hi,

i'm in the middle of a swordmaking project and at the point where i need to buy materials for the pommel and cross

i always see the answer "any old mild steel will do" and why that may be true.. it still leaves me with no idea what to look for as steel suppliers dont really label anything as "any old mild steel" :( everything is labeled with its technical name and some of it is really cheap and i imagine bound to be crappy

what types of steels specifically are used by professional makers for pommel/cross material?

and is a-36 decent for this?

A-36 will work fine.

The stresses the cross and pommel will encounter are quite small compared the blade. Bronzes, generally weaker than mild steel, were fairly often used. On some styles wood, bone or other organic materials were used.

What you want in a pommel/cross material is machinability and/or forgability.

The term mild steel (steel with very little carbon or alloying elements) is very common in the steel trade. Any supplier will understand it, it might even be the only thing they carry.

Speedy Metals has been good to work with for me.
http://www.speedymetals.com/c-8228-hot-rolled.aspx
http://www.speedymetals.com/c-8237-a-36.aspx