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Post by creatineboy on May 25, 2024 9:29:12 GMT
I'm new to swords really,and I do trust my smith that says they will put a real sharp edge on my sword they made me,but I'd like to know how to sharpen one myself. Please enlighten me.
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Post by mrstabby on May 25, 2024 11:15:39 GMT
There are a lot of threads on this already. www.sword-buyers-guide.com/sharpen-a-sword.htmlwww.sword-buyers-guide.com/sharpening-swords.htmlI short: Power tools can be dangerous, anything but a belt sander will likely end in a fail. Primary problem is heat and burning off the temper. If it at any point changes colour to straw, stop! If it is blue, the temper is ruined and you need to grind everything off that was in the area that has changed colour. Seocndary is to have the same angle all along the edge. You likely need some sort of angle guide to keep it straight. Positive is, you automatically get convex edges, tos are a bit bowed out in cross section, so there is more material behind the edge, making a convex edge a lot less succeptibble to damage. Convex edges do offer more resistance when cutting, but that's more for knives, in a sword you want the added strength. Sharpening by hand takes time and experience. Best result is, if you built a sharpening guide so you keep the right angle. www.sword-buyers-guide.com/sword-sharpening-kit.htmlMaterials for handsharpening: Sandpaper is cheap and works well, if you also sharpen modern knives go for diamond abrasives - not as cheap but you get a lot of use out of diamond compared to aluminium oxide stones or sandpaper. Real sharpening stones are a minor science, some are real crappy and not worth the money others real good for the same price, so you need to research a ton or buy a lot of useless stuff until you find your perfect stone.
EDIT: It takes a bit of trial and error to find the right technique that works for you. Oh, and don't underestimate stropping, it makes a big difference in sharpness. Although not necessarily needed if you remove the burr correctly, it makes the leap from paper-cutting to shaving sharp.
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Post by creatineboy on May 27, 2024 23:56:47 GMT
There are a lot of threads on this already. www.sword-buyers-guide.com/sharpen-a-sword.htmlwww.sword-buyers-guide.com/sharpening-swords.htmlI short: Power tools can be dangerous, anything but a belt sander will likely end in a fail. Primary problem is heat and burning off the temper. If it at any point changes colour to straw, stop! If it is blue, the temper is ruined and you need to grind everything off that was in the area that has changed colour. Seocndary is to have the same angle all along the edge. You likely need some sort of angle guide to keep it straight. Positive is, you automatically get convex edges, tos are a bit bowed out in cross section, so there is more material behind the edge, making a convex edge a lot less succeptibble to damage. Convex edges do offer more resistance when cutting, but that's more for knives, in a sword you want the added strength. Sharpening by hand takes time and experience. Best result is, if you built a sharpening guide so you keep the right angle. www.sword-buyers-guide.com/sword-sharpening-kit.htmlMaterials for handsharpening: Sandpaper is cheap and works well, if you also sharpen modern knives go for diamond abrasives - not as cheap but you get a lot of use out of diamond compared to aluminium oxide stones or sandpaper. Real sharpening stones are a minor science, some are real crappy and not worth the money others real good for the same price, so you need to research a ton or buy a lot of useless stuff until you find your perfect stone.
EDIT: It takes a bit of trial and error to find the right technique that works for you. Oh, and don't underestimate stropping, it makes a big difference in sharpness. Although not necessarily needed if you remove the burr correctly, it makes the leap from paper-cutting to shaving sharp.
Who makes the best swords? Does Longquan Chins produce quality stuff in your opinion? I see alot of sword makes but shy of DarkSword armory etc most smith's are in foreign countries like Kuwait. I am awaiting the arrival of the swords I have ordered and will know more then,I'm just asking you since you're so knowledgeable about it.
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Post by creatineboy on May 27, 2024 23:57:12 GMT
There are a lot of threads on this already. www.sword-buyers-guide.com/sharpen-a-sword.htmlwww.sword-buyers-guide.com/sharpening-swords.htmlI short: Power tools can be dangerous, anything but a belt sander will likely end in a fail. Primary problem is heat and burning off the temper. If it at any point changes colour to straw, stop! If it is blue, the temper is ruined and you need to grind everything off that was in the area that has changed colour. Seocndary is to have the same angle all along the edge. You likely need some sort of angle guide to keep it straight. Positive is, you automatically get convex edges, tos are a bit bowed out in cross section, so there is more material behind the edge, making a convex edge a lot less succeptibble to damage. Convex edges do offer more resistance when cutting, but that's more for knives, in a sword you want the added strength. Sharpening by hand takes time and experience. Best result is, if you built a sharpening guide so you keep the right angle. www.sword-buyers-guide.com/sword-sharpening-kit.htmlMaterials for handsharpening: Sandpaper is cheap and works well, if you also sharpen modern knives go for diamond abrasives - not as cheap but you get a lot of use out of diamond compared to aluminium oxide stones or sandpaper. Real sharpening stones are a minor science, some are real crappy and not worth the money others real good for the same price, so you need to research a ton or buy a lot of useless stuff until you find your perfect stone.
EDIT: It takes a bit of trial and error to find the right technique that works for you. Oh, and don't underestimate stropping, it makes a big difference in sharpness. Although not necessarily needed if you remove the burr correctly, it makes the leap from paper-cutting to shaving sharp.
And THANK YOU
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Post by mrstabby on May 28, 2024 6:55:24 GMT
Who makes the best swords? Does Longquan Chins produce quality stuff in your opinion? I see alot of sword makes but shy of DarkSword armory etc most smith's are in foreign countries like Kuwait. I am awaiting the arrival of the swords I have ordered and will know more then,I'm just asking you since you're so knowledgeable about it. Honestly who makes "the best" is something I dare not say. It depends a lot on what you want and how you will use it: An historical 1:1 copy, a sparring sword, a cutting sword, something you only swing around for training, something light, or something big and heavy perhabs? Even the cheap sector has some gold in it. Albion seems to be the go-to for the high end, but it's not like they are perfect. Personally 1500$ for the bare sword is too much for a cutting sword, since it will get damage sooner or later. You might have the disposable income that it doe not matter.
There are a lot of good and bad makers everywhere. LK Chen has amassed a good reputation amnong sword fans for quality and being very close to known originals. LK Chen is Longquan based but they do their homework and produce fantastic swords. As a whole Longquan has really good stuff and the cheapest "barely-swords", but that's true for any place (Lonquan just has a much higher concentration of blademakers). The only place I have not yet made any good experience with is Pakistan, everywhere else you can find pretty good stuff for half the price than things produced in the west.
The people here are pretty honest, so if they say it's a good company, I believe it is. You can look around the reviews for specific swords or makers to get a better picture. Like so Read a few, get a feel for the consensus, maybe there even is a thread like "is XYZ a good manufacturer". In the end, everyone liikes diifferent things, what's a dealbreaker for one is barely an inconvenience or even something positive for another.
EDIT: Sounds like I'm crapping on Pakistan, it's just that the pakistani blades I have seen so far were noname cheap stuff and every single one had dealbreaking issues, I am sure there are some specialized makers that don't produce SLOs, the cheap stuff is just flooding the EU market.
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Post by larason2 on May 29, 2024 0:25:45 GMT
Some of the worst knives I've ever seen I believe were made in pakistan, a "damascus" of random junk metals probably also including nickel and lead that was unhardened. That's nightmare fuel right there! Sad that some of the places that probably produced the original wootz steel now make things like that! Perhaps there are reasonable smiths there, but I would be very cautious. The same is true in China though, while they probably have some of the best smiths in the world, there are some swords from China I'd probably be afraid to hang on my wall. So I agree do your research, and buy from a reputable company. Every company, even Albion have their pros and cons, and it depends on what you want and your budget.
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Post by mrstabby on May 29, 2024 11:39:37 GMT
I have also seen monosteel "truck spring" stuff, but quality isn't any better than the pattern welded stuff (which at least is nice to look at for a pretty low price). Soft (low 40s HRC, I don't have any reference blades that soft), bad alignment, bends, ugly lines....
There is a big market for wallhangers with "damascus" patterns, and pakistan cranks them out like crazy. Let's hope they go the way china did and some go back to producing serviceable stuff some day. There are always people asking about these blades, they look stunning, are affordable, but the quality control issue rate is extreme (talked to a vendor half a year ago and he said the QC issues suddenly skyrocketed about a year, year-and-a-half ago) and they aren't anything you can use.
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