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Post by strength on Jul 24, 2023 18:12:32 GMT
Im relatively new to the universe of swords, but ive done a lot of research in the past few years on what makes a good sword and what doesnt At least in the realm of katana. So ive bought a few swords that im very happy with after my extensive research. But theres still one thing i dont know yet and thats how long does a sword last on average? Given its oiled regularly and youre not cutting things you shouldnt be.
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Post by strength on Jul 24, 2023 18:21:57 GMT
Also a very general and surface level question about steel because i dont want to get too far into the deep end with the sciency metalurgy stuff... Is it usually better to cut tatami with higher carbon steel such as 1095 and T10 other than lower carbon steel steels like 1060 assuming its all heat treated correctly? And what about water bottles or does it not even matter for those
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Post by mrstabby on Jul 24, 2023 18:24:49 GMT
Do you mean how long it keeps its edge? Honestly, I doubt you will use up a sword in your lifetime cutting regularly once the edge geometry is established. Depending on the steel you can see dulling relatively quickly, and I mean "see" a glinting that was not there before not that it won't cut any longer (this should only need a bit of stropping). Unless you break off pieces of the edge or reprofile often, the sword will very likely survive you.
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Post by mrstabby on Jul 24, 2023 18:34:37 GMT
Also a very general and surface level question about steel because i dont want to get too far into the deep end with the sciency metalurgy stuff... Is it usually better to cut tatami with higher carbon steel such as 1095 and T10 other than lower carbon steel steels like 1060 assuming its all heat treated correctly? And what about water bottles or does it not even matter for those 1095/T10 will hold the edge longer but you are more likely to damage the sword when you botch a cut than with 1060, at least that is the general consensus, I haven't done anything yet besides tip damage. On my 1065 windlass swords I can see some dulling after 4 bottles cut, begin feeling some difference in cuts after 10 or so, but stropping fixes this within a few passes normally.
1566 is a bit more resistant to dulling than 1065, 60Si2MnA from LK Chen has the most edge retention of my swords, equal or close to 1095 (I only have one 1095). I do not own any T10 so I can't say anything there. A big part as well is edge geometry, a thinner edge will be dulled quicker, no matter the steel. Concave edges also won't last as long as convex ones. Straight "V" shape edges are in between. Concave cuts with less resistance, but won't last as long, convex is more durable but not as "bity". Straight V feel worse to me than either of the other geometries when cutting bottles though. EDIT: Hardness is also a factor in edge retention, the harder a blade is the longer it will stay sharp, but the harder it gets the more brittle a steel gets --> more likely to chip or break. A sword with a 50HRC blade will outperform avsword that is only 45HRC. For fully hardened swords it should be at least 50HRC, an edge hardened sword can go up to the 60s in edge hardness.
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Post by pellius on Jul 24, 2023 21:20:02 GMT
Maybe 500 years or so if always properly cared for. Fittings probably won’t go the distance, though.
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Post by strength on Jul 26, 2023 17:22:38 GMT
Thats pretty incredible but it makes sense. i guess thats why we have centuries old antiques. I had thought eventually over time like a couple decades of sharpening over and over again would have changed the original shape to the point its unusable at least or noticeably lighter and throw off its balance but i guess thats not true.
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Post by perignum on Jul 27, 2023 6:51:43 GMT
Thats pretty incredible but it makes sense. i guess thats why we have centuries old antiques. I had thought eventually over time like a couple decades of sharpening over and over again would have changed the original shape to the point its unusable at least or noticeably lighter and throw off its balance but i guess thats not true. Oh, if you were constantly sharpening the blade, then, yeah, it’d remove enough material to be noticeable. There are several swords in museums whose blade profile and typology may have been altered by sharpening over the years. There are also literally thousands of examples of swords that have been field sharpened and so have a very clear secondary bevel. If you think about it, particularly medieval swords, they may have been used maybe twice or three times in their lifetimes. And I’m talking bring brought to a battlefield and maybe not even leaving the scabbard. Swords weren’t used on a daily basis.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Jul 27, 2023 10:03:59 GMT
In the old days it was common to see a jack knife with a convex profile due to sharpening. It has been decades since I’ve seen this, but I saw a working machete not long ago in the same condition. I know of a man that gets about 3 months out of a machete. This is one reason that I try to sharpen first with a chakmak. I prefer realigning the edge rather than sharpening by removing metal. Of course, in time the chakmak no longer works and I have to sharpen by the conventual metal removal.
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Post by mrstabby on Jul 27, 2023 10:50:50 GMT
It always depends on how you sharpen, true. I saw the 5 year old knives of a friends mother, there was only 1cm blade width left since she resharpened them before every use with a 200ish grit stone. On the other hand I have seen 10 year old chefs knives of a small gastronomic kitchen that looked better, even though they also get honed before every use, but with a steel rod. I haven't seen an heirloom hunting knife in years now, many just leave them at home and carry something with newer steels. In my youth I saw many of them.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Jul 27, 2023 13:34:23 GMT
I nearly forgot; Military swords were not issued sharp and for the most part carried as such. For two reasons not sharpened one being blade life, an economy measure so as not to needlessly wear away the blade, the other being a safety factor. Swords were sharpened only when combat was pending or the possibility.
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Post by RufusScorpius on Jul 28, 2023 11:59:03 GMT
I guess the answer is "it depends". How much is it used, how aggressive is the sharpening, etc etc. There's no right answer to this question.
As some have pointed out, a blade could last months if it's used constantly everyday until eventually the profile is worn out from sharpening and repairs. Other swords could literally last billions of years if they are put on a shelf somewhere protected from moisture.
Most swords will disappear after a generation because your kids aren't going to care about it and sell it to a pawn shop or chuck it in the trash.
For every answer to this question there are an infinite amount of "what ifs" that go along with it.
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Post by curiomansion on Jul 28, 2023 13:35:23 GMT
The more modern steels tend to last much longer. Tatami isn't an overly abusive medium and there's always the question of how sharp you want your sword to be. My Ronin Dojo Pro (1060 iirc) is on it's third edge and is just at the point of being noticably resharpened. I suspect I have two more edges left of high performance and a few more edges after that of good performance. I've put thousands of hard cuts on it (I cleared quite a bit of brush and light trees with it). Once I'm out of edges on that one, I'll take the edge and point off completely and have a blunt swinger. Well worth the $300 I spent on it.
Old sword that have seen a lot of use clearly have redone edges, and that doesn't necessarily look bad. At the end of the day, if you use a sword so much that your edges disappear, I think you'll feel like you got your money's worth, especially with modern steels. Your body should look different. Also consider that it's still way cheaper than ammo.
Oh and the notion that you'll find a perfect sword that will kill your desire to own new ones...good luck with that. Haha.
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