Making a Bronze Sword: Start to Finish

[@ThubanDraconis]

"I don't know what I'm doing but I'm going to figure it out" is the attitude that builds civilizations.

[@TheZebracakez]

As someone who is trying to set up his own smelter and smelt things, I LOVE videos like this that show the failures and steps you got to take to get to a final product.

[@armoredangel01]

I think lots of warriors will be proud of your work: the Egyptians, the Mycenaeans, the Celts, and the Warriors of the Bible to name a few

[@Neuman357]

As a total noob to casting, watching the pros isn’t as important to me as watching other noobs fail in their attempts and show their solutions to common issues. This video will save me a lot of time. Thanks for uploading.

[@CraigFisherArts]

This is the most real thing I’ve seen in a long time. Thanks for keeping the struggles and mistakes in the video. The real lessons are often often found there. Great work!

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Thanks!

[@woodsonpayne8378]

I swear on the Stone of Jupiter, that is an excellent video. Thanks for posting.

[@michaeldrinkard678]

"I may not be proficient, but at least I'm creative." I love that. I think you're creatively proficient. Enjoyed the video! Looking forward to more.

[@matthewgibson264]

Definitely the best looking bronze sword I've ever seen. Love the whole profile, love the blade and love the handle!!!

[@yusukelee9590]

Looks beautiful like gold, steel could never look like that ,I wanna try this

[@michaeldionne4732]

For someone who has no clue what they're doing, you did an awesome job! I'm forging my first sword and have no clue what I'm doing so that will be fun.

[@russianvideovlogguy]

Did you make the sword?

[@falchions_n_foccacia]

one of the coolest videos i've watched recently

[@chrisg6036]

Awesome job. Use a hole saw instead of a spade bit for getting your hole. But it was a pleasure watching this. You did an awesome job.

[@samsnider1000]

What a fantastic video and project, man. Really appreciate that you included the struggle and lessons learned, and that you would up making something so cool!

[@somdov]

This channel is a hidden gem

[@ps5gaming304]

bad ass man, love the persistence

[@WhoIsTheEdman]

Love this video! I appreciate the unobtrusive music and the general comfy vibe of the video.

[@bobwebber8521]

Absolutely fabulous. How long would that have taken without the power tools. Guess that is why swords were such valued objects. Thank you so much for the excellent video.

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

I think about that all the time. How did anyone do this stuff without power tools!?

[@D3xel]

Time and patience. Spears were the main weapon of the bronze age, as bronze was a very valuable and expensive material (spear heads require MUCH less than a sword, as they are thin and hollow) so swords were objects of high status. So as I said, time and patience was the way to go back in the bronze age

[@The_Mad_King]

I dig it bro. Wanted to do this too but kinda was thinking like you. Now I say “heck with it, I’m gonna try!”

[@Jared_Evans]

Proud of you, man! That's a fantastic first attempt!

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

I’m excited to try some more in the future. I’d like to make a top quality bronze blade in the future.

[@henrikstenlund5385]

Good work, man. The center line tool is ingenious. The pattern in sand should be made in a different order as you may know. Take the bottom draft and place it upside down on a stiff plate. Place the sword there and add separation powder and fill in the sand. Then rotate it and put the cope on it, then powder and sand and there you go. Everything will be neat and tight.

[@timdixon3391]

Dude. You are doing it. You have the perfect adittude to fabricate and invent.... don't be afraid to fail or experiment

[@johnkratz2554]

Dude! I make knives (5yrs self taught) and that is one fantastic Gladius! You have inspired me to attempt a bronze blade! 🙂

[@SweetLuLund]

I love watching you work.

[@CS-pl8fc]

This is the best video on KZbin hands down. Great job man

[@timdixon3391]

And your sword looks f'n' awesome!!

[@tobhomott]

Woohoo! A+ for knowing you need to work harden the edges.

[@atalkingtreevo6803]

Oh the sword look great.

[@bigbasil1908]

8:10 I think the sand needs oil added to it and also the sand needed packing down a hell of a lot tighter than that. Armchair bronze caster here by the way, but I've watched plenty of youtube videos of people sand casting bronze lol. Also I have a reproduction irish bronze sword and it weighs a little under 700 grams without a handle on it. It's named 'leaf shaped sword' on the bronze age foundry site that I bought it from and is 22 inches long. I think it's a very common mistake to make a bronze sword far too heavy and thick, and generally bronze swords were not more than a kilo for the big swords. Man you got shyteloads of tin bronze there to make swords out of. You really need to have the bit just past the handle on the blade to be thicker and not at all sharp because that part you would often rest your finger on while using the sword. Great job by the way for someone who 'doesn't know what they are doing'.

[@patrickbroadway2255]

That was awesome! And I've been inspired. And had a few chuckles in the process. Good job dude!

[@gregwenderski9147]

That's an awesome first bronze sword!

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Thank you!

[@nodeloliver6201]

Dude, this is the stuff inspiration is made of.

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Thank you!

[@stephenalibozek1058]

Yes great job staying with it and figuring it out 👍👍

[@danielrose2014]

When you read Homer he often described the light gleaming on bronze blades and armor. Looking at your sword really helps visualize what it must have looked like.

[@tchaugn]

King of bronze!

[@numbasixx]

Dude epic. And love the name, nice work!

[@83MetalWorks]

Amazing work! Now I want to try to make one.

[@masterxiong7368]

Love it bro. Learn as you go

[@bigbasil1908]

13:52 That piece of metal is known as 'flashing'. I like how you approached that problem. I would have thought an arc welder would work to do that job too, and you maybe could have gotten the job done with a propane blow torch melting that piece of flashing into the hole.

[@CaptainPantys]

Work hardening is actually called cold forging when dealing with swords. Just a fun bit of info lol

[@melonkitchen3192]

Very cool!

[@bigbasil1908]

I find a flat needle file seems to work great for filing the surface of the bronze smooth. It's a nice fine file so it leaves a nice fine grit sandpaper type finish. You should be able to make 2 decent length bronze swords from the amount of bronze you used in that sword. If you can source some soap stone of the right dimensions for a mold, that would probably be a much better mold as you can reuse it over and over

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

So with the soap stone I assume you just carve the negative of the sword in the stone? That sounds very challenging!

[@bigbasil1908]

@@lundgrenbronzestudios Yep just carve out the negative. Soap stone is very easy to carve so it's just a matter of getting the mold perfect. I just watched a video called 'Forging a Bronze-Age Sword' by 'Ancient Recitations' channel on yt and they are using a soap stone mold to make it. It is in fact the place where my bronze sword is bought from, so my bronze sword would have been cast in either that very soap stone mold or another of the same sword design. Perhaps slate would serve as a good mold material as that carves pretty easy too.

[@epicfafnir]

This has been really educational

[@thecursor1]

The reason it's so heavy is because all of the non-metal parts you'd normally make out of wood (like the handle) are rendered into metal

[@Kratos_God_of_50_BMG]

👎🏽 for over the top goofiness, but 👍🏽 for persistence and a pretty dang cool outcome 😁

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Thanks for the input.

[@mormaew]

Like this , a piece of glittering art

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Thank you!

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

This is a fantastic job for a first go! But I can see that the blade is way too wide and needs to be taken down to give it a "waist" to get the leaf shaped blade of antiquity. That would take a lot of weight off.

[@wonderoushistoryofclassicf9193]

The blade that you made would be closer to what an original bronze sword blade would be like. Southern european leaf blades were pinned into the hilt and didn't have a tang. Not sure why they did it that way.

[@guerillaguru8650]

Hahaha,great job for the first time,not bad at all.. I'm waiting for my melter to arrive and try it also for My first time. I made a wooden sword (sword of Oss,kindish)and can't wait for failing a dozen times myself 😂

[@BTCRUZEIRO75]

Beautifull job, 👏👏👏👏👏

[@standarddeviation7963]

You need a barbers brush when you use the baby powder to ensure it's everywhere.

[@karstenhyldgaard9039]

that´s awesome work, really looks cool. :D

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Thanks! 🙏🏼

[@karstenhyldgaard9039]

I'm wondering, do you have any problems melting copper in your foundry? I'm thinking about making my own, but can't decide if I should make one or just buy one to make sure I get one that can melt copper. I have access to a lot of scrap copper through work. 🙂

[@heyfitzpablum]

I believe you need more clay in your mold material, there isn't enough binder to keep the sand from crumbling when you pull the wooden form from the mold. You might also want to go from a Green Sand process to a Shell Mold process.

[@darthnihilus3447]

The Greeks used clay molds, so that might be a better option over casting sand

[@TheFizzerKing]

Great work Love to se you redo when it was not good enough. Why does this video not have more view's?.....

[@spiderbugbear3721]

5 lbs is great. This is what I'd want, experts be damned

[@stel1000]

Good job tho. You can try making it sharper . Also try hammering pieces to fill those holes.

[@timdixon3391]

Don't know if it will work, but try adding a little water to the sand to get it to pack tighter or maybe add a little clay?

[@earthartgems]

I loved this video. I had to laugh when you remarked "How am I supposed to get a file in there?!?" I make jewelry and when I design my casts, I will do just about anything to avoid inside corners for that exact reason :) I've been wanting to try this at home. Do you use regular wet sand? What is the thing you're using to melt the metal?

[@TheoryMaK15-255]

Well, Done!! Masterfully Done!! You did a great! Because of Your Great Personality And Talent, Earn My Sud and Like. Great Job!! 1. Question. Where did you get your Flannel Shirt? It Looks Great!!

[@lauwhavening8455]

Very well buddy, you did it nicely and with your heart. You had too much struggles 'cause you were trying to did everything perfect in one shot. Trust me, it rarely happens. Where you got the sand pulling away from the edges are so small, do not worry, like you said, just grind it, it like that it works, and propably how it always worked. Just think about the fact your king, emperor or whatever ask you to make hundreds of casting swords, trust me, even though you are a master, you will "fail" some of them, at least small parts, that you can reshape afterwards. To me you did not make that many mistakesn you just wanted it perfect in one shot, what is for me the biggest mistake you made, but you know what, that is not really a mistake, it proved that you wanted something as great as your motivation, keep it on buddy :)

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Thank you!

[@charliebowen5071]

If you look at actual Celtic or Bronze Age swords in general, the design is key.. you don’t find wide blades. Certainly not hispanaensis.. or Fulham… you want a narrow blade.. the width is integral to how the blade would hold up… swords especially amongst Celtic people were a one time use kind of thing

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

How heavy were real bronze swords.

[@jacobcandrawit]

thats turned out super well lmao its beautiful

[@silvanusasher446]

I wonder if your sand needed a bit more of the clay mixed in and packed a little harder

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Yes. I think that would have helped. The blades I’ve made since then have gone much better and I’ve packed them a lot harder.

[@stevesrt8]

IT will kill! nice work. i wonder if the tip swelled from hydrostatic pressure. seems to be a common problem. great work none the less

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Maybe that was it. I never thought about that. I didn’t know that was a thing.

[@jensen5212]

Excuse me, how thick is it in the middle/ at the edge, now that it is in its final state?

[@cotyr5720]

What size crucible did you use? Great work!

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

I believe for this I used a #6

[@clever2627]

What if you oil the wood and water the sand?

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

I don’t know what that would do.

[@dalemcgathy4996]

The other blank of the sword was more of the size they actually were

[@DL-sx7yh]

now a kopesh

[@bashkillszombies]

When you're removing that much wood don't use overpriced abrasives, just use a spoke shave or a plane.

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

I used what I had.

[@billskinner623]

Throw away the leather and break out a file and checker the hilt.

[@woodsonpayne8378]

It's called Flash.

[@Vladimir_68_region]

👍👍🔥🔥

[@MrBrianj60]

👍👏🙌

[@waliza001]

should be 2 pounds max when ready

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

I need to make another one. I’d like lighter handle but then it would be so forward heavy.

[@waliza001]

@@lundgrenbronzestudios maybe spear? Easier, smaller and it was way more popular than sword.

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

@@waliza001 that’s a good idea.

[@BobbyLeeMMA]

She's beautiful 😍

[@tolleson49]

Why do you wave your other arm all over the place when your swinging the sword?? Looks goofy

[@charliebowen5071]

That’s a Roman design… looks off instantly

[@charliebowen5071]

Slag from casting… Romans did not cast swords

[@stel1000]

Greeks. Not romans.