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Welcome to the second episode of the Serpent in the Blade Viking Sword series! Join me as I grind, etch, and polishing the blade to its final form. This phase of the process has been quite extensive, given my decision to avoid forging any bevels or fullers in the blade to mitigate the risk of cracking during the quenching process.
My process has been as follows:
– Grinding flat the two faces of the sword with a 36-grit belt.
– Marking and grinding the profile. Here I used an old belt since the sharp edges tend to wear fresh belts prematurely.
– Grinding the fuller with an 80-grit ceramic belt on a 15cm radius contact wheel.
– Grinding the bevels with the same belt on the slack belt to achieve a convex grind, followed by a 150-grit belt.
– Hand sanding up to 320 grit.
– Four cycles of 5 minutes in a solution of 1:2 Ferric chloride to water, washing and scrubbing with fine steel wool in between each cycle.
– Polishing with file diamond paste and pieces of cotton.
