Crazy idea - bronze laminated blade?

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Herbalist1

Settler
Jun 24, 2011
585
1
North Yorks
Is it just the look you are after? If so, you could electroplated copper onto the blade. Pretty easy to plate copper onto carbon steel at home.
 

sunndog

Full Member
May 23, 2014
3,561
477
derbyshire
I'v always wanted a sword with the fuller inlaid with hawthorn and a silver inlay in the hawthorn.....ultimate zombie/vampire/werewolf slayer
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,353
2,364
Bedfordshire
If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing properly. If it isn't worth the gear, or knowledge to do properly, it isn't worth your time, or anyone else's to do a bodge job.

Have a look at what you might be able to do with "silver solder". It is what knife makers use to solder guards (often brass or bronze) to blades. I think it is a daft idea, but reckon that solder is going to be your best bet with the gear you have.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Experiments are no waste of time. Do it. Interesting idea. Not a good time to be conservative.

Chris' suggestion to use silver solder is another good thing to try.

Bottle torches (propane) will not give you the heat you need. I've tried, using one to forge copper.
Very slow. No where near enough heat to work harder metals. Was really quite disappointing.
So I went to the local farrier. His gas forge will heat a shoe to yellow in 60 seconds. His striking accuracy was a revelation to watch.

"Research is what you do when you realize that you cannot go on doing things tomorrow
the way that you are doing them today." - anon.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
I looked up a bunch of melting points, even the silver solder is going to give you grief at the flow temperatures.
Learned there's 50+ flavors of bronze, too.
The differences in MP's suggest that mashing one into the other might not work at all.
Bimetallic corrosion will play if you add an electrolyte. Like the sacrificial anode on a boat.

But, mechanical assembly might be the way to go with epoxy to fill any lingering voids.

I wonder how they set the tungsten carbide tips into stone-masons steel chisels?
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
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I looked up a bunch of melting points, even the silver solder is going to give you grief at the flow temperatures.


Learned there's 50+ flavors of bronze, too.
The differences in MP's suggest that mashing one into the other might not work at all.
Bimetallic corrosion will play if you add an electrolyte. Like the sacrificial anode on a boat.

But, mechanical assembly might be the way to go with epoxy to fill any lingering voids.

I wonder how they set the tungsten carbide tips into stone-masons steel chisels?
 
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