Continuing a proud tradition of success, the South
Dakota Mines Bladesmithing team took home the Wadsworth-Sherby Grand Prize in
the International 2024 Bladesmithing Competition hosted by The Minerals, Metals
and Materials Society (TMS). Nearly 30 universities from all over the world
competed in the competition earlier this month in Orlando, Fla.
The team’s blade was inspired by various historical
swords from the Migration Period in Europe – approximately 300 to 700 CE. The
primary source of inspiration was a sword made in the seventh century and found
in Sutton Hoo, England. The pattern on the sword was based on a separate sword
made in the sixth century and found in Vehmaa, Finland.
“We chose this style of blade because we know the
competition judges like pattern welding and because they often have garnets
inlaid into the hilt, which, to our knowledge, no one had done before in the
competition,” said Tyler Reinarts, a senior metallurgical engineering major at
South Dakota Mines. “We also smelted Black Hills iron ore into wrought iron,
which we incorporated into our pattern welding. We also liked this blade style
because it allowed us to cast the metal hilt components.”
The team wanted to use as many materials as possible
from the Black Hills. This included not only iron ore but also garnets. The
iron ore was added to the blade, and the hilt used local antler, horn and a
handful of garnets found within the Black Hills.
The team’s strong interest in historical blades is
shared by Antonio Romero, a senior electrical engineering major.
“I grew up around historical blades, seeing them in
my father’s collection and, more recently, traveling the world seeing
collections of arms and armor in museums,” he said. “There is a special kind of
challenge in recreating a historical blade and trying to understand how it was
made. One of the main driving factors for our blade choice was the difficulty;
we needed something extremely challenging but could also be a show-stopping
beauty.”
The team was excited to see the competition’s blades
at the conference, but felt confident going into the competition knowing how
much design and hard work they put in. Being awarded first place among 24 teams
was a sweet conclusion to these efforts.
Many factors contributed to the South Dakota Mines victory,
but collaboration and teamwork were key.
“The balance between senior members and new members
is what made this possible,” said Christopher Mercado, senior metallurgical
engineering major. “Not only did the newcomers help the senior members through
every step of the project, but they also learned so that they could lead the
future of bladesmithing.”
Brianna Hoff, a senior metallurgical engineering
major at Mines, also said the technical research that went into the project was
a significant factor in the team’s success.
She added that the education and support received
from the faculty and metallurgical engineering department also helped pave a
pathway to success.
“The classes we have to take as metallurgical
engineering majors gave us a broad technical background and valuable practice
in designing experiments and reporting results,” she said. “That being said,
the importance of individual research and hands-on skills acquired through
involvement in clubs like Blacksmithing and Casting cannot be overstated.”