Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

katana · 25th January 2007, 05:02 PM

Could it be that a sword forged with the inclusion of horse-shoes may be more talismatic than functional. Similar to the use of 'meteorite' iron in SEA swords / knives.
The 'soft' iron used for horseshoes was a 'necessity' so that the shoes could 'wear in' to the natural 'gait' of the horse. The low carbon iron would provide a 'forgiving' spine or core to a sword or would be a useful 'addition' to a 'pattern welded' blade. But an entire blade forged from iron with little or no carbon would not produce a good cutting edge.....essential for a Sabre.

Wolviex, please, what is the translation of the inscription IEZVS MARIA IOZEF?

Here is a link about the beliefs of many cultures with regards to iron and horseshoes.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/mhs/mhs09.htm

As the thread was about Polish Sabres, I found this about Polish coats of arms...these particularly have horseshoes within them.....it could suggest the importance of 'the horseshoe' ..... a reference to Polish history/mythology ?

http://209.85.129.104/search?q=cache...&ct=clnk&cd=14

25th January 2007, 05:02 PM	#12
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Could it be that a sword forged with the inclusion of horse-shoes may be more talismatic than functional. Similar to the use of 'meteorite' iron in SEA swords / knives. The 'soft' iron used for horseshoes was a 'necessity' so that the shoes could 'wear in' to the natural 'gait' of the horse. The low carbon iron would provide a 'forgiving' spine or core to a sword or would be a useful 'addition' to a 'pattern welded' blade. But an entire blade forged from iron with little or no carbon would not produce a good cutting edge.....essential for a Sabre. Wolviex, please, what is the translation of the inscription IEZVS MARIA IOZEF? Here is a link about the beliefs of many cultures with regards to iron and horseshoes. http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/mhs/mhs09.htm As the thread was about Polish Sabres, I found this about Polish coats of arms...these particularly have horseshoes within them.....it could suggest the importance of 'the horseshoe' ..... a reference to Polish history/mythology ? http://209.85.129.104/search?q=cache...&ct=clnk&cd=14 Last edited by katana; 25th January 2007 at 05:22 PM.