Tightening a peened pommel

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Shadrack
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Tightening a peened pommel

Post by Shadrack »

So over the course of whacking my sword against a pell for the past few weeks, I've found that the peen on my hilt has worked itself loose and the guard has started to rattle. I made an attempt at tightening it up again by hammering it cold but I noticed little to no difference after my efforts. I was wondering if I would be better served in heating it up with a blow torch first however I'm worried this could damage the structural integrity of the blade.
Anyone had any experience with such an issue? Advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Peter Remling
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Re: Tightening a peened pommel

Post by Peter Remling »

Heating the peen shouldn't cause enough heat to transfer far up the tang. Certainly not far enough to alter the hardness. The issues you may have though are damaging the grip and grip wrap. You can shrink the wood core or dry out the leather wrap at lower temps than you'd need to damage the hardness.

Try cold peening again, this time with a peen hammer if you have one or a philips screwdriver or a punch. By lowering the impact area you'll spread the metal better. You may have to tidy up the peen as it may become a little chewed up.
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Shadrack
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Re: Tightening a peened pommel

Post by Shadrack »

I'll give it a go, thanks!
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Shadrack
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Re: Tightening a peened pommel

Post by Shadrack »

The peen hammer worked a treat, it's amazing how much more responsive the blade feels now!
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Eric C
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Re: Tightening a peened pommel

Post by Eric C »

Sometimes, peening a tang can take quite a while. It's a slow process when starting a new peen. I always miss the tang a few times and have to refinish the pommel. Not fun. But yeah, a ball peened hammer works really well for this. Glad it worked out for you.
Ichthean Forge (pronounced Ick thee an). Maker of knives, and primitive camping gear.
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Peter Remling
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Re: Tightening a peened pommel

Post by Peter Remling »

Eric C wrote:Sometimes, peening a tang can take quite a while. It's a slow process when starting a new peen. I always miss the tang a few times and have to refinish the pommel. Not fun. But yeah, a ball peened hammer works really well for this. Glad it worked out for you.
Try a separate peen. Use a carriage bolt inverted, align it with your tang and strike the other end of the carriage bolt with your hammer. Two good things about this method: first you can use any type of hammer (don't need to buy a peen hammer) and second if you miss you have several inches to recover your hammer so it won't strike off center and cause damage to your pommel.
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Eric C
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Re: Tightening a peened pommel

Post by Eric C »

Peter Remling wrote:
Try a separate peen. Use a carriage bolt inverted, align it with your tang and strike the other end of the carriage bolt with your hammer. Two good things about this method: first you can use any type of hammer (don't need to buy a peen hammer) and second if you miss you have several inches to recover your hammer so it won't strike off center and cause damage to your pommel.
I will give that a try next time. It's almost impossible to clean up missed blows on a pommel.
Ichthean Forge (pronounced Ick thee an). Maker of knives, and primitive camping gear.
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