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Post by althesmith on Oct 29, 2016 13:06:03 GMT
Did a bit of Rockwell testing on a Napoleonic sword, specifically, my Woolley and Deakin HC sword, made in Birmingham c. 1800-1805. Very consistent hardness throughout the blade, seems like it may have been tempered in a molten lead bath or something like that. In any case, the blade hardness seemed to average in the low 50's, from experience I'd say 52-53. Drops off a bit towards the guard which is from my own experience a good practice. This seems about 5 points higher at least than the Solingen blades I've been able to test. I found a research paper which seems to confirm what I've found checking older blades- by no means do I assume the process was universal among the makers, but the results fall in with pieces I've tested. Apparently high tempering temperatures were a factor. www.academia.edu/319632/A_co...e_19th.centuryI think that this hardness would make it more likely for the blades to "take a set" but also make them more idiot-proof in terms of withstanding abuse in the field.
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pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Oct 29, 2016 13:18:14 GMT
Thank you. I always looking for this type of information.
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Post by Lancelot Chan on Oct 29, 2016 14:02:46 GMT
Thank you for the info.
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Uhlan
Member
Posts: 3,121
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Post by Uhlan on Oct 29, 2016 15:16:29 GMT
Yes, thank you for the PDF. Very interesting.
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