When we look at the history of raw technologies , we tend to think of only our most late past . But more than a thousand age ago , blacksmith succeeded in making a set of extremist - strong sword — that are tricky to re - create even today .
After scan about thetechnology behind the legendary swords of Damascus , Kinja - userFormless - Onereminded us of another set of far-famed , very old swords — brand that were also a technical wonder of the meter :
https://gizmodo.com/carbon-nanotubes-were-an-ancient-superweapon-1707615687
debate this : making Damascus is not the only lost artistic production of ancient weapon system smiths . The Vikings also had swords made of crucible steel , do it as Ulfberts ( because that was the name stamped onto all of them , in accord with Nordic custom ) . This was before the 10’th century . Crucible steel would n’t be seen again until basically the dayspring of the industrial revolution . This is cock-a-hoop , because crucible sword is resilient and tougher all around than Damascus and anything else from the fourth dimension — Ulfberts were , materially speaking , the better brand ever made up until that level . Were they as sharp as Damascus ? Probably not , but there is a limit to how sharp a sword really postulate to be once you understand that they are n’t knives . Swords have a biomechanical advantage over knife because of their duration — you could quicken the gratuity of the arm so fast and effortlessly that if they hit unarmored or lightly armored physique , you could count on it cutting whether it is made of bronze , crucible steel , or Damascus . Thus , the advantage of crucible steel and other stiff - yet - springy sword that come around in the Renaissance period gave them durability and strength that you really want in a weapon . Those weapons were made to contend in an branch vs armor backwash where stabbing was often how you assail a man in plate , that did n’t really encounter in the middle east where Damascus comes from . In setting , the weapon that came out of Europe were perfect for European warfare . The weapons made in India and the middle east were perfect for Indian and midway eastern warfare . And the two styles of war seldom come into contact during that meter , except to some degree in Eastern Europe where there was contact lens with the Ottoman Turks .
A recent NOVA documentary film feature swordsmiths from todayattempting to re - make the Ulberfht swords , using modern techniques — a exploit they did wield , but not without sight of trouble along the agency .
range of a function : Ulfberht blade , 850–900 , From theMet ’s CollectionLent by Laird and Kathleen Landmann , 2006
Daily Newsletter
Get the best tech , science , and culture news in your inbox day by day .
News from the future , delivered to your nowadays .
