The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1882-08-17
Finely Tempered swords.

The art shown in sword making was
not by any means confined to the beau
! tiful forms and elaborate ornamentation
The greatest skill was exercised in the
manufacture and tempering OF the
blade, which, in ihe days when swords
were not only worn but used, was more
important than any other part OF the
weapon. In Europe, the sword manu-
facturers of Spain first began to have a
reputation for producing work OF supe-
rior quality, and the armorers OF Toledo
stood foremost among their countrymen.
A "Toledo blade" was considered to be
weapon of great value, and, even now,
when we wish to speak OF something re-
markably fine tempered and sharp, we
compare it to one of these swords. Inc
peculiarly of the Toledo blade was not
only its extreme hardness, which enabled
it to receive and retain the sharpest and
most delicate edge. and its elasticity,
which allowed it to be bent without be-
ing 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 perfectly straight
line. 1t is said that, in Toledo, sword
blades have been seen in the cutters
shops coiled in boxes like tch-springs,
and although they remain in this posi-
ton for some time, they would become
perfectly straight when taken out.
Other places In Europe were also famous
for producing good swords. Many
excellent weapons we're 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 class. TO possess
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 1t has ever seen; and
the steel of Damascus has been cele
brated for many hundred years as supe.
rior to any other 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 max
| ing blades that were hard as diamonds,
as sharp as razors, and as elastic as
| whalebone.
? Wonderful stories are related OF these
| Damascus swords. We have been told
| that with one of them q full-grown sheep
could be cut in half at single blow, a
heavy iron chain could be severed with
out turning the delicate edge OF the
sword, and gauze veil floating in the
dir could be cut through by one gentle
sweep of the glittering blade. These
wonderful scimitars are not manufac-
tured now, but their fame has exceeded
that of any other weapon of their kind,
and it is quite certain that their extraor-
binary excellence has not been exag-
gerated. 1t is probable that the work
ers in steel of the present day might be
able to discover the peculiar methods by
which Damascus steel was made, but as
there would be little use or demand for
the blades after they had been produced,
1T is not likely that their manufacture
will be attempted. We should consider,
however, that although the present age
is pre- eminent as an inventive and man
ufacturing period, there are some things
which have been produced by the
aucients and the artifcers of the Middle
Ages which we of the present day have
not been able to Iual. 1t is possible,
therefore, that our. steel workers might
never be able to makea Damascus blade,
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 a 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 we're worshiped, ahd 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 were far
inferior to the splendid scimitars of the
Moors and Saracens.- From Swords,
by John Lewees, in st. Nicholas for
July.