Nanotechnology? From Satan, no doubt..............
Yet another example that you don't have to know about or understand a technology to use it.
What "amazing mechanical properties" do the swords possess?
Neat article!
Space aliens taught them how to make the blades.
The samurii sword was manufactured using the heat, fold and hammer technique. The steel's crystalline structure was lined up with each folding and hammering technique so that a strong blade with a fine edge made for a wowser weapon, (pardon the high tech talk).
Always heard that these swords were pretty much "state of the art" at the time. Of course, the debate now is more like M-16 vs. AK47, but a consideration of the comparative political resolve and social cohesiveness is no less significant now than it was then - and I sometimes wonder about that one, frankly.
King ?Richard? and a Saracen sheikh are in a parley and are bragging about the "sharpness" of their swords.Richard has an aide lay the metal handle of a mace across two chairbacks and, with a single mighty blow with his two-handed sword, hacks it in two.
The Saracen tosses a gossamer silk scarf into the air and holds his scimitar out horizontally, blade edge upward. As the silk wafts down onto the blade, it falls on either side -- neatly sliced in two.
Then the Saracen says, "Your sword is strong. Mine is sharp -- and strong."
~~~~~~
I attributed the scarf trick to special effects, (which were pretty primitive back then) -- but I always wondered...
Damascus was a terrific material hundres of years ago. Because of the mixture of steel and iron, it was flexible yet kept a far better edge that the soft iron swords of the time.
You can now get better steel in a $4.00 pocket knife at a gas station.
And since we brought up Japanese swords let me address this issue also (I'm a former fencer):
Japanese swords were technology advanced for their time, but they lacked the abilities that a European broadsword had.
The Japanese sword was sharpened the same way as a knife, at a 9 to 10 dgree angle. A European broadsword wsa sharpened at 60%, like a chisel because the broadsword was designed to blow through chainmail or breaking bones. I suspect many knights died of broken ribs rather than cuts.
The Japanese sword was esentially a large knife that was optimised for removing heads and would not have faired well at all against the broadsword.
The lack of a usable hilt on a Japanese sword has always bothered me until I figured out that the stiff leather and bamboo armor of the Samurai would protect them agains those swords. A broadsword would severe that armor as if weren't even present.
And if you want to compare light swords to Japanese swords the rapier was one of the most lethal weapons ever invented in the hands of cavalry office of the 17th century. Would have been no contest. Samurai down in under a minute.
bump
The modern equivalent is folded steel. Heat, fold the steel, smash it flat and thin, heat it, fold it over, hammer it some more, and quench in a plump Nubian slave which adds carbon to the steel. They did this work in India, true, and the Arabs prized their Damascus blades highly since they were both tough [did not break during battle, which is a major plus] and carried a very sharp and durable edge.
Geezer Tech ping
You are a busy guy, wandering all over the map today!
for "A Brief History of Steel" go to
http://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/def_en/kap_5/advanced/t5_1_4.html
Damascus steel is one of the steels discussed.
BFLR = bump for later reading
I'm having a Damascus daggerblade forged by a master bladesmith.
His Damascus is super tough and will hold an edge after severe abuse. It was promised this week but I'm not holding my breath.
Didn't help them against those Mongol tumans.
Ping for later.
Ping.