The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-09-22
Famous Swords.
Wonderful Stories Rslltci Of tho Damascus
Blades Jap ineso Synr.s..

Wonderful Stories Relitci Of tho Damascus
Blades Jap ,neso S:ynr.a.
The art shown in sword making WAS
not by any means confined 70 beautiful
| forms and elaborate recommendation. 49,
The greatest skill was exercised in the
manufacture and temperament of the
blade. which in the days when swords
were not only worn but used. was more
important than any other part Of this
weapon. In Europe. the sword manu-
facturers of Spain first began to have n
reputation for producing work of supc-
rior quality, and the armorc,s OF Toledo
stood foremost among their countrymcn.
A Toledo blade" was considered to he
a weapon of great value, and even now,
when we wish to speak of something re-
markably tine-tempcred and sharp, we
compare it to one of these swords. The
peculiarly of the Toledo bld.le was not
only its extreme hardness. which ena-
bled it to receive and retain the sharp
est and most delicate cdgc. iDss its elias
ITCHY, which allowed it to- be- bent with
out being broken. Some OF the most
famous of these swords could be bent so
that the points touched the hits. and
yet they would spring back to a perfectly
straight line. 1t is said that in To-
ledo sword-blades have been seen in the
cutters shops coiled in boxes like watch
springs, and, although they might re-
main in this position for some time, they
would become perfectly straight whcn
taken out. Other places in Europe were
also famous for producing good swords.
Many excellent weapons were made in
Italy, and Andrea Ferrara, the italian
sword-maker, who has been mentioned
before, was better known throughout
Europe than any other of his craft. To
possess a genuine Ferrara blade was
considered great thing by the mobiles
Of France and England.
But it is to the east that the world
owes the production of the most finely
tempered swords it has ever seen; and
the steel of Damascus has been cele-
brated for many hundred years as SUI
perior to any metal that has ever been
made into sword-blades. Even the cut
lers of Toledo doubtless owed their skill
and knowledge to the Moors, who
brought from Damascus the art of
making blades that were as hard as dia-
monds. as sharp as raZors, and as elias
tic as whalebone.
Wonderful stories arc related of these
Damascus swords. We have been told
that with one of them a full-crOwn
sheep could be cut in half at u single
blow, q heavy iron chain could be sew
cred without turning the delicate edge
of the sword, and gauze veil floating
in the air could be cut through by one
gentle sweep Of the glittering blade
The wonderful cimeters are not manu-
featured now, but their fame has ex-
ceeded that of any other weapon of
their kind, and it is quite certain that
their extraordinary excellence has not
been exaggerated. 1t is probable that
the workers in steel of the present day
might be able to discover the peculiar
methods by which the Damascus steel
was made, but rs there would be little
use or demand for the blades after they
had been produced it is not likely that
their manufacture will be attempted.
We should consider, however, that al
though the present age isprcemnent rs
an inventive and manufacturing period,
there are some things which have been
produced by the ancients an3- -h9 artiii-
GERS Of the middle ages which we of the
present day have not been able to equal.
1t is possible, therefore, that our steel
workers might never be able to make
Damascus blades, even if they wanted
TO.
Some of the swords of Japan are said
to possess wonderful qualities of hard.
ness and sharpness. The story is told
that if one of these celebrated blades is
held upright in running stream the
leaves floating gently down with the
current will cut themselves in two when
they reach the keen edge of the sword.
But these Japanese swords, some OF
which were held in such high esteem
that they were worshiped, and temples
were built in their honor, were only
hard and sharp; they had no elasticity.
they could not bend, and they might
break. and in this respect they are fan
inferior to the splendid cimeters of the
MnnrS and Saracans 81 kjchDlrS