Subject: Re: Making a double-edged sword

From: [email-masked] (Bill Fiorini)
Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 09:24:19 -0500

>I've been trying for quite a while to make a two-handed, double-edged
>broadsword, but I can never get the bevel right on the second side.  I do
>just fine on the first side, making good bevels, forming a center ridge.
>But when I turn it over to do the opposite side, I can never get it to work
>right.  The blade is tilted at such an angle to make it flat against the
>anvil, that it makes it almost impossible to hammer out the edge and make a
>bevel.  If you have done some bladesmithing before I would really appreciate
>any help you could give me.  Thanks.
>Stephen Smith

Steve,
When I forge a dagger shape that is double edged I work both edges on one
side first.   After forging it around half way I turn the blade over and do
the same on the other side maintaining the angle of the two bevels on the
opposite side.  I continue this until I finish the blade shape overall.  It
does help to have a knife makers hammer.  It looks a little like the
Japanese sword hammers with a slight angle to the face.

---

From: "John W. Pollins, III" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 07:42:30 -0400 (EDT)

A
>	I've made a few swords myself, real beauties, can't finish them
>because my forge is too small to heat-treat them in, I'll have to make me a
>bigger forge this summer.
>	Hope that helped some,
>	George Ezell
>
        No need for a bigger forge. (Almost) nobody has a 36 inch fire pot
or 6 burner pipe forge.  Bank a fire around a length of pipe and keep moving
the blade back and forth thru the pipe until it's critical thruought its length.

                Pollins