forge a sword

Forging a sword would be almost like puoring your life into metal. Because I think that the hilt reflects your personality.

made several actually, now i have to temper them…oh the mystery of tempering … bladesmithing is a fairly esoteric art form ive decided, you gotta be real patient, and determined to get anywhere with it

I will forge a sword from a meteorite and I will become unstoppable!

Forging a sword has been referred to as the culmination of the metallurgical arts, and though it may be debateable in this modern age, the process is still greatly respected by many.

Most of the forging process is dependant upon the type of weapon in which one has an interest. Different weapons require different geometry and stress requirements. For example, a Aboriginal short sword might be geometrically stable enough to be effective even if it’s made of cattle bone, while a Japanese tachi would need to be made of the finest steel to remain stable during hard use.

Since the methods vary endlessly depending upon the desired outcome, I would use this opportunity to explain some basics about forging and the use of the anvil, hammers, tongs, coal, blowers, etc. and make a suggestion for an easy project with inexpensive materials that can be found almost anywhere in the US.

The first thing a person should have is a forge. Something heavy-duty and able to withstand the rigors of bearing hot coals for hours at a time. I recommend a brake drum from a large truck. They are easy to find and about as tough as a person could want. Find a way to set it up on some legs at about your waist level. This may require welding, but could be done with bolts and iron pipe with some ingenuity.

Once the forge is standing up on its own, you will need to engineer a blower to aerate the coal as it burns. The air flow creates a hotter environment for the steel and reduces forging time overall. In the past, bellows were used, but I would recomend attaching large iron pipe to the hole in the center of the brake drum and screwing a 90-degree elbow or goose-neck on the opposite end, then attach a hair dryer or shopvac to the elbow. The elbow is there to prevent slag from falling into the blower during use. Take care to always have a bucket of water or a fire extinguisher handy and always work outside or in a well-ventillated area.

Next you’ll need an anvil. It is upon the anvil that the steel will be hammered and shaped. It must be strong and resistant to heat and impact. In the past I have used a short section of railroad track, which seems to work well for small amateur projects. I have also heard of using the head of a large sledge hammer as an effective substitute for the real deal. In both cases, you have a hard surface that is resistant to shock, thus forcing the hot steel upon which you are working to absorb each blow and change shape accordingly. Whatever you use, it should meed this criteria, or you could get injured. Make sure your anvil is also waist high and firmly set on the ground. In the past I have dug a hole and set a thick piece of wood in to the appropriate depth and then filled it in tight. That seems to work best – blacksmithing is not a garage hobby, so be ready to build sturdy equipment.
Finally, you will need hammers and tongs (at least at first, there are literally hundreds of tools for different jobs) The hammers are easy: a ball-pein and sledge should be well enough for a beginner, but the tongs might be a bit more difficult to find. A good pair of tongs would be both strong enough to hold the steel and long enough to keep you out of the fire and away from the hammer. Check around, you should be able to find something useful at a hardware store; and while you are there, you may want to find some leather gloves.
Coal might be another commodity that is hard to find, depending on your location, but a little goes a long way.

To light a good fire, put a little coal into the forge near the blower opening and build it up like a little anthill. put some starter on the pile (kerosene works too) and stuff some newspaper in the center. Light the paper and wait for the starter to catch before engaging the blower on its lowest setting. The fire should take off with considerable quickness, but the coal will last a while. Once the fire is good and hot, you may begin. Keep the blower clear of slag and protect your eyes from hot particles. All blacksmiths get burned, so be ready. Also, every shop will need some files and cutting tools. I would put a grinder at the top of the list, you will use it for practically everything until your hammering gets perfected.

Now for the sword. You can make a hefty (though primitive) shortsword with very little trouble by obtaining a bowspring from the rear assembly of a pickup truck. One could get this item from practically any junkyard anywhere for very little money. Often this item is a really big, bent piece of very strong steel. I recomend cutting it in half and cutting the mounting end off as well. You should then have bent piece of spring steel about two or three feet long.
Since this steel is already tempered to an extent, you do not want to heat it too intensely. Get it on the forge until it reaches a rose red color, then carefully beat it out flat. Don’t hit it hard enough to deform it, just straighten it out. Then insert one end into the coal and turn the blower up to full power. Wait until the end glows orange and take it out. Turn it on its narrow side and hammer the edges in a bit, then let it cool in the air. take it to the grinder and whittle down the sides you hammered in, travel up the blade as far as you want the handle to extend. This part will be the tang.
You should now have a length of metal that resembles an elongated paddle. Since this is a super-simple process, you may choose to grind an edge on the grinder, or hammer a taper into one edge on the forge and clip the end at the desired angle.
Once the edge is edequate, find some soil or clay and work it into a drought of thick mud by adding water and kneading it together evently.
Put the blade onto the fire again and let the whole thing warm to a dull red. Dump the mud onto the ground in a line at least as long as the blade upon which you are working, then take the steel out of the fire and drive the edge into the mud.
It should hiss and steam, but leave it there until it is cool to the touch. then take it out and wash it. Scrub it thouroughly and file off any slag that the brush can’t remove.
Then take it to the bench and use a coarse whetstone to grand away the rough surface, then brush it smooth with a wire brush and files. You will be holing the tang through the whole process, so I would not bother working on it. Polish, grind, and buff the steel until it looks how you want it to. If it worked out properly, you should notice that the edge of the blade seems a bit lighter in color than the rest of the metal, this means it has tempered to a greater hardness than the rest of the blade.
Once the metal is in good condition and clean, then inspect it for cracks or fractures, then sharpen it. If you have already ground or hammered a taper, the final sharpening process should be done by hand and takes a good while to complete, but the blade should be able to support a fine edge with a little effort.
How you wrap the handle or fashion the guard is your affair, but once sharpened and polished, the poor-man’s gladius is essentially complete and what you learn during the process, will help you to make better and better pieces. If you have the guts to try it, I wish you the best of luck.
-Most Respectfully.

Well I cant really make a steel sword yet the only thing Im capable of is making wood swords.

I picked this stuff up at a site I found, figured it might help someone…..
http://elmtreeforge.blogspot.com/2005/05/smithing-tools.html

This is going to cover some of the basic stuff. If you’ve got a pile of cash you can just go through the Centaur Forge catalog and order what you want, but if you’re like me you have to pick up some basics and over time either buy or make other tools you need. So let’s see:

Anvil. Obviously, you need something to pound on.

Forge. Also obviously, some way to heat the metal.

Hammers. That is indeed hammers, plural, you’re gonna need more than one. I’d suggest a 2 or 3lb double-face or cross-peen, a 1 or 2lb ball-peen as the most basic to start with. If you work any heavy stuff, like flattening a spring, a 4lb is very handy. On the lighter side, one of the handiest hammers I have is a 24oz. ball-peen with a wider than usual face on the flat side; I found it without a handle at a flea market and for smoothing a surface or shaping some flat stock into curves, it’s wonderful.

Chisels. Again, more than one. A heavy one with an edge at least 1” across for heavy cutting, smaller for more delicate stuff. Once you have the hang of heat-treating, chisels can be made from spring stock or drill rod or old rock drills, and over time you’ll probably wind up with a collection of different sizes & shapes.

Punches. One good centerpunch for marking where to drill a hole, or where to make a bend; a punch for actually punching holes in stock. You’ll learn to make other shapes and sizes as you go, and, again, you’ll probably wind up with an assortment.

Tongs. This can be the tough one, because you’ve got to have them, but unless you find some at a flea market or antique store or something, you’ll have to make them. You can buy them new(see Centaur above), but they do tend to be expensive. You can, for a while, get by with pliers or vise-grips, but tongs that will hold the stock well are not an option; if the piece can’t be held solidly it’ll move(harder to shape) or jump free(dangerous and/or annoying, but good for your dance steps). If you do much, especially if you make decorative stuff, you’ll wind up with a number of them; they’re not very hard to make, and in some cases it’s worth it to make a pair that may only be picked up once in a while if they let you do the job more easily.

That’s the most basic list you can get by with for a while. If you primarily make blades, a couple of tongs and hammers, a punch or two, may be all you need. If you make decorative and other ironwork, you’ll wind up with more and use them all.

Notes:
Tongs can have the jaws shaped specifically to hold flat pieces, round pieces, rectangular pieces(like the tang of a knife), and so forth. There’s a style made to hold a hammer head while you shape it, and a variation of that for holding an axe head.

Punches can make a flat depression, leave a round-bottomed mark, leave special shapes like letters or symbols, and so forth. Chisels can make a flat cut, a curve, and sharp angle.

Hammers can have two identical faces, or two radically different ones; some old smithing hammers, and some specialized ones, have only one face that’s used to strike with. I once read of a man who made decorative ironwork who had 49 hammers, each a different size and/or shape, many for doing one particular thing.

Well, paying for the forge is turning out to be alot more expensive than I thought at first. I will get it, but it is going to be awhile before I have a working forge….if anyone from the Amarillo, Texas area knows where I can get the stuff I need for cheap I would be greatful for some help. You get email me at avalon6060@yahoo.com, please use the subject heading ‘RE: Paying For The Forge…..’ this way I know what its for and wont just delete it.

On a second note, I am planning on looking around junk yards and such for things needed, if anyone has helpful hints on things that might work, please, use the same email and subject header as above to contact me about it….....