Why Did Italian Sword Makers Die Out?

Victrix · 1st October 2019, 06:17 PM

Yes it’s sad that some of these venerable Italian sword smiths disappeared despite the high quality of their work. As was previously suggested, the fragmentation of the states on the Italian peninsula probably did not help. The Austrians ruled the Veneto region and were probably not keen to promote arms industries in that potential hotbed. Instead domestic Austrian arms industries in Wiener Neustadt and elsewhere were supported by government contracts which helped them to build economies of scale. The Italian smiths were probably also limited in terms of who they could export to. Austria subsequently fought against Italy in a number of wars. Solingen with its proximity of Cologne could reach scale by supplying the German lands and then add more by exporting. Klingenthal got the government contracts to supply the French army, etc.

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1st October 2019, 06:17 PM	#6
Victrix Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Sweden Posts: 755	Yes it’s sad that some of these venerable Italian sword smiths disappeared despite the high quality of their work. As was previously suggested, the fragmentation of the states on the Italian peninsula probably did not help. The Austrians ruled the Veneto region and were probably not keen to promote arms industries in that potential hotbed. Instead domestic Austrian arms industries in Wiener Neustadt and elsewhere were supported by government contracts which helped them to build economies of scale. The Italian smiths were probably also limited in terms of who they could export to. Austria subsequently fought against Italy in a number of wars. Solingen with its proximity of Cologne could reach scale by supplying the German lands and then add more by exporting. Klingenthal got the government contracts to supply the French army, etc.