02-11-2010, 07:22 PM
Hi again to all,
Untipically, I did get off my ass, and made the sword. The blade is waisted, 60mm wide, 50cm long and 5mm thick at the spine (all along the blade). All this gave a 950gr sword, including the all wooden hilt. A bit heavier than I was hopping for, so 5mm is NOT too thin. However, the metal close to the edge in the wider parts of the sword is quite thin, so I think a 4mm would not be suitable for a diamond cross section.
I planned on picturing the whole making proccess, but once I managed to get the steel, I was so eager to get going, that I neglected my duties to society (beside, I just a lazy bum...).
Pressently, there are minor finishing tasks: Get a bone to replace the wood grip, finish the wood parts and furnish a brass guard plate. But all this is on hold untill I find a way to treat the steel. At first I thought of building my own charcoal furnace, which is a MAJOR pain. But I accidentaly met a blacksmith who may let me access to his workshop (cross fingers).
One HUGE dissapointment is the surface finish. I just couldnt avoid some deep grinding marks. and the more I tried smoothing the area, more and more metal was lost, untill I ate my way through the edge. this forced me to narrow the blade and compromiss the beauty of the general shape. It also resulted in a surface that is somewhat wavy and scored, and will never look sleek and "professional". See in the picture how the top edge curves nicely (at the widest area near the tip), while the lower has a sharper turn.
This is my first blade and my first metal work of the kind, but I did have hopes for better results, especially since I wont be making another gladius (too many projects and too impatient a wife...)
Note that the hilt is not seated all the way, hence the visible weld of the tang to the blade (steel is available here only at 50cm long slabs).
When it's all done I"ll post some more pictures.
Untipically, I did get off my ass, and made the sword. The blade is waisted, 60mm wide, 50cm long and 5mm thick at the spine (all along the blade). All this gave a 950gr sword, including the all wooden hilt. A bit heavier than I was hopping for, so 5mm is NOT too thin. However, the metal close to the edge in the wider parts of the sword is quite thin, so I think a 4mm would not be suitable for a diamond cross section.
I planned on picturing the whole making proccess, but once I managed to get the steel, I was so eager to get going, that I neglected my duties to society (beside, I just a lazy bum...).
Pressently, there are minor finishing tasks: Get a bone to replace the wood grip, finish the wood parts and furnish a brass guard plate. But all this is on hold untill I find a way to treat the steel. At first I thought of building my own charcoal furnace, which is a MAJOR pain. But I accidentaly met a blacksmith who may let me access to his workshop (cross fingers).
One HUGE dissapointment is the surface finish. I just couldnt avoid some deep grinding marks. and the more I tried smoothing the area, more and more metal was lost, untill I ate my way through the edge. this forced me to narrow the blade and compromiss the beauty of the general shape. It also resulted in a surface that is somewhat wavy and scored, and will never look sleek and "professional". See in the picture how the top edge curves nicely (at the widest area near the tip), while the lower has a sharper turn.
This is my first blade and my first metal work of the kind, but I did have hopes for better results, especially since I wont be making another gladius (too many projects and too impatient a wife...)
Note that the hilt is not seated all the way, hence the visible weld of the tang to the blade (steel is available here only at 50cm long slabs).
When it's all done I"ll post some more pictures.
Regards, Yuv.
