RockyH

You can try casting them. If you don't expect them to be used in combat too much. ;-) Carve it out of wood, and then either do sand casting, or you can carve it out of wax, make a plaster mold of it, melt the wax out and then use the mold for casting. I think this process is described in The Complete Bladesmith.

Hello, I thought I'd post this as a reference point for new bladesmiths. I'm a bit of a book junkie and am always looking for good references. I'm sure I don't have them all (for example no metalurgy textbooks yet) but this should help people find a starting point. Please list your own favourites here and link them to Amazon if you can so we can aquire them easily. :-) Shop and Forge General Gas Burners for Forges, Furnaces, and Kilns by Michael Porter Bladesmithing General The Wonder of Knifemaking by Wayne Goddard The $50 Knife Shop by Wayne Goddard Step By Step Knifemaking by David Boye Blade's Guide to Making Knives by Joe Kertzman The Complete Bladesmith by Jim Hrisoulas The Pattern Welded Blade by Jim Hrisoulas Japanese Sword Specific The Samurai Sword: A Handbook by John M. Yumoto The Japanese Sword: A Comprehensive Guide by Kanzan Sato (translated by Joe Earle) The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing by Setsuo Takaiwa, Yoshindo Yoshihara, Leon Kapp, and Hiroko Kapp The Craft of the Japanese Sword by Leon and Hiroko Kapp, and Yoshindo Yoshihara Lethal Elegance by Joe Earle Keep adding to the list. :-) RH

Hi, I have to echo some of the other sentiments on here. Start small, take your time. Also, don't be in a rush to start Japanese swords. If you want to do it right, they are a very different kettle of fish than single metal forging. While the European style swords have fine traditions of craftsmanship, the Japanese sword, in my humble opinion, is in a class all it's own. So before you even go there, I would strongly suggest reading these books: The Samurai Sword: A Handbook by John M. Yumoto The Japanese Sword: A Comprehensive Guide by Kanzan Sato (translated by Joe Earle) The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing by Setsuo Takaiwa, Yoshindo Yoshihara, Leon Kapp, and Hiroko Kapp and most of all.... The Craft of the Japanese Sword by Leon and Hiroko Kapp, and Yoshindo Yoshihara Japanese swords are a bit of a passion of mine as you might have guessed. RH

Hello everyone, First off, introduction. I'm a budding bladesmith in Australia. I've always wanted to make blades, and even did so in High School (last person ever to do so in that school for some reason). Now that I have my own means I'm getting back into it. I'm building a house, and I'm building a workshop into it. So I have the luxury of a clean slate. I know I want to use a gas forge, and in fact I'm going to build my own but that's a different post. What I want to know is, what is the general preference, and what are the pros/cons of LPG vs Propane? From what I understand, LPG needs a blower assist to get up to good welding temps. But Propane can get to welding temp naturally aspirated. LPG has the benefit of being plumbed into the house/workshop and not having to mess with tanks. It is also my understanding that the regulators can be used with either fuel. That makes sense, after all it's a gas, and gasses can all be regulated pretty much the same mechanically speaking. I apologise if this has been covered before but I couldn't find anything on it in these boards through browsing and the search mechanism. Hopefully this isn't a political topic. Thanks in advance for the advice. [edit]Sorry, what I meant to convey was Natural Gas as in piped in to the house for furnaces etc. versus liquid propane in bottles that you use for BBQs. [/edit] RH