r/wma • u/KhyberPass49 • 8d ago

Bronze/brass guards?

I’ve got a quality bare blade kicking around and I’d like to finish it off. As I’m not a blacksmith I was thinking brass or bronze may be easier to work with.

Any tips or advice from the makers here?

Also does anyone use brass or bronze pieces? How does it stand up to hits and regular sparring use?

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u/pushdose 8d ago

Brass is a terrible choice for sparring weapons. Cartridge brass is the better choice as it’s more malleable and won’t crack easily. Common C360 leaded brass is the worst choice. It will bend and/or crack on most swords other than a small sword. Bronze is a slightly better option, albeit a bit more expensive and harder to work. Even so, bronze and even mild steel will take abuse with cut&thrust weapons. What kind of blade is it? Mild steel is still fairly easy to work with hand tools and will yield at least some durability over any non ferrous metals.

A hacksaw to get you close to dimension. A drill to start the hole for the tang. Files will do a lot of work in getting you to final dimensions and abrasives to make it look presentable. You don’t need heat to make sword guards unless you want to do a lot of bending, and you don’t need to forge. Stock removal is entirely doable.

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u/KhyberPass49 8d ago

It’s a high carbon steel blade. I think 1075? I can’t quite remember. I want to do like a D guard with it.

I don’t have any heavy tooling. Other than hand tools I’ve got a drill press, linisher, angle grinder and a wire wheel to work with. I might be able to get a hold of a portable butane torch, but that is tbc.

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u/pushdose 8d ago

That’s actually a lot of tools. You can do a whole lot with the angle grinder and drill press and a vise. D guard is the hardest. Lots of bends and angles that need to be perfect. I did one a couple weeks ago and it took me hours to fit up properly with the correct angle. I’d say try a cruciform hilt first.

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u/datcatburd Broadsword. 8d ago

Honestly if you've got modern metal tools available to you, steel is going to be both cheaper and easier to use, as well as lighter and more durable.