RSWORD,
Look forward to the pics.
Rivkin,
I reluctantly concluded that at this point we simply do not know enough about Wootz and the requirements of ancient swordsmen to assess its combat worthiness.
To make headway, we need to examine a larger number of swords and daggers made from this steel and most importantly ascertain if the better ones, in the functional sense and not just eye candy, were hardened by quenching or merely work hardened. Also, we have to ascertain if the practice of adding a special steel edge, in the Japanese manner, was used by the Damscus and other regional sword smiths.
As I see the problem now, with the advantage of modern metallurgical knowledge we can, as Greg and other amply demonstrated, make extremely good cutting implements from high carbon crucible steel. However, we do not know if the ancients knew all the tricks required to arrive at comparable results.
Cheers
Chris
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