Swords

(The History of Swords, and the process of making them.)

Nothing feels quite like holding a well made sword in your hands. It is something that somehow harkens back to a memory of times gone past. With the popularity of the Lord of the Rings movies swords have crossed back over into the psyche of the common man. And they still hold a sense of awe and power about them. True that we don't need them anymore to defend ourselves in life or death situations but the appeal and the charismatic power of swords remains strong.

Samurai Swords | Fantasy swords | Medieval Swords |Dragon swords

Lord of the Ring Swords | Cheap Lord of the ring Swords | Medieval Weapons

New Essay: The Changing shape of the Medieval Sword - An overview of some of the major shapes of swords from flamberge to katana and rapier.

Read the essay: The Sword Makes the Man - An overview of the types of sword and how they characterize the personality of the wielder

The History of Swords

- The Secret History of the Sword Swords have changed with the abilities of man to forge and work metals. The first swords are generally considered to have appeared around 2,000 BC during the Bronze age.

The Bronze Age
As the ability to work metals improved longer blades were possible to make and the dagger evolved into the sword. This happened in various parts of the world during the bronze age (2,000 BC to ca. 1400 BC). The bronze age sword was predominantly a stabbing weapon with a very small leaf shaped hilt.

The Iron Age

Around the 13th century BC Iron working skills brought forth the Iron sword. And although it is mosly inferior to the well made bronze sword it was an easier sword to make and could be produced in mass quantities. This meant that an armies could be supplied with swords. The Iron sword made a tremendous advance when it was discovered that by adding a small amount of carbon during the smelting process steel could be made. This created a sword far stronger and durable than the iron sword.

The Middle ages

Around the 11th to 13th century ad the sword had its first major change. The quillion or cross guard was added. The swords of this period were both single edged and double edged and were predominalty used as cutting weapons.

The Late Middle Ages After the 13th century

As Armor made advances in its abililty to protect so the sword also made advances in its ability to thwart the defenses. Some of the advances during this time are the longer handle which allowed for two handed use and a variety of specialized swords that could cut and thrust; seeking out weaknesses in armor.

The Modern Era

One of the biggest advances in the modern era was the development of the basket that protected the hand. This first appeared in Rapiers. Advances in metal working created swords that were lighter and quicker yet stronger. As weapons technology advanced the sword made the transition into a gentlemanly accoutrement used only for personal defense and then finally as sidearms became more available the sword fell from common use.

There are many different ways that swords are made but here is an overview of the steps for the most common sword making process.

1. Forging A bar of the desired metal or combination of metals is heated in a forge and then it is hammered into shape. This hammering process can take a long time. This is called drawing out the sword. The sword is worked on in sections (usually around 6 inches in length) and repeatedly hammered and heated until the sword comes into the desired shape.This process is repeated and the sword is often heated then allowed to cool without hammering. This is required by the metal to keep the desired properties of strength and flexibility.
2. Annealing When the final shape is complete the total sword is heated and then allowed to cool very slowly. Often it is wrapped in an insulating material to slow down this cooling. It can take as long as 24 hours and this process is called Annealing and this makes the sword soft and easy to grind.
3. Grinding Now the blacksmith uses a grinder to work out the edge and point of the sword. This would also be when any engraving is added. This is not a completed sword yet. It is still much too soft.
4. Hardening Now the sword is heated to a very high temperature and then placed into a quenching tank. This quenching allows it to cool quickly and evenly which will harden the metal.
5. Tempering Again the blade is heated and quenched. But now the heating is at a much lower tem perature than was used at the hardening. This heating/quenching cycle may be repeated several times. This tempering allows the blade to be strong but not brittle. It will have a certain amount of flexibility yet still retain its sharp edge.
6. Completion The sword blade itself is now complete. Now the additional parts will be added such as the pommel the guard and the hilt.

Complete Bladesmith: Forging Your Way to Perfection

Books

• The Secret History of the Sword
• Complete Bladesmith: Forging Your Way to Perfection
• The Craft of the Japanese sword
• The Samurai Sword: A Handbook
• Amazon.com Swords
  
  

Weblinks

• Wikipedia article on the sword
• How Stuff Works article on sword making
• The Lord of the Rings swords