New sword in the works

peter nap

peter nap

Joined
Nov 27, 1999
Messages
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Dave got me started on this the other day. I had the blade ready and was putting off the rest. The wrap is almost finished and the pommel still needs to be sized and finished but the end is near. The guard is brass I etched and after I finish the pommel it will get the same treatment. The blade is 5160 and yes I'm making it so the birds can defend their feeder.

Suggestions are welcome. I really need some help on the details for this one.
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Peter, that's cool! I like the guard, would like to see a closer picture if that's possible... How about some specs?

How long is that bad boy? Did you heat treat that, and if so could you say something about your forge or oven? I ask because that's probably all that's keeping me from trying my hand at a sword, the heat treat.

That's a great sword, I wished you show more of them!

Dave
 
Thanks Dave. The blade is 32 inches. I'm not sure about the grip yet. It depends on how it balances and rings. The guards did turn out kinda neat but it was not planned. I wanted it to come out a very old looking black. You just never know until they etch.
I did heat treat it and my forge isn't very snazzy. It's two lengths of stove pipe, lined with kowool and two mini mongo burners.

This is the second stove pipe forge I built for swords. The first was the same as this one but I had 14 turbo torches sticking through the walls. that worked fine too but cost a fortune to run.
 
:eek: Wow, my English teacher would spin in her grave if she saw me write "I wished you show..."! What I meant to say was "I wish you would show..." And I do. But :eek:

What'd you etch your guard with, ferric chloride? I'm going to have to pay attention to opportunities to etch and otherwise patina stuff, it's something I've never thought about enough but really adds a lot

I guess I'm on the right path forge-wise, I've started accumulating the stuff to build a few Reil burners but have been stumped on something readily available (like at Home Depot) to use as a body. Stovepipe should be pretty common stuff, good idea. What diameter is it? And how long is it? Is the back end closed? What did you use for a floor?

:)

While we're on the subject, what angle do you put the burners at and where? And does the burner tube extend all the way past the kaowool? I didn't on mine, the tube stops at the tank and shoots through a hole in the insulation. That doesn't seem optimum to me, the flame is somewhat distorted by the coarse surface of the refactory cement lining the hole. I guess I shouldn't ask so many questions in one post! I'm done now.

That sure is a cool sword, I hope you post more pics of other stuff too.

Daved
 
Gee Dave. You ask a lot of complicated questions.:D Yes I use ferric chloride most of the time (including this time). The guard was made from the clapper off a yard sale doorknocker. I am not getting the same effect on th back end though. I was afraid that would happen. I may mruatic acid on it. The stovepipe is 8" and I think each section is 18 inches long. I can close the end but for longer pieces I leave it open. The Burner tubes do extend past the insulation. It is hard on the end piece but they are easy to replace. I set the burner angle at night. I can see the flame then and adjust the angle until I get a true vortex coming from the front. ( I cap the rear for this) This is also a good time to adjust the ends for a neutral flame.

A word of warning about the stovepipe. They will not take a lot of moving around. If you know anyone who puts in culvert's, beg a small piece from him. You can take up some of the additional space with more insulation.
 
Hello !
Beautiful work Peter !

Just a question about etching the gard ...
I tryed to etch a piece of brass yesterday with ferric chloride, but it remained exactly the same color, even as it is more shining...
How do you make to etch your brass?

Alain M-D
 
Alain M-D, I wish I knew. I think it has something to do with the quality of the brass (not just brass, I have aluminum do the same thing) Some just etches away and changes color from black to purple. Some just sits there and gets etch marks. I think cheap brass with a lot of impurities etch dramatically while the better quality brass just sits there.
 
Peter thanks for addressing my flurry of questions. I added stove pipe to my Home Depot list, if I can't find it there I'll find it somewhere...

You got me moving again on the long forge. It'll be a while before anything tangible comes of it, but I do have a piece of O1 I ordered with sword in mind...

Dave
 
Just to let you know, I am making my forge and I called my local cold roll supplier he had end cut of 10" sch.40 steel pipe the price was 35 cents a pound. The pipe was 12.00 call around you can find the right stuff to build a forge cheap.
 
I used Dan Fogg's advice and asked a welding supply place for an out of date oxygen tank. I just cut off about 14" and used the bottom as a base. Line it with K-wool and coat with wtc-100. Took a couple of hours.
Lazy, Lynn
 
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