Making of Real Swords - Exploring The History
Posted by Knives Deal on 9/8/2020
There are several different kinds of swords that you can easily buy online and from the market. But have you ever wondered what a real sword looks like? How is it manufactured and what is the history behind it? Well, if you don’t know all this, now is the time to put some thoughts into it.
Without any doubt, a real sword is one of the oldest weapons that is still being used in different forms. There are people in the world who love collecting swords, some just buy them to use them in different plays and movies, and then, there are people who practice sword fighting skills. The point is that there are a number of different reasons why people buy swords.
However, if you are here, it is justified because you want to know what it takes to make a real sword and what is the whole story behind sword making. If that is the information that you are looking for, you are absolutely in the right place today.
History Of Swords:
The real sword is also referred to as the “Queen of the weapons”. This weapon has been changed in terms of beauty throughout the years, but the purpose and the basic idea behind it remain the same. A sword as we all know is a weapon with a blade and a handle.
The interesting thing about it is that this weapon has been modified a lot of times and it has several different types and names now. However, what remains constant is the fact that all types of swords have a sharp blade with a handle to hold.
As far as a real sword is concerned, it is true that it took the sword-makers, a lot of sophisticated knowledge. They crafted each and every single sword with perfection. Not just this but it also took them a lot of skill and talent to know how to be able to wield a sword in the most efficient possible way.
As of now, you can classify a real sword into several different groups and subgroups. The reason why this weapon was introduced in the first place was to be used as a tool to cut, stab, and wound people during a battle.
It was mainly used during Roman times and European times. Geographically this weapon can be classified into three forms:
· European
· African
· Oriental and Asian
The native cultures in South and Central America failed to develop the metal sword which is why they opted for the wooden one which is also referred to as the “macana”. The Aztecs worked on the wooden blade and created a cutting edge for it to work properly.
As far as the grouping is concerned, there are two groups of a real sword. First, if the single-handed sword and then comes to the double-handed sword. You probably understand what the single-handed sword is.
However, for those who don’t know, the double-handed sword is the one that requires you to use two hands to properly grip it. These swords are longer than the single-handed ones and the single-handed ones are comparatively shorter in length with a shorter blade that can be accompanied with just a single hand.
The Two-Edged Straight Sword
The two-edged straight real sword is further divided into two subcategories. First is the leaf-shaped blade and then comes the straight shaped blade. The leaf-shaped blade possesses a blade that widens in the middle and then ends at a certain point.
On the other hand, the straight one has a straight blade with a straight edge that has an end like a sharp point or a rounded point. During the bronze era, the leaf-shaped blade was predominant. These swords were found in Spain, Italy, Egypt, and Greece. The average length of this sword was 22 inch but then there were some that had an average length of 32 inches.
It just all depended on the swordmaker. As far as the straight-edged sword is concerned, it was predominant in almost all of the Empire. This Roman Gladius had a length of 22 inches.
How Were Samurai Swords Made?
For someone who is interested in the history and making of a real sword, sure would have an interest in the Samurai swords as they are the most popular ones at present. Well, one thing you need to know about Samurais is that they don’t just think of their sword as a beautifully crafted weapon. But, for them, their swords embody their souls.
In other words, they are the most sensitive when it comes to a real sword and the process of swordmaking.
A Samurai real sword is made up of high-quality steel tamahagane. It is repeatedly heated, hammered, and then it is folded. The Samurai sword maker would just keep repeating this process for as long as he wanted until he was satisfied with the outcome.
You might be wondering why would someone just keep repeating the heating and hammering process? Well, it is to eliminate any air bubbles from the steel because these bubbles made the blade weak.
Not just this, but the repetition also creates layers in the metal which means that it adds strength to the blade. Furthermore, the makers did this to make sure that the natural strengthening property inside the carbon was distributed equally throughout the blade.
Once the process of hammering and then folding is completed, it is not placed into cold water to cool down the temperature of the blade, but these blades are placed aside and optimal cooling is opted for.
Cooling the swords immediately makes the blade brittle especially when it comes in contact with a combatant. Conversely, cooling the real sword slowly would make the blade soft and weak which is why the swordsmiths came up with this method of optimal cooling that we just told you about.
A very thin layer of clay is applied on the cutting edge of the sword to make it sharper and harder. Then again, a thicker layer of clay is applied on the backside to make that part of the sword, shatterproof and supple.
Due to the two different cooling temperatures, the sword gets this distinctive curvature which then makes it a deadly weapon and a beautiful piece of art at the same time.
The history of sword making is quite long especially due to the different eras and the different swords used in them, made by the swordsmiths. Each era had a unique sword but as said earlier, the purpose of this weapon always remained the same. People used it in wars, battlefields and they even used it as a sport.
Hence, as of now, we’ve got several other weapons to fight wars and battles. There are guns, ammunition, nuclear bombs, and what not. Things have changed quite a lot, but it is interesting to see that there still are people in the world who buy a real sword as they are passionate about it.
The Final Thoughts:
Indeed, a sword is not just a weapon anymore, but it has a whole history of the world in itself. After all, it is the oldest of all weapons! People nowadays buy these swords mainly because they want to collect them.
If you are here reading the history of sword making, it is obvious that even you are a collector or someone who still practices sword fighting. Well, whatever the reason is, we assure you that investing in a quality sword won’t be a waste of money and time for you.
If you want to buy a real sword, there are several places to look for. It is just that before you choose one, you should first learn the different types that are present out there. You should dig deep into the history of that particular type and then buy it.
Speaking of which, currently, people are interested in Samurai swords and ninja swords which is something we have a huge variety of. If you want to try these, check out the ones that we have for you, and get the best value for your money!