Clip-point hunter
S-01 · Round 3/4 in × 20 in · pig tail
A 119-style hunter, and a gift. The bar fits with steel to spare, and the shoulder is marked 3 1/4 in from the tip end.
Hobby smithy · Learning out loud
BadgersForge
Salvaged steel, a lot of scale, and one free tool. I'm learning to forge blades from leaf springs, pig tails and anything else that looks like good steel, and I built Bar to Blade to plan every bar before it goes in the fire.
One HTML file · Runs in any browser · No install, no account
88traditional blades checked
4bar shapes: square, hex, round, flat
1HTML file, works offline
$0free for every smith
The free tool
What blade can your bar stock make?
Bar to Blade started as my own planning spreadsheet. Enter the steel on your bench and it works out the usable volume after scale loss, checks it against 88 traditional weapons from kogatana to claymore, and gives you the starting billet, target dimensions and where to mark the shoulder.
01 · Calculator
Measure the bar, see the blade
Pick a shape, type the size in inches or millimeters, and set your scale loss. You get the largest blade the bar makes, the steel to spare, and the bar drawn out to its billet, to scale.
- Fractions welcome: type 2 1/2 or 1/4
- Every blade that fits, largest first, with the best fits flagged
- "Next size up" tells you how much more bar you need
02 · Blade Library
Every blade, checked against your bar
Browse swords, knives and machetes, polearm heads, darts and hammers from Japan, China and the rest of the world. Each row shows blade and tang length, steel needed, starting billet and how much of it your bar covers.
- Filter by region, type, or search by name
- Ground-in or forged-in fullers, which change the steel you need
- Fits, close, or needs more steel at a glance
03 · Design Studio
Trace your own blade
Upload a photo of a drawing on graph paper, an SVG or DXF outline, or an STL or OBJ model. Click around the outline, set the real size, and it works out the steel to forge that shape and the most efficient bar to start from.
- Connect-the-dots tracing with drag, add and delete
- Forged bevels, tang thickness and grinding allowance
- Best flat, square and round starting bar
04 · Spec sheets
Print it and take it to the anvil
Any blade or saved design becomes a printable spec sheet: the outline to scale, blade and tang lengths, the steel budget, your bar, and exactly where to center punch the shoulder before you draw it out.
- Blade section and tang section measured from the tip end
- Best starting bars listed for each shape
- Tape it up next to the forge
05 · My Shop
Know what's on the rack
Log every bar with a stock ID, then assign it to a project. Paint the stock ID on the bar, then the project number when it's spoken for, and you'll never cut the wrong piece.
- Stock rack shows the biggest blade each bar can make
- Projects reserve a bar and keep notes
- Export a backup file so you never lose your shop
Guide
The math, in the open
Cross-section times length, minus scale loss, compared to the forged preform. The Guide & Methods page shows every formula.
Fullers
Forged or ground
A forged fuller moves steel instead of removing it, so it needs less steel and a narrower preform. Pick the one you'll use.
Safety
Test unknown steel
Estimates are for planning. Spark test salvaged steel, and harden and snap an offcut before committing a big blade to it.
Free download
Get Bar to Blade
It's one HTML file. No install, no sign-up, no server. Download it from GitHub and open it in any browser, at the bench or offline in the shop.
Download the ZIP
Grab Blade-to-bar.zip from the GitHub repo.
Unzip and open
Double-click Blade-to-Bar.html. It opens in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
Back up your shop
Stock, projects and designs save in your browser. Use Export backup in My Shop to keep a copy, and Import to bring it back.
On the anvil
What I'm working on
I'm new to this, and I'm forging mostly from salvaged steel. Here's what's on the rack and planned, every one of them sized up in Bar to Blade first.
Tanto-class blade
9/16 in Allen key · 15 in straightened
A big hex key, straightened out and waiting. Hex stock that size makes a solid short blade.
Traditional katana
Straight salvaged bar
The long goal. A lot of heats and a lot of practice between here and there.
Missing a blade from your tradition?
Send its blade and tang dimensions and I'll add it to the library. Bug reports and ideas are welcome too.