Making of a legend: Samurai sword

[mojo]

Really good documentary to watch if you want to learn about swords, especially the Katana. Its amazing how much labor to even smelt the black sands to make the perfect steel. And the craftsmanship is amazing. Was watching the movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and the old leader keeping the sword told Governor Yu that the process of engraving the sword was lost from the old masters. The sword in the Movie is The Green Destiny and beautifully engraved.



-t-oZ6X1sho

[DNA]

Recently they found an Egyptian sword that surprisingly enough had not rusted. This is a huge surprise considering they were not supposed to have the technology capable of stainless steel or anything close.
Upon closer inspection, it was found that the blade had been made primarily of meteor ore. This is not the first such find.
Apparently meteor ore does not rust over time.
It would be pretty cool to own such a blade. :)


Tutankhamun had a space dagger. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3619841/Tutankhamun-space-dagger-Blade-ancient-Egyptian-boy-king-s-mummy-METEORITE.html


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/06/01/14/34D2073900000578-3619841-An_exquisitely_decorated_golden_dagger_found_inside_the_sarcopha-a-28_1464787103776.jpg




Here is a smith showcasing a blade he made from meteorite and selling for only $1000 bucks.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB__6r2H72E
nB__6r2H72E

[DNA]

And just because I found this interesting.
It turns out that the leaf springs used as suspension under our cars are made up of the most preferable high carbon spring steel and here is a tutorial detailing the making of sword from this.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq3MLsHe040
Cq3MLsHe040

[uzn]

Talking about stainless steel, check out this Indian collumn (now in Delphi):
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Iron_Pillar%2C_Delhi.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Details_of_the_top_of_iron_pillar%2C_Qutub_Minar%2C_Delhi.jpg
its 7 meters (42 feet) high, 6000 kg and at least 2000 years old (Wikipedia), probably more. They even fired a Cannonball at it (muslims), did not do much damage.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_pillar_of_Delhi
Sorry that was not sword related.
It´s been said that a really good Katana can cut through 4 Warriors in japanese Samurai armor (Thick Leatherplates) in one blow. (Book of the five rings).
I heard rumors that the really expensive ones (over a Million Euros) are so often folded and hammered that in the end you had a single row of Atoms at the edge of the Blade. These Swords are not for sale, only passed down in the families. Dunno if it´s true but I liked that Story.

[shaberon]

Samurai sword, and their personal discipline, are some of the very heights of medieval warfare. On a one-to-one basis, probably the best fighters compared to anyone. With the sword, one of the--if not the premier--masterful strikes was called "pear splitter": the first slice goes through the collarbone down through the groin, and the next one comes up the other side of the groin out through the other collarbone. With the curved katana, at least, it's not a chopping motion, but literally slicing like a steak knife. So, you fall in three sections from this.

Concerning the Egyptian dagger, all the true sacred knives are made of meteoric iron. The article referenced a gift of such ore sent from Mittani state, so it wasn't just the Egyptians using it. They said the scabbard includes a jackal head design, which to me, speaks of the dog constellation and therefor Sirius. Such an artifact could easily belt out a wicked curse; correspondingly, if the..."collectors"...would have treated the tomb according to the proper custom, things would have gone much better. I used to think the curse was just a weird story, but, upon seeing this knife, I have determined it's literally true.

[uzn]

There is a big area in Germany called the Ciemgau. Gau in German is Catastrophe. There in ancient times a really big iron metor crashed. Neartly all german tribes in that area had meteoritic Swords. They were way superior to the Roman crappy ones. After a fight a Roman solier had to hammer his sword again in order to be straighten it again, and they were not sharp at all. The Roman bought and took all sword from these Germans that they could, because they were 10 times harder and way sharper.

[Foxie Loxie]

Thanks, uzn, for the photo of the Indian column....have often wondered about the history of it! Truly amazing!