How to make
cheap and effective war swords
By: Matthew Cross
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The sword is described in this series of articles is a
simple hand and a half sword that could have seen action
through the medieval and renaissance period. According to
the taste and needs of the maker each of the components can
be modify to a variety of forms without significantly
changing the method of manufacture. It is strongly
suggested that simplicity is best for beginning projects.
Part1. Getting Started
Picking a leaf spring: No small operation can hope to make
for better steel than big business so it is to be expected
that auto manufactures can make stronger steel than we can
ever heat treat ourselves. The leaf spring in most cars is
hard enough and tough enough to eat every commercially
available sword that I could find in almost 30 years of
destructive testing. Leaf springs are easily available at
junk yards all over. Most yards usually have a pile of
hopelessly unmatched springs that can be had at scrap
prices. It is generally easier to get lots of leaf springs
than to get just one. There is a wide variety of leaf
springs available to choose from. The hardness is of major
concern so if given a choice use a small file to sample the
hardness of each rack. The file will bite more in the
softer springs. Get the hardest ones for the best swords,
and the softest ones for the easiest straighting. some are
thicker and thus more work to grind down but again are
better swords. The narrow springs are easier to straiten
and less work to taper but nothing matches a long thick
wide spring if you have the juice to straighten it. If you
have almost no tools and little investment money pick up a
narrow thin spring like those found on mini-pickup trucks.
The hole in the spring is a big deal so the longest springs
allow one end to be cut off placing the hole closer to the
handle.
Straitening a leaf spring: First separate the rack and cut
the springs to the desired lengths with a cutting torch,
disk grinder or hack saw. Place the spring on a railroad
tie or stump with its convex side up and hit the spring
until it does what you want it to do. Use as big a sledge
hammer as you can use and hit squarely flat with the face
of it. The closer you work to the edge of the of the stump
the easier it goes. Hitting closer to the edge of the
spring causes warping so be sure to hit the center of the
spring. This process can take days so be patience. Some
energetic young athletes can straighten a thinner spring in
under an hour however. Nevertheless the very hardest
springs will take days . When straight look along the edge
and mark the convex side of each warp. Then you flip the
spring from side to side, end to end and pound on the edge
where it is marked. Some warpage will be removed in the
grinding process. When the spring is straight it becomes a
blade blank. Cut a bolt into a small piece that fits into
the hole protruding slightly on both sides and pound it
down like a rivet.
So now you have one or more blade blanks of the finest
steel. The tools required were: A file, a sledge hammer
(Approx. 4 to 10 lbs), a stump or rail rode tie, and at
least one of the following: Disk grinder, cutting torch or
hacksaw. Add to this a vice, a bench, a grind stone, a
small chisel, a needle and a drill. This is the full list
of equipment needed to make a sword.
Part2 How to Grind and prepare the blade
Shaping and contouring the blade: You have successfully
completed a blade blank as per part one of the
instructions. The blank can now be shaped with a hacksaw
and contoured by hand using files or Japanese style
shavers. The most effective tool for this purpose however
is a small disk grinder. Bench grinders are affected by a
vibration when grinding swords that tears up wheels and
bearings. Moving the sword is more awkward than moving the
grinder so it is much more effecient to get a disk style
grinder.
The first task is to measure out the the final outline of
the blade and mark it. Ergonomically speaking the main
limitation to the travel of the sword is the ground at the
wielders feet, so I usually put the end of the blank on the
ground and grab it firmly as I stand. I then subtract 2
inches for clearance and mark the position of the guard.
This gives you a sword that is two inches shorter than the
distance between your clenched fist and the ground. This
proportion seems to move right with the person. A tapered
blade works far better than a straight blade, so mark the
center of the tip end and mark an inch in either direction.
This gives you a 2 inch wide tip. Then using a straight
edge mark a line from the edge at the guard to the tip at
the mark made at one inch from center. Do this to both
edges on both edges and on both sides of the blank. Use a
chisel to go over the marks that you finally decide on as
your chalk marks will melt before your work is completed.
Either cut along this tapered line on both sides with a
hacksaw or grind away the unwanted material with a disk
grinder. Use the disk grinder in broad sweeps not like a
plow. Frequently cool the blade with a wet rag. Harmonic
vibrations will hamper the grinding at the ends of the
blade when using one vice. If possible a second vice or C
clamp can help stabilize a lively blade or simply have
patience and wait for the harmonics to subside between
grinder strokes. Leave the tip square and move to the tang.
Grasp the blank on the grip side of the guard line and with
the other hand below that. Move the first hand down giving
a three hand grip, add one inch mark and cut. The tang
itself is the weakest part of the sword. If the tang is not
made very carefully the sword will break at the tang.
Follow each step carefully and take NO shortcuts. The point
where the tang enters the guard is critical, no heat must
be applied to this area ever. Never cut tangs with a
cutting torch. The following technique seems tedious but
follow it carefully and you will be able to trust your life
to the end product. First take a file and remove one
sixteenth of an inch of metal from each side of the blank
at the point where the guard is to go. No more than one
sixteenth of an inch. Next take a disk grinder or file and
remove the edge sixteenth of an inch from the rest of the
tang to the pommel end. This wide tang must then be tapered
ever so slightly. As an example, if your blank is three
inches wide then your tang will be two and seven eighths
inches wide at the shoulder where the guard sits and two
and three quarters wide at the pommel. The remaining
material will be removed at a later time. The tang is then
put into a vice that is mounted on the end of a bench and
the tip of the blade is allowed to touch the bench or a
block is placed under the tip. The blank is is flat in
relation to the top of the bench not on edge. The actual
grinding of the blade is easy if you take long sweeps with
the disk grinder and don't try to remove material by force,
let the weight of the tool do the work and take your time.
Frequent cooling of the blade with a wet rag and and
turning the blade over. Don't try to a hollow ground blade
as they are worthless on a sword. The best edge for a war
sword is a parabolic curve. The samurai sword was stroked
on a stone for one hundred strokes, one degree form flat
then ninety nine stokes at two degrees and so on until a
single deft stroke at forty five degrees. Leave lots of
material to be removed later by hand at a later stage and
move to the point. Put the blank point up in the vise and
grind away. Be carful not to overdue the point. Do not
allow the blade to get sharp at this stage as there is alot
of handling left. You now have a blade!
Part3: Hard fitting the guard:
The blade that you made following the instructions in parts
one and two has a wide tang with a shallow shoulder to
receive the guard. The guard described here is a basic
cross hilt that was the most common guard through most of
history in one form or another. We start with a piece of
steel (never use brass or soft metal) and six tools; a
drill a hacksaw, a large half round file (from welding
supply shop), a small cold chisel and a small machinists
file. The best size for guard stock is three quarters by
one half and following the ergonomic formula used so far
the length of the guard should be two hands and one thumb,
so grip the stock tightly with both hands, add one inch and
cut. The first step is to drill a row of holes in the
center of the guard. The easiest way to blow it is with the
drill. What you want to achive here is a slot that the file
will fit into. This slot must be narrower in both
dimensions than the tang and and slowly fit with a file. So
use a drill bit that is smaller than the width of the tang.
To keep the holes straight mark a line with a cold chisel
and then a punch. Make absolutely certain that the widths
of the slot at this stage is at least a half an inch
smaller than the width of the tang as material will be
removed later to center the groove. Once the holes are
drilled use a small chisel to cut the metal from between
the holes. Again have patience and only remove enough
material to get the file into the hole. If necessary file
the chisel's edge to one side to do the last cuts. In a
pinch the chisel can do the work and the drill can be
omitted. It is fairly easy to file the little balls on the
ends of the guard leaving a substantial block around the
slot in the center. If desired bend the arms in a slight
curve. Use an angle or T square to measure the distance
between the end of the guard and the end of the slot. File
until even. Next comes the process called hard fitting. The
slot is filled evenly on both sides till the guard can be
slid with moderate force to within a half an inch of the
shoulder. At that time the shoulders are filed absolutely
even and heavy hammer blows used to force the guard onto
the shoulder. A stout piece of steel can be used as a drift
by placing it on each side of the tang and hitting it
rather than the guard. Once the guard is firmly in place in
should have no play whatsoever. The next stage is very
delicate. With a file another shoulder is cut below the
guard. Leave the tang full width for one sixteenth of an
inch then file into the tang for one sixteenth of an inch
to produce a square shoulder on each side of the tang. In a
simple operation put the sword in a vice, tang up. Take a
chisel and put it in the corner on top of the shoulder
against the tang. Strike down separating the shoulder from
the tang leaving a small standing block. Split the block
from side to side with one more stroke of the chisel turned
parallel to the side of the blade. The resulting two small
chunks of metal are then pounded down onto the guard by
laying the side of the chisel onto them and hitting it. The
effect should be a lot like the claws holding a jewel onto
a ring setting. Repeat on both sides. This simple but
tedious method will produce a guard that will stay put.
When struck with hammers it should ring with a pure note
entirely without buzzing. The hammer tight fit and claw
keepers help keep the guard in place when subject to
extreme force. After all extreme force is what a sword is
all about. Combined with extreme skill a more martial art
has never been conceived but I digress. The tang remains
too wide for yet another step but it is not hard to call
this thing a sword.
Part 4 The Pommel:
The tang on the sword created in this process has been
deliberately left wide till the last possible moment. These
precautions are necessary so follow along a bit more. At
this stage the tang is narrowed to the desired width using
a disk grinder (or file) with the exception of the last
inch before the guard. As always keep cooling the blade
with a wet rag. This design is for a full tang so don't
remove enough material to slide a wooden grip onto it. Keep
the tang as wide as comfortably possible and plan for a
flatish sort of grip. A round grip on a sword is an
uncontrollable absurdity (more on this in part 5). Using a
file remove the last inch of unwanted material from the
sides of the tang leaving the claws that hold the guard
untouched. IMPORTANT do not file a sharp corner where the
tang goes into the guard, use a round file for the last bit
and don't give a crack a place to start, especially at the
weakest point of the sword. My favorite grip here is a sort
of diamond shape with concave lines sweeping out to swell
in the center of the grip that gives the top hand a better
grasp. The tang should at no point be narrower than one
inch, a wide variety of pommels existed and much ingenuity
can be exercised in there construction. For this project we
will use simple stacked pommel made from the same stock as
the guard. Using a file remove one sixteenth of an inch
from each side of the end of the tang for seven eighths
inch leaving shoulders of a sixteenth of an inch. The
pommel tang that results must be slightly tapered. Cut
three two inch pieces of the guard stock. (One half by
three quarters) Drill, chisel and file each of the pieces
individually as in the guard and pound them into place and
tightly as possible. The eighth of an inch the protrudes is
pounded down like a long rivet. This metal is hard so hit
it many times with a hard hammer. If the hammer dents try
using a hard metal drift. If desired a thin piece of copper
or brass can be put in between the steel ones or a thick
piece of practically anything hard substituted for the
center piece. File the sandwich of metal down into any one
of several shapes. A basic oval is good and simple. This
pommel should be just as solid as the guard. Notice that
the guard and pommel do not depend on the grip material to
hold them in place as in most modern designs. As
alternative a larger piece of steel can be drilled and
filed in one piece but thicker the stock is more difficult
it is to start the file. Another possibility is to grind
and file a more complicated pommel from a single piece of
steel with a bottleneck or bolster extending from it this
"neck" is split with a file and the end of the tang is
inserted into the slot and the sandwich is drilled and
riveted. Of course more tools and more skill can produce
better and prettier things but the purpose here is to give
anyone a chance at making and owning a sword that can be
used for real. The sword described here can be made by a
resolute armature with: a hammer, a stump, a chisel and two
files. Any guild that cares to can set up to build a whole
collection with a couple hundred dollars.
Part 5 The Grip, Sheath and Edge:
The grip of the sword that has been built in this five part
project is designed around a full tang for strength. To
begin with a pair of thin scales are made to sandwich on
the tang. The cross section should be a flat oval, not
round. No real sword ever had a round grip! No, not even
claymores. A round grip will twist in the had and make true
hits impossible. So make scales thin. They can be wood,
leather or metal. Glue was a big thing from Egypt on so
don't feel bad about using modern glues. Certain epoxies
can be used to build up grips alone. The best is a glue
called P.C.7. to cover the scales several things can be
used. Wrapping the grip with cord and glue is simple.
Leather in two strips can be sewn over the grips using a
simple trick. Cover the grip and leather with rubber glue
and starting at the edges of the grip apply the leather
with pieces meeting at the center of the side of the grip.
Cut away the excess leather and sew the edges together
using curved needles. The seamless leather grips seen on so
many originals were made of fresh cow intestine secured at
each end with a Turks head knot set in a groove in the
grip. As the gut shrank and dried it tightly binds the grip
components together. After shrinking wipe these grips with
outgrow brand ingrown toenail medicine to instantly tan the
leather and prevent stinking and future water damage. The
possibilities are endless.
A sharp sword needs a sheath so make one before sharpening
it. Leather is ideal but not always possible. Wood is
useless, a wooden sheath is bulky and brittle. Decent
sheaths can be made from canvass coated in liberal doses of
latex paint. (The best black latex available is San Louis
paints) Naughahide turned inside out and upholstery can
work as well. Take the tapered blade and lay it on the
material. Mark the outline and flip the sword. Mark a
second outline exactly next to the first. A triangle that
is twice as wide as the sword and as long should result.
Add three quarters of an inch for seams and cut. To sew
this special stich is used called an English saddle stich.
The edges to be sewed, if leather, are punched using a
stitching spacer if possible or just an awl. Heavy carpet
or saddle thread is used with a heavy curved needle. The
edge is folded in so that the resulting seam will look like
the sheath was sewn turned inside out. Insert the needle
into the first hole on the right side and then out the
second. Then into the second hole on the left side and out
the third. Then into the third hole on the right side and
out the fourth and so on. The stitches are made to loose
and the sewing proceeds a few inches they are pulled tight
like shoestrings. When tightened the seam is inside inside
the sheath and looks quite impossible. Trim the top of the
sheath to fit the blade. The fittings of the sheath can
vary according to taste and available resources. A layer of
heavy leather sewn into a cone and glued to the tip of the
sheath will help to keep the point from coming out the end
of the sheath.
Now comes the fun part. Sharpening the blade is a rewarding
almost meditative process. A course whet stone is required.
A small wheel from a bench grinder or piece of a big wheel
is held in the hand and stroked longwise on the blade with
the tip on a bench and the hilt in lap. If the sword is
clamped at this point it is difficult to feel the edge as
it progresses. Have patience and take care to grind both
edges evenly. Feel the progress by pinching the center of
the blade and sliding the fingers to the edge with light
pressure. By this means it is easy to determine if one edge
is thinner than the other. Just keep stroking until
satisfied. Some people desire a better finish than others.
So now you have a powerful sword! Try it out! If you
followed the instructions and trust your work you should be
able to put the blade on two blocks and stand on it to
start with. Smash a few pallets and cut a fifty gallon drum
long wise. Chop down a small tree or a medium sized house,
it shouldn't matter. A real sword, like it said in the
movie, you can trust! |