How to Make a Sword

If you feel that you belong to the middle ages and have mistakenly landed in the twentieth century, you must be a lover of everything medieval, including swords! This article talks about making a sword and gives a brief overview of the sword making techniques involved therein.

When I think of swords, I am reminded of the movie 'Lord of the Rings' and Aragorn's sword 'Anduril (Flame of the West)', reforged from the shards of 'Narsil'. Those who know the movie and the book will understand what I am talking about. Swords have always been symbols of kingly power, since ancient times. The use of a sword has always been either self defense or attack. They have always served a militaristic purpose. I myself have had the opportunity to hold a real sword and wield it. There was something about it which brought about the inherent aggression in me when I was practicing. I enjoyed the sword play and realized that there is something about this weapon which brings out my primeval instincts. How to make a war sword and wield it, was once the part a warrior's education. Today swordsmanship still lives on as a sport form, though swords as weapons have been largely replaced by guns.

One thing that needs to be made clear before we proceed is, that swords are no playthings and a sword with a good blade can really hurt very badly. So, even if you plan to create a sword and use it for sport, you need to be very careful. Secondly, the technique of making a sword is very specialized and requires the expertise of a skilled blacksmith. Unless, you have a background in metal forging, making a real sword at home is next to impossible. You need to have a lot of equipment, which includes all that is needed to forge and shape metal. I could talk about how to make a nice wooden sword or undertake an even simpler task of how to make a paper sword. However, I decided to give you a taste of the real deal. Wooden swords are okay for practice but nothing can match the real metal blade. So, in the next part of the article, I provide an overview of the sword making techniques.

How to Make a Sword On Your Own

I don't think you would need a description of what a sword looks like but I will provide some basic details. The two main parts of a sword are the blade and the hilt. The blade could be single edged or double edged and its form will vary depending on whether it's built to strike, cut or thrust. The hilt gives a firm grip to the swordsman. There are various types of swords like the 'Rapier', that vary in blade and hilt styling.

A fully equipped blacksmith workshop along with the requisite raw materials is the basic necessity of a sword making endeavor. These steps in sword making are generic in the sense that depending on the kind of sword, you want to make, they may vary.

Study the Sword Making Techniques and Decide A Design
This is the first and most important part. There are books available on sword making that you must read. An opportunity to see a real sword maker doing his thing, is the best form of education. So, see if a sword maker takes you in as an apprentice. You will get to learn on the job. Research on the types of metals which are ideal for sword making. Buy the desired pieced of raw metal. The modern choice is steel. Set up the forgery for the job. Decide on a design, dimensions and plan your procedure of making the sword, down to the last details. That way, the time spent in a forgery will be more productive.

Forging the Sword
The process of making a sword starts with forging. The metal bar from which you intend to create a sword is heated in a forge and hammered into shape. This is probably the most difficult of all the steps. Impulse needs to be delivered with the right power to mold the metal bar into the shape of a sword. The forging process involves repeated heating and hammering, till the desired shape has been achieved. This gives strength to the blade.

Annealing the Sword
Annealing is the most important part of forging. It involves heating the sword and making it cool slowly. This cooling process can be stretched to more than 24 hours. Annealing prepares the blade for the grinding part later.

Grinding and Hardening the Sword
Using a grinder and the force of friction, a sharp blade is methodically sculpted out of the forged metal, along with a sharp-pointed tip. Engravings are made on the blade in this step. Then the sword is hardened by heating it to a high temperature and then cooling it suddenly by inserting it in a quenching or coolant tank.

Tempering the Sword
The last part is tempering the blade which again involves repeated cycles of heating to low temperatures and cooling. This gets rid of the brittleness of the sword. This final stage is the toughest and needs a lot of blacksmith skill.

Putting the Finishing Touches
With tempering done, the blade is ready and then the hilt, including pommel and guard are attached. You may also plan to forge a scabbard which houses the blade.

By now, you must have realized that it takes a lot of hard work and skill to create a sword. However, the end product is totally worth all the effort! Hope you have been motivated enough to read more about the art of making a sword.