details) Start folding the iron billet while adding carbon from finely ground charcoal or rice straw rubbed across the heated surface. Do this for a while, usually ten to twenty folds. Draw the billet out into a sword. Allow to cool and send to the shaping bench for final shaping by stock removal. After the final profile is set, mix up the mask clay and apply to the blade spine and flanks, leaving the edge exposed. Heat to quench temperature and quench in water to harden. Polish the finished blade and assemble.

Tools needed: forge, hammers, anvils, grinders, a couple hundred pounds of coal or a big natural gas line, a thousand hours of hand labor in very hot conditions.

Nothing to it...

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Wow, I never knew it was that simple to make swords. What on earth have I been waiting for? LOL

Rodney

Sword making 101 Quick and dirty stock removal =B7Buy a particulate mask, leather gloves hearing protection and eye protection so that your lungs, fingers, ears and eyes function the same when you are done =B7Get a leaf spring from a car or truck auto wrecker =B7Spring it straight =B7Borrow a grinder and lots of stones =B7Grind it to the out side profile of the sword making sure you don't cause the metal to start changing colors (removes temper) =B7Draw lines down the center and sides to act as guides for grinding =B7Grind the bevels making sure you don't cause the metal to start changing colors or cause uneven stock removal =B7Decide on the edge profile =B7Hand hone to sharp =B7Mount the bolster =B7Drill, mount. shape and rivet the handle =B7Wrap the handle with cord or wire for better grip

Understand the whole process will take many hours of hard work. See what other people are doing. If you are serous about it The Complete Bladesmith by Jim Hrisoulas ISBN 0873644301 is an excellent resource last I heard they don't charge you to sit in libraries. If you local library doesn't carry a copy sweet talk your librarian most of them are amazingly helpful people but they need to be asked. Sit down take lots of paper and make notes. Barring that get a friend with library a membership to borrow it for you. Make sure the library gets it back because I might need it next time. Here are some websites to get you started