JPH Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 (edited) Out of the not so distant future..after a terroist group of rabid Luddite cultists unleash a virus that results in legions of the undead roaming the face of the earth....lusting to feast on warm, living human flesh...Mankind is holding on by a mere thread...Civilization as we know it..no longer exists... Yet....there is still some hope... A small band of "cleans" survives, working with limited resources and primitive tools, they forged a weapon so powerful and effective they baptized it.. ZOMBIE BANE!! Ok...seriously...I have no idea what in the heck I was thinking when I made this yesterday..I was just goofing off trying to get my head "cleared up" from all the stuff that has been going on around here lately..and this is what I cooked up in my demented mind... The blade is forged from an old leaf spring I have been tripping over for the last 20 odd years.... it's some 25" long, hammered out and shaped like a cross between a Kapilan I have in my collection and a Chinese Dao... The two "fullers" I ground in with my angle grinder...I punched a hole on the tip so you can hang it up when you aren't out chopping zombies...cause I can't figure out what to for a sheath just yet.... The blade has a very heavy distal taper from 5/16" at the ricasso to just over 1/8" at the tip. More or less "flat ground"..I left it "as forged" and the edge is draw filed for ease in resharpening in case you hit a hard headed Zombie (aka Undead Congress member) The guard is an old steel tsuba I have had around here for I dunno how long that I just let sit in my forge while I worked on the blade and that is all the finish work it got..it's all rough and knarley....The grip panels are some of that osage orange I had gotten from Brother Steve that I rough shaped and wrapped with wet rawhide, then "pre-blood stained" with KMnO4 and varnished over that....to seal in everything.. I will say that the wet rawhide was a real "experience" to work with..talk about a slimey thing but it dried up nice and tight... It moves real nice...OAL: 36" or so....Will be posted on my website shortly So I think the whole thing..as rustic as it is just "works"...It's something different from what I usually make.. JPH Edited July 30, 2009 by JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 This is the kind of stuff that makes you want to go out and find a leaf spring, put it on the floor of the shop, so you can trip over it. Then with 20 years of experience making other things, you will be ready to make a zombie bane. (grin) Jim you make things look so easy. A little of this, some of that, and in less than a days labor you have a remarkable sword, and a good story to tell. My hats off to ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rthibeau Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 yeah, nice thingy, but does it cut stop signs and soft rocks ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dean Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 DUDE! I thought I had ventured into some CRAZY SCI-FI web site although it looked like IFI. Was wondering what is this guy on?!? He usually has some good stuff to post. Glad I kept reading....I did have my doubts as to where all of that was going. Nice piece of work! Yea, I have a few leaf springs laying around but I do need to let them 'age' some...;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted July 30, 2009 Author Share Posted July 30, 2009 Rich: Of course it does..after all I folded that leaf spring 1000 times before I made that sword.....BUT only if it's an UNdead stop sign... JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnr Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Love it Jim!!! Also love the insane humor. You sure we weren't twins separated at birth? Finnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy seale Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 you a sick man dr. j but don't you dare changr,great thingie.....jimmy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 I was wondering about your sig. Now I know that it is well deserved. I love it! I particuliarly like the handle treatment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Once you come up with a sheath I think the hole at the tip could use an eyeball to help see your post apacolyptic UNdead road sign opponents. The best way I know of to keep from getting a sword stuck in a Boulder is to wait for the zombie to hang up the cell phone before whacking him/er in the head. I really like the handle contour is there a formula you use for the proportions? Eyeball it? Use the spine of an undead troll for a template? I usually don't do blades but I do have a piece of leaf spring I've been stepping around for almost 20 years now and we have a slew of undead brush needing vanquishing . . . With style. Hmmmmmmm. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Are you planning to use it with an over-the-head draw, or a cross-draw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m16a2soldier Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 that thing looks like it'll get the job done in a scrap with any shambling zombie horde! Wicked Blade man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 (edited) UF: Actually I was thinking of making it into a boot knife.... I dunno what I am going to do for a sheath yet..or if I am even going to make one.... Frosty: You got a great idea...next zombie I nail..I have the eyeball....as for the handle..I wish I could say I have some sort of fancy-schmancy formula or mathematical equation or something but I don't...I just do it all by eye and it turns out the way it turns out....The hard part was fitting the guard cause the pommel section is 3/4" wider than the tang.... Charlotte: What was so puzzling about my signature?? Back to Zombie Hunting.... JPH Edited July 31, 2009 by JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Kydex clamshell with retaining clip at the top---or have it carried unsheathed by your sword bearer walking right behind you... As for the sig: I assumed that JPH "blossoms" when life rains on him as it has done so much this last decade or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Darn! I was hoping getting the swoopy handles involved less skill. Oh well, another dream dashed on the bitter shores of reality. Your sig line had me wondering too but I wasn't about to ask. How do you get a sword out of a stone? Start with magnetite. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkunkler Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 yeah, nice thingy, but does it cut stop signs and soft rocks ??? Surely you are not refering to the teller of tall tales about stop signs and rocks from a few months ago ?:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Actually for Zombies I was thinking of using my falconette with chain shot... Of course a back up weapon is always useful when the rate of fire is so low... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I actually avoided this thread for a while because of the title, but wow! I was really stopped in my tracks, as it were, when I got to the 1st post. I've got the leaf spring, now just need the other 16 years of experience, but just because I don't know how or haven't done it, does not mean I won't be giving it a try!! In the northeast here, we have a long history of wierd things, maybe I have read too many Stephen King novels, but it would sure make me feel more confidant to have that along when I hear strange noises in the cold dark barn! zombies and weerwolves and frieks, oh my!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rravan Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 WOW. somthing that good would take me at least a year, and it still woldn't turn out like that. and you pulled it of in a mere day. amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welder19 Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 That is an awsome looking blade!! welder19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 Hello: Ok...this is a real "quick and dirty" sword...No polishing at all...left as forged finished and well, when you have been doing this as long as I have..and you have a rythm built up over many years of using your own set up...you get faster from sheer repeatition...That's all it is really. Getting a smooth, even finish is what takes all the time, as well as getting nice, close fits on the parts. This was not needed on Zombie Bane..Left rough for that "rustic" look....It just worked... I am happy ya all like it though....Sure didn't last long on my website..so I guess it was a "hit"...,That or there's a zombie problem someplace that i am not yet aware of... JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 JPH, I have unfortunately envisioned you in the boots necessary to use that for a boot knife, I am mentally scarred for life now and have reported you to the UN for contravening the Geneva Conventions. I will not mention this to Homeland Security if you swear/aver that such boots will never be in pink patent leather... (Did you get a sheath worked out for it or did you sell it "naked"?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pault17 Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 A little late in the thread, but JPH, you should carry it mexican style:oFirearm mexican carry image by Rembrandt51 on Photobucket:o very cool story! thought you had peeked in my diary great blade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnewberry Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 I was a little scared to open this one... I was worried I would end up in a thread about the comparative effectiveness of the Katana vs. the Broadsword in a full scale zombie attack.... But I actually like your sword. It has nice lines and looks like it would get the job done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckster2.0 Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 I would recommend that for "I am legend 4" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkerironworks84 Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 That's a great looking blade! I can't believe it just took a day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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