Hi everyone this homemade fans will appreciate the game "Skyrim". This time we will make a steel blade from this game. The blade will be made by forging from carbon steel. As a source material, the author used an automobile spring, which makes it possible to harden steel. To get the dark color of the metal antique, the author decided to use the etching of steel in acid. In the end, everything turned out pretty realistic, and most importantly beautiful, strong and high quality. The most difficult work in the manufacture of such a knife is forging. However, this is the main work. So, we will consider in more detail how to make such a knife.
Materials and tools used by the author:
Material List:
- automobile spring (or other source of carbon steel);
- a piece of a wooden bar (the author used oak);
- steel for guard and butt;
- nails or other steel rods (for pins);
- steel wire (for decorating handles);
- epoxy adhesive;
- oil for wood impregnation.
Tool List:
- forge furnace and all forging tools;
- belt sander;
- drill with drills;
- vise;
- files for metal and wood;
- wire brush;
- hacksaw for wood;
- acid for etching;
- stainless steel thermos and enameled dishes.
Dagger manufacturing process:
Step one. Forging a blade
The author makes the main profile of the blade by forging. We take the spring and heat it red in the ear, its author cuts off, or rather cuts off with a chisel. Well, then proceed to forging. We heat with a knocking hammer and form the blade that is desired in shape. The better it will be made, the less then there will be grinding work.
Step Two Grinding work
Next, we proceed to grinding, remove all forging defects and form the final blade profile. We go through the contour using metal files. As for the planes, we grind them on a belt grinder. When the blade is ready, we form the bevels. It is important not to make the metal thinner than 2 mm if you are thinking of hardening it. Otherwise, the metal may overheat and turn into ordinary raw. At this step, you should finish all the basic work with metal, as further the steel will harden and it will be difficult to process.
Step Three Blade Heat Treatment
We proceed to hardening the blade, this will make the metal strong, the blade will hold sharpening for a long time.Carbon steel is tempered in oil, it is advisable to heat it so that the blade does not deform. The author warms the oil with a hot rod. Next, we heat the blade, first we do a normalization, this is done after forging. We heat the blade to a red glow and let cool in air. The procedure can be repeated several times for reliability.
Well, then warm up the blade and lower it into the heated oil. After this, the metal should not be taken with a file, this indicates that the hardening has turned out.
After hardening, we necessarily perform tempering of the metal, this will save it from brittleness, and the knife will spring under the bending load. Here we will need a domestic oven, it needs to be heated to 200 ° C and put the blade for two hours. If the vacation turned out, the metal will have a yellow coating. If not, increase the temperature and try again.
Step Four Making guards
You can start making guards. Its author also makes by forging from a suitable piece of metal, it is no longer necessary to use carbon steel.
Step Five Blade grinding
After tempering, the blade will have a yellow coating, it needs to be sanded to a shine, since then we will etch the metal in acid.
Step Six Finalization of the guard
In the guard, we need to make a slit hole for the blade shank. To do this, first drill a series of holes, and then bore them with a file. We also customize the blade so that it blends perfectly with the guard. In the end, the author warms up the guard and hot brushes it with a brush for metal. Cool deg and polish.
Seventh step. Pen making
To make a pen, we need a piece of the bar, you can use oak or something like that. We draw the desired profile of the handle and make a hole for the blade shank. The author decided to burn it. We pre-drill the holes with a drill, and then burn through, so everything turns out quickly and efficiently.
Now you can proceed to the formation of the profile. The author does the main work manually using a chisel. Cases a series of cuts to the profile lines, and then we remove the excess material with a chisel with a hammer. As soon as the main profile is ready, we modify it with rasps. Cut the excess with a hacksaw for metal. And only after that we carry out the final grinding on a belt sander.
When the handle is ready, we will need to decorate it with wire. Under it, with the help of a hacksaw, it will be necessary to make cuts. For the pen you will still need to make a back, its author also forged.
Step Eight. Collect the knife
That's all, the knife can be assembled. For this we need epoxy glue. To begin with, we collect everything dry and drill holes for the pins, they are steel by the author. Well, then we prepare the pins and collect everything on glue. We leave the whole thing to dry, holding it well with a clamp. The remaining glue is best wiped immediately.
Step Nine. Blade Etching
As planned, the blade should be with dark spots. We will get them by etching. To make the reaction with acid faster, it must first be heated. All dishes should be either enameled or stainless. The author used a stainless steel thermos for this. Lower the blade into acid and wait until we get the desired patina coating. After that, the blade must be washed with soap under running water and dried well. We carry out light polishing. Thanks to the patina, the blade not only looks beautiful. But it is also protected from rust.
Step Ten Pen impregnation
We used wood as a handle, and wood is a porous material and quickly absorbs water, and with it dirt. To fix this problem, we need oil. You can use linseed oil or special furniture. It is necessary to apply oil so much. Until it stops absorbing. Then the handle can be polished with wax. As a result, it will look beautiful, and will not absorb moisture.
That's all, the project is ready, the blade turned out like a real one from the game, it literally materialized. If desired, the knife can be sharpened to the state of the blade. That's all, good luck and creative inspiration, if you decide to repeat it. Or maybe this project prompted you to some interesting thoughts. Do not forget to share your homemade products and best practices with us!