Broken tip of an old stabbing weapon

[Jan]

Recently I was asked if I could repair broken tip of an old stabbing weapon shown in the picture below. 



The history of this weapon is interesting. It was originally probably gendarmerie saber used in Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy in the second half of the 19 century. When the owner died and the family had not the necessary license, the saber was officially broken. From the broken part a shorter stabbing weapon was made. This is especially well visible on the shortened sabretache. The total length now is 40 cm (16") only.

Jan

[Ken S]

Jan,

What a fascinating post! The shorter sabre may actually be a more agile weapon up close. It akes me think of the short Roman swords. I enjoy the historical tidbits you post.

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

When the owner died and the family had not the necessary license, the saber was officially broken. From the broken part a shorter stabbing weapon was made

The tip of the shortened weapon is broken off and you're to repair it?

[Jan]

Yes, Herman, the task is to repair the tip of the shortened saber. It should be done freehand because the ground is convex. The average edge angle is 30^o, near the tip some 20^o.



I am quite reluctant to make it really sharp because I think the tip may not be broken off but ground away deliberately for safety reasons. 

Current use: standby defensive weapon stored in the drawer of the nightstand in the bedroom.

Jan

[Herman Trivilino]

The repair after the original break seems rather clumsy. Looks like perhaps it was done with a dry grinder.  I would reshape as shown:



A final polish with the SJ stone or leather honing wheel should make it come out rather nice.

[Jan]

Yes, I agree with you Herman.
The reshaping it is not a typical task for Tormek grinder. 

Jan

[Tournevis]

Hello Jan,
And what about this shape ?


Less work and could be done on Tormek 

[Jan]

Thanks for your alternative suggestion, Tournevis. 

This solution would require much less material removal and would be feasible with Tormek.

Jan

[Herman Trivilino]

If you're not interested in fixing the original "repair" this would also do:

[SharpenADullWitt]

Post on something similar from a few years ago:
http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=1516.0

[Jan]

Thanks for the very useful link, SADW. 
Thanks for the rounded tip shape suggestion with minimal material removal, Herman. 

I watched also Steve B. video concerning the repair of broken knife tip.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=xYrlJizVGbQ

Jan

[Herman Trivilino]

I watched also Steve B. video concerning the repair of broken knife tip.

That's a nifty technique for shaping followed by sharpening!

Steve's knife appears to not have tapered sides, though, and yours does. Whoever did the original repair on yours appears to have not gotten the taper right. I don't know if you want to fix that error, or just fix the broken tip.

[Jan]

Steve B. video is mainly for thin blades which is not my case but even so it contains useful suggestions.

My task is to repair the broken tip, but of course I have to ensure a smooth transition from the belly to the tip. The sides of the blade are asymmetrical, on the side visible on my picture you can see a pronounced blood groove. Maybe, Herman, you consider the rest of the groove for an imperfect blade taper. 

My usual procedure for reshaping knife blade starts with drawing the desired shape on the blade and simply filing by hand the new row shape. Then I continue with machined grinding. 

Jan

[grepper]

When I first learned how to fix a broken tip I inquired here and Jeff responded basically saying to just sharpen like usual as though the tip was there. 

I did just that and it worked beautifully.  The new tip formed naturally with the existing curve of the blade.  It worked effortlessly. 

[Jan]

Grepper, thanks for sharing your experience. 

Jan