RE: [HOE] Two weapons fighting

["Darrin Bright" <darrin@neobright.net>]

> It also depends on how the sword was made.
> It seems paradox, but to my knowledge a steel-sword that is hand-made with
> hammer and anvil is a lot stronger and can be made a lot sharper than any
> industrial made blade.

The sword is a rather complicated weapon when it comes to what you want the
material to do. The metal has to be soft and flexible enough to resist shear
forces, and it has to be hard enough to hold a sharp edge. The problem is
you want different properties in different areas of the sword. Along the
cutting edge you want the steel to be hard and brittle so it holds a sharp
edge. But that's exactly the wrong kind of steel you want in the rest of the
sword, which needs to be softer and more flexible. You see a lot more
creativity and innovative design in asian swordmaking. Some japanese
weaponsmiths used as many as 5 or 6 different types of steels in a single
blade. Then you get into all sorts of other issues like folding, tempering,
etc.

I don't know enough about industrial steel-making processes to really
comment on whether its better or worse than hand-forging. As for stainless
steel being weaker than other steels... sure, fine, but the other steels are
much more prone to corrosion or oxidation, and in the long run the stainless
might last longer in a wet or corrosive environment.