Forging and Technology
The most common stone used for making weapons was silex (otherwise known as flint). This stone was hard enough to withstand the pressure that was exerted on it, while it was still workable into the shape that the worker wished it to be. The working of stone was a fine art that man did a great job of mastering. When creating a weapon a craftsman would choose a stone that was close to the shape desired by the craftsman. Then a second stone was used to repeatedly strike the stone in a single area causing splinters to chip away from the stone. The difficult part about this skill was that when the splinters flew from the stone they came from the side of the stone opposite to where the blows were struck, not from the place of initial impact. This then complicated the matters a little bit because the workman could not see exactly where he was working and had to rely on feeling. This skill of feeling the shape of the stone and knowing precisely where to strike it was an extraordinary skill.
Heating metal and then hammering it into the desired shape, along with rapidly cooling it, was how the metal bronze was forged. These bronze weapons were much better than the stone ones of the same type, although these were more difficult to make and procure. The same basic techniques were used with iron during that age to great reward. Iron proved to be stronger and even more reliable than bronze, making it the metal of choice in later years. A picture of a bronze sickle sword and an iron axe are featured to the right.
One of the greatest advancements in melee weapon technology was the Damascus steel forged by the Muslims during the Crusades against King Richard the Lionheart and other Christian kings (1095–1270). In the book The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott, a picture is painted of King Richard with a broadsword pitted against an Islamic nobleman with a scimitar crafted of Damascus steel. In this comparison the scimitar is looked at as an equal or even a superior to the broadsword despite its more slender and seemingly weaker appearance. The reason for its comparison is that the scimitar is made of Damascus steel, a man forged metal that had a dark watery appearance to it. The secret of creating this metal could not be replicated by European smiths, though many tried. After the Crusades even the Islamic smiths lost the secret to its creation. Many scholars accredit the modern study of materials science as springing from the search for this lost secret.
Read more about this topic: Melee Weapon
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