Tiapan

I would love to see pictures of this zombie bane, sounds like a fun weapon lol

i like all of them, was curious how you got the hammer head on the back of the largest one, working with the leaf spring.

i like the nice straight look of this hawk. i was curious what the handle was and what you used to drift it.

whichever way you like working, i really like the work you did with the rasps. I am particularly fond of the texture they give to the work.

I guess sharp to me is a relative term. Most Blades i see these days, particularly knives, people put almost a razor edge on (aka shaving sharp) but you would not want that kind of edge for everyday use on a larger blade, especially heavier ones. And yes a lot of people think that older weapons were heavy, and we know from historical evidence this was not normally the case, with a few exceptions, for instance the large bearded axe, not exactly the smallest weapon. But a very thin edge on a heavy blade, (and by heavy i mean a fairly wide cutting weapon like older style broadswords, or Falchions would end with a lot of damage to that fine edge. Oh they were plenty sharp, but not sharp like a Knife is i guess what i was trying to say.

not making any comment on the sword crafting bit but a lot of people have been sent to the afterlife by metal clubs of one form or another, just a thought, because many battle swords did not have much of an edge at all (depending completely on style and era of use, small finer blades tended to be sharper)

AS a wise person once said "it is easier to ask for forgiveness then for permission" as the conversation goes, "what do you mean honey, its just a little 4 foot by 1 foot ditch with a pipe in the bottom, you wont hardly notice it there at all, i mean i'm the one mowing the lawn right" :rolleyes:

I was also curious what type of wood are you using for your handles? and are you treating them at all, I know leather likes to stain when it gets any oil on it.

I am no where near as experienced as many of the fine members of this board. But i have to agree that trying to make a Sword from scratch and heat treating it is a very , well lets just ambitious endeavor.Smaller projects make a lot more sense All of the suggestions for readings are great, and libraries are a sorely overlooked source of knowledge in this golden age of the internet. Everyday i read more and realize how little i truly know.
But i do know this, most of the time when you get a leaf spring, it is already at a fairly great hardness and temper for a sword. Now its not a professional differential hardening, but it will work in a pinch( hence the spring quality of a leaf spring). but when you cut with a torch it took away the temper of the steel. If you bought more then one i would try my hand with Slow stock removal until you reach the shape you want. which can take a long long long time with a curved blade. here is a link with some pretty basic instructions. they just take a lot of time and effort, and lots and lots of patience, but i will tell you this, i think all of the members here can agree that those are very important attributes for anyone truly interested in becoming a bladesmith/swordsmith.

But most importantly, Be SAFE.

P.S. Take the information on the site with a grain or two of salt, the author has a little bit of an attitude towards people in certain professions and acts a little immature (also some information seems fairly historically referenced while other information is outright silly, for instance the reference to the groove in the sword as a blood groove, hilarious lol)

Second P.S., I do know people that have made blades using similar concepts as the site and the blades did indeed function well. they made shorter machete style blades but they were nice heavy choppers that hold an edge very well and polished up real nice.

Staff memo: link removed, IFI does not advise cold forging used springs. This is asking for serious injury. Only Xrays can see what fractures are already in the spring from its use in the past. Example, no matter how many times a child successfully runs across a highway without first looking, it is still asking for trouble.

Also the suggestion that only auto makers can heat treat steel properly is an insult to many, and a myth. For those that do not already know: a spring has different heat treat needs than a blade does. We strive to post accurate information at IFI forum and not promote myths and fallacy hype.

Those are some awesome looking axes, I was curious what the last one was made from, because that looks like a nice heavy chuck of steel. Also I really like the leather wrappings on some of these. How are you attaching the leather to the handle? It looks like brads of some kind but would love to know how you are doing it.

Hi I found this link on another site. I havent seen them on other sites and did not see it on here. But i have been reading all day from these books, most of them over 100 years old. I hope you all enjoy as much as I have so far.

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Wish there were some nice priced anvils popping up in the houston area.

i love this knife, i was curious is that rawhide for the grip? and if so did you wet the rawhide before tying it around the blade handle?

Great Job, I really like the look of it

I was wondering if you Annealed the Hammer head before working it, Or did you just heat and work, also i was curious what handle material that was and what you used to finish it.

And this Hawk is absolutely amazing, Right now I am not able to Smith and seeing work of this quality helps with my patience. I am curious of how you harden your RR spike Hawks, And how you temper them.

From what I have read on other forums, RR spikes can sometimes make perfectly functional blades. Many are what most consider Medium Carbon blades. Machetes are usually medium carbon as well.(Cold Steel's are and they sell a who lot of them) Most can be hardened and then tempered back as well. I plan on doing a lot of work with RR spikes. Mostly because I can get them for free and while I am still learning and starting out I don't want to have to go buy material. Once I have learned better hammer control and skill, then I might go get me some nicer steel to work with. I also am looking forward to Trying a lot of different techniques as I progress, again if I mess up the Spike cost me pretty much nothing. And much more importantly, I hope to learn something from that mistake. But If they turn out looking and cutting good, than all the better.

Let me start by saying i love these knives. Very straightforward and elegant design. I plan on using pecan often as a handle material for several reasons. 1. Cost, there are tons of pecan trees in Texas, and most people put fallen limbs out for trash after a storm. 2. Pecan is very durable, it is a member of the hickory family, but is a little more brittle, but for knife handles that should not be much of an issue, maybe if you just used slabs and pins. and 3. any shavings of scraps from shaping go into the BBQ pit, I LOVE a Brisket slowly smoked with Pecan.