an earlier example of the technique
Here is another excerpt from Williams' book ( p 238 ) showing photomicrographs of a section sawn from a (heavily corroded and damaged) European rapier blade, 16th-17th cent. The layering is very fine and well-controlled, especially considering that the operations were performed with water-powered triphammers, finishing with hand hammering on anvils. It's quite ludicrous hearing the gun show and auction pundits go on and on about how only the Japanese managed to master this, and that early European swords were just hammered out of single pieces of steel.
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