Info Favorites Register Log in
myArmoury.com Discussion Forums

Forum index Memberlist Usergroups Spotlight Topics Search
Forum Index > Historical Arms Talk > when bad things happen to good weapons Reply to topic
This is a standard topic  
Author Message
Philip Montgomery




Location: Houston
Joined: 29 May 2008
Likes: 2 pages

Posts: 83

PostPosted: Sun 18 Jul, 2010 6:12 am    Post subject: when bad things happen to good weapons         Reply with quote

This is my new Hanwei-Tinker Viking blade. It was a bit disconcerting when half of the blade went whirling through the air. I remember thinking "not good." I struck my pell midway along the blade and it broke as you can see. So now I have a great opportunity to do something with these two pieces. Does any one have comments on how broken blades were recycled in the past? I suppose I can try forging the pieces into something else: a spear head, a knife, a matching set of steak knives?

Anyway, I am a bit sad, but also curious to see what comes of this.



 Attachment: 129.61 KB
broken sword 1.JPG


Philip Montgomery
~-----~
"A broken sword blade fwipping through the air like a scythe through rye does demand attention."
View user's profile Send private message
Joe Fults




Location: Midwest
Joined: 02 Sep 2003

Posts: 3,646

PostPosted: Sun 18 Jul, 2010 6:20 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Would love to see some close shots of the broken seam/section/split of the blade.
"The goal shouldn’t be to avoid being evil; it should be to actively do good." - Danah Boyd
View user's profile Send private message
Chuck Russell




Location: WV
Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Reading list: 46 books

Posts: 936

PostPosted: Sun 18 Jul, 2010 6:25 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

weld a rod in the shape of a giant U to each piece. then put it around your midsection and go to a ren faire Happy put some fake blood on your shirt and your golden! Happy
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
David Sutton




Location: Bolton, UK
Joined: 06 Mar 2007
Likes: 15 pages
Reading list: 39 books

Posts: 230

PostPosted: Sun 18 Jul, 2010 7:47 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Some rotten luck you've had there Phillip.

Then again it just goes to show that swords weren't and aren't indestructable.

There are period swords which show evidence of having broken pieces forgewelded back together IIRC Oakeshott notes an example. However I'm not sure a sword with such a catastrophic brake would be realistically repairable in this way.

The broken section of blade could be turned into a knife or a tanged spearhead by cutting a tang fron the bottom and then hilting/hafting it. The hilt end piece could be reground into a knife. There is a broken sword (originally a double fullered Type XIV from the look of the blade) in the Royal Armouies Museum at Leeds that has been reground into a crude knife.

Personally If that were my sword though I'd be tempted to try and turn it into a 'fake' antique.

'Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all'

'To teach superstitions as truth is a most terrible thing'

Hypatia of Alexandria, c400AD
View user's profile Send private message
Chad Arnow
myArmoury Team


myArmoury Team

PostPosted: Sun 18 Jul, 2010 8:41 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

If it broke like that, it may have had heat treat issues which might make anything you turn it into subject to similar breakage.
Happy

ChadA

http://chadarnow.com/
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Philip Montgomery




Location: Houston
Joined: 29 May 2008
Likes: 2 pages

Posts: 83

PostPosted: Sun 18 Jul, 2010 10:42 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Joe Fults wrote:
Would love to see some close shots of the broken seam/section/split of the blade.


Joe, here is a broken end. I apologize for the quality of the picture. My iPhone will not take a better picture. I doubt if this photo will help you much.



 Attachment: 19.07 KB
blade-end broken2.JPG


Philip Montgomery
~-----~
"A broken sword blade fwipping through the air like a scythe through rye does demand attention."
View user's profile Send private message
David Teague




Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Joined: 25 Jan 2004

Posts: 409

PostPosted: Sun 18 Jul, 2010 11:00 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

You know, they might just replace that since it broke.

Ping em.

Cheers,

David

This you shall know, that all things have length and measure.

Free Scholar/ Instructor Selohaar Fechtschule
The Historic Recrudescence Guild

"Yea though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou's sword art is with me; Thy poleaxe and Thy quarterstaff they comfort me."
View user's profile Send private message
Connor Ruebusch




Location: Cincinnati
Joined: 10 Nov 2009

Posts: 97

PostPosted: Sun 18 Jul, 2010 3:43 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I'd think you could turn that tip portion into a cool spear head, or perhaps a dagger. I have a vision of a sort of baselard without the crosspieces. If you have the capabilities to grind down the edges, would that be too difficult to sandwich the new "tang" in two pieces of wood? I dunno. The hilt end could make a cool seax, but I don't know how the fullered blade geometry would lend itself to that end...
View user's profile Send private message
JE Sarge
Industry Professional



PostPosted: Sun 18 Jul, 2010 3:48 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Wow. No wonder every other vendor has them on sale for $150.00.

I'd wager it was a heat-treat issue that resulted in a micro-fissure that was not seen during QC. Hanwei is good about replacing such items in my experience. I'd first write the vendor, then write Hanwei. I am 90% sure you can get it replaced for just the cost of S/H, if even that. Happy

Now, I'll be hesitant about being so hard on mine...

J.E. Sarge
Crusader Monk Sword Scabbards and Customizations
www.crusadermonk.com

"But lack of documentation, especially for such early times, is not to be considered as evidence of non-existance." - Ewart Oakeshott
View user's profile Send private message
Brian K.
Industry Professional



Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Joined: 01 Jan 2008

Posts: 727

PostPosted: Sun 18 Jul, 2010 5:34 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I'm glad to hear that nobody was hurt. I have this fear of a sword turning into a helicopter whirling toward somebody...

This is a fun and enjoyable hobby, but sometimes things get ugly. I have a scar on my face to prove it.

Brian Kunz
www.dbkcustomswords.com
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Jean Thibodeau




Location: Montreal,Quebec,Canada
Joined: 15 Mar 2004
Likes: 50 pages
Reading list: 1 book

Spotlight topics: 5
Posts: 8,310

PostPosted: Sun 18 Jul, 2010 7:03 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Philip you mentioned hitting a Pell: Would this be a really thick piece of wood solidly set in the ground or weighted heavily and somewhat like hitting a large tree ! Swords are really not meant for hitting trees or pells and although it may very well be a flaw in the heat treat that made this sword too brittle ...... or at least to brittle to be hitting heavy, hard and unmovable objects
are not what swords are made for.

At best the sword if used without immediate harm on a pell it is still very hard on any blade and if done for long enough any blade will eventually break or take a nasty set.

Pell work should be done with wasters and is more training the hand and arm to handle the shock than as a fair test of a blade. ( At least the Romans used pell work with double weight wooden swords in their training I don't think they used their steel gladius on the pells ? ).

So did this sword break at the first blow, after a few blows or after being used for an extended period on the pell ?

Anyway, hitting really hard stuff is more like destructive testing than normal sword use in my opinion.

Oh, and the broken of point might make a nice Dirk or Ballock dagger.

You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
View user's profile Send private message
Jeff Kauffeldt




Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Joined: 16 May 2005

Posts: 64

PostPosted: Sun 18 Jul, 2010 7:34 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I've been told that it helps if you take tires and stack them around your pell since the tire rubber will be dense enough not to bight into to much, but not hard enough to break the sword.
View user's profile Send private message


Display posts from previous:   
Forum Index > Historical Arms Talk > when bad things happen to good weapons
Page 1 of 1 Reply to topic
All times are GMT - 8 Hours

View previous topic :: View next topic
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum






All contents © Copyright 2003-2024 myArmoury.com — All rights reserved
Discussion forums powered by phpBB © The phpBB Group
Switch to the Basic Low-bandwidth Version of the forum