This is coolbert: From the days of pre-historic warfare, man has been in constant search of ever improving weapons, so as to be able to more efficiently wage war. The search is for the weapon that will allow the soldier/warrior that edge over the enemy that results in victory.

Again, I bring attention, as I have done in other blog entries, to the observations of Jane Goodall and the chimps that have been observed waging war. These chimps not only wage war, they use weaponry, albeit very basic and primitive. Usually confined to sticks or branches used as clubs. And the chimps also fling rocks at their opponents, not with a great success, it seems.

Pre-historic man undoubtedly went through a similar process of weaponry usage and development. But more sophisticated. Even very early pre-historic excavations uncover hand-held chopping tools and edged tools [flints napped to produce and edge] that were used for cutting. These flint tools are very sharp indeed. Flint nappers [the process of taking a raw flint and flaking it to produce a cutting edge is called napping] must hold the flint in a piece of leather to prevent cutting themselves in the napping process. These flints possess a very sharp and smooth edge that cuts with ease. I have seen micro-photos of flint edges and the edge of a modern doctor's scalpel side by side. No comparison! The flint is much smoother and sharper!! Deposits of fine flint were always sought after by pre-historic man and a lively trade in flints evidently existed in the pre-historic world.

That pre-historic flint weapons existed that resemble modern day knives and swords is without question. To this day, a Jewish ritual circumciser, a "molem" wields a flint knife in removing the foreskin of a newly born Jewish male!? And at some point a weapon combining the attributes of a club [bludgeon weapon] and a knife [slashing weapon] were combined into one. This is known from the use of such weapons by the Aztec warriors fighting against Cortez. A club studded with sharper-than-a-razor-flints was known as a maquathuitl . How effective was the maquathuitl? Very effective from all accounts. There is event a mention of a horse's head being severed with one blow from a maquathuitl wielded by an Aztec warrior!

Furthermore, once man had discovered metals and had learned to smelt and forge metals, a whole new realm of possibilities existed with weaponry.

A weapon resembling the maquathuitl, but having a cutting edge running along it's entire length and a piercing point in addition, made for a much improved weapon. This is of course the metal sword. This became the weapon of choice for a period of well over four thousand years.

Edged metal weaponry such as knives and possibly swords were originally made from raw copper that picked up off the ground and hammered, smelted, and poured into molds. This period, a Copper Age [4000 B.C.?], lasted only for a short while, historically speaking. Evidence of copper weapons is found in the Middle East and also along the shores of Lake Superior in North America.

At some point, a budding metallurgist was able to create an alloy metal by mixing small amounts of tin with copper and create bronze, which was made for a much better weapon being smelted, molded, and forged. This was of course during the period of the Bronze Age [3000 B.C?].

And from the start of this smelting and casting era for sword making, the metallurgists and armorers made a discovery that has lasted to this day. The object of the sword maker is to create a blade that can be honed to a fine and sharp cutting edge. A sharp and fine cutting edge to a blade that will also last. And it was found that a hard metal is very conducive to honing such an edge. But this conundrum was found. If the metal is too hard, it can hold a fine edge, but the blade itself becomes brittle. If the metal is too soft, it will not be able to hold a fine edge, and will become dull. This conundrum can be stated as such: [speaking about steel blades in this instance].

"Carbon - From the fires of the forge and the finest of charcoal comes carbon, which serves as the hardener of iron to form steel. A higher carbon content means that the resulting steel is harder (but too much carbon means that the steel is so hard it could be brittle!). A lower carbon content gives steel a "tougher" property, but it won't hold an edge as well as higher carbon steel because it's too soft."


The Bronze Age, of course, gave way to the Iron Age [1000 B.C.?], and iron swords, and then the age of steel weapons, alloys of iron being created. Very durable steels were the creation of societies all over the world, again, the goal being to create a blade that was neither too hard or soft, and kept a keen edge when honed. This was and is not an easy task. The finest carbon steel for swords, originally developed in India, is "wootz", also referred to as Damascus steel [read more about wootz by clicking here]. The Japanese in turn have taken carbon steel swords and added silicon for flexibility and strength to create a steel that is perhaps the finest in the world for sword making. It is said that Japanese steel manufacturers keep on their metallurgical staffs an old time sword smith, a man knowledgeable in the ancient craft of forging a sword made of the finest steel.

The desire to create better and better weaponry has led man to invent and perfect metallurgy to a high degree. Man's ability to wage war has paralleled man's advancement in metal craft. Mining, forging, smithing, all indicative of an advancing technology and war making capability.

Read more about sword metallurgy by clicking here and here.

coolbert.