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Weapon-smiths further emphasized this figuring by acid etching. of the tip. t english January 9, 2013 at 1:18 pm The patterns can be distorted through careful chizeling of grooves into the blade, distorting the existing structure. These swords are characterized by distinctive patterns of banding and mottling reminiscent of flowing water, or in a "ladder" or "teardrop" pattern. Such blades however lacked the most important qualities of pattern welding, its superior strength and flexibility. During the course of his research he found that due to the crystalline nature of iron, he could produce wavy patterns on the finished blade even without layering wrought iron and steel, but by simply twisting the heated metal.
After reheating the inlaid inscription would be hammered flush into the surface of the blade.The process is an ancient one. A brittle blade is the sword of a dead man, for it is a sword that breaks under the stresses of combat.Pattern welded swords show a distinct interwoven figuring in the steel that imparted an especial beauty and visual liveliness to the blade. Pattern-welded steel uses the technique of lamination. Two layers of softer steel would be placed around a high carbon steel strip. Shaping and grinding the rough blade into finished shape reveals differing levels of the respective layers. …One, an ingenious smith, can make many weapons for use in war when he forges helmet or hip-sword for human combat, or battle-corselet, shining blade or shield’s disk, and can weld them firm against the spear’s flight. All of my pattern welded blades are constructed of layered and twisted rods. The technique also arose by necessity: early foundaries could not produce steel with consistent quality.
On to the herringbone core are welded either 1 or 2 carbon steel edges depending on the design. All of this was highly labour intensive, and the makers of pattern welded words were justly esteemed and rewarded in society. Unlike wootz steel, whose pattern arises from the presence of one or more impurities, pattern welded steel is the deliberate combination of billets made from different metals (iron alloys) during the making of a blade.
It was he who also determined that inscriptions in sword blades were created by the insertion of narrow iron rods into the white-hot blade. The need for these techniques come from the competing requirements of a good sword: It must be hard and durable (hold a keen edge) yet must also be somewhat flexible to avoid breaking during combat. Two or more metals of different combinations are heated to a very high temperature and then hammered together. 1. A Tutorial by Robert P. Shyan-Norwalt. Amongst the materials weapon-smiths had at their disposal for this purpose were tannic acid, vinegar-produced acetic acid, urine (that indispensable by-product which found its way into so much early manufacture), sour beer, and various acidic fruit juices. As in the excerpt from the poem Elene, in which the poet speaks of the blade’s changing hues, Cassiodorus takes delight in the sword’s “many colours.”The term “pattern welding” is a modern one, coined in 1947 by researcher Herbert Maryon upon examination of an Anglo-Saxon sword found in a heathen burial from Ely.
from the poem The Gifts of Men, found in The Exeter Book (c975 CE), translated by S.A.J. Because the intertwined and hammered layers of softer and harder iron had varying cutting ability, often an edge of high carbon steel was welded to the nearly completed blade, allowing a consistently sharp edge to be ground along the length of the sword. One way to conserve the amount used was to limit it to certain parts of the blade where its properties were most useful, e.g., the edge of a blade, or strips within the core. Pattern-welding in these swords usually consists of two to four bands in the central flat or fullered face of the blade running from the base of the blade adjacent to the hilt to within a few cm. Flattening and hammering and other mechanical manipulations could be used to achieve even more complex patterns.
He was also able to determine that old blades exhibiting a herringbone pattern and those with curving patterns were not structurally different; rust had removed the curving pattern in some, leaving only the herringbone figuring.For another essay on swords and how they were worn, see my Interested in swords, and their importance to society? INTRODUCTION Intensive research has been carried out and a considerable amount of information published about the issue of pattern-welding, but its role in historical objects, especially swords…