Because why not   I read several of the threads here directed toward sword newbs, but they're directed toward newbs in general.  I've not done a sword, but I've made knives for nearly 10 years and have the right equipment for the grind work.

Forged this out at a friend's house the other day, because he has a power hammer. It's like when you have a friend with a bulldozer, you dig a new tank.  

Started with a leaf spring off a wrecked Dodge truck. 

Hammered a while, till it looked like this. 

Spent some time grinding today.   Blade is 20 3/8. 

Finish ground and ready for heat treat.

 

Weight?

Which sword are you making? One of these? 

Civil War Army Swords; A Study of United States Army Swords from 1832 through 1865 Hardcover – February 15, 2008 by John H. Thillmann  (Author)

Exactly two pounds at this point.  Will lose some more after finish grinding, lose a little off the tang, and gain a bit from the D guard.  

Sort of like this...

http://www.historicalarms.com/confederate-and-union-civil-war-swords-for-sale/confederate-bowie-knife-for-sale.html

Great, now I need another book, lol...

When I build, I'll look at as many pictures and examples as I can find, then build in that ballpark. I don't usually do direct copies.

Looking pretty good so far! Keep us updated. I, for one, want to see how this turns out. 

Heat treated this evening.  Had a little warpage, but not too bad.  Got file-skating hard.  Haven't tempered yet, but I figure I can get some of the warp out during the temper cycles.  

Hope it didn't crack over night!  Tempering should be done IMMEDIATELY AFTER HARDENING!  I had a student who quenched late at night and thought he would put off tempering till the next morning.  His blade was in 3 pieces just sitting on the workbench the next morning.

Yep, that's a risk.  Kids and day job got in the way of my HT schedule.  I haven't had that issue before, where one cracked after HT before tempering, in over 500 knives, but I know people it has happened to.  I have cracked them in the quench a few times.  Using a new steel, heat treated by eye instead of digital, in an oil that's marginally fast for the presumed steel, it's a risk, alright. 

Got away with it.  Clamped and shimmed to a piece of angle iron, and put in the oven at 350.  Think I may end up at 450, but I'm leaving myself two more steps, as I've figured out it straightens better with each temper bump.

 

After finish grinding comes a lot of hand sanding. 

Fit up the D guard tonight. Likely handle tomorrow. Still alot of finish work to do as well. 

Laid it out on paper first. Mild steel bar stock and dykem after that. 

How will you secure, brazing`?

Alright folks, here we go. 25 inches overall. Osage handle, blued D guard. Weight is 2 pounds 2.6 oz. Glued up with epoxy, then peened the tang over the butt of the guard. 

The guard looks way better then in the previous picture. Looks good overall. 

My only significant criticism is of the photography: the busy background is very distracting and makes it hard to see the details of the sword. A simple, monochromatic background would be much better; try a wood tabletop or a weathered board.

Incredible! Great job. I love this piece

Looks great!

Just found out yesterday that this piece will be in Blade magazine's "what's new" section in upcoming months.

Great news Jason, I'll watch for it! Great looking sword!

Cool! It turned out great. Really like the blued guard, it contrasts the osage very nicely. 

On 1/27/2018 at 11:04 PM, Jason Fry said:

Excessively large photo removed

Looking back over your original photos, I realize that I have failed to draw your attention to one very important detail: you appear to have cut off your thumb. 

‘‘Tis but a flesh wound. 

You fight with the strength of many men, Sir knight. 

Love it. Nice work. I particularly enjoy the very little bit of forge finish left on the blade that appears to spill out of the blued guard. Subtly excellent.