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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2009 21:07:54 GMT
Well, it comes as no suprise to me that after doing some chopping that my blade has finally bent. I'm pretty sure I know what bottle did it as my sword acted like a bat and the bottle flew away laughing at me. It was dark when I was doing the chopping (got some great pictures tho, I'll post once my friend is done touching them up) so I couldn't check after the swing to see if it was bent. I've read 2 different ways to fix a bend: -2x4 cut into a funny handle thing -2 blocks of wood and a C-Clamp and I'm not sure which I should use. As with everyone else, a first bend got me heartbroke. It was with my only sword, the VA Practical Longsword 304s, which is a rather long blade. The biggest problem I'm having now is to figure out where the apex of the bend it. I would just leave it outside for a few days and try the "Sun bathing" method, but the sun isn't as high in the sky as it is in the summer and I don't think the blade will warm up enough. I don't mind the whippy-ness of the blade when cutting, but it's a pain for trying to figure out where the apex is. Do any of you have a good way to find the apex of the bend aside from a 3-d image scanner and an algorithm to find the apex? (Thanks computer science friend for the helpful advice )
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Post by Brendan Olszowy on Sept 29, 2009 1:55:44 GMT
There are some very long threads discussing the merits of every technique. A month or two ago there was one in tha Japanese section, started by Slayer I think, entitled "HELP!!!" If you go back a few pages in the index you should be able to find it. That will answer all your questions. Good luck!
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SlayerofDarkness
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Post by SlayerofDarkness on Sept 29, 2009 2:51:39 GMT
Indeed. My Cheness Kaze took an unfortuante dislike to my 4x4 cutting stand. Here's a link to the thread I started, and Brenno mentioned above. It has some great tips! /index.cgi?action=display&board=japaneseswords&thread=11761&page=1 Hope this helps, Slayer
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2009 8:50:14 GMT
Well I feel I have gathered enough information on how to unbend my blade, my only problem is making sure I line up the device properly.
I did some brain storming and one of the ways I plan on finding the apex of the bend is to put the sword in a vice and hold up a 3' level, which I know is straight, next to it and that should allow me to see where the greatest separation point is, ie the apex.
I'm also thinking about using a laser to hold it up against the blade to see where the laser stops. I think on a curved line, if you get a laser parallel to the tang you should be able to see where it is bent to the greatest degree.
Unfortunately the only laser I have is connected to a skill saw, which is to say that it will be doable, albeit a little cumbersome to hold the saw up against the blade.
I'll let you guys know how the laser thing works.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2009 9:00:45 GMT
Cheap laser pointer?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2009 9:51:03 GMT
A plumb bob isn't a bad idea and you can fashion one out of string and something reasonably heavy.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2009 12:54:56 GMT
Vldruk, Good luck Skill and Virility with that bend. Take your time and you'll get it. Just in case you need it here is that jig that I posted in the other mentioned thread.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2009 15:12:00 GMT
Yea you can get a cheap laserpointer from Walmart or hardware store for about $5. They are very small, usually shaped like a large bullet.
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SlayerofDarkness
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Post by SlayerofDarkness on Sept 29, 2009 15:14:50 GMT
Yea you can get a cheap laserpointer from Walmart or hardware store for about $5. They are very small, usually shaped like a large bullet. My masters love those things! ;D I mean, my cats! -Slayer
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2009 15:43:51 GMT
LMAO @ my masters
You had it right the first time, Brog- only domestic animals I know who rule the roost, and not the other way around. lol
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SlayerofDarkness
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Post by SlayerofDarkness on Sept 29, 2009 16:42:40 GMT
Yep. ;D Gotta love 'em... Here's Monica, my queen for all eternity. Man, I'd take a bullet for this cat, no questions asked. /index.cgi?action=display&board=forumcafe&thread=12527 P.S. Sorry for derailing the thread! You just have to love good ol' SBG eh? What other forum starts out with a question about a bent sword, and quickly evolves to showing off our favorite felines?! ;D -Slayer
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Sept 29, 2009 17:50:54 GMT
Veldruk, something to keep in mind: your blade should be considerably more springy than a katana so you may have to exaggerate the corrective bend and you may have to hold it there for a while. I recently corrected a twist in my 303s and it was a real pain to get it out. I had to over compensate and set the jigs to hold the blade in a reversed twist for several days, I eventually had to aply a little bit of gentle heat with a torch. it took many days of constant work to coax it back to true but eventually it did. I'm not trying to scare you and you should certainly start out with the least scary method but understand that you might have to do some serious work to get that puppy straight.
let us know how you fair.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2009 20:31:03 GMT
In the off chance that I over-over compensate for the bend, and I end up with something S shaped, does Sonny offer replacement blades for the 304s?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2009 20:53:54 GMT
Yea, but if for some reason he doesn't have them, you can get them from KoA, WSS (wiwingti) and I think trueswordsman's site, Imperial Weapons? I think. I think WSS has them for less than $170.
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Sept 29, 2009 21:06:39 GMT
?? When did WSS start selling VA products? Marc doesn't know much about European swords and I didn't think he carried anything but Hanwei Euro's. Replacement blades? are you sure you aren't thinking Hanwei/Tinker longsword not AT304? I am not aware of Sonny selling replacements blades. I may have missed a BIG announcement though. . . Veldruk if you overcompensate you just have another bend to take out and you will have learned more about how much your sword can take. don't sweat it yet.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2009 21:21:32 GMT
Excuse me if this seems like thread hi-jacking but the 304s is (was?) on my short list of swords I was looking at. Am I to understand that hitting a plastic water bottle with the flat of the blade caused the blade to bend and no one is especially surprised by this or am I missing something here? This sounds like the blade is rather poorly made or is that what anyone would expect from a quality sword? I'm so new to this I'm prepared to be told that any good sword would bend on a water bottle but it would surprise me.
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Sept 29, 2009 21:36:31 GMT
Slackitude,
water bottles are generally considered to be very light targets but this can be misleading.
they can in fact be very HARD targets in some cases.
here's how it works: if your edge alignment is very good you can cut through them and not even feel it. but if your alignment is bad, or especially very bad, then all that water weight (water is HEAVY) in a tough bottle can very easily bend any sword be it and Albion, or Windlass.
to see this better go to the cutting videos forum and look up the thread I posted called "Heavy cutting near hilt" and watch that vid. you can also look into my custom mounted EMSHS review. and there are videos of my chopping a brick and trying to cut a soda bottle with the blunt area of the blade near the hilt. a few guys noted that the water bottle made the blade flex more than the brick. so yes, depending on your form a water bottle can do more damage than a brick. check it out.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2009 21:48:29 GMT
Thank you Tom K. for generously and kindly correcting my lack of knowledge. I appreciate it, and I will indeed check it out. You've also made me feel better about the 304s, so thanks for that as well.
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Sept 29, 2009 22:04:26 GMT
you are welcome, I can say from personal experience that the 304 is a very tough sword and Veldruk must have gotten a very unlucky swipe at it to hurt it that badly.
I think his is the first one I have heard of taking a set. maybe I missed one but there haven't been many so far as I know.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2009 22:19:44 GMT
I really wouldn't call mine a set, it's more like a bow, and not even a bad bow at that.
When I site down the blade, it's a gentle slope all the way up and when I put the blade in a vice and held up a straight edge to it, the tip was about 3/8" from being absolutely straight. It's hardly noticeable at all, but it's noticeable to me, and thats only because I'm constantly looking for flaws.
The bottle that probably did me in was a 2 liter bottle. When I went to retrive it I saw where the lip of the opening had been chipped, so I hit it way way higher then I should have. It would have been the same as me trying to chop thru a 1 inch thick hard plastic poll using a horizontal cut but holding the blade more then 45 degrees from it.
It was a lack of concentration on my part. Me and a friend were taking some night time pictures with his professional camera and lighting equipment, I was more worried about trying to keep my eyes open and keeping a cool expression on my face then I was about the cut, my mistake.
I've started the unbending process now, and I will check it every 30 minutes to see if it's made progress. Since the bow was the complete length of the blade, I've proped each end up about 1.5" and I've clamped as close to the center of the bend as possible, as soon as I get some results, I'll let you guys know.
However, I've been wondering if I just went out and cut some more bottles with a proper swing wouldn't fix the problem. In theory, if I use the proper form, the slight, but rapid vibration thru the blade might shake the bend out. But I'm going to try the slow relaxed unbending first.
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