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Post by brotherbanzai on Aug 1, 2008 0:11:23 GMT
I got this DSA 1340 from Stevenj for a great price. He was selling it cheap because it had a botched sharpening job. I didn't ask but it looks like a bench grinder and belt sander fiasco. Given that DSA swords are pretty beefy, I figured there was a good chance that there was enough meat on the blade to salvage it. Here's what it looked like when I received it. The biggest problem was that the blade was gouged out around the middle, which is what I'm trying to show with the yardstick. My plan was to remove all the metal to the outside of this low point from both sides. Then I would have a straight edge to start from. Then I would re-grind the bevels down to the new edge. First step was to disassemble the sword which came apart with no problem. Then I used a straight edge to mark a new edge on the blade going just past the deepest gouge. Here I have marked with tape where the new edge will be. Then I used black spray paint to show what I was going to remove from the profile. I then cut the new edge and ground a steep secondary bevel from that edge. This will be removed when I re-grind the flats. This was a rather slow process as I was wetting the blade with a saturated car-wash type sponge between passes to (hopefully but not definitely) preserve the temper. Here it is rough ground with the new edge but before re-grinding the flats. *subject line edited for seth of doom*
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Post by oos3thoo on Aug 1, 2008 0:48:08 GMT
Would this count as a repair? I would consider it a customization.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2008 4:20:56 GMT
Damn, I've looked at the tang before on that sword but I never realized it was sooo skinny! The blade cut two to three inches into a tree at the tip when I let my friend played with it! Good luck with it!
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Post by brotherbanzai on Aug 1, 2008 13:23:05 GMT
Ha, thanks Steven. I think the tang looks a bit more proportional now that the blade is thinner. It's 3/4" at the shoulder quickly tapering to 1/2" but it's also 1/4" thick, so I think it'll be fine.
Some of the DSA logo on the blade was ground away when I did the edge and more will be lost when I do the flats. I'm wondering how hard it would be to get rid of the "Knights Templar" etching which I'm not terribly fond of.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2008 16:15:34 GMT
Oh it's okay, think it was just fica tree, we know how strong those things are! LOL! What I would have done if I had the right clamp and tools etc. I'd take a diamond stone and grind down the center of the blade near the tip right after the fuller and make it into a lenticular cross section instead of diamond. It should shave off a few ounces and bring the point of balance further back. Seems good though so far. I'd like to see what you do with it when it is complete.
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Post by brotherbanzai on Aug 1, 2008 20:28:05 GMT
Hey Steven, I did sort of what you were thinking. I re-ground the flats and at the tip it's sort of a lenticular diamond, rounded but still definitely a "diamondish" cross section. The pommels were a bit rusty so I cleaned them up. Before: After: The cross has some gouges in it from, I'm guessing, the sharpening attempt. Here's the blade after the flats were rough ground in. And here it is pretty much finished. The "Knights Templar" etching came out without much trouble.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2008 20:55:54 GMT
Looking good, Banzai. Those marks on the cross definitely look like belt sander marks (I know from personal experience ;D). Nicely done.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2008 21:47:30 GMT
I was trying to fix it with a mix of diamond stone and Nicholson file. Didn't turn out too well as you can see. It was the first sword I tried that on though so as much was to be expected. So yeah. Let me know how much it weighs! I'm curious to see how many ounces you knock off! No belt sander was used! I went too close the cross guard and bam I hit it with the Nicholson file and that's how that happened.
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Post by ShooterMike on Aug 1, 2008 21:52:25 GMT
Nice work brotherbanzai. Can we see some "sword porn" photos when you are all done and it's reassembled?
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Post by brotherbanzai on Aug 1, 2008 23:12:04 GMT
Thank Kriegschwert It seems those marks weren't from a belt sander after all. I thought the same as you, from personal experience Hey StevenJ, what is this nicholson file of which you speak? Looks pretty aggressive. I put it back together with the old pommel and my scale puts it at a smidge over four pounds. I don't think that's all that much lighter but it is a good 3/8" narrower. Thanks ShooterMike ;D but I've decided after putting it back together that I like the blade a lot more than I like the hilt, so no sword porn yet. Since this blade is a bit heavier than I'm used to I think I'll move the balance point a little farther back than I normally like so it'll handle like it's lighter. I'd also like a longer grip, which will in turn let me put the pommel on further back to adjust the balance. I mean no offense to Steven or whoever did that grip for him but it kind of looks like a**. So in any case I'm going to make a new cross, grip, and pommel.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2008 23:48:57 GMT
That's pretty much what they look like. Good job! Does the grip seem that bad? That was one of Brian Kunz's first cord wraps.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2008 0:36:53 GMT
Ah...Triangular file. That explains it. I guessed belt sander not only from the crossguard marks but also the "dishing" at the center of the blade. Both these things are easy to do with a belt sander, if one isn't careful. I've had mine about a year, and I'm just now really getting a "feel" for it. You must have been doing some serious filing, Steven, to get results like those. ;D Don't sweat it, though. Things like this take a good bit of fairly regular practice to get good at, like any other skill. Whether using files, sandpaper, or the belt sander, I still discover new subtleties and nuances every time I use them.
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Post by Brendan Olszowy on Aug 2, 2008 1:41:28 GMT
Good work BB +1. Are you doing up a new guard for it too? I look forward to seeing the final project.
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Post by brotherbanzai on Aug 2, 2008 1:42:44 GMT
Hey Steven, Yeah I can see how a file like that could do it.
Oo, sorry Brian. But yes, pretty bad. All the new stuff I've seen him do looks great. I'm not replacing it because it looks bad though, I want it longer so I'd be replacing it anyway.
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Post by brotherbanzai on Aug 2, 2008 1:44:46 GMT
Thanks Brenno ;D Yes, new guard, grip, and pommel. I'll do a write up on it in case anybody is interested in the bronze process.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2008 15:34:53 GMT
I was curious. Do you think you would shorten the blade a bit with a hacksaw? I think it could loose an inch or so to make the grip longer. Are you going to peen the new pommel? Just curious. I was wondering what kind of look you were going for. It would look cool with a scottish claymore style coss guard.
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Post by brotherbanzai on Aug 2, 2008 18:02:33 GMT
Hey Steven, I don't really want to cut the blade down as I plan on using it as my functional, cutting, German longsword and the 36" blade is the perfect length. This means that I won't be able to peen the pommel as the only other way to add length to the grip is to hang the pommel farther off the end. The old grip is 7" long and what would be ideal for me is a 9" grip with another 3" of scent stopper pommel. I'm thinking of a "stepped" pommel, where the part of the pommel that is visible actually starts about half an inch past where the treads end. A smaller diameter section of the pommel would extend another couple of inches hidden under the grip and that would be the part that threads on for an inch and a half of it's length.
As for the look, I want functional looks with just a little bit of flair. The wax crossguard is done. Oo, I should post a pic of my claymore.
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Post by Brian of DBK on Aug 4, 2008 17:29:16 GMT
Hey Steven, Yeah I can see how a file like that could do it. Oo, sorry Brian. But yes, pretty bad. All the new stuff I've seen him do looks great. I'm not replacing it because it looks bad though, I want it longer so I'd be replacing it anyway. It didn't look like that when I shipped it off. It obviously got wet, with some other post delivery abnormalities. That is exactly what happens to the grip if it gets wet, the glue underneath the leather loosens and the leather breaks free from the cord. In the process, it looks like the leather twisted in handling from the wetness. Along with some wear 'n tear from usage. It looked rather good when I shipped it, with a nicely aged appearance.
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Post by Brian of DBK on Aug 4, 2008 20:26:58 GMT
Thank Kriegschwert It seems those marks weren't from a belt sander after all. I thought the same as you, from personal experience Hey StevenJ, what is this nicholson file of which you speak? Looks pretty aggressive. I put it back together with the old pommel and my scale puts it at a smidge over four pounds. I don't think that's all that much lighter but it is a good 3/8" narrower. Thanks ShooterMike ;D but I've decided after putting it back together that I like the blade a lot more than I like the hilt, so no sword porn yet. Since this blade is a bit heavier than I'm used to I think I'll move the balance point a little farther back than I normally like so it'll handle like it's lighter. I'd also like a longer grip, which will in turn let me put the pommel on further back to adjust the balance. I mean no offense to Steven or whoever did that grip for him but it kind of looks like a**. So in any case I'm going to make a new cross, grip, and pommel. What I shipped off. Nothing personal here, but... I don't want to be mis-represented here as having a bad product leave my shop.
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Post by brotherbanzai on Aug 4, 2008 22:24:16 GMT
Hey Brian, No problem, Since there was no mention of the grip having been damaged I assumed it had always been the way it is now. It may be that it slowly degraded with use or that, as you say, it got wet and changed over time so that Steven didn't really take notice (like your brakes wearing and you don't notice the loss of stopping power until you put on a new set).I don't know. I really can't speculate as to what may have happened to it before it got into my hands. All I can be certain of is that it looks very bad now.
Please pardon me if I implied you had a bad product.
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