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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2011 8:17:27 GMT
Hello all.
I'm new to the forum and sword maintenance so please forgive my complete ignorance on the subject.
I recently received a sword I'd bought (Damascus Longclaw from Valyrian Steel), which has a flat edge. I'd like to sharpen this. I've read encyclopedia sized quantities on what I'll need and what to do, yet can't seem to find a definitive answer on anything. My biggest query would be what kind of honing stone to use and what the grit size should be. They seem to range from the thousands to the low hundreds and i really don't know what would be most suitabe for my particular kind of sword.
Seeing as it's 1/100 pieces I really don't want to start hacking away at the edge like an over zealous axeman and ruin it. If anyone can give me a quick pointer or a link to something that will explain this in a concise kind of way I'd greatly appreciate it.
Thanks in advance for any help.
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Post by MuerteBlack on Sept 6, 2011 9:10:10 GMT
Greetings and welcome to SBG! Indeed, sharpening can be a confusing task at first since there are lots of ways of doing it and lots of materials that can be used. Generally, though, they all have the same purpose. You use an abrasive (a stone or sandpaper) combined with a fluid (either water or oil) to work across the blade in order to change its shape (and the ending shape you want is... well... an edge). When rubbed across the blade, bits of the grit from the abrasive break off and mix with the fluid to form a slurry. The slurry, pressed in between the abrasive and the blade, is what is directly rubbing against the blade, forming scratches and eventually wearing away material. The amount of material removed and the size of the scratches made is dependent on the grit size. Lower grits remove material more quickly but leave larger scratches. Higher grits are the opposite. For sharpening, you actually will generally need to use a range of grits, starting at a lower grit (perhaps 400) to make the edge bevels meet into an actual edge and define its shape, then progressively moving to higher and higher grits (ending at perhaps 2000-3000 grit) to make the scratch pattern along the edge smaller, resulting in a sharper, more durable edge. Of course, there is a lot more to it than that, and despite my rambling I haven't really given you much of an idea how to actually go about it. For a concise step by step tutorial, I can suggest none other than the famous TomK tutorial located here. Tom does a great job explaining a very solid process, including what all abrasives and grits to use, and how to go about the actual movement, and what to look for in your results. In short, an absolutely excellent read. I hope I helped!
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Post by Anders on Sept 6, 2011 14:56:26 GMT
My personal advice would be to aquire a practice blade you're not afraid of ruining and figure it out via hands on experience. Theory is nice but ultimately what matters is what you do in practice.
I have a dagger I made myself a few years back that I've used for sharpening practice, and I've found that the important thing is to have a bit of guts and just be willing to try.
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Post by Jakeonthekob on Sept 6, 2011 20:03:23 GMT
I agree with both Anders and Muerte. If you want to sharpen your sword with stones, I suggest you first get an array of stones for the actual sharpening of the blade as well as polishing to refine the edge and appearance. I cannot stress how much practice is important to sharpen and polish blades and to do a good job on a katana. From my experience alone, I have put in probably more than 100+ hours practicing and refining my techniques using traditional water stones.
Here are my suggestions regarding water stones (should you want to use them to sharpen your blades):
1) They will cost $$ so be aware of that. However, they will serve you for years if you are careful with using them.
2) I suggest getting stones with grits of: -500 (to form the blade geometry and do most of the sharpening) -1000 (to refine the edge and blade geometry) -2000/3000 (to refine the edge and start polishing the face of the blade) -6000 (though this is for polishing and is not necessary, only if you're a stickler for looks) There are double sided stones with multiple grits on them and you can save a lot of money by buying these types of artificial stones.
3) Working with water stones takes A LOT of time to do correctly for every blade you will work on. It's physically demanding as well. Actually every sort of sharpening is physically demanding XD.
4) Don't rush the sharpening/polishing process. You increase the likelihood of doing a half-ass job (excuse the language) and you also increase the chance of injuring yourself. Take your time and use necessary precautions.
I have made a tutorial showing how to use waterstones on youtube (private videos). If you are interested, please PM me.
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Post by Elheru Aran on Sept 7, 2011 13:15:22 GMT
Well, plenty of advice has been given on the sharpening, so I'll just drop a two cent's worth of observation-- You say you got a Longclaw from Valyrian Steel. If this is an authentic Game of Thrones sword, I have to tell you I believe most of them are rat-tail tanged and only intended for display. They can be sharpened and you could cut a bottle or two, but it would be entirely at your discretion and wouldn't really be something that we would recommend here. The only way to make these swords safer for use-- to a certain value of 'safe', anyway-- is to disassemble them and epoxy the tang HARD to the grip. Even with this, there's no guarantee it won't come apart; it's just a little less likely. Hope I haven't dashed too much water on your hopes... it's still a pretty sword, if that helps
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Post by Elheru Aran on Sept 7, 2011 13:22:56 GMT
Let me retract the bit about rat-tail tang; I got mixed up. I just checked the VS website, and it doesn't say anything about rat-tail tangs.
I'm not aware if they're rat-tailed or not, but the blades *are* stainless steel. While this is capable of being formed into a functional sword, it takes much more time and money than the average maker of reproduction swords is willing to expend. So, almost without exception, stainless steel blades will be somewhat brittle and almost incapable of holding an edge once sharpened.
Now, you say you have the Damascus steel version, so what I would do first if I was you is check the tang thoroughly, if you're able to disassemble it. You *will* be able to sharpen 'Damascus' steel (it's more likely just pattern-welded or folded several times), but if the tang assembly isn't up to the strain of use, then that won't end well.
Anyway, hope that's cleared things up...
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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on Sept 7, 2011 14:07:38 GMT
I have no experience with water stons whatsoever but I'm pretty good with files and sandpaper. That might be a cheaper way to edge a sword and works very well, too.
I wouldn't sharpen that sword of yours though. Even if it is properly heat treated pattern welded steel with a suitable handle assembly, I wouldn't. What you go there is a collector's piece. Only 100 have been made and it may very well have quite some value in a couple years. By changing the product, you probably would greatly diminish its value. You might say you will never sell it or anything but still, I'd leave it be and simply admire its beauty. Ultimately it's your decision of course, I just though I'd say a few words of caution.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2011 18:45:42 GMT
Thanks for all the advise guys it's greatly appreciated. In terms of the reason for sharpening i wasn't intending to cut a couple bottles or anything else really. I just thought it might add a bit something to the look and general vibe... And of course mess someone up that tries to break in . I seem to remember on the Valyrian Steel site that the sword was suitable for sharpening but i'll look into that more. In terms of it being only 1/100 and not altering it at all, i confess it's not something that had crossed my mind but i'll certainly give that some thought now. Again, thanks guys. You've been a great help.
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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on Sept 7, 2011 20:19:52 GMT
No problem, we like to help For the intruder, why not get a cheap H/T bastard? Should be pretty close in dimension to Longclaw and it's a great sword for cutting, handling and impressing friends with
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