Picture of My Sword

I figured I'd show a picture of my sword at its current state. It turned out nice for my first attempt. I've bought some books on blacksmithing and knifemaking to read up (I'll post some reviews shortly), and I will eventually take this stock removal approach to bladesmithing and finally harden and temper the sword blade in a homemade propane forge which I'm planning to build. I will make a video and take pictures of that project when I finally get some time to make it.

As for this sword, I didn't necessarily go for a specific type--just a two-handed hilt, broadsword. It has a bit of a Roman soldier shortsword look to it--or a Hoplite sword -meets- claymore hybrid. I deliberately left off the pommel, because I didn't have any idea what kind to put on, and it looks kind of good without it (my opinion, of course).

To view how to make this sword, click here, and scroll down to the video.

How to make a katana Samarai sword

I wanted to display a cool video I found on metacafe for those interested to learn how to make a katana sword online. The Hero Edge is a Chinese company which, ironically, makes Japanese-style Samarai katana swords. I don't necessarily endorse the company, nor do I think their swords are terribly "authentic"--in fact, no more authentic than if I were to build one using a modern propane forge and hydraulic hammers.
Despite all this, it is still a neat video, but it doesn't necessarily make the process easy to follow--as making a katana is one of the most difficult tasks of a master bladesmith. Oh, and you'd have to be Japanese.

Sword-making Part One - Click here for the most popular videos

How to Make a Sword

I have always been mildly interested in swords and knives. I've never been a collector--the only knife I've ever owned that I slobbered all over was a Victorinox swiss army knife--it had about 30 different tools in it, including a saw blade and a magnifying glass. But, I've never bought a sword or any other big purchase like that.

Needless to say, when I began working with metal (welding, shaping, etc.), I saw the potential to make a neat sword with some scrap I had laying around the shop at work.

Sooo, I decided to make a two-handed sword. I knew that a Samarai katana was out of the question--I have neither the blacksmithing knowledge nor the materials handy to create one of those. BUT, a claymore-like broadsword was possible--if nothing more than to look at. Like I said, I didn't have blacksmithing knowledge at the time.

This first attempt is rather crude, but it was fun and didn't take tons of time (which seems to be a real commodity right now for me). I had to learn the parts of the sword--which my boss at work was so generous to impart upon me. In the video below, you'll see my relative lack of knowledge shine through when I keep repeating the term "hilt" when I talk about working on the tang. Also, something I didn't know was that the crossbar (used to protect a swordsman's hands from an enemy's sword) actually "floats" below the blade--meaning, it isn't attached via a weld or other fastening device. These crossbars were often made of a softer material than the blade--to hopefully grab the opponent's sword and offer a chance to rip it from their grip.

Either way, I made a sword and it is pretty neat to have.

Oh yeah, and here's the "how-to" video of the sword-making process. (I apologize for the choppy transitions--I uploaded it to metacafe, and it got a little wonky in the output.)


Make a Sword .... How-to

****Please note: this finished sword is not really finished. In order to complete it fully to combat-readiness, you would need to fire it in a forge and temper it.

My next project is to build a small forge and begin creating hunting knives. I'll drop a line here periodically to show you what I've done.