Posts: 70 Location: United States
Wed 17 Aug, 2016 10:44 am
I performed the test to check tempering, and there was a noticeably more damage to the blade than the piece of stock I tested it against. I've since more or less completed the sword and scabbard(images below). It's been a pretty interesting learning process, and several mistakes were made.
Firstly, I made the guard and pommel from leftover aluminum stock, which turned out to be a significant error on my part. The guard and pommel are not nearly heavy enough to counter balance the blade, and this is only compounded by the fact that I made the pommel too small to begin with. So while the sword weighs only about a pound and a half, it feels remarkably heavier as the center of balance is about nine inches in front of the guard. It was only after this mistake that I realized that aluminum blades are typically still mounted on steel hilts. The grip feels a little too fat for me, although I do have relatively small hands and I'm sure it would feel fine for someone with larger hands.
As for the scabbard, I decided to go with a coreless design. While it does look a little sleeker and holds the blade really nicely(it can be turned upside down without falling out, but glides smoothly out of the scabbard) I found that the all leather design has a mind of its own, and doesn't like to line up perfectly, resulting in an off center stitching line, though this could also be a measuring/cutting error on my part.
Despite these flaws, I'm still mostly happy with the piece. Since the temper was ruined from the start, the sword has been destined to become a display piece, so I'm not to upset about the balance issues. I'd love to hear any comments you have about it. I'm definitely interested in doing another one, hopefully fixing those issues.
Thanks!
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