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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on May 16, 2014 16:48:20 GMT
That's a good looking drawing... should be great when realized in steel! My blade's 39" long, overall length will be about 51.5". Originals of similar size are around 1700-2000g, mine will come out at around 1800g. Big swords for sure but with very attractive handling characteristics. Powerful cutters with quite some blade presence yet very responsive and agile due to the long handle. I sure hope, my blade comes back straight and true  Or at least with waves/kinks I can fix. You're absolutely right, doesn't work every time. Some blades just don't become swords... I remember reading that thread with Peter Johnsson saying how he once made 4 or 5 pw blades until one survived heat treatment. Things like that suck big time but are part of the journey. |
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Post by Brendan Olszowy on May 17, 2014 2:53:09 GMT
Yes they can be very frustrating. Sometimes I get steel which won't harden. I quench in oil. Then a quench in oil from a higher temp. Then I'll go oil 7 seconds then to water. Still not hard. I end up having to risk cracking and go to a straight water quench on sometimes the 5th or 6th attempt before it finally hardens properly, and then they're hard for sure. This was one such blade I think - between sabreings and restraightenings and requenches. It took a lot of hours, but at least it will live on as my beater. It's very frustrating.
One of my Excalibur blades wouldn't harden in the foible, and so it got cut down to make my Boromir Dagger. Was perfect for that. I think I've only ever had one total loss that went in the bin. Never any cracks on blades, though the 9260 can crack in water quenches - my beltgrinder platen is full of cracks as I was lazy and just quenched it in a bucket of water. But still holds :-)
Consequentially I'm quite hesitant to do many long blades - especially slender ones or full length fullers - which make it hard to regrind slight sabreings. I reckon I have drama with about 60% of my blades over 34". 30% of blades 30-34". And 10% of blades under 30".
Funny thing is you watch all these vids and study all this stuff, and no one tells you how damned complicated heat treatment can be. It sucks when you craft a precise and perfect sword and it comes out needing all these corrections. And 99% need at least some sort of correction.
Yep, it can be quite a journey for sure.
Keep up the good fight. I look forward to more updates on your project.
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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on Jun 11, 2014 16:31:15 GMT
Quick heads-up: the blade survived HT and is on the way to me! I won't be able to work on it till next week but at least now it's for sure that this will be a sword!!  Also, the pommel is being made by my friend as we speak... so stay tuned for updates!! |
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Post by Brendan Olszowy on Jun 16, 2014 12:45:41 GMT
Awesome - hope it's an 'easy' blade to finish off.
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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on Jun 16, 2014 12:55:34 GMT
Oh, I hope so, too! The heat treater said the blade warped some. I'll have to tweak it a bit I think but that should be doable. I'll know on Thursday, when I'll finally get to work on it... hate to be stuck here at University, knowing my workshop's waiting for me :x |
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Post by brotherbanzai on Jun 16, 2014 22:57:37 GMT
I little bit of bowing shouldn't be to big of a deal to correct. Hopefully it didn't get any corkscrewing or sabering. Looking forward to hearing how it turned out.
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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on Jun 18, 2014 20:54:41 GMT
So I got the blade. It got a pretty bad kink in both edges (on opposite sides) but I'm optimistic that I can grind it out. Will see...
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Post by Madmartigen on Jun 19, 2014 6:58:36 GMT
Keep us updated, curious how it turns out.
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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on Jun 19, 2014 7:23:18 GMT
I will. I'm still fighting the kinks and the slight sabering it got in the lower part but as mentioned, I'm fairly optimistic. Won't be a 100% perfect but in the end very few people will be able to see it and besides, originals are full of stuff like this. Just happens.
On the positive side, the blade got very nicely hard and flexes great. Funny thing: Peter Johnsson once said that a freshly heat treated blade with the decarb not yet ground away will seem less hard and take a set when flexed but once the decarb is taken away, it's springy and flexible. Could never believe it but this blade surely proved it. I think my new heat treater is using a different method since the decarb I had to grind away was much thicker than on my previous blades which were heat treated using salts. In any case the steel below is as hard as requested (around 58 Hrc) so its all good.
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Post by Brendan Olszowy on Jun 19, 2014 12:20:05 GMT
While Slight sabreing at the forte can be reground slightly, you may also fine it helps to counter-bend the tang an inch or two back from the shoulder. Obviously this would need to be done at red heat - but tangs don't hold an edge and don't need to be hardened.
If you look down the flat from the tip end at your face, you should see how a counter bend at the tang can help straighten the overall thing.
I've always had these sorts of troubles with these styles of blades, even somewhat shorter ones. The one exception was my Caspian X - that was spot on from the quench.
The kinks in the edge are where I had trouble with my one. I'd hoped with yours being thicker it wouldn't arise. Good luck with your work!
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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on Jun 20, 2014 10:36:00 GMT
Ok, time for pics!! I managed to get the kinks 99% out... here are some blurry pics (my camera died, had to take an old one):   I also finished the final grind and foundation sharpening. This is what the blade looks like now:   Next up is hand sanding to clean up all remaining irregularities. The blade will also be sharpened and polished in the process. My friend finished the pommel. Here it is, he did a stellar job:   I still need to key it and shape the tang for a close fit. The guard also needs to be fitted. |
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Post by Bryan Heff on Jun 20, 2014 11:03:25 GMT
Looking great! That's going to turn out super nice. I like that pommel..
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Talon
Member
Senior Forumite
Posts: 2,554
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Post by Talon on Jun 20, 2014 17:52:20 GMT
That's turning out to be another stellar sword Lukas.If I didn't already know I'd hazard a guess that you were German with that level of precision |
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Post by Deepbluedave on Jun 20, 2014 22:12:31 GMT
Very nice Lucas, you show such a great skill that I would not be surprised if you turned custom maker one day, keep it up mate.
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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on Jun 20, 2014 22:38:35 GMT
Thanks guys!! Really appreciate it.
Stay tuned, I'm almost done with hand sanding and fitting of pommel and guard.
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Post by William Swiger on Jun 21, 2014 6:19:05 GMT
Very nice. ;-)
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Post by aussie-rabbit on Jun 21, 2014 7:18:46 GMT
top shelf !
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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on Jun 21, 2014 7:33:37 GMT
So, the blade is finished:  I will do a final touch up after mounting but it's 99% there.  Did I mention that the point on this is absolutely brutal? The pommel has been fitted as well. It's a 8mm round section with the lower part being rectangular to avoid turning. The transition is in the pommel, not below, which is important for durability. The fit is such that the pommel slips down easily for about 2/3 of the way but has to be beaten down the rest, wedging tightly. This is followed by back peening on the lower end and hot peening on top. The pommels I've mounted that way are almost impossible to get off even after the peen has be ground down.   |
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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on Jun 23, 2014 7:19:04 GMT
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Post by Madmartigen on Jun 23, 2014 7:22:34 GMT
This is super cool. Elegant design executed with such a precision. Watching this thread with great interest. Keep us updated  . |
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Or at least with waves/kinks I can fix. You're absolutely right, doesn't work every time. Some blades just don't become swords... I remember reading that thread with Peter Johnsson saying how he once made 4 or 5 pw blades until one survived heat treatment. Things like that suck big time but are part of the journey.
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