pattern welded langsax (first short sword)

[kevin (the professor)]

Hello Everyone,
I have been planning this project for months, and working on it for over a month. It is my first sword (short sword, but hey, this thing is wicked).


So - I have made a langsax sort of like one George Ezell showed me. It is inspired by the historical blade, anyway.

The spine and back third of blade is pattern-welded. The rest is monosteel.

Guard, bolster, and pommel plate are copper. I had fun hammering the copper with a punch to leave a pattern of dimples in it to take advantage of softness.

blade: 19"
1.25" wide
5/16" thick

26" OAL.

Spine = 1 bar composed of 18 layers (15n20 and 1095)

Edge and middle = 2 bars of mono 1095.

Handle = Walnut

I did this all by hand with a 4lb hammer and a pos anvil. I am buying a new anvil in a couple of weeks.

It is nothing like what a lot of you guys can make, but its a heck of a lot better than buying one! This was really fun.


I want to thank everyone who has shared so freely with information, encouragement, and laughs. I am really indebted to the online community for all of the teaching, taunting, history and philosophy.

Edited December 15, 2009 by mod07

[David Einhorn]

Very nice, thank you for sharing.

[jack hollingsworth]

love it! nice work mate. i want one

[Rhyfelwr]

I like it.. Nice. Its very polished, and everything looks to fit together tight; the fact that you spent alot of time on it really shows through.

[Bentiron1946]

In the fourth picture down, what are you showing us there, an incomplete weld or what? Nice looking blade overall.

[kevin (the professor)]

yeah- it has some small weld flaws along the edge where the pattern welded bar was welded to the mono bars. I am not sure I can get something that long to weld together without any flaws at all. Most of the time, I get a couple that aren't structurally significant but that are visually annoying.

Historical pieces had them, much of the time. But, to quote Alan Longmire, "the historically-accurate but damnably annoying weld flaws," show up when welding long edges together in a forge.

If I get a way to reliably grind fullers, I guess I could have ground that one out. I started to, but I did not trust myself to grind the fuller with what I had. I want to get a smaller wheel or roller to attach to belt sander to be safe.

kc

[Bentiron1946]

Do you forge all your blades by hand or do you use a power hammer or hydraulic press?

[kevin (the professor)]

right now I just do them by hand. I am hoping to get stuff together to buy/make one of the mini's with a bottle jack and compressor. can't do a powerhammer in my neighborhood in CT. I would love any advice about how to keep from getting or how to get rid of slag inclusions in the really long and narrow welds. Its only in the long edge welds where I have the problems. There are not usually any flaws in my actual pattern welded billets. Just when I weld bars to each-other on edge.

kc

[Mark Wargo New2bs]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing!

[metalmaster1766]

Very nive, I really like that, it has been a while since I have used my forge to make anything but a few hooks, but I think it's time I fire it up and make me a sword kinda like that one, plus the weather is getting colder so I wont freeze whil doing it

Thanks for sharing that one, I gotta have one like it now


Ron S Smith

[KELTOI]

Very nice work. Much better than anything I can do.

Brad

[Chris Waldon]

Despite what ever "welding flaws" it may have, it's a beautiful blade, and one to be proud of. Nicely done.