Flint Sword Wooden Core

Are you talking about the Macuahuitl (which uses obsidian rather than flint) or some other sort of weapon? I'm not familiar with any using flint.

Huh. Never seen anything like that. Neat.

Someone else probably knows more about these than I do, and will probably have more to offer, but this sub forum doesn't generally see much activity, so it might be a while... I'll see if I can dig anything up in the meantime.

Dear mithrilbib,

The weapon you show doesn't precede bronze swords; it follows them. It's a copy of a bronze sword made by people who don't yet have bronze technology themselves and can't trade for bronze swords, or not more than a very few. There are some beautiful flint daggers from Denmark which very precisely copy the forms of copper daggers; they illustrate the same motive at work.

In response to your actual question, I'm afraid I don't know where to buy something like this, but I imagine that a sufficiently skilled flint knapper could make one. Possibly you might be able to interest somebody who makes macuahuitl.

Since randomnobody brings it up, it's possible that if the European conquest of Mesoamerica and South America had been delayed a few centuries, the Inca or the Aztecs might have developed bronze swords. There was an early-stage bronze technology in the Inca Empire, and the Aztecs were also learning to work bronze (I believe they were a bit behind because their natural resources weren't as good as those the Inca had, so they had to get their materials through trade). It seems possible that as razor-edged clubs--which is what macuahuitl are--were in use in Mesoamerica, with more time they might have been copied in bronze, which could well have led to bronze swords.

I hope this proves helpful.

Best,

Mark Millman