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My first real sword! Type XVa longsword complete


Collin Miller

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Hey again, everybody! Here is my latest piece, a type XVa longsword, that many of you have been following in my WIP thread. 

I don't really have a lot to say about it, it was a really fun project, even though there were some bumps in the road (keeping it straight in heat treat was a pain) 

The whole sword is just under 1.9lbs, or 850 grams. The ferrules near the guard and pommel are mirror polished copper, I spiral fluted the cocobolo grip, the ferrule/ring... thingy in the center of the grip is mirror polished copper with silver wire lines inlayed on it, and polished silver spacers on either side.

The blade is 34" long, spring tempered 80crv2 from Aldo, if my calipers were working I'd give you all stats of the distal taper, but it's a convex distal taper, I believe it's about 7mm thick at the base. To give you an idea of the handling, the forward pivot point is about an inch behind the point, and the hilt node is just above the copper piece in the center, right in the heel of your hand when you hold the sword.

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Closeup of the absolutely murderous point
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The copper and silver spacer in the center! I am really happy with this detail

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Edited by Collin Miller
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“If you trust in yourself. . . believe in your dreams. . . and follow your star. . . you will still get beaten by the people who have spent their time working hard and learning things, the people who weren't so lazy.” ~ Terry Pratchett

 

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Turned out beautifully Collin. Congratulations.

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"The way we win matters" (Ender Wiggins) Orson Scott Card

 

Nos qui libertate donati nescimus quid constat

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real nice! this actually inspires me to make one myself. I do Medieval full contacts fighting in full armour.. the swords we use take a beating, especially the long swords and we seem to have a bit of a problem with the guard that goes loose after a while even though its properly fitted. anyone have an idea to make it stronger?

 

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Beautiful sword Collin! The contrast between the bright blade and the dark wood and darkened pommel and guard is really pleasing to the eyes.
Looking forward to see more swords from you in the future!

Edited by Gabriel.Pettersson
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www.forgeandblade.com

www.facebook.com/gabrielforgeandblade/

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Son of a.... that is one fine sword! I am well and truly impressed. Holy poop, there is a lot to like about that one. You have gotten a lot of serious technique under your belt. Absolutely wonderful work.

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Edited by Kevin (The Professor)
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please visit my website http://www.professorsforge.com/

 

“Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living things, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on the earth. I said then and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.” E. V. Debs

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Very nice, I like the attention to the details!!

 

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C Craft Customs ~~~ With every custom knife I build I try to accomplish three things. I want that knife to look so good you just have to pick it up, feel so good in your hand you can't wait to try it, and once you use it, you never want to put it down ! If I capture those three factors in each knife I build, I am assured the knife will become a piece that is used and treasured by its owner! ~~~ C Craft

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Thanks so much everyone! Your words all mean so much to me. I have gotten literally hundreds of comments on this sword through Facebook and Instagram, but the opinions of my peers is so valuable to me.
 

4 hours ago, Florian F Fortner said:

Impressive! I love the slim tapered blade a lot. Would you mind to tell the final data (POB, weight, measurements)?

Absolutely! Finally got my calipers up and running again, so here we go.

Blade length: 34"

Hilt length (from the cross guard to the end of the pommel): 10.5"

Cross guard width: 10.5"

Weight: 1.892lbs, or 858 grams

Blade width at base: 1.32"

Blade width just before the point: .25"

Thickness at base: 6.5mm

Thickness at COP (blade node): 5.2mm

Thickness two inches before the point: 3.8mm

Point of balance: 3.5" in front of the cross

Forward pivot point is on the tip, measuring from the cross guard. 

Hope this helps, guys! Sorry if my weird combination of metric and imperial are confusing, I get a lot of data on historical swords from friends in Europe, so I've picked up a bit of metric as a result of that :D

“If you trust in yourself. . . believe in your dreams. . . and follow your star. . . you will still get beaten by the people who have spent their time working hard and learning things, the people who weren't so lazy.” ~ Terry Pratchett

 

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Looks great! I like the fluted handle interrupted by the spacers. Nice lines. 

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"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly." -- Theodore Roosevelt

http://stephensforge.com

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Wow, that's really nice looking. How did you combine the copper and silver? Is it forge welded?

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Thanks again guys! Really appreciate your feedback. 

5 hours ago, trhodes said:

Wow, that's really nice looking. How did you combine the copper and silver? Is it forge welded?

It is inlayed, mechanically. I cut grooves into the copper and hammered the silver wire into the grooves, then polished it all out. 

“If you trust in yourself. . . believe in your dreams. . . and follow your star. . . you will still get beaten by the people who have spent their time working hard and learning things, the people who weren't so lazy.” ~ Terry Pratchett

 

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Beautiful! I just finished my first sword (pretty much a regular type XV-- cousins!) and though my blade is not anywhere as clean as yours (time constraints and unfamiliar forges), I am particularly impressed by the weight of your XVa here. Yours is 1.32" at the base whereas mine is a full 2", but yours is also fully 7" longer than mine and a bit thicker at the ricasso, with a hilt almost twice as long-- but mine weighs 2.5lbs to your 1.9! 

The ones we did in sword class had about dime-thick edges pre-heat treat to help avoid time-consuming warps and stuff, and then we basically ground a convex edge from there. What is your edge profile like? HOW IS IT SO LIGHT?:lol: 

I bet it's a dream to wield. Have you cut anything with it? 

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