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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2018 16:45:33 GMT
I have a saber blade that has many good qualities, but it would handle so much better with a distal taper. Does anyone know a person who can customize sword blades retroactively by grinding a distal taper? I might consider doing it myself, but I worry about ruining the temper by overheating the blade. I am sure it is best left to more experienced hands. I know several people who will fit swords with new hardware and sheaths, but none who will grind a distal taper. I will appreciate any hints or suggestions.
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Post by Verity on Dec 16, 2018 17:09:00 GMT
You can do it with a sander but heat control is very critical to not ruin a temper. It is very time consuming, but I tend to change geometry on a tempered blade by sanding by hand on paper or stones and/or draw filing. Note of caution; this is not for the faint of heart because this is exceedingly time consuming to do. I'll be doing a project on one of Blade Runner's katana to do just this.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2018 17:12:25 GMT
Do you control the heat by frequently dousing the blade with cold water? I have seen someone do this before with a belt sander, calipers, lots of cold water, and a ton of fine grit sanding belts.
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Post by Verity on Dec 16, 2018 17:19:03 GMT
Do you control the heat by frequently dousing the blade with cold water? I have seen someone do this before with a belt sander, calipers, lots of cold water, and a ton of fine grit sanding belts. yep. Slower speeds on the sander, frequent dousing with water. Or event a constant spray.
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Post by markus313 on Dec 16, 2018 17:19:07 GMT
It wasn’t hard for me to that to a Windlass, using a cheap belt sander. Dip the blade in water after a few seconds, don’t let the steel get much hotter than to the touch. It must never change its color. What I find hard though, is doing it so that it still looks nice. I think I should have changed to the finer grits sooner (40, 80, 120, 240, 400 and then sandpaper by hand), which would’ve not have left so many grind marks. I don’t have that sword anymore. I think I took of around 12 g or so and it changed handling to the better. A problem is that most repro sabers start at too thin of a forte (or tang/ricasso-section) to begin with.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2018 17:21:02 GMT
It wasn’t hard for me to that to a Windlass, using a cheap belt sander. Dip the blade in water after a few seconds, don’t let the steel get much hotter than to the touch. It must never change its color. What I find hard though, is doing it so that it still looks nice. I think I should have changed to the finer grits sooner, which would’ve not have left so many grind marks. I don’t have that sword anymore. I think I took of around 12 g or so and it changed handling to the better. A problem is that most repro sabers start at too thin of a forte (or tang/ricasso-section) to begin with. This saber is pretty thick. I definitely have enough to work with, it's just the same thickness throughout and could feel much better with some degree of distal tapering.
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Post by markus313 on Dec 16, 2018 17:24:19 GMT
That sounds good. I think it will take several hours of work.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2018 17:24:33 GMT
What grits do you recommend I use? So long as I keep the blade flat I should not wreck the bevels, yes?
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Post by markus313 on Dec 16, 2018 17:27:41 GMT
I used 40, 80, 120, 240, 400 and then sandpaper by hand, IIRC. No need to touch the bevels.If you put some pressure on the flats with your hands, the blade will stay in place.
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Post by Jordan Williams on Dec 16, 2018 17:29:59 GMT
I personally would use an angle grinder. I used mine on a windlass sabre to add taper and it worked out very well.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2018 17:33:00 GMT
I personally would use an angle grinder. I used mine on a windlass sabre to add taper and it worked out very well. I'll look into that. I would much rather pay someone else to do it, but as a last resort I will do it myself.
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Post by Jordan Williams on Dec 16, 2018 17:34:02 GMT
I personally would use an angle grinder. I used mine on a windlass sabre to add taper and it worked out very well. I'll look into that. I would much rather pay someone else to do it, but as a last resort I will do it myself. I'd be willing to do it, if you don't expect a fine polish.
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Post by Verity on Dec 16, 2018 17:35:04 GMT
I personally would use an angle grinder. I used mine on a windlass sabre to add taper and it worked out very well. I'll look into that. I would much rather pay someone else to do it, but as a last resort I will do it myself. very difficult to control the speed on an angle grinder though, and unless familiar with one it is very difficult to get an even distal. So caution on that. I agree angle grinders are great for stock removal but it does require practice.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2018 17:47:31 GMT
I have never used an angle grinder before. I also don't have a workspace to do this until spring arrives, and when you live in the Buffalo area, spring can arrive in April, or sometimes in May!
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Dec 16, 2018 19:37:53 GMT
I tried it without a real belt sander on my Hanwei Saxon sword, files, even a Worksharp. I'll try it not again... I could rework the tip to look more spatular, but distal taper on the blade, nope.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2018 19:51:21 GMT
I tried it without a real belt sander on my Hanwei Saxon sword, files, even a Worksharp. I'll try it not again... I could rework the tip to look more spatular, but distal taper on the blade, nope. Thanks for your honesty.
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Post by Jordan Williams on Dec 16, 2018 20:48:41 GMT
I'll look into that. I would much rather pay someone else to do it, but as a last resort I will do it myself. very difficult to control the speed on an angle grinder though, and unless familiar with one it is very difficult to get an even distal. So caution on that. I agree angle grinders are great for stock removal but it does require practice. Yeah, there is a learning curve to them but once you get past it and learn to go slowly and constantly look at your work I like them way better than my belt sander. Then again, my belt sander seems more for wood work.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2018 20:55:54 GMT
very difficult to control the speed on an angle grinder though, and unless familiar with one it is very difficult to get an even distal. So caution on that. I agree angle grinders are great for stock removal but it does require practice. Yeah, there is a learning curve to them but once you get past it and learn to go slowly and constantly look at your work I like them way better than my belt sander. Then again, my belt sander seems more for wood work. But is the trade off that the finished piece cannot have a polished appearance? I am ultimately going for something polished.
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Post by Jordan Williams on Dec 16, 2018 21:02:19 GMT
Yeah, there is a learning curve to them but once you get past it and learn to go slowly and constantly look at your work I like them way better than my belt sander. Then again, my belt sander seems more for wood work. But is the trade off that the finished piece cannot have a polished appearance? I am ultimately going for something polished. It can have a polished appearance after all is said and done, I just don't polish things very well so I tend to stay away from that end of things. It is just a quicker way to grind.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2018 21:05:27 GMT
It certainly would be a faster way to grind, if you can keep the blade from overheating. I'm not too shabby when it comes to polishing, but I marvel at those people who just increasing the grits until they arrive at the whetstone territory. I just don't have the patience or the elbow grease for that.
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