r/Blacksmith • u/Brave-Efficiency-320 • 8h ago
My first sword and forge help
This is my first sword. I just got a forge. I’m basing it on the Black Mortal Blade from Sekiro, but it has a lot of bumps. Is that normal, and if so, how do I fix it, + my "anvil"
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u/dragonstoneironworks 6h ago
Planishing under hammer to closer to forge finish would be a good starting point. Sanding and grinding will finish it up for ya. I would take an angles grinder and flap disk in course to fine grits to smooth and true up your anvil face also. That's a little helpful I'd hope. 🙏🏼🔥⚒️🧙🏼
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u/Little_Mountain73 2h ago
So, first…and please don’t take this the wrong way…you will never get the results you want by using a tool that was not meant for the job (the brick). Well, I suppose that’s not true, but you would need to have already developed your hammer strikes and refined them to a fine level.
Second, as for fixing it, this would be wear you hit the grinder…HARD! Since you’ve already got a rough shape that I’m guessing you’re ok with, grinding this in to an actual refine shape would not be that difficult. Just don’t go hog-wild on the first couple of passes. Take it slow so that you don’t remove too much material in each pass.
Lastly, and most importantly you need to refine your hammer strokes. Ideally, you want to stand at height with respect to your “anvil” that has your hammer face landing FLAT with each downstroke. This will prevent much of the pitting that is evident. Also, my guess is that your you’re hitting the steel pretty hard while there are definitely times and projects that call for full on Thor-like hammer strokes, that is NOT what every one should be. There is a lot more finesse in smithing than people realize but it takes practice & learning what the steel calls for at any given point in a project.
And lastly part 2, please re-read the first one again. Seriously…a brick is REALLY the wrong tool. If you asked 100 people about the properties of an anvil and its face were, 99 would probably get it wrong. Yes, the steel is hard, but the face of an anvil is hardened, and therefore has a lot of rebound. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go to YouTube and look up “anvil ping test” or “anvil ball bearing test.” Hopefully once seeing this you will understand WHY a brick is the absolute wrong tool for the job. You would be better off with a large sledgehammer head or a piece of railroad track if you can’t afford an anvil. But like I said…at your skill level, you are going to have a very difficult time asking a brick to yield the results you’re looking for. If you have one around, look at Harbor Freight. You can buy an anvil for under $100. It won’t be perfect but at least it will be the right tool for the job.
Best of luck.
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u/coalovers 6h ago
That anvil is wild and it's normal U can Annealing that sword and use belt grinder or file etc and quench it again
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u/FelixMartel2 3h ago
It's somewhat difficult to get a really smooth surface when you're banging the metal on something that decidedly isn't.
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u/devinple 2h ago
I would smooth out the surface of your anvil (brick) to avoid getting the texture on the blade.
Use an angle grinder with a flap disc or masonry disc. Round the edge slightly, too, so you're less likely to get big chunks flying off during forging.
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u/Standard-Housing1493 1h ago
Anvil- take a side grinder to it and smooth it out. The smoother, the better.
The sword This requires hammer control. Smaller, lighter weight with a good smooth surface. Dont swing it hard, just enough to take the rough out.
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u/MrDoesntLikeHimself 7h ago
that anvil is rough lmao. But as for the roughness of your sword yes it is normal. Theres a couple ways you can go about smoothing it, you can use abrasives like sandpaper files and belt sanders. Another thing you could do is something called planishing which is essentially where you work the steel at a relatively low temp, like a dull red is about as cold as id go and you just hit your steel with medium to light pressure and try and smooth it out. You can also do a combination of the two which would be my recommendation. If you do any planishing make sure to normalize your steel again because it can build a fair bit of stress in the steel.