English blades

[urbanspaceman]

Originally Posted by mariusgmioc

Or maybe they did manage to produce blades of quality matching the quality of German blades, but they did not manage to do it cost efficiently (in time and effort) and could not efficiently compete in a market saturated with German products?!

Here is an edited piece from Bezdek on the run-up to establishing Hounslow:
In 1621, King James I declared that he needed military swords for 12,000 men (for the Thirty Years War). Previously, he had to buy most of his swords from foreign sources, mostly from swordsmiths in Solingen; at that time, the Greenwich Royal Armouries were providing very few swords.
The king hoped to enlarge England’s arms making capacity and provide employment for his subjects. In early 1621, he granted Thomas Murrey (cutler and secretary to the Prince of Wales; probably the wardrobe supplier to the prince) a patent for the sole manufacture of sword and rapier blades in England.
In July 1621, Thomas Murrey presented his first group of sword blades to the Cutlers Company for inspection. The company rejected them saying they needed much more work to come to “perfection,” and the expense to make them was too high.