Khopesh build

[R.W. Deavers 79]

 

By now, I know some of you have seen this picture. I added this picture as a starting point to the build. For this build, I started out with a 24" long piece of 1/4" thick leaf spring. I started with point of the blade and worked my way to the handle. I was thinking of doing a barb-style hook, but I opted not to.

 

 

Once I got the general blade width determined, I worked my way to the offset. This is where it got a little tricky. Once I figured out how long I wanted the cutting edge to be, using a corner of the anvil, I started the offset.

 

 

After a little over 6 hours in the shop, this is what came out. I have the basic profile I was looking for. I slightly hammered in the blade bevels just to get a rough idea. Granted, it turned out to be a little different that the initial design drawing, but I can totally live with this.

 

I honestly cannot wait until I get this one done!

 

 

[James Helm 119]

I think it looks better than the initial drawing. Looking quite good! The tip is very reminiscent of the stylized papyrus reeds in ancient Egyptian art. Whether that was deliberate or a happy accident, it works darn well.

 

Looking forward to seeing it finished up.

[R.W. Deavers 79]

Thanks Stormcrow. Actually, the tip is a combination of both a design change and a happy accident. Normally, when I do drawings of a specific piece, its mostly for reference, so nothing is etched in stone, so to speak.

[Alan Longmire 2,731]

Good forging! You're off to a great start on that.

[Mark Green 17]

Sweet !!!!!

[R.W. Deavers 79]

Thank you Alan. I started the cleanup work today, but didn't get a chance to get pictures. I'll try and some pictures tomorrow.

[deker 34]

Nice. Waiting to see this one come together

[R.W. Deavers 79]

I started the cleanup work today but had to stop. I had to get another belt and a few other things, so the cleanup will continue tomorrow.

[R.W. Deavers 79]

Well, here's the cleanup work so far. Mind you, I still have a way to go, but it's looking good already, at least I think so.

 

[Wesley Alberson 138]

That is going to be great! Did the Egyptians actually make swords like this from steel? I know that they had access to meteorites, but I don't know what they did with them.

[R.W. Deavers 79]

These were made mostly from bronze. From some reading I've done, some were made from iron, but those were much later on.

[R.W. Deavers 79]

More progress today... Overall, it cleaned up pretty well. A little more work to do before heat treatment.

 

[Joshua States 1,720]

I just checked in on this thread. This is coming out fantastic R.W. Thanks for the WIP.

BTW-I really like that ruler! Quite the collectible.

[R.W. Deavers 79]

Thanks Joshua. I'm pretty excited to get this one done. And for the yard stick, that's why I keep it around.

[Timothy Artymko 39]

It's looking really great! I can't wait to see it all finished and deadly

[R.W. Deavers 79]

Thanks, Tim

[James Gibson 1]

Great work on that fuller. I bet that was a major pain in the ass.

[R.W. Deavers 79]

Let's just say putting the fuller in was interesting. lol I still have to thin the blade down more though, it's still a little thick.

[R.W. Deavers 79]

The hardening is finished, but I must wait until at least tomorrow for tempering. I decided to start working on the handle pieces. What you see is a mock-up of rough shaped brass for the main handle. The hilt material is still in the planning stages. The brass scales will be finished and polished when the time comes.

 

[Kevin Colwell 143]

I hope you tempered at least some immediately!

I have had them break sitting on the bench when I put off until tomorrow (because I wanted the kiln to cool all the way down, I have made the mistake that Dave Stephens first wrote about on this forum of trusting the thermocouple when it said the kiln was cool, and what it meant was the air inside was cool. The bricks were still way hot, and so closing it up led to a huge temp increase and I soften my blade. So, next time, I waited until the next day and the damn thing broke). I use a simple maap torch to temper with as a precaution and then use the kiln many hours or a day later.

 

Please forgive the ramble if you did something like this and I missed it or whatever.

 

Mostly, I wanted to tell you that you are making what I think is great progress on a really challenging shape. I am happy for you. This is a hell of a build.

Edited March 4, 2016 by Kevin (The Professor)

[R.W. Deavers 79]

Kevin, I appreciate your input. In the past, I never had a problem with waiting a day or two between hardening and tempering. As far the irregular shape goes, yes it has been a challenge, which is why I like it. To me, challenges are the life-blood of any good project, it keeps us all sharp and on our toes, and we all learn something new in the process. Thanks, Kevin.

[R.W. Deavers 79]

Because of the weather, I have to postpone the tempering until possibly Sunday. But, it gives me time to work on the handle. What you see here are two different metals used. The scales and spacers are brass and the hilt is bronze. For now, everything is rough shaped. Once I am ready to permanently mount the handle pieces, everything will be smoothed and polished, and possibly engraved (still not sure about the engraving yet).

 

[Timothy Artymko 39]

It's looking amazing! I personally would be bothered by the scale showing on the blade, but other than that, I have nothing to say other than awesome >:]

[R.W. Deavers 79]

Same here, but I can't do anything more about the scale, and thanks, Tim.

[R.W. Deavers 79]

After 28 hours, the khopesh is finished. Here's the list of some details: overall length: 26 1/4", blade edge: 14 1/8", overall blade thickness: 7/32". I wanted to pay tribute to the early versions by using bronze for the hilt and brass for the handle scales. After tempering yesterday, I tested it out before any type of sharpening. With one swing along with no real force, it cut into a post about an inch or so. It's no wonder why the ancient Egyptians adopted this design from the Canaanites! I still cannot get over how maneuverable and quick this is. Overall, I'm really pleased with this one.