Brass hilted dha/daab for ID

[Tim Simmons]

This is quite interesting.

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...bronze&f=false


Nice looking sword and story. The metal seems to be a standard bronze except for magic dust ashes.. I do not know what the addition of mercury would do as it would vaporize.

[Gavin Nugent]

Ian,

That's a real neat sword, congrats on finding a early untouched example.

I can't add much else that hasn't already been mentioned but I feel the sword can just as easily be far more to the Northern Laos when considering the age.

Here is an interesting link to bronze manufacture and history...specifically Rain Drums but totally relevant to the sword hilt...

http://www.lasieexotique.com/mag_fro...frogdrums.html

Gavin

PS, I forgot to add, re Ariel's note about the sword hilt orientation; Personally I see the current orientation as being correct in this instance for the specific sword type and age.

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons

This is quite interesting.

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...bronze&f=false


Nice looking sword and story. The metal seems to be a standard bronze except for magic dust ashes.. I do not know what the addition of mercury would do as it would vaporize.

An interesting point Tim. I have read the text in the link and wondered similar things. Melting points for the metals are vastly higher than that of Mercury but would it actually vaporize? Perhaps metallurgists here can offer some insight to the subject about how metals meld?

Gavin

[kronckew]

the mercury/tin/copper amalgam reduces the melting point of the amalgam. the mercury alloys with the other metals & does not evaporate. on hardening they form an intimately mixed and bound alloy.

think of your mouth. you probably have some 'silver' fillings. these are really a 'bronze' amalgam of tin/copper/silver and some other metals that increase the strength of the resultant alloy. the mercury is mixed with the metals to form a paste that is essentially the other metals dissolved in the mercury, which hardens as the mercury alloys itself with the other metals, becoming intimately and permanently part of them (and raising the meting point as the amalgam becomes an alloy). the mercury in your fillings is bound up & not free to poison you. it is of course subject to chemical attack that may leech out one or more components and eventually cause failure.

(a somewhat simplistic explanation to save space, it ignores the percentages of the components & their effect)

[Tim Simmons]

I still cannot see how molten cast metal will still hold mercury. An amalgam is not an alloy.?

[kronckew]

an amalgam is definitely an alloy - of mercury and another metal or metals. the word 'amalgam literally means mercury alloy.

tin amalgams were used to coat lighthouse mirrors, indeed by heating the base metal coated with the hardened tin amalgam to the point where the mercury was evaporated. rather poisonous. why they would use a low mercury tin amalgam and copper to make bronze, but i am not a proper metallurgist, just an engineer. mercury does not particularly like amalgamating with copper, and gold/silver amalgams could be used to coat copper or bronze, then heated to drive off the mercury (maybe killing a few slaves) leaving behind a nice coated surface that could be polished.

[Andrew]

Outstanding. Congrats, Ian.