help for the new guy -- myArmoury.com

Scott Wells · Posted: Thu 11 Aug, 2011 1:42 pm Post subject: help for the new guy

hello. i am new to this forum and am in need of help. i just bought a Marto Conan Fathers Sword special edition that is carbon steel not the cheaper 440 stainless version. the seller told me it wasnt sharpend and was wondering if there were any swordsmiths in the OKC area? i believe this blade will take a sharpening and hold it. any help is appreciated. thanks.

Jeffrey Faulk · Posted: Thu 11 Aug, 2011 3:01 pm Post subject:

Hey,

Glad to have you here.

While carbon steel is indeed a better material for swords than stainless steel, the manufacturer casts your sword's functionality into severe question. Marto is owned by United Cutlery, I believe, and as a general rule almost all of their swords come with rat-tail tangs, which are basically thin rods welded to the base of the blade. As such, this means that while you might be able to wave your sword around gently a time or two, trying to do anything more firm with it like cutting water bottles or tatami mats are going to result in the weld failing and the blade flying out of the hilt assembly!

If you are able to disassemble the sword (see if the pommel can twist off), then you should be able to see how the blade and tang look. If it's a full tang, that is, a continuation of the blade through the grip and ending at the pommel, then it may actually be safe for use.

Hope that's the case. If not, I've heard rumours that Windlass Steelcrafts may be coming out with a line of Conan swords soon. That'll be interesting. Anyway, good luck and glad to have you here!

Bryce Felperin · Posted: Thu 11 Aug, 2011 6:05 pm Post subject:

I'd leave the sword as a wall hanger and go on to better buys up the ladder if you need a sharp. You'll probably find that the cost to sharpen the sword professionally would be about the same price as getting a better entry sword from Hanwei or MRL. Alternately, I'd save up my money for a better one still from Valiant, Darkwood, A&A, Albion or any other production sword company. IF you really want a good sword save up even more and get a custom smith to make on for you to your specifications and desires. I got into the game starting low cost and moved myself up. If I had to do it over again I would of read reviews on this site and others and just bought a high end sword to start with instead.

Best of luck to you in your quests,

Bryce

Ozsváth Árpád-István · Posted: Thu 11 Aug, 2011 8:56 pm Post subject:

Better buy something real, that doesn't need superhuman power, steroids and special effects to wield, I mean something under 3 lbs. There are many companies producing good quality and usable swords at a decent price.
"Carbon steel", if not the right type, or incorrectly treated can break and inflict severe injuries to the wielder or others. Rat-tail tangs are especially dangerous, imagine that the whole assembly is held together only by a thin threaded piece of wire. If it breaks, and believe me it will, the blade becomes ballistic. This type of hilt is not adequated even for a small knife.

Scott Wells · Posted: Fri 12 Aug, 2011 5:35 am Post subject:

uh, not to sound disprespectful but this sword is made by Marto of Toledo Spain, it costs nearly 2 grand and is made to be sharpened. i have the Atlantean version and it was sharpened by the company i bought it from and holds a nice edge. i have also two Paul Chen's. i dont buy entry level swords. i collect conan swords of quality and have two albion's on order. i was just inquiring as to whether there were any known swordsmiths in my area. thanks for your help though.

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Fri 12 Aug, 2011 7:02 am Post subject:

Neil Gagel · Posted: Fri 12 Aug, 2011 7:19 am Post subject:

I think that you're out of luck as far as OKC sword smiths are concerned. Considering how many horse shoeing schools and horse breeders we have around here you'd think that one of the people already working with iron and steel would've crossed over into blades by now, but alas, I've looked and looked and looked and never found anybody that is a qualified smith. There are some places that advertise sharpening services, but frankly I'd probably have them sharpen something cheaper than that and see how well they maintain the finish and just how sharp they are after being sharpened. One of my friends took a kukri to one of the guys advertising blade sharpening at one of the gun shows and although he got the blade sharp he made no attempt whatsoever to actually smooth out the polish so it looked like it'd been worked over unevenly with coarse sandpaper.

Also, as some of the other posters have pointed out, I'd be leery of putting this sword through its paces. Part of it has to do with the fact that Marto is mostly in the "wallhanger" business these days. The other thing is that although Marto does state that it's "Carbon Steel" and "hand finished", they don't say what kind of steel they used or how it was finished (no mention of tempering or RC hardness etc.). There is no mention of "battle ready", or "functional", or any of the other key words that people tend to look for when they want something to cut with in their descriptor. For the price you paid you'd think that they would crank out a top notch product, but at the price you paid I'd be unwilling to risk that they didn't.

Bottom line - you'll probably have to ship it out of state to have it properly sharpened. I think that Sonny Suttles of Valiant Armory in Grapevine, TX does a lot of custom sword work, so you could probably contact him about it. He posts here, so just shoot him a PM or contact him on his Custom Sword Shop - http://custom-sword-shoppe.com/

I can't vouch for him since I've never actually done business with him, but everyone I know that has work done through him has had nothing but rave reviews.

Allen Foster · Posted: Fri 12 Aug, 2011 7:36 am Post subject:

Here's a Marto "Atlantean Sword" selling for $2,000 (MSRP $2355.99)

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-10741-s...marto.aspx

and a Marto "Father's sword" for $1,500.

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-10740-s...marto.aspx

I am not sure of the quality of the swords or how reputable the dealer is though.

Scott Wells · Posted: Fri 12 Aug, 2011 7:51 am Post subject:

THanks Neil. that is bad news. As for this particular Marto, yah, its advertised as battle ready so sharpening is ok. i agree with the other posters as to the lower priced Conan swords being mostly for display but lets face it, most of us will never strike anything hard enough with these to break it at the hilt. i do not intend to beat this one against a tree. This one, according to what i have been told has a solid tang. if not i will send it back. i just really like the conan swords. Albion is making a one for the new movie but it doesnt look near as cool as the old style from the Arnie movies. JMHO.

Ozsváth Árpád-István · Posted: Fri 12 Aug, 2011 10:23 am Post subject:

It's a fantasy piece and it will handle like a sledgehammer. I think the price is exagerated, sharpened or not it will remain a cool-looking but clumsy piece of steel. With this money you could buy a decent sword (perhaps an Albion Crecy) and for the rest an original 18th century hussar saber... just for a wallhanger.
No offense, it was just an oppinion..

Scott Wells · Posted: Fri 12 Aug, 2011 10:26 am Post subject:

Darryl Aoki · Posted: Fri 12 Aug, 2011 10:50 am Post subject:

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Fri 12 Aug, 2011 1:47 pm Post subject:

Paul Hansen · Posted: Sat 13 Aug, 2011 6:32 am Post subject:

In addition to what the others have said, I think you should investigate the tang construction before proceeding. I still presume that it has a welded tang which is not suitable for anything else than wall hanging and maybe dry handling. If you sharpen it, you are making it more dangerous if the hilt does fail. To see the tang, you can try if the pommel can screwed off. If not, then perhaps another option would be to X-ray the hilt. You don't need to see a lot of details, so maybe a friendly dentist may be able to help you out with that.

One other thing: if you decide to have it sharpened, you are altering the nature of the sword and probably decreasing it's value to collectors of movie replica's...

Ozsváth Árpád-István · Posted: Sat 13 Aug, 2011 9:50 pm Post subject:

You just might be right, Paul! I collect mainly WWI and WWII items, and I know the worst you can do to an old sword is to sharpen it. Some swords were made blunt and left so for a good reason. Althaught they were made from the best matterials availabale in the period, they were never sharpened and used in battle. Imagine high-ranking officers hacking and slashing eachother - well, they were not expendable. The point here is to try keeping the original condition and protect it from further corrosion.
Sorry Scott, maybe I was a bit too arrogant.
I don't know much about movie replica collecting, but certainly it has some aspects. The sharpening will destroy the blade's finish, a bad one will affect for certain it's geometry too greatly decreasing the swords value. It will never perform like it should, and much worse it can break or fall apart and perhaps injuring someone.
I'd advice you to buy a cheaper one for practie. At a few hundred bucks you can find on the marked swords that can take heavy abuse without desintegrating. There are many experienced swordsmen here who could help you choose the right one for this purpose. Keep good care of the Conan, it's too expensive to trash it!

Valentino Paolilla · Posted: Sat 13 Aug, 2011 11:19 pm Post subject:

Scott Wells · Posted: Tue 16 Aug, 2011 5:48 am Post subject:

great news! just heard back from the manufacturer. the special edition Conan swords have Full Tangs and an HRC of 56. so sharpening and weilding shouldnt be a problem. although they are heavy at 7lbs. better break out the steriods!