The Soul of a Sword - From Iron to Steel

Johnny looked down and pursed his lips as he mulled over everything he had just seen.  Then he looked up as a thought came to him. “You did a great job explaining the types of swords, and even the progression of materials in the earliest blades.  But I notice that while most of the swords here are made from steel, you barely mentioned the progression of materials from iron to steel.”

The shopkeeper brightened.  “That’s because the use of steel in a sword was a complex, though interesting historical development.” He went over to two swords that were arrayed vertically, with one above the other.  Both had distinctive banding patterns on them.

“The first steel swords would have been made about the same time as the first iron swords, because improperly making an iron sword can actually result in a steel one, albeit of very poor quality.  Heating iron with charcoal will introduce carbon into the iron, which is the second ingredient needed to form the steel alloy. However, the key to making steel swords consistently and of high quality requires one to control the carbon content, making sure it is homogeneously spread throughout the entire sword, and to control the tempering and quenching of the steel to a fine degree.  Thus, the first consistent production of high-quality steel was in India around 600BC where later they invented crucible steels, such as Wootz”

“Crucible steels were ingenious in their own way.  See, coal or charcoal fires have two problems - they are usually not hot enough to completely melt the iron, resulting in an uneven carbon distribution and they introduce too much carbon, forming a substance known as pig iron.  Pig iron is too hard and brittle to be used in a sword, but, and - this is key - it has a lower melting point that can be reached by ancient methods. The Indians discovered that by soaking wrought (low-carbon) iron in molten pig iron, the carbon would slowly diffuse from the pig iron into the wrought iron, and thus the carbon content could be controlled (though it was still an imperfect process).”

“Wootz steel was  exported to all of the known world, and, later, the Arabs brought the process to Damascus, resulting in Damascus steel that was made using a process not fully rediscovered today.  Damascus steel is famed for its unique banding pattern, and modern research has revealed the presence of carbon nanotubes in the metallic structure.  Unfortunately, as the process is still lost, only swords that replicate the look can be created today.”

The next sword the shopkeeper came to was curved, and had only one cutting edge.  “In Europe, iron typically came from homogeneous ore that could be cut in blocks from which one or more swords could be made.  However, in Japan they had iron sands, which meant that the iron needed to be homogenized before it could be made into steel. Now, heating up iron ore will naturally remove many of the impurities, but the problem is that the furnaces of the time had a hard time heating the whole quantity of ore to the needed temperature.  Fortunately, many of the impurities in iron have a lower melting point and will flow out of the half-molten iron, but not all of them. However, even with many of the impurities removed the steel was still not high enough quality to make a sword. So the Japanese came up with an ingenious way of homogenizing the steel."

"The process they used was called 'folding', and this worked by hammering the steel flat, folding it, and forge welding it to itself.  This had the advantage of evening out any impurities in the blade and, in addition, could also remove a bit more of them by forcing out the molten impurities using the pressure of the hammer stroke.  The disadvantage of folding is that it reduces the amount of carbon in the steel, turning it back into iron if done for too long. Thus a balance must be struck between removing impurities without losing too much carbon.”

“Japanese swords have a unique aesthetic look, combining the layered look of the folded metal with the swords' distinctly curved blades and single-edges.  The reason for this is that, unlike many European swords which focused on thrusting, Japaneses swords were designed primarily for cutting. The curve was because two different types of steel were combined - one hard and brittle that could hold the sharp edge needed for cutting, and the other tough and flexible that could bend without breaking.  This forging method, however, takes much more labor and skill, increasing the costs of the blades.”

“Today, we have the best of both worlds.  We can import iron ore from anywhere in the world and completely melt it, allowing us to have homogeneous steel with a chosen carbon content.  However, the ancient sword forging methods are not lost, and all the swords here have been hand-produced using traditional methods dating back hundreds of years.  We just have the advantage of using modern sources for the steel - ensuring consistently high quality blades at much more affordable prices.”

“So”, concluded the shopkeeper, “do you have any more questions?”.  John looked up, smiled, and said, “No, you’ve been most informative”.  “I see some Clay Tempered Steel Swords. Can I take a closer look at them?”  "Of course", replied the shopkeeper enthusiastically. “Follow me”.

**

Learn more:

• Clay Tempered Katana
• Elite Katana
• Folded Carbon Steel Katana

source https://www.bladespro.co.uk/blogs/news/the-soul-of-a-sword-from-iron-to-steel

A Concise History of Sword Development

Johnny walked into the sword shop.  Inside, there were swords from all eras adorning the walls.  To his left, he could see swords from Europe, and to his right swords from China and Japan.  At the back of the shop was the shopkeeper who looked up as the bell jingled. As Johnny approached the shopkeeper, he couldn’t stop from turning to look around him at all the different swords representing multitudes of time periods and cultures.  He couldn’t help exclaiming to himself, “Ah, but which should I choose?” "That’s a great question, son,” replied  the shopkeeper, who had obviously overheard Johnny’s not-quite whisper. “To know that, you’ll need to know something about the history of these fine weapons.”

The shopkeeper reached below the desk separating him from Jonny and pulled out a dagger.  “Daggers were the first weapons. They are different from knives in that they are double-edged.  The first daggers were developed several thousand years ago, were made from flint or bone, and were useful in that they could be used in combat without much training, just swing and stab.  As time went on, copper was discovered and daggers were made of it." The shopkeeper replaced the dagger on the wall and pulled out another weapon, that looked more like a sword - but not quite.

“Now the main limitation of the earliest weapons,” the shopkeeper continued,  “was that the materials they were made from were not very strong, so this limited their maximum length, and thus the wielder’s reach.  Now, one of the most important factors in any fight is the idea of reach - the more of it you have, the easier it is to hit your opponent without being hit in return. Remember that.  Because of this, the discovery of bronze (an alloy of copper and tin) was a revolution in weapon manufacturing. It allowed longer daggers to be constructed, and eventually led to the creation of the first swords.”

The shopkeeper turned around, and, from the wall behind him, he pulled down what could definitely be considered a sword.  As he turned around to show the weapon to Johnny, he carefully unsheathed a bit of the blade. “Later on, in the 13 to 12 centuries BC, iron was discovered.  At first, it didn’t have many more advantages than Bronze other than it was more common. However, because tin is rare and producing bronze from it requires much skill while working iron is substantially easier, eventually ancient swordsmiths switched to iron."

“Follow me,” the shopkeeper said as he replaced the sword back on the wall and walked out from behind the desk to some swords on the left wall.  As he reached up for it and lifted it from its hanger, he continued “This sword is made in the style of the gladiators of ancient Rome. It was there that swordsmanship began to be appreciated by many.  The Romans learned from other cultures about different sword techniques, including thrusting and shield blocks, and the sword became a popular fixture in gladiator fights.”

The shopkeeper continued his counterclockwise revolution around the room.  As he reached up and put his hand on the next sword, he continued “The next period became darker for swords.  The Romans suffered a grave defeat against a cavalry charge, and swords began to fall out of favor until a short period in the middle ages, when iron working improved and steel became commonplace allowing blades that wouldn’t break easily in fights, as they were wont to do before.  However, also around this time, archery was also improving, and armor became a necessity in order to defend against arrows. Because of this, the sword quickly began to fall again into obsolescence as a weapon of battle.”

The next sword the shopkeeper reached for was longer and more ornate.  “However, during this time, swords became more closely tied to religion, and with the introduction of Chivalry, a sort of mystic culture crew up around the sword.  Then a funny thing began to happen. Firearms were introduced, and, as they grew in power, armor could not keep up, so armor was discarded in return for mobility, thus the sword once again became a weapon of choice for close-quarters fighting.”

“However, guns began to increase in accuracy as well as power, and swords once again fell out of use except for cavalry, as it is much easier to hit a target from horseback with a sword than with a gun at close quarters.  This was the state at the beginning of WWI and continued until the invention of the tank, when swords finally lost all relevance as a weapon of modern war.”

Finally, the shopkeeper reached up toward a bayonet near the corner of a wall near the entrance.  “Swords were replaced by the bayonet, which was basically a pike attached to the end of a rifle, allowing the reach and mobility of a sword at close-range with the power of a gun for long range.  However, while swords were now useless for modern war, they weren't finished. As people began to enter the middle-class of modern society, the increase in free time and the availability of disposable income meant that people began taking an interest in swords once again.”

 

Putting the bayonet back, the shopkeeper walked to the right side of the shop filled with Katanas, Ninja blades, and other exotic swords.  “You may think I’ve covered most of sword history, but in reality I’ve covered only half. Because the Eastern world was cut off from the West, they had a very different history and their swords served other purposes.”

“At first, sword development in the East followed much the same process as in the West.  In fact, some of the earliest steel swords were developed in India and exported to both Europe and Asia.  However, around 900 AD in Japan, the first Tachi were invented.” The shopkeeper paused and pointed to a curved sword with the cutting edge facing down.  “Less famous than the later Katanas, these swords were best used by cavalry, as they were worn with the cutting edge facing down, which makes attacks from horseback more effective.”

“One interesting thing to note is that, unlike in Europe, the sword never became a primary weapon of war, but was always intended to be a secondary weapon.  This is one of the reasons their development did not follow the same path as European swords. Swords in Japan were considered works of art as well as weapons, especially in peacetime, and their designs reflected that.  They were often ornate and used as ceremonial armaments. Japanese warriors would typically use other weapons in battle, such as bows, and only switch to the sword if their main weapon failed them. Once they could procure another primary weapon, they would re-sheath their sword and continue fighting until it was needed again.”

The shopkeeper motioned to a small dagger underneath the Tachi.  “The tanto, as this is called, is a dagger that was often paired with the Tachi to form a daishō, which literally means 'big-little.'   This tradition of pairing weapons would be continued all the way to WWI."

Making his way down the wall toward the entrance of the shop, the shopkeeper pointed to a second set of swords.  “This is the famous Katana and its paired short-sword, the Wakizashi. The Katana was traditionally worn with the cutting edge up, and was meant to be drawn and used in one quick motion. It was not meant to be used in an extended fight, and was designed to start and end a fight quickly. Like its earlier predecessors, the Katana was designed to be used against mostly unarmored or lightly armored opponents. The Wakizashi was smaller, but had the distinctive attribute of being allowed indoors when visiting a castle, while the Katana had to be left outside.  While both can be used for thrusting, they excel at cutting, with some sword historians calling them the finest cutting weapons ever developed.”

“So”, the shopkeeper said, “now that you know a bit of the origins of these swords, are there any that hold any special interest for you?”

source https://www.bladespro.co.uk/blogs/news/a-brief-history-of-sword-development