[Isaac H.]

Hello there,this is my first time starting a new topic ,hope you like it.

Last night I finally finished my august/september project, a hobbit shortsword.Yes,it's VERY short, and one would deem it a long, chunky dagger on sight ,but you have to actually FEEL it to understand why it is definately a sword.My apoligies for not having any pictures yet....

Anyways,all was going smoothly until it came time for final assembly and peening.This was my first time peening a pommel,and things quickly went south I seen Owen Bush using a gas torch when peening,so I figured that would be the way to go.However,I don't own one of those(it's sad, I know),so I used a portable propane torch instead.Same concept,right?So with drool on my chin,I slip everything into place,and with the flick of the lighter and the grin of a mad scientist,I start directly heating the end of the tang.And heating,...and heating.....My patience is wearing thin,and I can tell something is wrong.The pommel is absorbing all the heat.I got the top of it all the way to purple,but that darn tang stubbornly resisted my hammering .In the end,I finally was able to get it to mushroom just enough with a few desperate blows.Miraculously,my wood grip never did burst into flames Despite the surprisingly happy ending,I wasn't astoundingly pleased with the results.So my question is ....am I doing something wrong? Or is peening normally a hit and miss pain? Whats the deal? I know there are guys on this forum who could probably peen a blade in their sleep,so knowledgeable replies would be greatly appreciated.

[Joel Chesser]

Hi, I think I had a similar problem once when I tried to peen a pommel. If I am reading your issue correctly it sounds like you are heating the tip with the pommel in place. I know that was I did at first too. What was suggested to me that worked like a dream was to remove the pommel and heat just below the tip of the tang. A small hand propane torch should be fine for this and it should heat the tip to red hot fairly quickly. slip the pommel back on and peen away. Hope this answers your question.

[Arne Focke]

It is also important which kind of hammer you use.
A ball peen hammer is the right one for the job.
And i agree with Joels hint, heat up the tang without the pommel.

Will you show us the result? I am very curious.

[Justin King]

Joel's suggestion is one method and probably the best, as long as you are fast enough at peening and provided that your steel will not air harden and crack while you are hammering on it.
I usually peen cold, having made sure that the peen area is dead soft beforehand. Some alloys are pretty forgiving in this method, and some are less so. There is always a little risk involved in peening.
At any rate you wan to be using a relatively light hammer.

[Dan Dickinson]

Hi Isaac.
Your main problem for the way you're doing things is your heat source. The problem you described with the pommel heating up and the tang not getting red is caused by the fact that your torch is not kicking out enough heat to overcome the pommel acting as a heat sink.
An accetelyne torch is preferable as it heats the end of the tang quickly enough without having the heat spread everywhere. However, if you can't get access to one of those , you want at least a Mapp gas torch (I would reccomend the hose torch model from bernzomatic). Also, be sure to clamp the tang in a vice to prevent any unwanted heat spread to the blade and be sure to normalize the peen after you're done to prevent breakage. Removing the pommel to heat the tang is a possibility, but if you wedge the pommel before peening, a hotter heat source is about your only other option. As Justin mentioned, cold peening can be an option, but it's one I would prefer to avoid at all possible with alloy steels. I would also disagree with Justin about the hammer. A ball peen is the one you want to use, but I find it's easiest to start with a 24oz ball peen to move most of the metal and to finish up with a light model(also keep the heat on the peen area while peening).
Finally, if using the hot peening method, it's easiest if possible to add the grip after peening using the sandwich construction. That way you avoid any issues with the grip burning or the heat loosening the epoxy.
I hope this helps.
Dan

[Sean Flynt]

I'm glad to know about the pommel/heat sink! I usually end up standing on my workbench beating the hell out the tang to get the job done. Duh. It's easy to overestimate the amount of tang you need for a secure peen, too. Too much exposed tang will have you working for a LONG time, assuming the steel doesn't harden and crack before you have a good peen.

[Isaac H.]

Hey guys,thanks so much for the replies.

I think I like Joel's advice about heating the tang without the pommel best.However,this wouldn't have worked in my situation,because I did wedge the tang before peening.I don't plan on using wedges in the future though,so the technique without the pommel will do fine.
Regarding what type of hammer I used,I WAS planning on employing a ball peen to do the job.But the hammer mysteriously disappeared,and I couldn't find it anywhere.I suspect my little brother took it,as he's always hoarding tools like we here at myArmoury hoard weapons.So I ended up using an ordinary claw hammer. It sounds like Sean was experiencing some of the same frustration I was.Fortunately,I realized that the tang was still to long before starting,so I whipped out my all-powerful Dremel tool(I love that thing) and ground off a few more millimeters.

Also,clamping the tang to a vice to prevent altering the temper is a simple and brilliant solution that I hadn't thought of.Regarding showing the results,I will do that under a new topic as soon as I find enough time for a photography session.

Thanks so much for all the great info.