Kaskara with unusual patterning in the blade

[Jim McDougall]

Hi David,
Thank you for clarifying the dimensions......I guess 'uniformity' would be a bad description for a sword blade as it makes it sound as if it were a steel bar with bevels for edges It seems that with the advance of the Industrial Revolution, which of course covers considerable time, by the beginning of the 20th century there would have been considerable product availability in these types of steel.
In the British Sudan, naturally the products from Sheffield would have been prevalent, and I believe there have been discussions on markings found on Sudanese blades with remnants of sheet steel stock markings still visible. I believe some of these were established as Sheffield manufacturers.

Information I have says that the British were not producing blades for the Sudan, despite swords being produced for the Ottomans and Egyptian Army in the 19th century, but the later presence of sheet steel material would be aside from that.

It seems that European blades, which would have been from the earlier period, would have had either the central triple fuller or the long central fuller rather than the short channel seen on this, which seems to somewhat concur with the description in Lee's excellent article. I would add though, that the apparant age of the steel seen here may offer support for the European suggestion, though its form seems somewhat contrary from most trade blade examples. There are such ranges in variation in the endlessly recycled blades of these regions, anything is possible. It would seem that sheet steel would have reflected more of the modern treatment processes.

The native production of blades seems to have produced surprisingly well made examples. It seems curious that with the profound availability of European blades that had been around for many generations, as well as the keen production of numerous local armourers, that there would have been resort to these commercial steel product blades.

All the best,
Jim

[Rick]

Are we discussing Shear or Sheet steel, or both here ?

[katana]

I have decided not to 'create' a window, it would destroy the overall patina of the blade. As a compromise I have lightly sanded an area and oiled it. The darker areas are not pitted rusted areas. One of the pictures has been tweaked with high contrast which shows the overall uniformity of the 'patterning'. You could argue that the patina could be 'creating' the pattern...but to have such a consistent patina (and therefore pattern) over the entire blade....both sides seems strange.
The only other observation that may be relevent .....is the condition of the blade edges. Under magnification the sharp edge is almost 'micro serrated' ...not by design ......but it seems by the structure of the blade. It seems that minute particles (on the edge) have either corroded or worn at a different rate to the rest....almost suggesting that the blade is not homoganised steel


Shear Steel , a defination from "The Engineer's And Mechanic's Encyclopaedia Vol1" by Luke Hebert published 1849


.....Shear Steel
This name was given to a steel that was first made by Crowley, of Newcastle, about sixty years ago, in imitation of a peculiar kind of bar steel that we formerly imported from Germany. Crowley, however, stamped his production with the figure of a pair of shears, to indicate its suitable application. The process of making it at Sheffield, where the manufacture of this and all other kinds of British steel is conducted on an immense scale, is as follows: - The bars of blistered steel are broken into pieces of from one to two feet in length, which are then piled up into bundles or faggots of a size and weight adapted to their subsequent applications. The faggots are then taken up by means of a long bar having a ring at the end, into which one extremity of the faggot is inserted; and by means of the bar as a handle, a workman puts it into a reverberatory furnace, whence, after it is brought to a welding heat, it is taken out and placed under a heavy hammer, by which it is drawn out into a bar; this bar is then divided, the pieces laid together, brought again to a welding in the furnace, and then under the hammer, or by rolling, reduced to the size required.

By this process the steel has lost much of its previous brittleness, and has acquired a uniform texture, which adapts it to the manufacture of a great variety of edge tools and other purposes to which it was before unsuited. Various qualities of shear steel are made, distinguished by the terms half-shear, single-shear, and double-shear, according to the number of times it has been cut, piled, welded, and drawn out......."

Regards David

[stephen wood]

...Sheffield Kaskaras?

See this post

[Jim McDougall]

Very nicely done David!!! Thank you for getting that clarified on shear steel.

Thanks Stephen....interesting to see there was evidence of some Sheffield kaskaras, even if at this point this was just one. The other blade with the remnant stock markings you had was another, it was four letters that were off center in the blade.

[stephen wood]

...and the kaskara with the stock marking near the tip is here

[Jim McDougall]

Thanks.