Thank you all for your information. It gives me some work to read all the relevant parts of the suggested documentation.
One of the specific questions i have is the use of Phosphorus containing iron.
Since the difference in carbon content between two steels only shows a minimum of contrast, i looked for other tricks.
Nickel was not present those days (perhaps some in China as Nickel/Copper alloy), but i heard the rumor that Phosphorus rich iron gives a clear contrast with iron without Phosphorus.
When the Phosphorus story is true, the blacksmiths in the old days have applied iron traded from other areas to make a design in their swords....
This was not done to obtain more strength (Phosphorus makes the steel brittle) but for reasons of beauty.
So when and where did they apply that trick? and what is Phosphorus rich iron, or how much percent (will be tenths of a percent) is Phosphorus rich?
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