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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2007 19:39:13 GMT
Hey,
I Came across a few sites that sells "Laminated" Swords...
Now every time I find a vendor saying a laminated sword, my first question is "what the heck does that means?" - Obviously its NOT a sword that has been quenched with nylon in a lamination machine....
which leads to the other question, what is laminated swords, then? whats special in that procedure and infact, what IS the procedure of laminating a blade?
Your's,
-Haminados / the one with the silly questions.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2007 20:29:42 GMT
somebody like adam or paul would give you a much more thorough answer but I'll give it a shot.(cuz I got here first! heh heh) "laminating" in japanese smithing has to do with a harder layer of steel incasing a softer layer. the harder layer makes up the edge and outer body whereas the softer layer makes up a soft ,shock absorbing, core. (see the second one to the right) encyclopedia.quickseek.com/images/Katana_core_diagram.png this is done because the hard metal on the outside can take a keen edge and be more resistant to dulling, but, being hard as it is, it is prone to chipping, as it lacks ductility. the soft metal on the inside has great ductility but cannot take or hold an edge as it is just too "plastic". So the best of both metals are combined into one. The western style of laminating has the same concept as the japanese style, however the harder metal is covered by the soft except on the edge portion. the nessesity of this process being used today is questionable, due to the purity of the steel nowadays and the amazing heat treating procedures we have.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2007 21:42:00 GMT
Actually that answer is a very very good one.
Generally speaking, the process consists of starting out with a billet of steel A(the core) and then wrapping a billet of steel B(the outside layers) around it at very very hot temperatures which more or less 'welds' them together. Oftentimes, more than just 2 steel grades are used.
Taking the whole thing one step further, if you then twist the resulting billet that has two different steel types, this twisting will create a nifty pattern, often erroneously called damascus. This is known as 'pattern welding'. Pattern welding loses the advantages of having differing steel grades for the core and the sides, but it looks pretty.
Edit: I am now a swashbuckler.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2007 22:15:09 GMT
Great answers, the two of you! Karma to each . One question remains open for me though, theoretically speaking, take two equal swords, and 'laminate' one of them, now they are both equal except one has a diffrent metal laminated into it [or rather, on it], which would be "better", or rather, more practical?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2007 23:32:30 GMT
That depends on the actual steels used. For example, a 1045 monosteel blade is not as good as a laminate of 1060 core with 1045 sides, because the laminate can have a harder edge(thanks to the 1060), while retaining the toughness of 1045. Compared to a 1060 monosteel blade, the laminate is still better(if done properly, a lot can go wrong) supposing they're put through the same tempering process, as the 1060 would be more brittle than the laminate at very high hardnesses. A 9260 monosteel blade would be better than all of the above, as the silicon content makes the blade tougher(more fatigue resistance) and therefore the laminating process is redundant and would actually weaken the blade.
Generally, to capitalize on a lamination, you want to combine a very tough steel with a very hard one(the former for durability and strength, the latter for a good hard and sharp edge). Since 9260(and even 1060) are pretty 'in the middle' as it is, it's not so much a practicality thing as it is a traditional forging thing. Now if you laminated 1095 with 1045, there's a really nice concept(1095 for the edge, 1045 for good tough sides), wherease if you laminate 1055 with 1060, that's a lot of extra work for very little practical result.
Remember, all swordsmithing is a balancing act between 'hardness' and 'toughness', which in swords are exact opposites of each other(hardness = very sharp edge, but also brittle; toughness = very strong and durable, but limited edge holding and retention, also a harder sword will cut through a softer one). Through the ages, different methods to capitalize on each quality have been developed. One such method is differential hardening, another is laminating. Of course the chemistry in the steel and the heat-treatment process(known as tempering) are designed to make the most of a monosteel blade. When considering which is 'best', one must take into account what the blade will be used for.
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