Pattern welding

Abstract: O DRING the past decade, metallurgists and other research workers have shown an increasing interest in the welding and forging techniques used in the manufacture of certain early European iron sword-blades. A number of detailed papers had been published on 'pattern-welding' by the I940s, but it was left to H. Maryonj r ) to recognize the practical problems involved and put the correct interpretation on the basic method. The terms pattern-welded and damascened have sometimes been used as though they were interchangeable. The two techniques are, however, quite distinct. A useful survey, both from the technical and the historical point of view, of all the various methods of manufacture which are known to have been used has been made by Smith (2), who also gives the relevant bibliography, and a more specific account by Maryontg ) has more recently appeared. Although there is a superficial family resemblance, the true Oriental damask is due essentially to a 'crystallization' phenomenon in a wrought steel (I '2-2 '0% of carbon), and far harder to produce. In pattern-welding the effects result primarily from the forging, twisting and welding together of strips of iron. Alternate strips of carbon-free and low carbon metal have been thought necessary to produce such a pattern, and up to 0·6% of carbon has been reportedf.j.) in some material. As the present work shows, however, patterns are obtained even with strips of the same, virtually carbon-free, iron. The need for further work was indicated after a ninth-century sword from the then bed of the Thames at Westminster had been cleaned and examined in the Ancient Monuments Laboratory, Ministry of Works, in I95I(5). The results could not be reconciled with the suggestion that certain folding techniques had been used by the makers of pattern-welded swords(6). At the same time full agreement was reached with Maryon's basic conclusion. Furthermore, the herringbone and other patterns observed, either on the surface or (on X-radiographs) within this type of blade, could evidently be produced by (the remains of) composite rods, each pile-forged from thin strips of iron, and adjacent ones twist-welded in opposite directions (3). Some of the difficulties inherent in this natural and apparently simple method of construction were revealed when a

Abstract: Pattern-welding is a well-known technique that was widely employed in the manufacture of swords. While the decorative effect of genuine pattern-welding (employing phosphoric iron) is indisputable, to date its reinforcing effect is rather unclear. In order to understand this issue better, wrought iron, phosphoric iron, steel and various pattern-welded samples were prepared and mechanically tested, and the results obtained are discussed in detail. Both the mechanical testing and the long-term metallographic investigation of medieval swords suggest that pattern-welding does not have any significant positive effect on the mechanical properties of swords and we should consider it a primarily decorative technique.

Abstract: A Lombardic cemetery dating to the late Migration Period was excavated at Kyjov (Czech Republic) in 2010, and inter alia a warrior’s grave no.881, which had never been looted, was uncovered there. The burial included a sword, which was subjected to a detailed conservation survey and then to metallographic examination. Further technological information was obtained by the production of a replica of the sword. The weapon can be characterized as a pattern-welded sword, with cutting edges and an inner core of steel. Construction and heat treatment of the sword are discussed in a broader context of 5th–7th century swords and sword-making. Experimental reconstruction of the sword shows that historical pattern-welded composites reveal a clear pattern after being exposed to controlled corrosion in vinegar vapor.