What was the traditional Manufacturing method for creating the slot or opening in the cross guard thru which the tang of the blade passed.

My understanding is that most cross guards were cast in iron, steel, or brass and then worked by hand to the desired shape. So how was the opening/slot created? Obviously I can imagine it with modern tools and computer controlled machining techniques but how did a traditional smith do it?

Guards/crosses and pommels were forged and filed rather than cast, with the center pierced and spread while the piece was red hot. No reason they couldn't be drilled and filed cold, though I'm not sure what the advantage of that would be.

I would think much like they would an ax.
Make a small hole and insert a oblong piece to make it bigger and to the shape they want.
But I think casting is more likely. bronze or Iron can be cast with just a bit of clean up for a finished product.
I'm no sword maker and I've only made one rondel dagger, so I am just guessing.

The hot iron is punched through with a tool made for the job,then the iron is drawn out to the desired shape,the punch can be used again later in the job to cleanly open the hole for the tang to pass through,this can then be filed to fit when cool

---

 Attachment: 49.31 KB



 Attachment: 78.36 KB

This beats drilling and filing by a LONG shot-minus heating time this can be done in a few minutes. Plus you keep the mass in the center and so can start with a smaller bar. Forging still has it's uses, nothing can do this faster short of a mill or a press.

Thanks Guys ! Especially for the pictures.

I figured that method might be the case, but I wasn't sure.

I have a large piece (about 2' x 3' and somewhere between 3/8" and 1/2" thick) of mild steel that a friend gave me from a farm sale, and I was wondering about its suitability for cross guards.

yes,the drift will widen the central portion of the bar,maybe adding 1/4",so if you want a fairly thin grip that would be fine i would think.I use a piece of tool steel,hardened and tempered,cut to the rough tang shape and slightly sharpened at the tip,to cut into the hot steel,the shoulders also provide a recess for the blade,so these can likewise be shaped to suit.The example here is for a type XX guard.the centre swells out a bit with the punching,this is cleaned up and filed eventually.

---

 Attachment: 79.99 KB
[ Download ]

I don´t realy think about Guards were made from Cast Iron: they were suppoused to bear forceful blows, even if the Weapon was a "light" one, as a Rapier or a Smallsword; Cast Iron is strong but very britle. On the other hand, I think the best way to attach the guards is the exposed by the scotsman (sorry, I really don`t remenber his name), because there are specialized but simple Tools designed for that kind of Works.

Thats true Jean,
the 'Traditional' method is as outlined,but for production purposes casting is the obvious solution.If one were to want to create a blade using traditional techniques exclusively then casting is not an option.
I have made many forged crossguards,but now use casting on the majority of my pieces for uniformity.I also found that when forging iron to make a guard there were very often a lot of visible strands in the iron,some customers did not like this finish,being used to production pieces,so i have stopped using iron for that reason,which is a shame since it is very good to forge,and also not prone to rusting in the same way as mild steel.If i forge a cross now i use either mild steel or spring steel,which i anneal to file,and that is also very tough.