Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

katana · 2nd November 2006, 02:30 PM

Hi Sommelier,

I think Tim is right.....The earliest known swords were made from copper, one of the most common metals available. Copper swords were very soft and dulled quickly. Later on, swords were made from bronze.Stronger than copper... More flexible than copper ....and retained a sharp edge for longer.
The fact that the blade is in such good condition and its overall shape is even, suggests that has not been regularly sharpened ...a necessary action with copper because the blade sharpness would be lost so quickly. The condition also reflects that this knife is not very old. Copper being relatively soft would dent and mark easily.
The overall pommel shape is a very common to 'Celtic' short swords. IMHO
this is a repo. usually they are cast 'one piece' ie blade and hilt together. An original blade would have been 'cold forged', the hammering 'work hardens' the copper making it 'harder' but more brittle.

2nd November 2006, 02:30 PM	#4
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Hi Sommelier, I think Tim is right.....The earliest known swords were made from copper, one of the most common metals available. Copper swords were very soft and dulled quickly. Later on, swords were made from bronze.Stronger than copper... More flexible than copper ....and retained a sharp edge for longer. The fact that the blade is in such good condition and its overall shape is even, suggests that has not been regularly sharpened ...a necessary action with copper because the blade sharpness would be lost so quickly. The condition also reflects that this knife is not very old. Copper being relatively soft would dent and mark easily. The overall pommel shape is a very common to 'Celtic' short swords. IMHO this is a repo. usually they are cast 'one piece' ie blade and hilt together. An original blade would have been 'cold forged', the hammering 'work hardens' the copper making it 'harder' but more brittle.