A group of Missouri S&T students will put their bladesmithing skills on display next week by presenting a hand-forged sword at an international competition sponsored by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS).

The S&T students will present their work at the third annual TMS Bladesmithing Competition, which will be held in conjunction with the TMS 2019 Annual Meeting & Exhibition March 10-14, 2019, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. This is the first time Missouri S&T has fielded a team for the competition.

The S&T team’s finished product. (Submitted photo.)

The event requires students to produce a sword blade by hand-hammering or trip-hammer forging. The S&T students used blacksmithing and forging equipment in the university’s metallurgical engineering program to create their blade. The students also created a leather scabbard for their entry to the competition as well as an intricate pattern on the blade.

The TMS Bladesmithing Competition is designed to help students better understand concepts like heat transfer, coke combustion, forging, welding and quenching, says team advisor Dr. Joseph W. Newkirk, Missouri S&T professor of metallurgical engineering.

Each team’s entry in the competition must include a short video (no more than 5 minutes), a technical report, a poster presentation, and photographs of the blade and team with their creation.

Missouri S&T students involved in the bladesmithing project are:

• Braedon Bockwinkel, a senior in nuclear engineering from Platte City, Missouri
• Jeremiah Cohn, a freshman in metallurgical engineering from Palo Alto, California
• Martin Faland, a senior in mechanical engineering from River Forest, Illinois
• Agnes Fielder, a senior in mechanical engineering from Pleasant Dale, Nebraska
• Perrin Habecker, a sophomore in metallurgical engineering from Webster Groves, Missouri
• Gabriel Holst, a sophomore in metallurgical engineering from Strafford, Missouri
• Genevieve Kelly, a senior in mechanical engineering from Ellisville, Missouri
• Max Mulholland, a senior in economics from St. Peters, Missouri
• Kevin Newell, a senior in computer science from Lee’s Summit, Missouri
• Amber Terlouw, a junior in mechanical engineering from Chesterfield, Missouri