The Metal

o.k well see if he cant instruct me correctly, talked to him on the phone the other day and he was more than happy to aid me with my project. all i have to do is pay for the metal i need and he'll guide me the rest of the way. fact is ive seen his work and my grandpa has been a professional mechanic for over 50 years, if he says he's the most talented person he has ever seen working with metal. i wouldnt call him anything like a novice, im going to one of his forges this week. i'll take some pictures and post them. he also used to build railroads in his earlier days, and now does it for fun. he has a smaller forge for things like strike flints and little knives or daggers, and a huge one for god knows what. he made a log cutter from scratch! you put a raw log on it with bark and everything, this machine gets rid of all that stuff, sands it down and cuts the log into desired pieces (2-4, 4-10 ect) so i believe im in good hands. i think he mentioned something about working with black steel, ive never heard of it but it sounds cool. i will be SURE to post pictures of his works, maybe i can silence some of you more arrogant "all mighty super members".

im not quite sure some of you understood what i meant, especially the one who said something about "not making friends" i simply stated that i have someone who has been doing this for many years now and that he will be able to tell me anything and everything i need to know. i never once implied that i knew everything, let alone that i knew anything. those of you who actually read and understand my posts and are nice thank you, the project is actually for my senior year. if i dont pass the project, i fail. and i have to present it in front of several judges, who grade me on my presentation and several other things. i already know that this was a great choice for a project because everyone else chose stupid stuff like global warming and sports. i have always admired swords, and look at them as a weapon in one hand, the other hand a great representation of art. i will not give up or be dissapointed because i am too interested in it for me to give up, im sticking with it.

found out yesterday that my grandpa's friend has a forge right down the rode. so i got lucky, ive seen some of this guy's products as a kid (cant believe in didnt think about this before) and he has made some pretty amazing things. he mostly works with saw steel (very durable to my understanding, and 440 stainless steel too) so thanks for the input, i dont really need much more advice since this guy (tommy) is supposed to be really good. i'll post pictures of some of his works, he makes some HUGE swords (from what i remember when i was younger).

my grandpa has an entire shop with various metals and tools that i need, i know i will have to buy more. and yes i do need a mentor so i wont be completely left in the dust... my location is North Carolina, Rockingham, Richmond county. sorry it took so long to reply, i had work all day yesterday. i have a little over a year to do this

I want to do swordsmithing for my high school graduation project, i have a little while to do it but i already have it o.k'd with my school (provided i dont have a sharp edge on my product) so im in need of ideas, best ways to do it, things i need, how much money i need, what kinds of metal are better to be used, ect. anything you guys can possibly think of would be much appreciated, i have like the coolest project out of anyone. ive always been interested in swords so i think this will be a great experience. i want to make something like a broad sword from the feudal era. thanks for your help