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L. Bailey
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 Posted: Sun 06 Jan, 2008 2:04 pm Post subject: Sharpening a hanwei practical h&h |
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Would a hanwei practical hand and a half be possible to sharpen, and make into a useable sword, without electric tools? A forumite from a site I frequent, Sword Buyers Guide, sharpened one up quite nicely using an electric grinder. However, I am wondering if any of you think it would be possible to do so with files.
Oh, and this is my first post. Looking to get involved with this forum as well, which is more the higher-end of production word collecting.
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Sam N.
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| Posted: Sun 06 Jan, 2008 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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I am not as experienced as others on this forum, but my impression was that the Hanwei Practical Hand-and-a-Half doesn't have the right geometry to take a sharp edge. I am not sure how you can do it, put I don't think it is a good idea. Now the normal Hanwei Hand-and-a-Half sword, that is actually meant to have an edge.
Just my 2 cents (well, 0.005 of a cent really, compared to most people on this forum).
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Ed Toton
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| Posted: Sun 06 Jan, 2008 7:48 pm Post subject: |
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It has a fairly thin edge, and appears to be tempered well, so it would probably take sharpening, but would not have the proper cutting geometry since it's not intended for it.
Using an electric grinder can generate a lot of heat and therefore mess with the heat treatment. You probably would be better off filing it by hand. 
-Ed T. Toton III
ed.toton.org | ModernChivalry.org
My armor photos on facebook
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Jean Thibodeau
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| Posted: Sun 06 Jan, 2008 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Ed Toton wrote: | It has a fairly thin edge, and appears to be tempered well, so it would probably take sharpening, but would not have the proper cutting geometry since it's not intended for it.
Using an electric grinder can generate a lot of heat and therefore mess with the heat treatment. You probably would be better off filing it by hand. |
Also very easy to mess up the edge or flat surfaces unless one is very skilled and a typical bench grinder using grinding wheels can vibrate too much and have too rough a grit for best results.
A grinder using abrasive belts is better but skill is still the deciding factor.
A compromise is to start the job with the grinder and finish the last 10% of the sharpening by hand.
It's possible to NOT mess up the heat treatment if little pressure is used, grinding is done in quick short passes and the blade left to cool or wiped down with a damp cloth between passes.
Again, messing it up is a lot easier and faster with machine tools ! Done by hand also needs some skill but mostly slow and time consuming and messing up is a lot harder to do. One should try a little sharpening of a piece of scrap steel just to try it out if one hasn't done any work with any type of grinder before.
Sharpening a sword is much more difficult than sharpening a knife as one either has to sharpen a long blade on short sections or made long full length of blade passes on the grinder while keeping a consistent angle and pressure.
Finally, safety is a concern when the blade gets close to sharp and a mask should be worn to keep dust and grit out of the lungs as well as wearing eye protection. ( Oh, a thick leather apron can also be a good idea as a buffing wheel can easily rip the blade out of one's hands ).
You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Anders Backlund
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jan, 2008 6:45 am Post subject: |
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| Ed Toton wrote: |
Using an electric grinder can generate a lot of heat and therefore mess with the heat treatment. |
Isn't that why you keep the grinding stone wet while using it, though?
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Jean Thibodeau
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jan, 2008 7:12 am Post subject: |
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| Anders Backlund wrote: | | Ed Toton wrote: |
Using an electric grinder can generate a lot of heat and therefore mess with the heat treatment. |
Isn't that why you keep the grinding stone wet while using it, though? |
Not usually with an electrical grinder ( I could be wrong but I don't think so ): What you are thinking about are those huge stone grinding wheels that rotate slowly and are often driven by water power in period and still in use in the 19th century.
Some traditional makers in Europe may still be using those ?
Those might have a water container at the bottom of the wheel that keeps the wheel wet: I used to have a small version of such a round grinding stone that was operated by a hand crank.
You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Anders Backlund
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jan, 2008 8:18 am Post subject: |
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| Jean Thibodeau wrote: | | Anders Backlund wrote: | | Ed Toton wrote: |
Using an electric grinder can generate a lot of heat and therefore mess with the heat treatment. |
Isn't that why you keep the grinding stone wet while using it, though? |
Not usually with an electrical grinder ( I could be wrong but I don't think so ): What you are thinking about are those huge stone grinding wheels that rotate slowly and are often driven by water power in period and still in use in the 19th century.
Some traditional makers in Europe may still be using those ?
Those might have a water container at the bottom of the wheel that keeps the wheel wet: I used to have a small version of such a round grinding stone that was operated by a hand crank. |
You mean you guys don't use those? I thought they'd count as standard equipment for knife and swordmakers. 
(They're electrical these days, BTW, and not necessarily huge.) 
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M. Eversberg II
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jan, 2008 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Anders Backlund wrote: | | Ed Toton wrote: |
Using an electric grinder can generate a lot of heat and therefore mess with the heat treatment. |
Isn't that why you keep the grinding stone wet while using it, though? |
Less friction = less heat, yes, but it also allows a smoother grind.
M.
This space for rent or lease.
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Ken Osolinski
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| Posted: Fri 18 Jan, 2008 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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The newer version of this sword has a triple fuller which significantly improves the feel and handling of the sword whilst rendering any such home sharpening project impossible. However, if you want to go down this route in pursuit of a budget backyard cutter, check if your friendly sword dealer still has the older version of the practical h&h in stock.
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Curt Dunham
Location: Fort Myers, FL Joined: 03 Feb 2005
Posts: 12
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| Posted: Sat 19 Jan, 2008 5:33 am Post subject: |
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I tried to remove dings from my Hanwei Practical Hand and a Half with a file and found the hardness made my file ineffective. I used a rubber sanding block with 120 grit sand paper first then finished with 300 grit wet/dry paper on the block. The rubber sanding block yields a convex edge that blends in with the blade. It will be time consuming, but it will work.
Curt Dunham
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Andy Leach
Location: Moreno Valley, CA Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Fri 13 Mar, 2009 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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Is there a specific reason why you do not want to buy the Albrecht?
as steel sharpens steel, so one man sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17
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M. Eversberg II
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| Posted: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 8:16 am Post subject: |
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I think you missed the thread by a foot or two.
M.
This space for rent or lease.
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Li Jin
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| Posted: Sat 21 Mar, 2009 2:57 pm Post subject: |
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I kind sharpened my Hanwei Practical viking sword with a metal file. Well not to sharp, took me about 2 3 hours, and someone told me that I can't grind at all. -_- perhaps...the edges were terribly shaped by me.
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This is a standard topic