Best Sword Material?

What do you all consider to be the best sword material(for a live blade), I'm thinking about carbon steel, but I'm still not sure.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Cheeseball_IV:
What do you all consider to be the best sword material(for a live blade), I'm thinking about carbon steel, but I'm still not sure.[/QUOTE]

Well, that's a given...

Just checkin' Nothing wrong with making sure is there?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Cheeseball_IV:
Just checkin' Nothing wrong with making sure is there?[/QUOTE]

Not at all--especially if you are new to swords, sword arts, & sword collecting. The more questions, the better.

Howard Clark makes a sword called an L6 out of "Bainite" which is a new metal and supposedly the best out there.

Crystaline Damascus steel. A sword needs two items, flexibility to not shatter (why you do not cut it from diamond) and hardness to hold an edge and do damage (why you do not make it out of pure iron). A skilled smith can make almost any carbon/iron ratio that he needs, but as he increases flexibility, it decreases hardness.

There are many ways to cheat this, such as differential tempering (the edge is harder than the spine, as on traditional Japanese swords), but the most effective way is what is known as damascus steel. You can tell damascus by its characteristic patterned design. The best explaination I have read is at Angelsword (I would also recomend their swords if you are willing to pay their prices).

[This message has been edited by Benjamin1986 (edited 10-18-2004).]

Bennyboy, you sound like you know something about swords... but I wouldn't believe everything you see on Angelswords. Hanwei and Bugei offer much more traditional (and better looking) swords for much less. In my opinion these also will cut better as well (stronger), look who wins all the competitions. As far as bainite goes it might be the wave of the future check it out.
http://www.nihontopic.com/bainiteclp2.wmv

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gregfalck:
Bennyboy, you sound like you know something about swords... but I wouldn't believe everything you see on Angelswords. Hanwei and Bugei offer much more traditional (and better looking) swords for much less. In my opinion these also will cut better as well (stronger), look who wins all the competitions. As far as bainite goes it might be the wave of the future check it out.
http://www.nihontopic.com/bainiteclp2.wmv
[/QUOTE]

I'm admittedly not too crazy myself about Angelsword's non-historical and quasi-historical designs, but I can tell you that Daniel Watson's swords are second to none when it comes to cutting ability.

That's an interesting assertion. On what do you base that opinion?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Charles Mahan:
That's an interesting assertion. On what do you base that opinion?[/QUOTE]

I base it on having seen how well his swords can cut various things.

Perhaps, but you said they were second to none. That implies that they are simply the best swords available. You don't really seem to have the experience to back up that sort of claim, so what you really should have said was that you've seen his swords cut, and they cut quite well.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Charles Mahan:
Perhaps, but you said they were second to none. That implies that they are simply the best swords available. You don't really seem to have the experience to back up that sort of claim, so what you really should have said was that you've seen his swords cut, and they cut quite well. [/QUOTE]

Fair enough, allow me to re-phrase my "claim"--Mr. Watson's swords are the best cutting swords that I have personally seen. They cut extremely well, and they are also exceptionally strong. The European ones I have seen can be bent way out-of-line without taking a set, and yet they are also very stiff. I haven't seen any flexiblity tests on the Japanese types, but they can certainly cut well too. In addition, his swords are light and well-balanced.

BTW Charles,

Any relation to Alfred Thayer Mahan (the famous naval doctrine guy)?

Just curious.

Peace,

A_M_P

Japanese swords in general are not especially flexible. Very very stiff in general.

As for the Admiral Mahan, I am not a direct descendant, but I believe we do share a common ancestor somewhere up the tree. I've not checked into it in any detail.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Charles Mahan:
Japanese swords in general are not especially flexible. Very very stiff in general.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I know--the whole "super-hard edge/soft back" deal, which contrasts with with Western swords (at least the homogenous steel ones). Everything about sword design is a compromise. I remember at least one period Japanese account of some warrior who bent his sword in combat (a no-dachi, IIRC).

[QUOTE]As for the Admiral Mahan, I am not a direct descendant, but I believe we do share a common ancestor somewhere up the tree. I've not checked into it in any detail.[/QUOTE]

Let me know if you find out anything--that would be interesting.

well i agree with the gentle man above bainite is a very good steel, traditionally tamahagane was the steel of choice has a very high carbon content but being very splotchy forge folding was the preferred method for correcting this then having a hard edge soft steel was sandwich welded in between creating a hard edge with a very soft core, there is also some philosophy about incasing a soft steel core in all hard jacket steel.

You don't buy Japanese swords?

i'd say your best bet is carbon steel.. because its the exact steel the old japanese sword smiths used anyway.. besides if you have a good katana made of carbon steel it can cut a stainless steel katana like butter if you apply the proper technique [IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif[/IMG]