Sword making, historically, has been the work of specialized smiths or metalworkers called bladesmiths or swordsmiths. Swords have been made of different materials over the centuries, with a variety of tools and techniques. While there are many criteria for evaluating a sword, generally the four key criteria are hardness, strength, flexibility and balance. Early swords were made of copper^{[citation needed]}, which bends easily. Bronze swords were stronger. By varying the amount of tin in the alloy, a smith could make different parts of the sword harder or tougher to suit the demands of combat service. The Roman gladius was an early example of swords forged from blooms of steel.

A good sword has to be hard enough to hold an edge along a length which can range from 18 in (46 cm) to more than 36 in (91 cm). At the same time, it must be strong enough and flexible enough that it can absorb massive shocks at just about any point along its length and not crack or break. Finally, it should be balanced along its length so that it can be wielded effectively.

Bronze items are typically cast, not forged. Secondary operations involve removing material from the roughcasting, polishing, and the application of decorative elements. Some Chinese swords used high-tin bronze for the edges, since it is harder, and keeps a sharp edge longer, but is more brittle than the softer, lower-tin alloy used for the blade's core. Bronze alloys with lower tin content are tougher, or more resistant to fracturing.

Swords can be shaped by a variety of metalworking techniques. In some times and places, one technique has been used exclusively, in others a combination of techniques have been used. The primary techniques are forging and stock removal.

Forging uses heat to bring the material to a malleable state. The material is then hammered to shape, typically using hammer and anvil together with specialized set and fuller tools depending on the particular technique. There is a variety of forging techniques for sword making and many variations upon those.

Stock removal shapes the sword from prepared stock that is larger in all dimensions than the finished sword by filing, grinding and cutting. While the technique has been available for centuries, it was not widely used for making swords until the 19th or 20th century as it was wasteful of the raw material. This method is frequently used where iron and steel are plentiful because it requires less time. In places and times where iron and steel have been more rare and valuable, stock removal has not been used except as part of the finishing process.

In most techniques, the basic materials, generally iron and/or steel, are shaped into a bar or billet first. At this stage, if several metals are to be used they will be combined by welding to form the billet. In some techniques, notably the traditional folded steel blades of China, Korea, and Japan, the billet might be drawn, folded and welded back on itself creating layers of steel of different types. In others, longer bars or rods of steel and iron might be welded together, edge to edge, to create the basic billet placing the softer iron inside with the steel at the core and edges. Once the billet is created it is drawn out further, generally tapering to the edge(s) and point. The technique of fullering might be used to create a ridge or ridges down the length of the blade. Whether single or multiple, the ridge's main purpose is to give the blade greater structural strength relative to its mass.

During fabrication, the metal might be annealed to relieve stresses built up from forging and differential heating, and to make the metal easier to file, engrave or polish.