JPH Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 (edited) OK..Some of you have heard me talk about this in the chat room..well here we go...For those that haven't...here is the story.... I am now starting to suspect my own sanity is compromised...maybe my brain is fried but I got this idea and being a cheap bastar...ummmm no make that frugal....I couldn't let this go to waste... I had to recently replace my drain snake...it's about 125 feet long of 3/8" ID coil with some stainless steel cable running up the centre......made from 1/8"ish diameter round spring steel. It looks to me to be either 1060 or 1070 on the spark test...Hardens in oil A-OK, gets really HARD in water... so I got some "good stuff"...just don't know exactly what kind of good stuff.... Now it took me close to three days to pull out that stainless cable and then straighten out that long coil and cut the steel into 18" long pieces. Boy my arms got tired from all the pulling, but I done did it..... Anyway my lame idea is to weld this up into bars, weld those together and then make the Sword of Septis... I divided the material up into seven bundle and welded one up... Now I have 6 more bundles to weld..all the same size (I counted the wires) and I know that all I am doing is making really REALLY EXPENSIVE wire rope but hey..this shall be a blade of legend...handed down from generation to generation..The Sword of Septis WILL NOT BE DENIED its rightful place in the history of mankind (where ever that place may be)... If all goes well I may have enough for two swords..the Sword of Septis and the Son of Septis...I dunno..still thinking about that....I don't even know what kind of sword it will be yet... I even know what I am going to call the steel when I am done welding it...taking it's origins into account and giving it all the respect it is so rightfully due..I am going to call it "crap-agane"...Only once in a generation does a sword like this get made...maybe not even then... More as things progress... See what happens when a bladesmith gets bored and has good spring steel laying about?? I need my head examined... JPH Edited December 6, 2009 by JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rthibeau Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 The "Son of Septis" could be a matching dagger....always nice to have a set. And yeah.......that thin line between genius and insanity seems to have kinda disappeared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I am sure that whatever you make will be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Make sure your tetanus shot is up to date... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonjic Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 completly barking mad! I love it - cant wait to see it finished. I to am inflicted with looking at the oddest things and wondering if I could weld em up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 WAYYYYY too much time on your hands.... neat idea tho ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rokshasa Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 ....ooookkkkkkk.... should you even be playing with fire? i like the whole theme thing you have going, SEPTIS!, hahaha you cant wright that stuff, "its gold Jerry!! GOLD!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 hey man, you are scarin me!! someone needs to be in charge of you, don't you know that stainless if 33% more difficult to work?? You are really askin for grief!! But I have always enjoyed watchin others foibles, I get pretty bored with my own, so I'll be watchin, and if you actually pull this off, I'll just sit back and scratch my head, knowing that now that you've done it....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonjic Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 oooooh, your welding the stainless cable in with the spring aswell?? that takes some hocus pocus ive not ever thought of trying yet.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBrann Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 This leads down the path of doom... there might be a knife and fork of Septis..... bowl of Septis.... there is just no end.... good luck and send pictures.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 If anyone can pull this off, it is Dr. Hrisoulas. I'm looking forward to seeing the end product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 About 10 years ago I did a knife using the coiled stuff that lawnmower control cables go through. Used tie wire down the middle of each section to let me hold them together. Didn't unwind the stuff. It made an interesting pattern; but because I wasn't so sure about the carbon content and I didn't have a lot of the stuff I put a nicholson file in the final fold for the edge so I have a great using knife with the snake skin pattern towards the spine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 (edited) Brother Thos: You mean the "armour" that's around the multi strand cable?? That would be interesting.. The Venberable Bill Bagwell and I about 25 years back did some experiments with black wire hardware cloth betwen sheet metal..made a very strange patten..Didn't work too well...too many chances of getting inclusions... On the Sword of Septis....I have welded two of the faggots and I am going to weld those together today and then deciude if I need to cut/weld one more time to make sure everything inside is sticking...Will post picks later this evening once I get the two pieces welded. The stuff does stick really nice... I am going to have enough for one sword from the looks of it from what I am working on now...I have 5 more faggots to weld so I have plenty of material for more blades. I never thought there is so much steel in one of these things... JPH Edited December 7, 2009 by JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Once you weld up the bundle do you then twist it for faux cable effects? (A bit like how Anstee though that pattern welded early medieval blades were done?) Yeah the "armour that the control cable runs through---might be nice if I tried it again using Ni wire through the centers...hmmm cast iron welding wire.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted December 8, 2009 Author Share Posted December 8, 2009 Thos: Yes...I gotta do the twisting to get the air space down to a minimum...stuff welds nice and easy... Anstee hit a lot on his theories but he also missed a bunch as well...I still have a hard time believing that the edge pieces and core were round cross section welds.... JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 That's why I have to tell folks when I suggest "The Sword in Anglo Saxon England" to them that the appendix on Anstee's work has been superseded by more modern research---We know now that using rods produces a different pattern than using flat stock billets and making and welding rods is a whole lot more work when you can do it all with flat stock! But if we see farther today it's because we stand on the shoulders of giants and Anstee's experimental archeology with his cheese weight anvil sure moved things a lot farther forward than all the discussion of folks who "thought" they must have done it that-a-way with no basis in actually trying it to see. You see the same things in such forums; folks who have never tried something giving suggestions that are fairly off to folks who have done a lot of the thing in question. Welcome to the internet where *everyone* is an expert and folks put up video clips show people how to do things when they don't know how to do it themselves! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Ya know, after sorta knowing Jim all these years I fear to ask what he will quench this in, as in the past he has followed livestock around to collect "quenching liquids..". and for a buffing compound :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DClaville Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Jim cool stuff nice to know pro's also got time to fool around and have fun. DC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Now Now Theophilus said to pen up the goat and feed it ferns for 3 days to get the quenchant. I've used the leftovers from an indigo dye vat (5 gallons of stale urine) Works like a brine and has such an amusing odor when the hot steel hits it. Nothing like pushing authenticity for an early medieval eating knife! "Sources for the history of the science of steel" has an interesting list of Renaissance quenchants, inc radish juice and worm water... Surely such a sword should be quenched in a septic tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin (the professor) Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 JPH - thanks for the comic relief mixed with solid welding and multiple bar technique. I always like people better if they can poke fun at themselves. Just because this stuff mixes science,history, and art doesnt mean it shouldn't be a lot of fun, too. kc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 Hello: Well here is the next step in the Sword of Septis..I have two of the faggots welded, flattened and drawn out, ready for cleaning down to raw metal and the next photo is of the two pieces welded into one... While my paw heals this gives me a chance to consider what I am going to do with this...This is after all a test piece so I will be doing some experiments with it before I commit to making the Sword of Septis...This way I will be more or less able to tell what this material will do heat treat wise... It will be about three weeksish before I can really go back at this so please be patient... I SHALL RETURN..the Sword of Septis SHALL be forged!!! JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayson Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 How themed are you trying to go with this thing? Porcelain handle? Pummel from the valve handle from behind the toilet (the oval type)? There are some pretty sweet faucet handles that would make for a cool looking guard. Just a thought. This is a legendary sword after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Guard crudely forged from rusty barbwire twist welded together? Crude bloomery steel pommel grip from well chewed rawhide dog toy Scabbard from old barn wood with biological hazard sign carved into it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiak93657 Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 LOL... love this thread! interesting sourcing of *ahem* material. and oh so inspiring to us aspiring insane/genius (ingenious??!)esses... will be following with great interest... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBrann Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 don't forget it should have an inset copralite somewhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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