Quality of Swords
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There are a
surprising variety of people who purchase and collect swords and
knives.
If you speak with the thousands of craftspeople who
produce swords, knives, and the like you will get a very
interesting view.
They don’t speak derisively of “Lord of the Rings”
geeks and military buffs.
Sword smiths know that those geeks and buffs are
their customers and business is booming.
Sword makers look forward to a prosperous future in
the face of
technology that has long since passed them by.
Man has been making swords since early in the
Bronze Age. Approximately 2000 BC the first sword began to
appear in the near East.
The ancient Mesopotamians began a slow and nearly
eternal process of making sword blades longer and longer.
It was a very early form of the arms race; in the
combat of the time theperson with the longest sword had a marked
advantage over their opponent.
About a thousand years later the Greeks and the
Hittites made a technological breakthrough that changed warfare
forever. They developed the iron sword. While a great step
forward iron sword should not be confused with steel ones.
In fact the first iron weapons were not as good as
the better bronze ones, being rather brittle and prone to warping
and broking much easier.
Eventually it was
discovered that by adding carbon to the iron weapon makers could make a
much harder alloy we now call
steel.
The discovery of steel began the race for longer
blades in earnest. The race would continue.
Nowdays of course there are other weapons easier to
learn to use, and the making of swords as an everyday piece of
wear is no longer.
When contemplating swords, knives and their prices
keep in mind that there are swords and there are swords.
Some historical weapons are meant to exactly
duplicate historical blades and are essentially identical to the swords
carried
by warriors long ago while others are only for show.
Some modern blades are meant to be for show and are
fun and dramatically different than a modern functional
blade in quality.
The quality, workmanship, and price differ greatly
between the two.
The type of steel used, how the blade was produced,
who it was made by, and it's purpose will effect the price.
Obviously, a “real”
sword or knife is going to cost a good deal more than a decorative
one, many times more in fact.
It boils down to the decision " What do you want?"
If you're one of the theatrical types looking for
props you won’t want to spend the big money on swords, on the other
hand
military history fans, martial artists and fighters are more
likely to want the real thing and be willing to pay to get them.
Some replica sword dealers carry examples of both.
We do. But we also want you to know what you are getting, so
there is no confusion.
A decorative sword to hang above the fireplace can
cost as little as 20 or 30 retail while a sword that will
actually help you if you're attacked by Vikings :-) can cost
hundreds of dollars.
In an age of technological miracles, and music
videos, and cell phones we still reach into the past for a
connection to our history.
People still love swords and knives as a symbol of
personal bravery and
glory in the face of growing impersonal-ism, and
also like having them as tools for self protection, and various other
uses
as well.
Eldra
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