Sword Sharpening

S

stratonick

Joined
Nov 7, 2005
Messages
4
Hey everyone,
I'm def. a newbie when it comes to working on sword blade's.....

I found out that my girlfriend is getting me one of the swords from Lord of the Rings....

http://www.tolkientown.com/ttp/Glamdring-Sword-of-Gandalf/cPath/119_120/products_id/348.html

Basically you can see the specs. for the sword at the end of the description. Now my issue is this, I had a chance to check out one of these swords recently (yes, it was the same "official reproduction" model) and the damn thing has a FALSE edge! I cant enjoy this sword until it's sharp, and i dont trust myself with sharpening a sword....
So can ANYONE recommend a place i can go to OR ship my sword to, and get a professional sharp edge put on this blade?

ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated.... i cant find anyone to do this for me.
 
I'm not clear exactly on what you plan on doing with the sword... "I can't enjoy it until it's sharp..." Does that mean you intend to cut with it?
 
It's a "SLO" (Sword-like-object) and not meant for sharpening. THe UC swords use 420j2 stainless steel. They are meant for appreciating...on a wall, or in a display. If you hit an object with them, they'd likely shatter, injuring you and yours.

I'm not bagging on the swords, as i own Strider's and Herugrim.
Check out: www.swordforum.com to learn about the functionality of swords.
 
Agreed with the others, the only thing you can safely do with a sword like this is display it, or swing it around without hitting anything. If you try to cut with it, you will very likely put yourself or someone else in great danger. That being said, if you want an edge on it simply because the idea of a dull sword drives you crazy, most cities dont really have any places that officially advertise sword sharpening, but you might be able to get a good knife shop to do it. Also, if you try over at swordforums I'm sure there are plenty of people who would sharpen it for you.
 
DO NOT USE IT AS A SWORD! Swords are made out of CARBON steel. They don't use SS in swords, machete's and Kukhri's because SS has the tendency to break instead of bending like Carbon steel.

I don't have it on my comp but there is footage from the shopping channel where a salesman bangs a SS sword onto a table and the sword breaks and pierces the man in the leg.

Although the movie shows the drawbacks of SS in large cutting tools, some firms still try to sell "SLO" made from Stainless Steel.

If you like affordable swords check out Paul Chen's Hanwei line. These swords are made to be used as cutting swords. They will not break and proppel sharpened steel parts around.

Sharp swords are VERY dangerous. Because of their mass they will inflict massive trauma even without much applied force.
 
thanks for the quick reply everyone..... believe it or not, i wouldnt use the sword for anything else other than display purposes, but i believe that if you going to have a sword on display it should at least be sharp....yeah i know that may sound wierd to some, but it's just how i look at it.
@RedLeg, thanx for the sword forum, def. a good point in the right direction.

just out of curiosity, how do you go about asking if a sword you want to purchase is indeed a sword, or a SLO? Do most people who deal in swords and sword retail, know about the "SLO term"?
 
stratonick said:
just out of curiosity, how do you go about asking if a sword you want to purchase is indeed a sword, or a SLO? Do most people who deal in swords and sword retail, know about the "SLO term"?
Click to expand...
Is it an "official movie reproduction"?
It it made out of 4** series stainless steel?
Does it cost less than $50?
Is it made by United Cutlery?

If the answer to all or any of these questions is "yes" its probably not a real sword.
 
Basically, any cheap sword wont be sharpened. By cheap I mean anything less than the hanwei practical katana, which, afaik, is the cheapest real sword you can get. You might get some with a badly toothed edge that might be able to rip, but none of them will really be sharp.
 
stratonick said:
just out of curiosity, how do you go about asking if a sword you want to purchase is indeed a sword, or a SLO? Do most people who deal in swords and sword retail, know about the "SLO term"?
Click to expand...

Honest and knowledgeable (note that both are critical characteristics here) retailers will generally tell you the difference. "Sword-like object" may not be in their vocabulary, but anyone who wants you as a repeat customer (read: someone who's alive and not missing limbs) will usually tell you not to go smacking things with the thing.

If it's the internet, I'd say that everything the others have said is true, with the additional caveat that almost anything sold by a company that isn't solely a cutlery retailer will probably be an SLO.

With regards to display swords needing to be sharp, think about it this way: Why stop at sharpness? Swords are a bunch of properties hammered out of steel. Sharpness is only one of them. So if you really want it to be "right," you should toss the United SLO in the garbage and get a real sword. You're either an SLO or a sword, and adding an edge (and an improper one, at that, since you wouldn't be able to get a proper sword edge + geometry on that piece) doesn't make it any more proper in my opinion. Kind of like saying, "yeah, I know that my dog isn't a bunny rabbit, but I'll pin long paper ears on him so it feels right."

The United pieces are great replicas of the LOTR swords. And they're coming out with a Museum collection that's supposedly functional. Enjoy yours for what it is - sharpening it would most likely destroy its appeal as a display piece - if you did it like a knife, you'd have this ugly bevel along the edge that would just be nasty looking. And if you did it like a sword, if anyone agreed to do it, it'd probably end up noticeably narrower than spec.
 
stratonick said:
thanks for the quick reply everyone..... believe it or not, i wouldnt use the sword for anything else other than display purposes, but i believe that if you going to have a sword on display it should at least be sharp....yeah i know that may sound wierd to some, but it's just how i look at it.
@RedLeg, thanx for the sword forum, def. a good point in the right direction.

just out of curiosity, how do you go about asking if a sword you want to purchase is indeed a sword, or a SLO? Do most people who deal in swords and sword retail, know about the "SLO term"?
Click to expand...

It's not weird at all, all my swords are sharp although I rarely cut with them. I wouldn't depend on the retailer to tell you if a sword is a real sword or not. Rather I would take a little time to educate yourself on what are the properties of a "real" sword. Two very good places to do that are myarmoury.com and swordforum.com.
 
I dunno...

Anyone you can send it off to will probably charge a lot, and it's kind of in the air as to whether they'd agree to do it.

Same with local people, except that some store-front sharpeners really suck, and many of the good ones would consider it a waste of time. There's one guy I know who tells me that whenever someone asks to have a wallhanger sharpened, he quotes them a huge price because a) it's a bitch to sharpen 2-3 feet of steel, especially if it doesn't have a bevel to begin with and b) he really doesn't want to.

Besides, the piece in that link is a knife, and as such, has a knife edge. You're looking for a sword edge, aren't you?
 
IMO, there is no "right" way to sharpen an object that is not designed to be sharp! It can be downright dangerous! You know, for less than the movie replica you can get something simple in carbon steel, designed to be swung and hold a proper edge.
Sorry if this seems a little too honest. I used to be into the hazardously unsafe stainless swords myself, after an incident involving a stainless sword and more blood outside my body than I feel like seeing at any one time...
 
@Danzz no prob. with you being "too honest" i need the proper info, so i rather have that, then smoke blown up my ass.
and, i do have 2 other swords, a mid level katana with carbon steel blade, and a practice rapier. I just want to have all my swords (both functional or non functional) to have a decent edge to them.... i dont know how im going to solve this problem!
 
knife saber said:
Have you got some spare cash? Here's the 100% solution to your problem...

http://www.odinblades.com/Pages/Glamdring.html

:)
Click to expand...
Too bad that one's sold. Although Mr. Lundemo does occasionally make similar models. I personally prefer Brunaye a.k.a. Maelstrom - anyone know Berserk (anime or manga)? This is a adaptation of one of his earlier swords. It's a big 'un.

I'm always interested in swords (where you get, quality, etc) so stratonick, which katana and practice rapier did you get?
Finally, for the sharpening... stainless steel is no fun to sharpen. But it can be done - try using varying grits of automobile sand paper, making sure to even the scratches out completely. Makes good practice if nothing else.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top