armymedic.2 Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 This was my first sword. my first blade over five inches really. I had spring steel on order but just had to get started and figured it would be good practice. the rep on the phone told me it was "forged spring steel". i followed the heat treat guidelines for 1075 and it worked quite well. ill be posting progress pics even though it is finished. a bit of WIP feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic.2 Posted February 6, 2015 Author Share Posted February 6, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic.2 Posted February 6, 2015 Author Share Posted February 6, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic.2 Posted February 6, 2015 Author Share Posted February 6, 2015 So here she is, fully functional, and slices well. The handle is black walnut, stained black and rubbed back off to look worn. the bone part of the handle is from my cattle, with a silver piece in between on the rear. the guard was forged from 1/2 inch round. the fuller was ground in with sandpaper and dremel. any "grinding" was done on my grizzly 4x36 belt sander and a course ceramic belt little by little. that was incredibly ardous, but since i dont have a belt grinder it was what i had to use. I learned a ton on this sword, and am just happy to have it completed, errors and all. Most of all i'm happy to have a truely functional hunting sword ready to go for next flintlock season. thanks for looking. questions/critiques or comments are welcome this was a first and i dont mind hearing what to do different. bestkeith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitch4ging Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Very cool! Next formal you go to, wear it with your dress blues! (1st shirt may not be as impressed as us...) Great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweany Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 SWEET Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Good hog sticker! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 That came out pretty darned nice. What are the stats? Length, weight, balance point, etc.? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic.2 Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 Thanks guys. The blade is 20", overall i have to measure but amnin the city working. It balances just over four inches from the hilt. It weighs 1.8 lbs. It swings nice i think, but i have never handled an original so i cant really compare. No shock is felt striking cardboard which is all i have sliced with it so far. The false edge is sharpened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 how did you heat treat it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy k Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Steve - was said in first post - treated as 1075 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Jeremy: Saying you followed the guidelines for heat treating 1075 is pretty vague. I follow the guidelines when I fly a plane, want to go for a ride? Steve's just asking for some heat treat specifics. Say: Who's guidelines, how'd he heat it, how hot, how'd he determine the temp, what quenchant, method of quench, temper, type and method of temper, etc. etc. I'm not a blade guy and wouldn't trust a blade enough to use it without knowing how it was heat treated. Not even a paring knife, well maybe a paring knife they're easy enough to test without putting anything at risk. I'm not criticizing the maker nor you Jeremy, just trying to clarify the question and why it was asked. Not being a blade guy I'm interested and going to listen to what the bladesmiths think. I have a better than lay opinion but nothing to consider guideline knowledge. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic.2 Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 Gents, Ill tell you what i did and you can tell me if it was good. I normalized it quite a few times during forging. And three times before heat treat. I brought it up to non magnetic which in my lighting is a nice orange. I did this twice. Not on purpose To be honest i chickened out the first time thinking i took too long to get to the quench. I quenched it in 130 degree canola oil until fully cool. Tenpered the entire blade at 475 for an hour three times till it hit that nice straw color you see in the pics. Then hot tonged the spine and tip purple the entire length Ah. And from the ricasso back to the end of the threaded tang is tempered blue as a result of not being quenched in the first place/ burning the handle on. One error to mention in the quench was that the blade hardened nicely for the 2/3 closest to the point. Back towards the hilt was apparently not hot enough or didnt get in fast enough as it did not harden to the same file skating niceness. So i expect that to dull faster but be of no safety concern. Also i should mention this is a hunting sword purposed to finish downed deer or bayed hogs so it should never see another swords steel, though i dont see why it could not be pressed into service as many hunting swords were in the revolutionary war. What say ye experienced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Gzz I go away for one day to a hammer in, and I get back to read complaints from the peanut gallery because I asked for details :( Next time someone askes how to HT a blade, or anything should we just say follow directions ? :( Thanks for the reply Armymedic.2 Good to see you drew the spine back much further as well, it should hold up well for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic.2 Posted February 8, 2015 Author Share Posted February 8, 2015 Thanks steve i was going for durable over hard for sure Frosty the overall length is 26 3/4 " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Good weight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basher Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 great first sword , I particularly like the guard. good job. All the best Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic.2 Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 Thank You gents! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunterbow Smithy Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Nice work sir! I haven't been brave enough to attempt a sword yet, but your fine work emboldens me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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