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Kashish Singh
Mrs. Mikel
ELA 9 H 5th period
27 May 2015
The Art and History of Swords and Sword Making
The sword has long since been the oldest weapon of humans since the art of
blacksmithing was born. Today the art of sword making has lost its value due to the creation of
more effective weapons such as the gun and better armor and equipment which is essentially
invincible against the sword. And yet there are still people out there who not only still practice
the way of the blade, but also the crafting of this ancient weapon.

THE SWORD AND ITS HISTORY

Swords consist of a handle called a hilt with a blade attached to the end of the hilt. The blades
can have one sharp edge or two which are referred to as single or double edged blades. Swords in
general come in many different shapes and sizes and such have their own category of what type
of blade they are.
Some blades are broad like that of the Scottish claymore, but others are narrow
like that of the rapier. The Persian shamshir, sometimes called a scimitar, has a
highly curved blade. Bu the European saber and Japanese katana, sometimes
called a samurai sword, have blades that are only slightly curved. (Goering)
It was around 3500 B.C.E when the creation of bronze occurred and the earliest swords were
made. By 1000 B.C.E, swords were then made out of iron and were only about 18-24 inches and
few armies used them as a principle weapon. The during the Middle Ages, sword makers in

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Europe and Japan perfected the long sword which could vary from 3-6 feet in length and can be
swung single or double handed. It was these long swords that were the most important weapon of
warfare of the time. However, by the 1600s, firearms had been developed and swords declined
however cavalry continued to use sabers and broadswords into the 1900s. But greater weapons
such as tanks caused cavalry itself to become useless.
Today some military officers still wear swords as a sign of rank and authority and bluntedged swords are used in the sport of fencing. People can still also buy swords as decoration or
actual weapons in many different martial arts training.
A good wooden sword will cost you $40-$60 My real reason for buying it,
however, revolved around the attributes it helps me develop: stamina, strength,
and power. The price for such swords starts at $300 tournament sword. Its
lighter than a combat sword... expect to for over $75 for a decent one. (Kunkler)
So its easy to see how despite the great decline and importance of the sword in combat, it is still
an important creation today for new and various reasons.

METALS IN SWORDS
The earliest swords were made from copper which was the most common metal available at the
time but the swords were soft and dulled quickly. Later swords would be made from bronze
which is an alloy of copper and tin. Bronze was more, stronger, flexible, and stayed sharper than
copper. Then iron was used to create better swords but they did not hold an edge well and were
still too soft. To make iron from iron ore, you need to eliminate the oxygen to create pure iron
(Tyson) Iron still became the metal of choice and both iron and bronze helped create weapons
and tools that created a massive impact on the balance of power between nations. In fact, those

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periods of history are now known as the Iron Age and the Bronze Age (Tyson) Steel was
eventually discovered which was an alloy mixture of iron and a small amount of carbon. Steel
was, very hard, flexible when heat-treated properly, could stay sharp for a very long time, could
be worked with and shaped, and is more resistant to rust and corrosion than iron. Almost all
swords today are made out of some sort of steel alloy and also a number of other elements.

INDIAN BLADES
Indian Damascus blades were very famous and valued in ancient times. Indian steel was made
by a special process that created a highly valued watered pattern on the blade. Hot crumbled iron
was reheated in a crucible with charcoal heaped around it until the iron became partially
recarbonized. (Gale Encyclopedia of World History) In addition, the sword smiths of India
created blades unique to India.
According to the article Unique Indian Blades by Gale Encyclopedia of World History
for the rest of this section, Baghnakh, or Tiger Claws were formed of five curved steel hooks
connected to a flat bar of steel which had rings on the end that fitted onto the fingers like brass
knuckles. It could be concealed in the palm and was sometimes disguised by setting the steel
rings with precious stones so it looked like the wearer had real rings on. Bichwa, or Scorpion
takes its name from its double-edged, double-curved blade which is the shape of a scorpions tail.
It could also be combined with the Tiger Claws into a single weapon.
Bhuj, or Elephant Dagger has a blade little over an inch wide and eight inches long with
an S-shaped edge. The grip was a circular piece that was twice as long as the blade with the base
being a stylized elephants head. Chakra or War Quoit were sometimes called sun and moon
rings. Chakaras were a single halo like ring where the inner part was blunt and the outer edge

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that could be shaped smooth or serrated. Sikh warriors twirled the chakra around his forefinger,
raised his hand above his head, and launched it and could reach a distance of about 60 yards.

SAMURI SWORD MAKING

The ancient and modern Japanese smiths produced some of the greatest swords ever to be
created in the world for years through special means. Medieval Japanese smiths produced some
of the finest swords ever made. The blades made with a special clay process that produced a
sword that was both sharp and flexible. (World of Invention) The blades are single edged and
have been used as both weapons and displays of great art. The idea that a sword could be valued
as a manifestation of nature is peculiar to Japanese aesthetics. (Hughes).
The process of creating a katana begins with a Shinto Blessing of the Forge. Then the
first step is to delicately lay pieces of metal onto a rod with a flat base at the end and cover it
gently with wet cloths and then place a mixture on top. It is then put into the furnace then
hammered once the metal becomes hot by the smith on an anvil and then doused quickly in water
with a special clay mixture and put back into the furnace. This process is repeated until the metal
at the end of the rod becomes a thick rectangular chunk. Meanwhile the smith uses a chisel to cut
out impurities.
The next step is folding the steel by cutting in the half way point of the steel and using a
sledge hammer and the sharp axe-like end of the hand hammer to fold the steel onto itself into a
cube chunk of metal. It is then put back into the furnace and is shaped and flattened more into a
thinner rectangular shape. The steel is then cut again with the use of a sledge hammer and sharp
end of the smaller hammer to cut the steel in half from the horizontal side and is folded once
more onto itself and shaped into a compressed rectangle.

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Next is combining soft and hard metal. 3 other chunks of metal are placed around the
main rectangular part to check for the correct size then one of the metals is placed on top and put
into the furnace and hammered together. Then another larger chunk is placed and the process
repeats until all the metal is combined into one main piece. Then the next part is forging the
blade. The chunk of steel is hammered to a much longer and thinner shape and created into the
image of the blade with the tip.
Next off, the blade is tempered very carefully with a special clay mixture dabbed gently
and precisely onto the blade. The edge pattern, made by painting a slurry of clay and steel
filings along the blade just before its last firing and quenching is even more pictoral. (Hughes)
The sword is then finally placed into the furnace a final time and dipped into a large tub of water.
After that, the tang of the blade is signed by the sword smith using a chisel and the blade is then
polished on a very smooth stone over and over and finally inspected and wiped.
The final part is the creation of the scabbard and hilt of the blade. Two pieces of slightly
curved wood is cut out and a chisel is and sharp knife is used to cut an image of the blade in the
wood that is half as deep as the blades width. The two halves are then put together and so is the
blade to check the size and add any finishing touches. The two pieces of the raw wood scabbard
is then tied together by a simple black cord that winds around it. The hilt is already cut out from
wood and the craftsman cuts out to strips of leather and makes them slightly damp with water
and places on both sides of the handle. It is then completely wrapped in another length of black
cord all the way around and tied at the top. At last the sword is assembled by connecting the
blade to a metal handle and sliding the guard to the top of the metal handle. The wooden and
cloth handle is then slid onto the metal handle and pieces are delicately hammered into the

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wooden hilt and then the sword is slid into the finished scabbard. And at last a Samurai Sword is
complete.

ART AND HISTORY OF THE SWORD

To state plainly, the sword is a weapon with a great history and even greater craft that still keeps
it existing today as a symbol of both authority and art in the world. With hundreds of different
varieties and forms, the sword has become not only a weapon but a symbol of the history of the
human race and the great art of blacksmiths who created the new techniques and metals to create
many of the things we use today. Whether it be in a book or movie or perhaps a performance in
real life, the art and creation of the blade will always be a permanent symbol and mark of
humans that will continue to be remembered and exist for years to come.

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Works Cited
Gale Encyclopedia of World History. "Unique indian Blades." 2009. Gale. Web. 27 May 2015.
<http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?
failOverType=&query=&prodId=SUIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&displa
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&disableHighlighting=false&disp>.
Goering, Joseph. "Sword." 2015. World Book Student. Web. 27 May 2015.
<http://classic.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar542620&st=sword>.
Hughes, Robert. "Swords." Time 22 March 1976: p50. News Article.
<http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=7218b5ee-0c41-47a7-8e69c37da84b88d2%40sessionmgr4003&crlhashurl=login.aspx%253fdirect%253dtrue
%2526hid%253d115%2526db%253df6h%2526AN%253d53517258%2526site
%253dehost-live&hid=4209&vid=0&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhv>.
Kunkler, Shawn Thomas. "Sword smarts: a step-by-step guide to buying , using, and caring the
weapons you need to be a chaampion." November 2011. Gale. Web. 27 May 2015.
<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?
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Portland Art Museum. "Samurai Swordmaking." Youtube, 8 November 2013. Web. 27 May
2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WkWNDDrQO4>.
Tyson, Jeff. "How Sword Making Works." n.d. Science.howstuffworks. Web. 27 May 2015.
<http://science.howstuffworks.com/sword-making.htm>.
World of Invention. "Sword." 30 April 2006. Gale. Web. 27 May 2015.
<http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?
failOverType=&query=&prodId=SUIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&displa
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&disableHighlighting=false&disp>.

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