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Post by lasallespipe on Oct 5, 2021 7:11:49 GMT
Hi Swordbuyers! Sometime lurker and a new member as I just got my first sharp and have a question!
Are there some specific files/ sandpapers one should use when grinding steel off from a blade? Certain grain, type ect. Some process to go thro, or maybe somekind of a file/grain will leave your blade ruined/ ugly?
What I have in my hand is the legendary stirrup guarded crowbar- the cold steel 1796 light cavalry sabre. The one I got has the POB around 8 inches (!) so it really is point heavy. I knew that this sword would have this kind of a trait so I got the sword with the idea that it would give me also a little "hands-on" project (plus you are really limited on sharp sabres here in Finland). So my plan is to file away by hand some mass from the tip to make the blade more nimble and historically accurate. I'm not planning on using machines as for a untrained noob like myself those give more room for an error and taking things slow feels closer to my style.
What Googling has given me is that people have done this sort of a thing (by hand and with a beltsander) but I thought to double check on the tools to use. I find info on tools for sharpening swords (files, arkansas stones, ect.) but didn't find is there some "no, no" for this sort of a project.
Cheers!
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Post by paulmuaddib on Oct 5, 2021 11:51:21 GMT
Welcome to the forum. Be patient, someone or several someones will be by here and provide links to threads about this very subject. Btw, 8” sounds pretty far out, I would think that would make it less tip heavy but I have zero experience with sabers.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Oct 5, 2021 13:06:32 GMT
Welcome. We have a member, Jordan Williams, that undertook that task on that same sabre. He hasn’t been active lately but might try contacting him. I don’t have that model but from experience what you are tempting to do requires patience and a lot of work. Cavalry sabres tend to be blade heavy but 8” is a bit far out. I did what you are tempting to do on another sabre reducing the thickness from 3.5 mm to 2.8 and changed the PoB by only .125” but this was enough to realize a difference in handling. My goal is to bring the foible down to 2.5 mm and I’ve doing this in stages taking several years so far.
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Post by pellius on Oct 5, 2021 16:41:37 GMT
Welcome to the forum!
My experience has been that sandpaper and stones are not suitable for stock removal. It just takes too much time and shop materials. Using them won’t hurt anything, though, except maybe your back.
I would probably start with files, then move on to sandpaper. That’s just me, though.
Repro sabers tend to use blade stock that is too thin at the forte. Even with decent distal taper, reasonable overall weight, and a fairly thin foible, the saber can end up with an unpleasant balance.
I would imagine removing three or four ounces of steel from the distal end of your blade will improve the handling significantly. Maybe making the foible thinner than originals will be useful? Dunno - I’m only kinda guessing.
Please share your project with the forum. It would be a popular one, I imagine.
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Post by pellius on Oct 5, 2021 16:47:21 GMT
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Post by lasallespipe on Oct 6, 2021 7:23:36 GMT
Welcome to the forum. Be patient, someone or several someones will be by here and provide links to threads about this very subject. Btw, 8” sounds pretty far out, I would think that would make it less tip heavy but I have zero experience with sabers. Thanks! Yeah. The 8" is way more far out than I was expecting
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Post by lasallespipe on Oct 6, 2021 7:26:51 GMT
Welcome. We have a member, Jordan Williams, that undertook that task on that same sabre. He hasn’t been active lately but might try contacting him. I don’t have that model but from experience what you are tempting to do requires patience and a lot of work. Cavalry sabres tend to be blade heavy but 8” is a bit far out. I did what you are tempting to do on another sabre reducing the thickness from 3.5 mm to 2.8 and changed the PoB by only .125” but this was enough to realize a difference in handling. My goal is to bring the foible down to 2.5 mm and I’ve doing this in stages taking several years so far. Thank you! It seems that I have something to do for lot of time
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Post by lasallespipe on Oct 6, 2021 7:31:03 GMT
Welcome to the forum! My experience has been that sandpaper and stones are not suitable for stock removal. It just takes too much time and shop materials. Using them won’t hurt anything, though, except maybe your back. I would probably start with files, then move on to sandpaper. That’s just me, though. Repro sabers tend to use blade stock that is too thin at the forte. Even with decent distal taper, reasonable overall weight, and a fairly thin foible, the saber can end up with an unpleasant balance. I would imagine removing three or four ounces of steel from the distal end of your blade will improve the handling significantly. Maybe making the foible thinner than originals will be useful? Dunno - I’m only kinda guessing. Please share your project with the forum. It would be a popular one, I imagine. Thanks for your post and links! Couple of them I also have run into while googeling which has directed me to this project. No way this is how this sabre should feel like. Good to know that at least going with this does not ruin the blade. It just then comes to the point where I need to see do I have the patiance to work the blade
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Post by daytona500 on Oct 9, 2021 3:22:42 GMT
I've been interested in doing something similar to a sword that has been already hardened. I've been looking at anything that can remove metal without going crazy like using a power grinder that might turn it into a turd in seconds. Ideally, somebody makes something... I've read that diamond files aren't great for this and I'd be better off using cheap stones. I was also pointed to Grobet files, but still not sure which ones would be ideal for my undertaking.
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Post by paulmuaddib on Oct 9, 2021 14:37:01 GMT
Had to look up Grobet files. Seems to be a brand and not a type of file. While I’ve never done a project like this I have filed metal parts. For you and the op I would suggest a large bastard file to start. Get a good strong steel wire brush to get the built up metal out of the grooves of the file. Good luck to both of you.
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pgandy
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Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Oct 11, 2021 12:15:43 GMT
8” sounds far out although cavalry sabres tend to balance farther out than an infantry sabre. I would have guessed the PoB was around 5-6”, closer to 6 on the originals. Here’s the stats on an original. It balances at 7.28”, less than ¾” difference from yours. But look at the distal taper. I haven’t taken much off of my M1860, .7mm at the foible. Not enough for my scale to detect a weight difference and only moved the PoB in ⅛” but I can feel a difference in the handling. That is an officer's sabre and the tend to be not as robust as a trooper's. sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/62457/sword-measurements?page=5
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