Long-bladed weapons used throughout Iron Age Eurasia
19th century illustration of Hallstatt swords
Swords made of iron (as opposed to bronze) appear from the Early Iron Age (c. 12th century BC),[citation needed] but do not become widespread before the 8th century BC.
Early Iron Age swords were significantly different from later steel swords. They were work-hardened, rather than quench-hardened, which made them about the same or only slightly better in terms of strength and hardness to earlier bronze swords. This meant that they could still be bent out of shape during use. The easier production, however, and the greater availability of the raw material allowed for much larger scale production.
Eventually smiths learned of processes to refine smelted iron and make steel. By quenching (making the steel hard and brittle) and tempering (removing the brittleness), swords could be made that would suffer much less damage, and would spring back into shape if bent. It took a long time, however, before this was done consistently, and even until the end of the early medieval period, many swords were still unhardened iron. Several different methods of swordmaking existed in ancient times, including, most famously, pattern welding.[1][2][3] Over time, different methods developed all over the world.
Swords made of iron (as opposed to bronze) appear from the Early IronAge (c. 12th century BC),[citation needed] but do not become widespread before the...
dagger. They were replaced by ironswords during the early part of the 1st millennium BC. From an early time the swords reached lengths in excess of 100 cm...
Historically, the sword developed in the Bronze Age, evolving from the dagger; the earliest specimens date to about 1600 BC. The later IronAgesword remained...
Viking Agesword (also Viking sword) or Carolingian sword is the type of sword prevalent in Western and Northern Europe during the Early Middle Ages. The...
The IronAge is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Copper and Bronze Ages. It has also been considered as the final Age of the...
A scimitar (/ˈsɪmɪtər/ or /ˈsɪmɪtɑːr/) is a single-edged sword with a convex curved blade associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African...
examples of these Merovingian-period swords have notably been found in the context of the Scandinavian Germanic IronAge (Vendel period). There is no single...
Bronze Age European swords Harpe: mentioned almost exclusively in Greek mythology IronAge European swords Falcata: one-handed single-edged sword – blade...
also "broad blade of a sword". The Greek word σπάθη was used in the middle archaic period for various types of IronAgeswords. The word does not appear...
development of high quality steel that is necessary for longer swords, in particular: IronAgeswords: Seax, a tool and weapon, common in Northern Europe. Gladius...
"good pikes made from swords". He also provides sketches of the weapon. Although Dolstein believed the weapon was made from swords, there is no independent...
taught from a young age in the Aztec Tēlpochcalli schools. The macuahuitl had many drawbacks in combat versus European steel swords. Despite being sharper...
the Naue II - had transitioned from bronze to iron. In reality the Bronze Agesword during the Bronze Age was a completely different weapon, and Xiphe...
kinds of swords: Saif Anith, which was made of iron, and Saif Fulath or Muzakka, which was made of steel." Saif is an Arab word for swords in general...
more durable wrought iron and steel during the late Warring States period. In modern times, the ceremonial commissioned officer's sword of the Chinese navy...
A Japanese sword (Japanese: 日本刀, Hepburn: nihontō) is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan. Bronze swords were made as early as...
High Middle Ages, the typical sword (sometimes academically categorized as the knightly sword, arming sword, or in full, knightly arming sword) was a straight...
Evidence of sword production dates to the transitional Late Bronze to Early IronAge (c. 1st century BC), with an earthenware mold for a Bronze Sword found...
Roman Swords Niko Silvester, From Rapier to Langsax: Sword Structure in the British Isles in the Bronze and IronAges Richard F. Burton, The Sword Amongst...
neighbours. Iron was extracted from bog iron in peat bogs, and the first iron objects to be fabricated were needles and edged tools such as swords and sickles...
general term for traditional pre-colonial small to medium-sized single-edged swords or large knives of the Philippines that function both as tools and weapons...
The khopesh (ḫpš; also vocalized khepesh) is an Egyptian sickle-shaped sword that developed from battle axes. A typical khopesh is 50–60 cm (20–24 inches)...
Japanese sword mountings are the various housings and associated fittings (tosogu) that hold the blade of a Japanese sword when it is being worn or stored...
(/ˈreɪpiər/) or espada ropera ('dress sword') is a type of sword used in Renaissance Spain to designate a sword with a straight, slender and sharply pointed...
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