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Post by blackjack on Nov 29, 2023 20:31:24 GMT
I have been watching some sword reviews with cutting portions and notice that some swords make a lovely ring when they cut Tatami or water bottles. What makes a sword better or worse at doing that and are there any specific repro swords that I could buy that are known for doing this?
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Post by mrstabby on Nov 29, 2023 20:59:46 GMT
Some ring, some don't. It has to do with the blades geometry and the construction. If the blade isn't mounted correctly, it will never ring, even if the geometry allows for it. I also think only through hardened (spring tempered) blades really ring, Katana with Hamon won't. All tightly fitted blades will vibrate, but if those vibrations are audible or if you can only feel/see them is probably dependant on the blades dimensions and if there is something that dampens vibrations (like hot glue in the grip for example). My Windlass XIV has no ring at all, but you can definately feel it when it gets flicked. My loudest blade is also a Windlass sword, that looks like the Cold Steel Norman sword. Most chinese Oxtail Dao I have seen have some ring to them as well, the loudest being Hanweis Practical Kung Fu sword.
I think, if you want one that rings loudly, you need to get specific swords and it does not much depend on the maker. My louder blades are thin, with a bit of distal taper. Also the Dao. The XIV is pretty thick and stiff, that's my guess why it does not ring, it has a more dull sound.
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Post by pellius on Nov 29, 2023 21:34:14 GMT
ATrims are anecdotally well known to ring when used to cut; especially the falchions. All of my Albion’s ring when struck. As stated above, some models are more melodious than others. All my L Driggers swords ring, too.
Swords with a broad profile and a foible with a super-slender cross section sound best to my ears.
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Post by mrstabby on Nov 30, 2023 9:26:39 GMT
Yeah, broad and thin towards the tip. The Hanwei/Tinker swords also ring quite clearly. Though the ring is different when you cut something, some of mine do have a ring when you flick at then but it isn't really audible when I cut bottles. Or it might be audible to you when doing the cut but not on the video.
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Post by Swordknives on Dec 7, 2023 21:00:20 GMT
The most important component to a sword ringing is the mounting. Steel will ring naturally if you do not have anything to dampen the vibration. For swords that dont ring something in the hilt is absorbing the vibration, that could be the wood/leather used, glue or epoxy or lack there of, and (perhaps most importantly) how tightly everything fits together.
Angus Trim swords have the guard pressure fit onto the blades and a leather over wood grip topped off by a disk pommel. He compresses the grip and pommel by progressively tightening the peen nut over several weeks until he can no longer compress the hilt. Little known tidbit is Atrim swords tangs are threaded and the "peen" you see is actually a threaded nut, this allows him to tighten it after being assembled. He gave a talk at a HEMA event earlier this year and he has said that he rarely ever hears of one of his swords breaking or loosening up. He also said that he does check for a ring before pronouncing a sword ready as that is an indicator that the hilt is harmoniously mounted to the blade.
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Post by treeslicer on Dec 7, 2023 22:29:49 GMT
How do you get a sword that "rings" when you cut? You might add this to the hilt. Happy Holidays!
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Ouroboros
Member
Imperial, Mysterious In Amorous Array
Posts: 570
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Post by Ouroboros on Dec 8, 2023 12:42:36 GMT
You might add this to the hilt. Happy Holidays
Canadian Knuckle Duster...simple but effective for enforcing Festivus regulations.
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Post by blackjack on Dec 8, 2023 15:49:23 GMT
You might add this to the hilt. Happy Holidays
Canadian Knuckle Duster...simple but effective for enforcing Festivus regulations. I think I saw that attached to akKatana in "Santa's Slay". The classic Christmas slasher flick.
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Dec 9, 2023 11:47:28 GMT
The best anti-bear sword!
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Post by ballenxj on Dec 24, 2023 1:51:48 GMT
I would have guessed ringing might be more prone with a proper tempered blade?
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Post by mrstabby on Dec 24, 2023 15:29:41 GMT
I would have guessed ringing might be more prone with a proper tempered blade? Yeah, but the hilt construction does a lot. Like holding a triangle by the steel vs holding it by the string.
It's definately possible to hear a bad temper on through hardened blades, it will sond dull and have little to no vibration to it when not hardened well. Had 2 Windlass daggers come through, I was able to bend one with little force while the other was solid, the bendy one did sound really different and didn't vibrate after being flicket, maybe two oscillations, while the second will do a lot longer.
Also, I think differentially hardened swords can't ring, at all.
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Post by ranstone on Jan 16, 2024 4:31:51 GMT
Many Albions ring because of their hardness. Many historical swords were hardened to a Rockwell of the low 50's, and Albion is 54 minimum. (modern steel can be harder without breaking.) This makes them more... Well ringy... Same reason bells are hard and brittle.
Complete guesswork here, but I suspect historical swords rang less than Albions because of this, but as chat has said, there's many things that go into a good sounding sword more than the hardness of the blade.
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Post by larason2 on Jan 21, 2024 22:55:29 GMT
Katanas do ring, even if DH. However, I've only heard the ring polishing! My Jkoo replica rings, as does one of my nihonto katana blades. It happens with some stones, particularly if you're polishing the middle or the tip. 1000 grit being where I've heard it the most. The traditional wood hilt/mekugi pin silences them though once they're fitted up.
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Post by cashskywin on Jan 22, 2024 14:21:59 GMT
From my limited understanding, its both a hard blade and tight fittings which results in ringing. I have 2 swords, a musha katana off amazon made of 1045 steel, and a 5160 spring steel longsword from fidestisan. One makes a dull thud when you hit something, the other one makes music.
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