What are Your Swords Made of?
Monday, September 8th, 2008If you are interested in becoming a sword collector, it is important that you acquire a certain knowledge about swords materials. You most people are under the impression that swords are indestructible simply because they are made of steel. Well nothing could be farther from the truth…
You see some swords are made only to be collector’s item while other are made to be practice swords and even Battle-Ready swords.
If i were to simplify this i would separate the material used to forged sword in two main category:
- Stainless steel: These types of swords are for collectors and cannot be used in battle nor in practice.
- Carbon Steel: This is the type of material that can turn your sword into a functional sword. Whether you are practicing Iaito, re-enacting or any other type of martial arts, this is the type of sword you are looking for.
Before even thinking about buying a sword, you must first consider how the sword will be used. If you are looking for display swords only, then in this case, stainless steel will be the perfect match for you.
You can find some pretty amazing swords made of stainless steel, even some that are very sharp, just keep in mind that these swords were not designed to withstand any type of contact.
On the other hand if you are like me and only collect the real thing, then you might want to consider buying battle-ready swords, these are of higher quality but they are also a lot more expensive.