Why is it that the ABS official books for making guards focus solely on the modern way of fitting up and making guards. the definition of modern Modern is not better, nor is it faster in this case. first off well the did exist in the past until the renaissance when Leonardo de Vinci created a machine to cut the pattern of the teeth, files were just not used. yet guards and bolsters did not just suddenly appear in the life of Leonardo they have been around since the inception of the sword, so how were they made. punching and drifting is a very useful technique for making your guard as you can get it close to the right size in a few minutes' time and can be used on any metal provided you do not overheat it. For fitting do it hot, lock your blade in your vise heat up the guard and hammer the guard onto the blade. Its never a bad thing to have a soft tang and the ricasso being the thickest part of your blade takes a long time to heat up from a radiated source of heat and the heat sick effect will protect the temper of the blade. the only problem you may have is getting the guard off the blade. it use to take me around 30-60 minutes to fit a guard using a drill press, jewelers saw, and files or rotary tool so I rarely made a guard, now it takes me around 5-10 as I just have not timed it.
The B in abs stands for Bladesmith, so we focus on the forged blade from raw material to the finished blade, we should also be teaching people how to forge out all the fittings needed for are blades as we have the all-important tool needed for hot work: The Forge. also we do not need to spend a lot of money on S7 steel to make the drifts, I just used 4 rail spikes bought form blacksmithdepot.com for 8 bucks and they should last quite some time too. however, if your going full punch and drift instead of my drill and drift it would not hurt to make that punch from S7 or would it. this I am not so sure on as I would say a cold marking punch would benefit from S7 but not a coil spring may be all that is needed, and I got one for 10 bucks at my local scrapyard, given your making a punch and not something to sell I do not see the need to invest in high-end new steel.
So why is hot fitting not even mentioned in the handle and guards book when it's so much faster?
I'm just speculating, but I suspect the reason is that there are few, if any, who could create "forged fittings" that would come close to meeting ABS standards. It can be done, but to do so would require FAR more time and effort "finishing" to achieve the same fit and finish that can be achieve via other methods, with far less time/effort.
Just because you CAN do something, does not always mean you SHOULD do something. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />
Ed Caffrey, ABS MS
"The Montana Bladesmith"
www.CaffreyKnives.net
I have hot punched and fitted a guard, and I would debate whether it is truly faster than the "modern" method. Especially when the concern is for tight fit and clean finish. Then again, I have spent the time to figure out how to get that tight fit pretty quickly using files or a mill.
Using either technique, speed and accuracy come with practice. There is no substitute for practice.
Joshua States
www.dosgatosforge.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdJMFMqnbLYqv965xd64vYg
https://www.facebook.com/dos.gatos.71
Also on Instagram and Facebook as J.States Bladesmith
“So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.â€
