Two Heat Sword
or
Hey Mister, can you make a sword??

I routinely demonstrate in the Historic Forge at the Carroll County Farm Museum, Westminster, MD. Regardless whether it is for a school tour or on an event weekend, at least one of the visitor’s to the blacksmith shop (usually a young lad) asks the question: "Hey mister, can you make a sword??"

Well, thanks to Lance Davis (who got the idea from Ken Zastrow), I now have an answer to that question.

I keep a supply of double headed (also called duplex or scaffolding nails) in my tool box. When asked to make a sword, I take one of these nails and carefully forge down the double head into a hilt (be careful not to flatten too much). Then I take a second heat and flatten the rest of the nail into the sword blade. The trick is to have a small enough pair of tongs which will securely hold the nail.

The duplex nails come in various sizes, so get the largest size that you can find.

• A 2 heat sword: