The best steel for a sword?

Maskwa

Maskwa

Joined
Sep 13, 1999
Messages
158
I would like to know what blade material would be best for swords of European or
Japanese design. I would like to get a using blade and be able to hack at trees in the
forest.
Would Talonite be a suitable material despite the added mass of the finished product?
 
1084 is probably the best possible choice. it can even take a beutiful temperline, ans is used by many tradition japanese sword smiths. it will with stand impact too. i'm a full supporter of talonite in KNIVES, but it wouldn't be suitable for a sword, first off it would cost you well into $200, for the metal, and you'd go through $25 in grinding belts easy, plus you can only use ceramic belts, these are expensive. you need carbide tooling. i'm not to sure how much shock it can with stand, i know it's pretty good, but these are swords, that are going to be used. if this is your first sword, i would recomend starting with a saber, much easier to make than a katana.
 
I agree with the 1084 (it is my favorite steel). 5160 and 1050 also make good swords. 5160 is more forgiving during forging and heat treating than the 10XX series.
Ravenclaw
 
i think 1050 is a little low in carbon to keep an edge. i think 1084 would be the best choice, but 5160 would make a pretty nice sword too.
 
1084 is a very good steel but hitting at trees taht is not your best choice. 5160 would be much better and L-6 would be better then 5160. Now 1084 would look better and if heattreated right it will make a tough blade but nowhere as tough as a blade made of L-6

Now if you said you wanted a all round sword that looks good and is useable then 1084 would be good. But even real swords were'nt made to hit trees with so if you need to do that you need a sword that is tougher then a real sword. SO IMHO your only option is the L-6 steel with at least a martemper maybe even a austemper


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-Greg Johnson
ICQ#4236341

 
Another steel that would make a very tough sword is W2. It has vanadium which would give it better edge retention than the other steels mentioned (but it is harder to find). As far as which steel you choose, it doesn't matter so much. It depends on how good your heat treating is as to how good the sword will be. I know 5160 makes good swords as I know a swordsmith who uses it for his swords and they are used to cut things (like wooden pallets) and will bend to a 45 degree angle and go back to true. L-6 would be a good choice too.
If it were me making the sword, I would use W2. It will show a good temper line and hold a great edge, but that is just me. All the suggestions are good and each steel has its good and bad characteristics.
Ravenclaw
 
Talonite will cost way more than $200 for a sword! I am making a sword of Talonite, it will work but the steels mentioned will make a better combat blade.

My personal sword is in 3-V, and works well.

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www.simonichknives.com
 
it was just a guestimate. do you think talonite would be flexible enough for a sword? i thought it had a little to much chromium for a sword. it would definetly hold a nice edge. i gotta try this stuff out one day, well, what is 3v made of?
 
Thanks for all of your replies. I used the example of cutting at trees to show that I wanted a using blade and not a wall hanger. It would be nice to be able to cut things without having to worry about damage to the blade though I doubt I will spend my time cutting down trees (not with a sword anyway
smile.gif
).

How would CPM 3V compare to L6 for sword material?
Would A2 be good blade material?



[This message has been edited by Maskwa (edited 04 December 1999).]
 
A2 would get a bit too hard and end up being brittle. Swords need rather special tempering that's tough to do with air hardening steels. Like a lot of folks, I like 5160 for swords, and I'm currently working on a little one out of W2. All I know about it firsthand so far is that it's slow to move under the hammer, but I've dealt with worse. For a blade that takes serious abuse, I once played with a blade made from chrome molybdeum, and it was TOUGH. We chopped up an old oak door with it and did a number of other stupid things until the handle broke from around the tang from all the innappropriate shocks that come from using a sword to do the job of an axe. The blade never nicked, though.

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Oz

"Never try to teach a pig to sing.
It's a waste of time and it annoys the pig."
-Lazarus Long
 
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