Interesants raksts
Not long after men decided that beating each other with rocks and sticks was'nt very dignified they created a useful little weapon called a sword. Swords have been around for centuries now, and have been created by all different kinds of nationalities.
Some of the oldest recordings of quality blades were in the 5th century B.C., Iberian blacksmiths were already forging swords known as the Falcata which the inside of the blade was iron, specialy designed to increase the bluntness of the slash. The Roman leader Hannibal heard of the fame of these swords and supplied them to his centurions. Thus began the legacy of the Toledo blade.

During the Middle Ages, not only the quality of the blade was important but the shape as well. King Richard the Lion Heart had led the christian crusades and had all of his swords made in the shape of the cross. So he and his men could pray to the cross without having to be in a church. When the Muslims were defeated they adopted the sword making technique and started making better Scimitars for themselves.

In 17th century Europe, around the year 1625 Rapiers were the choice weapon of the swordsmen. Even though dueling had been deemed illegal, disputes still had to be settled. So the duelists would meet on the field of honor for either a fight to the death, or a fight to show the better swordsmen. Each duelists had a friend know as a Second check both swords for length and style, so neither person had an advantage.

Also during the time of the Renissance, aristocrats had thier blades made in a wavy pattern known as a Flamberge' or Kris. They mistakenly thought that it would make thier blades more deadly. But the wavy blade did have one advantage, when the opponent's blade ran down the blade of the Flamberge' it would vibrate and slow the speed of the straight sword. Plus the aristocrats felt more decorative wearing this type of sword.

Kings and their empires from all over the world were designing swords, and many of them heard about the steel that came from Spain. Even the Japanese Samurai were learning the secrets of spanish steel from trade merchants, and they were incorperating it making thier Katana and Wakizashi swords. The Japanese not only considered the sword as a weapon, but an honorable artform.
In 1876 The Japanese government banned wearing swords in public. This highly offended the Samurai, so they created swords inside of bamboo sticks for concealment, they were known as the Bamboo stick Katana. Now the Samurai could have the swords in public ( disguised as a walking stick ) while still evading the law.

Some of the best swords in the world were made with steel that was soft and contained a high carbon content. Forging at 1454 degrees F. and having to have an exact time interval to make the perfect blade. Some craftsman used to recite psalms and prayers to keep the perfect time.

One of the stranger ways of forging that I have read about was that the sword manufacturers in Solingen Germany would take carbon wire of different types and thread them together in the shape of a sword. Then they would melt them down and then you would have a well made sword, due to the threadlike infrastructure.

Swords are not only a big part of our worlds history, but it is a big part of our imagination as well. The Honor, Might and Mystery of the sword is alive and well in the world of fantasy, whether it be in books or movies. The characters in these worlds almost always have a sword at thier side, and sometimes the blade may be thier best friend. Almost each character has givin his or her sword a name, due to the magical powers bestowed on it, or because of the age or what the blade was designed for. If we can not wear our swords at our side, at least our men and woman of fantasy can, and we can always keep them in our mind.