First Sword

[JimiRain]

This is a sword I made a few weeks ago. I beleive its made of 1050. It has a natural oak handle. Natural meaning I found it on the ground outside. Please give me advice on how to improve on my next one.
P.S. sorry about the bad picture quality, I didnt have my good camera on me.

[ApprenticeMan]

Not bad Jimi, looks pretty nice. If you can, could you take some clearer pictures?

[dennis_hl]

Could you tell us a bit more about it? Did you forge it out of steel or grind it out of steel? How did you heat treat it? Steps/processes? It looks great, I'm working on my first gladius, before it I made a greek something or another and before that a seax (18"). There are others on here who have more experience than I, but if we don't hear from them I'll offer advice per my own experiences.

[JimiRain]

It came from bar stock. The end was heated so I could put a slight curve on it. I did the rest with a disk grinder and belt sander. I did not heat treat this one, it was just for practice in making a sword really. I could not get enough heat as this was out at my grandpas. I heated the tip with a gas welder held from a distance.

[IronFist]

Good looking blade! What were your processes/ methods? Did you forge a harder strip for the edges sake? What is the length, width, and thickness of it? Does the tang extend through? Did you polish it? Is it oil or water quenced?Will there be a fuller along the top edge? Is it patterned or your own design, because I was going to say it looks like a seax. In my opinion, you have crafted a fairly straight, blade with a purpose. My only critiques would be instead of a screw attatchment, use round headed rivets for added grip or recessed rivets for a sleek handle. And the crossguard seems a bit small. Does it provide good coverage to the soft of the fist? Thanks for sharing!