Swords Into Pruning Hooks?

[Ricochet]

I've been thinking about the Biblical references to beating swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks today. I had a bunch of droopy little tree branches hanging low over my driveway and scraping my van when I backed out, and it was bugging me. Didn't want to fool with getting out the pruning shears and stepladder. Have a big old long claymore, a cheap unlicensed Pakistan-made replica of the Narsil sword wielded by Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings flicks. It was made for decoration, but I'd sharpened it. Went out and in a few whacks took down all the branches, no ladder needed. But in the process I noticed the handle was getting a bit loose, and when I tightened down the pommel, it ended up 90° out of line with the blade. No good. It needed shimming. So I went in, disassembled it and decided that if I put a thin washer under the decorative collar between the handle and pommel, it would fix it if the thickness worked out right. Wrong. That supported the central, washer-like part of this decorative cap, the pommel pressed down on the outer shoulder of the piece, and it fractured out the center. It was cast out of some really flimsy stuff. So I put it back together with J-B Weld and looked at it some more. Decided what I really needed was metal tubing of the same diameter as the tubular main structural member of the handle, that would fit inside the pommel and be in compression between it and the central part of that collar that had broken, putting it in compression so its strength was basically immaterial. Looked around the basement and came up with the perfect thing: a .300 Weatherby Magnum cartridge case with a ruined neck. Good thick 70/30 cartridge brass, well work hardened near the case head, and of the perfect diameter with a perfectly flat base to press against that cap. So I drilled out the primer pocket with a 5/16" drill to let the threaded tang pass through it, put the case inside the pommel and wobbled it around to let the edge of the inside of the pommel mark the case, eyeballed just a bit beyond that and cut it off with a tubing cutter. Worked perfectly. Everything now lines up, is nice and tight, and while this isn't a high grade sword, it's perfectly functional.

My wife's just happy that none of the neighbors seem to have seen me trimming the trees. :lol:

[floodgate]

Ricochet:

So, you have just created an illegal "Magnum Assault Sword"! Look for a visit from the BATS (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Swords).

floodgate

[armoredman]

The Sword That Was Broken has been reforged...by Ricochet, the master Elven swordsmith.

[Johnch]

Good job
But living in the sticks
I just shoot the branches off with the shotgun

Quick and easy
But in town it just MIGHT raise a few eyebrows

John

[lathesmith]

As Red Green likes to say, "Any tool...can be the right tool"

Lathesmith

[Ricochet]

LOL! Yep, it's what you do with 'em that counts. I figure anything made for lopping off heads ought to be suitable for lopping off a limb or two. [smilie=1:

The shotgun is a bit noisy in my suburban neighborhood.

[44man]

Have to watch the swords today. My grandson has a few and he took one out back to chop some branches. He too broke and bent the handle. I found there is only a 1/4" bolt through cheap castings for a handle. The blade does not go all the way back. If it was swung hard enough the blade could leave and do some real damage.

[Ricochet]

Yep, it's a 5/16" (I think I said 9/16 above, but it's not, I had the 9/32 bit just below it stuck in mind) screw welded to the shank of the blade. The screw's in tension and the handle's in compression around it. Between that and the blade being made out of knife steel, which is more brittle than proper sword steel, it wouldn't be a good idea to use one like this in tournament fighting like the SCA guys do. Out by myself whacking skinny tree branches I'm not too worried, though.

[NVcurmudgeon]

First prnciple of cheapskatism: never throw anything made of metal away. A big old maple tree in the back yard overhangs the house. Last week it got to be time for getting ready for snow. Without a big enough ladder to get on the roof, I considered shotgun tree trimming, too. Then I remembered the obselete conduit replaced during the new garage light job. Ten feet of conduit, my folding camp saw, and duct tape magically transformed into a tree surgeon's saw. It was just long enough for my six foot ladder and my somewhat less than six foot body to reach all the offending branches.

[44man]

I used to climb around in trees like a monkey but now 12 feet scares me. I look in a tree and say "I can get up there" but halfway is far enough. Long poles are great! :drinks: