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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2010 4:22:58 GMT
So I took my Windlass Effigy sword off it's plaque today and set the blade flat on a piece of furniture, and I noticed most of the blade seemed a little "elevated". I pushed the middle of the blade down, and it flexed a small amount and hit the furniture. Then I flipped it over in the same spot, and on that side the blade was flat against the furniture. This makes it obvious to me that the blade is not perfectly straight. I can't see see any bends or sets by looking down the blade, but the furniture test keeps indicating a warped blade. Is this normal, or acceptable for a sword of this price? Like I said it's not enough to notice without the furniture test, but it's there nonetheless. Could someone else with a Windlass sword try a furniture test?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2010 4:54:39 GMT
yes, this is accecpable for a Hand made sword, you can take the bow out by using two two by fours and some presser on the high side, carfull, or you will bow it the other way....SanMarc.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2010 5:02:46 GMT
Oh, ok, thanks! It's not to bad though, so I might leave it for now. I was going to keep this as a display sword, although discovering this put me on edge with it somehow, and I said wtf and decided to file an edge on it. Now I have one side roughly sharpened to about halfway back from the tip. It's all rough and scratch looking, although I can shave hair with some places. Tomorrow maybe I'll sharpen the other side and try to improve the appearance where I sharpened itfrak I left my dinner in my oven for to long i have tp go gget that.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2010 7:55:15 GMT
I noticed something similar about my type XIV after I had it for wuite a while, but eventually I realised it was actually that the pommel is more pronounced on one side than the other. I'd suggest giving the hilt a really close look, since if that's a little off it can make it seem like the problem is with the blade instead.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2010 13:53:44 GMT
Its not ideal but if its only slight its not the end of the world.
Re sharpening when I sharpen my swords, I use a file to get the basic edge and then use a modified version of this method: /index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=7799
I find it easier to clamp the sword in a vice and use sanding block.
It gives a really nice apple seed edge and you can polish your blade so it’s a shiny as you want
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2010 17:45:21 GMT
I don't think it's the pommel, since I laid the blade flat on the furniture, with the hilt off the furniture. I'm going to try to cut something with it before I refine the edge, my main problem with it is that it's all scratchy.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2010 18:36:57 GMT
I don't think it's the pommel, since I laid the blade flat on the furniture, with the hilt off the furniture. I'm going to try to cut something with it before I refine the edge, my main problem with it is that it's all scratchy. Like I say, using the method I mentioned will polish all the scratches out it will also give you a good clean edge. Its quite time consuming if you do it properly (it takes about a day to sharpen a sword) but its worth it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2010 19:00:00 GMT
Ok, thanks for posting that. I looked at it again today and at least it's nowhere near as bad as I remember.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2010 20:04:09 GMT
I know a lot of people opt for the 2x4 method of straightening a blade, but when my blade had a bow in it, I just took it to my knee, gave it some tough lovin, and bam, it was straight again.
The way I measured the bow was I took a 3 foot long level, viced the disassembled blade with an edge down (do this because if the edge goes to the side, the sword will flex due to gravity) then I held the level up to it and found the 1/8th inch offset.
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Post by Brendan Olszowy on Feb 17, 2010 0:07:00 GMT
As a general note consider this: A sword is crafted in it's cold state, and made into the perfect shape. Then we have to go and turn it into a (semi) liquid state, and refreeze it - all the while actually changing it's crystaline to whatever extent structure into one that expands to take up a different amount of space. After this process (heat treatment) the sword rarely looks the same as our original perfect sculpture. It's one of the most frustrating and challenging aspects of the craft. It can take a perfectly sculpted sword and turn it into a pretzel like object - exaggerating; but it will make it curve along both planes. Curves looking down the edge are much more manageable than curves looking down the flat. On a katana it is desirable to have it curve across the flat (sabreing), but on a double edged sword it sucks, but it happens, alot, and it has to be dealt with, and there are a couple of ways to deal with it - one is to reheat it, recurve it, and reHT it. Or if it is subtle it can be reshaped with files and beltsanders. So it can be rectified but the end result is that a sword is not the same at the end of the process as it was at the start of the process, but it is no less of a fully functional sword.
It's just the nature of swordmaking, and many medieval swords found show major sabreing. Just how well it's dealt with shows the attention to detail of the makers. Though the obserrvation of even a really noticably sabred double edged sword would offer no comfort to one who has just had their head cut off by it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2010 2:07:59 GMT
the documentary "The birth of a sword" is really great for anyone interested in the sword making process. It's very enlightening, and shows the construction of a sword from start to finish. It details the sabreing problem, and how smiths work to try to correct that. It gave me a new appreciation for the craft.
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