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Originally Posted by Manolo
Hello,
This is a wonderful discussion, thanks to all the metallurgists for the great information!
In "Armes blanches du monde Islamique" by Alain Jacob, I think, I recall an account by a French officer in Napoleon's army who commented on Mamluk sabres. He gave an account of the way Mamluks trained: they would ride at full speed towards a block of wood on which was placed a turban. They would have to slice the turban in half without displacing it off the block, careful not to hit the block of wood as it would break the sword and cause great shame. I don't recall if he characterized the blade as Damascus, but the passage indicates that these blades could hold a magnificent edge, but were extremely brittle. Would such blades exhibit a high austenite content?
Regards,
Emanuel
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Hi Manolo,
this practice technique is in the furussiya manual, and is the basis of mounted sword use. It advances onto a stage where a mamluk has to cut his way through a series of turbans, not just one, on his left and right. The manual also states that training swords, and I assume, the ones used here are, incredibly sharp and brittle, but are not to be used in real combat.