New Britain herald., 1928-03-23
ARM0R OF KNIGHTS
 WAS POOR METAL
Microscope Shows It of In.
 leIiOr Grade

.>'sW ! crN, Mar. 33. (47 New hon
 "Fs must be aWarIeJ-- post humous- l'-to the ancient knight erran,.
 Ills heart Wus stouter than his 'rmor when no salleI forth to Nm q lady fair.
 In fact, his holmrt. graves.
 rGirass thigh pla'-s and elbow cops W"re generally of such poor .iutf, metallurglctlly speaking. that
 'Nen the most unsrrupulous war l'rotitcer would hardly attempt 10 bass It oti on q government today.
 l'r. William Campbell, professor ot metallIrgy at the Columbia uni 'ersl'y school of mines. has exam i'ed with the critical eye Of the srien1lSt the defensive equipment of the old adventures and soi- uIers. II" has found that their metal suits, so bright and shining m the story books. Were often made of miserable materials
 Microscopic examination of tiny samples cut from armor exhibited m museums disclosed that the cumbersome uniforms worn in the lm" Of the C'rusadcs should hardly excite tho envy of the tNcnt- 'i"th century steel maker. On tho other hand, Dr. Campbell points out that the skill of the old ar 1horvrs was admiral ble, for they succeeded in producing such truly lnirlcate pieces of military wear ln- apparel from very poor quality iron and steel. The modern metal yorker. Dr. campbell asserts, would have a hard time reproduce 1Gs these pieces even with the best Of modern steels.
 What metallureis,s call grain growth and "ghos's s''-serious de tocts in inc structure and arrange H'ut of th" crystals in the metal are present in the arlnor inspect ,'l by th" 'olumhi1. expert. Under lt" microscope the pieces also give 'NiI"ncG of stout blows received hH lhc valiant owners centuries lgo
 Tine weapons owned hy these he. 1uos would hardly come up 10 mod rrn standards. either. In fact. the famous Damascus steel, from which the sword of every socially prominent knight was forged, had many faults. Far less fortunate, however. were the sturdy warriors who hattl2d with blades of iron, The sagaS tell Of hand to hand conhats that were politely halted while one of the parties straight cGod his sword.
 Information on the processes usNad by metal workers at the time of the Norman conquest of Eng land has come down in the writ Inss of Theophilus, an eleventh. century monk who compiled An Essay Upon Various Arts.' He tells, for example, the mode Of t'mpering files and pointing out that the same process could be followed with all articles of steel.
 Burn the horn of an OK wrote Thnophilus, 'scrape tt and ! nix with 8. third part of salt, and i grind. Put the file in the fire. 1 When it glows sprinkle this prep 9ration over if, cover 1t with hot l coals and blow quickly upon the l whole and quickly withdraw Ing lt, eytinsuish it equally in i, water and taking it out dry it | over the fire.
 Smaller files are made from soft iron, Anoint them with the grease of an old hog and bind them with straps cut from the skin of the buck-goat and lie them with tiaHen thread. Cover them one by one with beaten clay, leaving the handles bare. When they are dry. place them in the fire and blow s'rongly and th3 skin IS burned; and quickly taking them from the clay, eXtinguish them equally in water"