Sharpening Civil War Reproduction Sword Question
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5,386 Posts
Which side is your sword from: C.S.A or U.S.A? I read alot about this war. I'd have it sharpend for the heck of it. But SS dont hold a good edge anyway. Nice sword!:thanku:
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476 Posts
Its a wall hanger, a decorative piece. Theres no way of telling what its actually made of with more info. Chances are its some sort of soft pot metal and you won't be able to sharpen it anyhow.
"if a magnet doesn't stick to it its good stainless"
If a magnet doesn't stick to it its garbage, probably zinc or aluminum. Any sort of blade thats decent is made of steel, and blade steel is magnetic, stainless steel or not.
"But SS dont hold a good edge anyway."
Stainless blade steel, if its a good alloy like 440C or ATS 34, most certainly does take and hold a good edge. Heat treatment is makes all the difference.
"kinda remember machine shop
saying all the engraving would
be removed"
Machine shop? You can't machine an edge on a sword without ruining it. A blade is tempered if its of any quality, and grinding the edge out on belts or wheels will ruin the temper. If the guy at the shop told you that, find another shop, that guy is clueless. If its a decent sword blade it would have an edge already with grind lines that are visible. I would think that its not worth the time and hassle to even try sharpening it anyhow.
"if a magnet doesn't stick to it its good stainless"
If a magnet doesn't stick to it its garbage, probably zinc or aluminum. Any sort of blade thats decent is made of steel, and blade steel is magnetic, stainless steel or not.
"But SS dont hold a good edge anyway."
Stainless blade steel, if its a good alloy like 440C or ATS 34, most certainly does take and hold a good edge. Heat treatment is makes all the difference.
"kinda remember machine shop
saying all the engraving would
be removed"
Machine shop? You can't machine an edge on a sword without ruining it. A blade is tempered if its of any quality, and grinding the edge out on belts or wheels will ruin the temper. If the guy at the shop told you that, find another shop, that guy is clueless. If its a decent sword blade it would have an edge already with grind lines that are visible. I would think that its not worth the time and hassle to even try sharpening it anyhow.
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476 Posts
I fail to see the comparision between motorcycles and cheap repro swords.
If it was made in India for the US collectibles market, chances are it was produced by Windlass Steelcrafts. Further investigaion is needed to determine what sort of alloy was used to make the blade, but for the most part these are not intended to be sharpened or used as a real weapon. Low carbon steel alloys, cast zinc alloy parts and thin rat tail tangs to attach the grip to the blade mean that it will break with one solid (or not so solid) whack.
If it was made in India for the US collectibles market, chances are it was produced by Windlass Steelcrafts. Further investigaion is needed to determine what sort of alloy was used to make the blade, but for the most part these are not intended to be sharpened or used as a real weapon. Low carbon steel alloys, cast zinc alloy parts and thin rat tail tangs to attach the grip to the blade mean that it will break with one solid (or not so solid) whack.
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787 Posts
arathol
that was a one minute conversation at our machine shop
asking if sword 'could be sharpened'
sword right now has no edge at all on it
we absolutely guarantee that if
we ever want to know what kind of
metal it is
that machine shop can figure it out
how you can come up with an opinion
about them from a simple question like
that is beyond us
that was a one minute conversation at our machine shop
asking if sword 'could be sharpened'
sword right now has no edge at all on it
we absolutely guarantee that if
we ever want to know what kind of
metal it is
that machine shop can figure it out
how you can come up with an opinion
about them from a simple question like
that is beyond us
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1,752 Posts
Just my 2 cents, but if it doesnt have an edge, I wouldnt bother. No point to it (no pun intended).
You would only need an edge if it were going to actually be used. Since it is a repro, there is no sense in putting an edge on it whether its repro or original. Doing either would take away from its value unless you plan on taking it out and playing with it and it doesnt matter to you.
Either way, its a nice looking weapon:thThumbsU
You would only need an edge if it were going to actually be used. Since it is a repro, there is no sense in putting an edge on it whether its repro or original. Doing either would take away from its value unless you plan on taking it out and playing with it and it doesnt matter to you.
Either way, its a nice looking weapon:thThumbsU
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476 Posts
I seriously doubt that. Basic identification is easy. Steel is magnetic, zinc test is easy, etc, but there are many types of steel and lots of different grades and alloys. Without specialized analytical equipment there is no way you can tell the difference between say 1095 carbon steel and 1050 carbon steel, or ATS 34 and any of the 440 grades of stainless steel. The minor differences in the composition make a big difference in how the steel performs.
If the guy told you that the engraving would be damaged if he tried to sharpen it that tells it all. He doesn't have a clue how to put an edge on a blade other than to put it on the wheel. Thats the only way that the engraving would be damaged. You just don't use power equipment to do that sort of thing unless you don't know what you are doing. If by chance the sword is made of some sort of decent steel, using any sort of power equipment to put an edge on it will ruin the temper, and once that happens the blade is damaged beyond repair. Any machinist that knows what he is doing would have told you that.
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787 Posts
thank you arathol
finding out what kind of metal is might involve
'sending it out'
lot of businesses concentrated in southern california
so they could find out no matter what
if we wanted to bother with it
'can you sharpen sword ?'
'yes'
nothing was said about whether it would
'hold' the edge or how well it would cut
engraving comes to 1/8" of edge of blade and
as is sword edge is very blunt
makes sense to us
we can either have engraved sword or
sharpened sword
finding out what kind of metal is might involve
'sending it out'
lot of businesses concentrated in southern california
so they could find out no matter what
if we wanted to bother with it
'can you sharpen sword ?'
'yes'
nothing was said about whether it would
'hold' the edge or how well it would cut
engraving comes to 1/8" of edge of blade and
as is sword edge is very blunt
makes sense to us
we can either have engraved sword or
sharpened sword
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348 Posts
FOR THE LOVE OF civil reenactors DO NOT sharpen that sword repo or not it was not made to be sharpened it was for giving direction in marching and will not hold an edge and it is steel not stainless they dont make then stainless if they were they wouldnt be period correct so they make them steel. But do what you want it is your sword just trying to help.
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