Captain Midnight Posted December 25, 2007 Posted December 25, 2007 Some of you may remember the clam shell cutlass I built and posted photos of a year or so ago. Well, my daughter, who is a pirate reenactor as well, took a fancy to that cutlass and absconded with it like any proper pirate should. (I'm so proud of her! ). Being left bladeless, and being enamored of the simpler American style hangers like the ones shown on the Old Dominion Forge website, I recently took to my forge to arm myself with a new weapon. I love the fancy clamshell hilts, but to be truthful, I prefer a simpler, no-nonsense utilitarian business weapon, plus the shells on my daughter's sword were a royal pain in the arse to forge. What follows is my progress so far in forging a new hanger for myself. These two photos show the guard, the pommel cap and the grip at their current stage of completion. Most of Kyle Wilyard's hangers and cutlasses on the Old Dominion site are pictured with polished antler grips, and I thought heavily of making my own out of antler as well, as I have an abundance of the stuff, but I had a piece of pretty curly maple that I had been saving for a special project, so I turned the grip out of that. It is a period authentic wood found on many knives and gun stocks from the colonial period, and I like the warm feeling it has in my hands, so I went with the maple for my grip. It has the most beautiful tiger-striped grain pattern! It is not finished in this photo, but will feature a hand rubbed linseed oil finish when I'm done. The guard and pommel cap are hand forged from a piece of 1/4" steel plate. It is very tough stuff, and doesn't bend unless heated to cherry red... These are the hardest parts of making one's own sword, in my own humble opinion. Next, I will manufacture the blade, which is fairly easy to do using my own particular method. I currently work in a lumber/sawmill, so we get in these huge industrial band saw blades that are about 12' long or so. When they break, the mill wrights cut them into pieces with a torch and throw them away. I cut my blades from these abandoned pieces of "trash" saw blades using a dremel tool and the little cutting wheels you can buy for them. I take precautions not to include any part of the torch-cut area where the millwrights cut the blades up in my swords, as these areas are no good for blades. The temper has been destroyed in those areas. You can tell it by the blue color of the steel. My cutting method retains all of the original temper of the sawblade, so my swords will take and hold a razor's edge...they are not wall hangers, they are the real deal and will do what a sword was made to do! These saw blades are imported by my company from Switzerland, so it is top quality tool steel. It has just the right amount of flex to it, so that the blades will always return to "true" after being flexed. If you have a lumber yard or sawmill near you, just stop in and ask for a piece or two of the broken blades. Most places will be happy to give it to you just to get rid of the scrap. Anyway, here are some photos of what I have done so far. I will continue to post pics here of my progress with the sword as I go along, so you all can see how I do it. With some patience and minimal skills, you can also make your own swords, and have the satisfaction of knowing you made it yourself and that it is a real weapon, rather than a costume prop. Old Dominion Forge American Hangers My hilt parts Another shot "Now then, me bullies! Would you rather do the gallows dance, and hang in chains 'til the crows pluck your eyes from your rotten skulls? Or would you feel the roll of a stout ship beneath your feet again?" ---Captain William Kidd--- (1945)
callenish gunner Posted December 25, 2007 Posted December 25, 2007 Fyne looking work lad!!! ...looking forward to seeing it as you come to completion with every step along the way....best of luck and skill with it lad!!!
John Maddox Roberts Posted December 26, 2007 Posted December 26, 2007 Cap't Midnight: Some fine work there. What's the chance of buying a few of those scrap sawblade pieces from you? New Mexico barely has trees, much less sawmills. I do have a Dremel, though, and a number of projects I'd like to try out.
Matty Bottles Posted December 26, 2007 Posted December 26, 2007 Excellent work, Captain Midnight! I have a question: if you heat up the steel plate to bend it, are you risking the integrity of the steel? I know that welding pieces of a hilt together will weaken the steel around the weld (although the weld itself will be strong) - do you know if there are similar problems with heating and bending, and if so, do you know how to remedy it? "The time was when ships passing one another at sea backed their topsails and had a 'gam,' and on parting fired guns; but those good old days have gone. People have hardly time nowadays to speak even on the broad ocean, where news is news, and as for a salute of guns, they cannot afford the powder. There are no poetry-enshrined freighters on the sea now; it is a prosy life when we have no time to bid one another good morning." - Capt. Joshua Slocum
Iron Bess Posted December 26, 2007 Posted December 26, 2007 Sweet!! Gonna be full tang?? Well, you may not realize it but your looking at the remains of what was once a very handsome woman!
Captain Midnight Posted December 26, 2007 Author Posted December 26, 2007 Ahoy everyone! Thanks for the compliments! I cut the slot in the guard that the tang will pass through. I haven't made photos of it yet, but I will do so as soon as I can. John, e-mail me privately and we will discuss your question further. Bloody Jack, to answer your question, no, there is no compromising the strength of the steel in the guard. I start with 1/4" mild steel plate, so if anything, it might only become a bit harder by forging it. There is no welding at all in the sword, so that is not a problem. Bess, aye lass, it is indeed (or will be) a full tang, like the originals it is based on. The tang passes all the way through the grip and the pommel cap and is peened down over the pommel cap like a rivet. "Now then, me bullies! Would you rather do the gallows dance, and hang in chains 'til the crows pluck your eyes from your rotten skulls? Or would you feel the roll of a stout ship beneath your feet again?" ---Captain William Kidd--- (1945)
Iron Bess Posted December 26, 2007 Posted December 26, 2007 Bess, aye lass, it is indeed (or will be) a full tang, like the originals it is based on. The tang passes all the way through the grip and the pommel cap and is peened down over the pommel cap like a rivet. Atta boy!! Make me proud!! Well, you may not realize it but your looking at the remains of what was once a very handsome woman!
Captain Midnight Posted December 28, 2007 Author Posted December 28, 2007 Here is a pic of the guard after cutting the slot for the tang to pass through. "Now then, me bullies! Would you rather do the gallows dance, and hang in chains 'til the crows pluck your eyes from your rotten skulls? Or would you feel the roll of a stout ship beneath your feet again?" ---Captain William Kidd--- (1945)
John Maddox Roberts Posted December 28, 2007 Posted December 28, 2007 Ooooh! When does we see the blade? And we wants a full account of the process, too.
Captain Midnight Posted December 28, 2007 Author Posted December 28, 2007 Ooooh! When does we see the blade? And we wants a full account of the process, too. Aye! Sit tight, says I! That part is coming next! "Now then, me bullies! Would you rather do the gallows dance, and hang in chains 'til the crows pluck your eyes from your rotten skulls? Or would you feel the roll of a stout ship beneath your feet again?" ---Captain William Kidd--- (1945)
callenish gunner Posted December 28, 2007 Posted December 28, 2007 Alright.....now lad i think we need to talk about a barter or trade .....PM me if you've a mind to lad
Captain Midnight Posted January 16, 2008 Author Posted January 16, 2008 Well, I had hoped to be able to document the process by which I built my hanger step-by-step for you all to see, but my friend who does my digital pictures fell ill and had a short hospital stay. so he couldn't do the photos. He has since recovered, and was able to take these photos of my finished sword at work this afternoon. As stated in my previous posts, this sword is based on the American hangers offered by Old Dominion Forge, but I made my blade just a wee bit wider than Kyle's. The sword is very light and fast in the hands, and is razor sharp. I actually finished it last Sunday afternoon. Next is a leather and wood scabbard and baldric for it to "nest" in. I named the sword Providence, in honor of the origins of my skill to make the weapon in the first place, as well as the city in Rhode Island, where my ancestors come from. "Now then, me bullies! Would you rather do the gallows dance, and hang in chains 'til the crows pluck your eyes from your rotten skulls? Or would you feel the roll of a stout ship beneath your feet again?" ---Captain William Kidd--- (1945)
blackjohn Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 Wow! Very nice! I'm impressed! My Home on the Web The Pirate Brethren Gallery Dreams are the glue that holds reality together.
Capt. Bo of the WTF co. Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 I just pickrd up on the shape of the guard... "An apple a day keeps the boaders away!" Very nice piece Midnight! Now go baptise Providence in blood! Bo
Iron Bess Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 SWEET!! Lovely to look at .... and how's 'er balance lad? Well, you may not realize it but your looking at the remains of what was once a very handsome woman!
Fox Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 That is one very nice sword! Bravo! (And let me know when you're taking commissions...) Foxe"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707ETFox.co.uk
hurricane Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 Wow! Nice work sir! I'll take two! :) -- Hurricane -- Hurricane ______________________________________________________________________ http://piratesofthecoast.com/images/pyracy-logo1.jpg Captain of The Pyrates of the Coast Author of "Memoirs of a Buccaneer: 30 Year Before the Mast" (Published in Fall 2011) Scurrilous Rogue Stirrer of Pots Fomenter of Mutiny Bon Vivant & Roustabout Part-time Carnival Barker Certified Ex-Wife Collector Experienced Drinking Companion "I was screwed. I readied my confession and the sobbing pleas not to tell my wife. But as I turned, no one was in the bed. The room was empty. The naked girl was gone, like magic." "Memoirs of a Buccaneer: 30 Years Before the Mast" - Amazon.com
Captain Midnight Posted January 17, 2008 Author Posted January 17, 2008 SWEET!!Lovely to look at .... and how's 'er balance lad? Bess, if you look closely at the close-up photo that shows the front side of the guard, you can faintly see my monogram touchmark in the blade---the balance point for the sword is about 1" forward of my touchmark. Basically, about 4-1/4" from the guard. The blade is 24", with the overall length of the sword being 29-1/2". Thanks everyone, for your kind compliments! It was a very fun project, and well worth the effort to build it. "Now then, me bullies! Would you rather do the gallows dance, and hang in chains 'til the crows pluck your eyes from your rotten skulls? Or would you feel the roll of a stout ship beneath your feet again?" ---Captain William Kidd--- (1945)
Iron Bess Posted January 18, 2008 Posted January 18, 2008 Well done you! Hope to see you wield it one day! Well, you may not realize it but your looking at the remains of what was once a very handsome woman!
1stMate Matt Posted January 18, 2008 Posted January 18, 2008 Hey that is awsome ! I too did an apple themed pirate gaurd for a sword that I made me lady friend. Alot of time into that piece of yours. It looks GREAT ! -1st Mate of Pirates Magazine -Bladesmith/Owner of That Works Studio http://youtube.com/thatworks thatworks.shop
Captain Midnight Posted January 18, 2008 Author Posted January 18, 2008 Hey that is awsome ! I too did an apple themed pirate gaurd for a sword that I made me lady friend.Alot of time into that piece of yours. It looks GREAT ! Thanks Matt! Aye, it did indeed take a bit of time to finish. I've looked at your website, and WOW! You have some excellent, top-notch work there yourself, my friend! "Now then, me bullies! Would you rather do the gallows dance, and hang in chains 'til the crows pluck your eyes from your rotten skulls? Or would you feel the roll of a stout ship beneath your feet again?" ---Captain William Kidd--- (1945)
Captain Midnight Posted January 28, 2008 Author Posted January 28, 2008 I've finally finished the scabbard and baldric for the sword, so the whole weapon is now complete, carriage and all. I'll try to have some photos made this afternoon so I can post them here this evening. I think the scabbard took almost as long to make as the sword did! "Now then, me bullies! Would you rather do the gallows dance, and hang in chains 'til the crows pluck your eyes from your rotten skulls? Or would you feel the roll of a stout ship beneath your feet again?" ---Captain William Kidd--- (1945)
Captain Midnight Posted January 28, 2008 Author Posted January 28, 2008 Here are the pics. The scabbard is also based on a scabbard from the Old Dominion Forge website, except I made the throat and chape of my scabbard of leather, rather than metal. No, the hat is not part of my garb, that is actually my hardhat from work... "Now then, me bullies! Would you rather do the gallows dance, and hang in chains 'til the crows pluck your eyes from your rotten skulls? Or would you feel the roll of a stout ship beneath your feet again?" ---Captain William Kidd--- (1945)
William Brand Posted January 29, 2008 Posted January 29, 2008 In a word remarkable. In 30 words... That is a remarkable piece of work. The unique parts and the overall craftmanship are truly amazing and you are fast becoming one of the true artisans of the period.
Dorian Lasseter Posted January 29, 2008 Posted January 29, 2008 Agreed... most impressive... Truly a work of art in a weapon... You have inspired me to modify a cutlass I have... and it need a scabbard as well... hmmmm... Excellent work! Truly, D. Lasseter Captain, The Lucy Propria Virtute Audax --- In Hoc Signo Vinces Ni Feidir An Dubh A Chur Ina Bhan Air "If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me." Deuteronomy 32:41 Envy and its evil twin - It crept in bed with slander - Idiots they gave advice - But Sloth it gave no answer - Anger kills the human soul - With butter tales of Lust - While Pavlov's Dogs keep chewin' - On the legs they never trust... The Seven Deadly Sins http://www.colonialnavy.org
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