How it's made-Albion Sword

[Bob Hubbard]

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[Sanke]

Hmmm.... that's actually quite disappointing.
I had somewhat hoped it would be the traditional methods of creation, rather than a modern replication of the procedure. not to say it's not impressive, the end product, (though I know very little about WSA), it doesn't really give the feeling of what it would've been like to forge a sword in those days.
Still, it is kinda cool to see modern methods of forging

 

[Langenschwert]

Hmmm.... that's actually quite disappointing.
I had somewhat hoped it would be the traditional methods of creation, rather than a modern replication of the procedure. not to say it's not impressive, the end product, (though I know very little about WSA), it doesn't really give the feeling of what it would've been like to forge a sword in those days.
Still, it is kinda cool to see modern methods of forging

Yeah, it's not a traditional process. What's traditional about Albion is the performance of their products. Their designer travels all around to various museums, documenting and measuring period originals and takes that knowledge back to Albion. As far as matching the performance of medieval and renaissance originals, Albion is as good as it gets without going for an ultra-high-end custom sword.

However, mass production of high-quality swords was in place quite early in Europe. You wouldn't go to a smith for a sword, you'd likely go to a cutler, who would have the components in stock to assemble a weapon to your specifications... so it would be "I want that blade, that pommel... no, the other one, yeah that one, and that crossguard. I want the scabbard to be covered in green leather, with a point on the chape. I'll be back in two weeks."

Best regards,

-Mark

 

[Archangel M]

I'd wager that the "traditional" smiths would have gladly accepted modern equpiment and techniques had they been available....

 

[Ken Morgan]

I'd wager that the "traditional" smiths would have gladly accepted modern equpiment and techniques had they been available....

Agreed.
Only a fool would hammer iron oxide sand into a usable steel, beating it by hand, then having someone polish it by hand. That was all done because that was what they had to work with, but I'm sure would have almost killed for a couple of lengths of 1095 steel. Throw in a modern grinder and polisher....and their eyes would pop out of their heads

 

[Dirty Dog]

Impressive swords, true. But assuming that the steels they're using are somewhat close to those used in period, it must be said that stock remove techniques will never yield as much quality in the end product as forging.

The major issue is that the forging process compresses and aligns the matrix of the metal, resulting in a denser, stronger metal.

That's not to say you can't make outstanding blades with stock removal methods. You can, obviously. Especially if you give up period accuracy by using more modern compounds.

But forged blades will always be king.

 

[cdunn]

I could be wrong, but, it's my understanding that most steel billets are forged to that shape once they come out of the furnacing process... and the matrix/grain structure is largely remade anyway in the tempering process. About the only time you don't forge it, at some level, is when you're doing net shape powder metallurgy.

I'd also bet that a skilled smith of the 15th century would have wet himself over AISI standard carbon steels, let alone the more impressive things we have now.