English blades

urbanspaceman · 25th August 2021, 05:18 PM

I don't remember where I heard about England buying steel from Spain and Italy - until wars prevented it, but given the reputation of Toledo blades it seems obvious.
Questions now arise: where did Greenwich get its steel from? Probably Spain, Italy or Augsburg, or all three along with Cologne.
Valuable information Fernando, thank-you.
ps
Is there any information regarding Greenwich blades anywhere?

midelburgo · 30th August 2021, 04:41 PM

Toledo steel was actually made from iron coming all the way over land from Mondragon, in Basque country. In XVIIITh century there were worries that this strain was becoming depleted.
Bilbao (Bilbo) profited over selling iron ore abroad. The Dutch in XVIIth century said that the best iron guns were made from a mixture of Swedish and Basque iron, because they had opposite characteristics of tenacity.
The archives of the Burgos Consulado and Oñate have been kept and next to that of wool, there are extensive records of this trade.
Phillip the Second used to order arquebuses and pikes from the same region (Placencia). But when he stopped paying regularly for his orders he damaged the industry.

25th August 2021, 05:18 PM	#1
urbanspaceman Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Tyneside. North-East England Posts: 577	Latin exports I don't remember where I heard about England buying steel from Spain and Italy - until wars prevented it, but given the reputation of Toledo blades it seems obvious. Questions now arise: where did Greenwich get its steel from? Probably Spain, Italy or Augsburg, or all three along with Cologne. Valuable information Fernando, thank-you. ps Is there any information regarding Greenwich blades anywhere? Last edited by urbanspaceman; 25th August 2021 at 05:20 PM. Reason: ps

30th August 2021, 04:41 PM	#2
midelburgo Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 264	Toledo steel was actually made from iron coming all the way over land from Mondragon, in Basque country. In XVIIITh century there were worries that this strain was becoming depleted. Bilbao (Bilbo) profited over selling iron ore abroad. The Dutch in XVIIth century said that the best iron guns were made from a mixture of Swedish and Basque iron, because they had opposite characteristics of tenacity. The archives of the Burgos Consulado and Oñate have been kept and next to that of wool, there are extensive records of this trade. Phillip the Second used to order arquebuses and pikes from the same region (Placencia). But when he stopped paying regularly for his orders he damaged the industry.