DIY Knifemaking: My 1st Short Sword...!

[astronomy.domaine]

Hi All,
Here is my maiden attempt at sword smithy! I have always been fascinated by oriental swords and finally zeroed in on a short Chinese "Dao" with elements of the mid eastern "Scimitar", for my first attempt. I have kept the blade rather short at 19 inches with a 8.5 inch grip housing a full tapered tang. The blade and guard is 5.5 mm stainless steel with wood and epoxy grip. Blade is polished to a mirror finish. Leather work on grip and the scabbard are still pending.

have a look (pls bear with the shoddy pics from my phone ) .., feedback and suggestions are welcome..!

[kshitij]

Hi astronomy.domaine,

Thats one sweet looking blade. Next, maybe you could make the blade broader and make a more utility/machete kind of profile. This would be better at hacking, chopping or bush clearing as compared to a thinner profile, not to mention more drool inducing to us

[brihacharan]

Hi All,
Here is my maiden attempt at sword smithy! I have always been fascinated by oriental swords and finally zeroed in on a short Chinese "Dao" with elements of the mid eastern "Scimitar", for my first attempt. I have kept the blade rather short at 19 inches with a 8.5 inch grip housing a full tapered tang. The blade and guard is 5.5 mm stainless steel with wood and epoxy grip. Blade is polished to a mirror finish. Leather work on grip and the scabbard are still pending.
Have a look (pls bear with the shoddy pics from my phone ) .., feedback and suggestions are welcome..!

Great job AD
I wonder if you could have made the blade about 3/4" broader.....just a suggestion
Keep them coming!!!
Briha

[kshitij]

I have been wanting to ask you in your previous knife threads too, what is that blackish (Mseal like) deposit at the top of the handle and bottom of the blade? it seems to be present in most of your knives...

Also, now that you are making longish blades like this and the bowie machete, do you feel that the steel needs to be heat treated to withstand real use or is the 1/4 inch spine sufficient if high carbon stainless steels are used?

[brihacharan]

Hi All,
Here is my maiden attempt at sword smithy! I have always been fascinated by oriental swords and finally zeroed in on a short Chinese "Dao" with elements of the mid eastern "Scimitar", for my first attempt. I have kept the blade rather short at 19 inches with a 8.5 inch grip housing a full tapered tang. The blade and guard is 5.5 mm stainless steel with wood and epoxy grip. Blade is polished to a mirror finish. Leather work on grip and the scabbard are still pending.
Have a look (pls bear with the shoddy pics from my phone ) .., feedback and suggestions are welcome..!

Great job AD
I wonder if you could have made the blade about 3/4" broader.....just a suggestion
Keep them coming!!!
Briha

AD,
See the pic below of a typical Chinese DAO...width of the blade!

Briha

[kshitij]

While we are on the subject of Chinese Daos, this brings an entire range of ideas

chinese-dao-types.jpeg

[brihacharan]

While we are on the subject of Chinese Daos, this brings an entire range of ideas

chinese-dao-types.jpeg

Hi Kshitij,
Thanks for sharing ...It was excellent education
Briha

[astronomy.domaine]

Thanks Briha sir and Kshitij

totally agree on the broader profile towards the tip. it would have conformed with the authentic dao shape. unfortunately, the piece of steel I was working with limited the width I could go for..
@kshitij- buddy, the blackish substance you notice is a metal bonding epoxy. Not very different from m-seal, but formulated specifically for bonding metal substrates. I guess it contains some type of metal alloy in paste form and claims to achieve welding strength in bonding metals. There are a lot of brands in market and you can look it up on the web.
Also, regarding heat treatment; I agree that proper heat treatment done by an expert would definitely enhance blade strength. However, its a tad tricky to have access to a proper furnace and someone with the proper knowhow to identify & execute the right process for the type of steel in use. Believe me its not as simple as just heating the blade to a glow and plunging it in water, that your local "lohaar" may offer. anyways, I am not an expert on this so In case you give it a try, please do let me know the results.