English blades

urbanspaceman · 19th August 2021, 04:39 PM

Hello Fernando.
What an astonishing and revelationary treatise on Toledo.
Toledo was always the most famous of course: as an individual, completely unconnected with the blade world, I was always aware that Toledo was famous for its blades.
Actually, the ubiquitous cup-hilt rapier letter-opener has been apparent all of my life; and the cocktail sticks too. Spain was ultimately exotic for the early 'sixties hoi-polloi here in Blighty, and those mini rapiers were only equalled by the sombrero or maracas.
All that aside - although it is a precious document and I am grateful to you for bringing it to my attention - it further explains why we Brits never excelled in blade-smithing. Why buy our steel from Spain (or Solingen) when we could buy ready-made blades.
Wars put a stop to commerce with Spain a lot of the time, so Solingen became the go-to shop for swords.
I think I am answering my initial question here but anyone out there who knows better - could you please enlighten me.

fernando · 19th August 2021, 06:07 PM

Mind you Keith, i am no Spaniard; it is just that proximity (country, language, common antique weapons and of course friendly relation) makes it easy for me to go a bit deeper into these Toledo issues. I do happen to have a couple 'Iberian' cup hilt swords in my micro collection but, no Toledo letter openers, Mexican sombreros or Latino maracas

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19th August 2021, 04:39 PM	#1
urbanspaceman Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Tyneside. North-East England Posts: 722	man, myth and magic Hello Fernando. What an astonishing and revelationary treatise on Toledo. Toledo was always the most famous of course: as an individual, completely unconnected with the blade world, I was always aware that Toledo was famous for its blades. Actually, the ubiquitous cup-hilt rapier letter-opener has been apparent all of my life; and the cocktail sticks too. Spain was ultimately exotic for the early 'sixties hoi-polloi here in Blighty, and those mini rapiers were only equalled by the sombrero or maracas. All that aside - although it is a precious document and I am grateful to you for bringing it to my attention - it further explains why we Brits never excelled in blade-smithing. Why buy our steel from Spain (or Solingen) when we could buy ready-made blades. Wars put a stop to commerce with Spain a lot of the time, so Solingen became the go-to shop for swords. I think I am answering my initial question here but anyone out there who knows better - could you please enlighten me. Attached Images

19th August 2021, 06:07 PM	#2
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Mind you Keith, i am no Spaniard; it is just that proximity (country, language, common antique weapons and of course friendly relation) makes it easy for me to go a bit deeper into these Toledo issues. I do happen to have a couple 'Iberian' cup hilt swords in my micro collection but, no Toledo letter openers, Mexican sombreros or Latino maracas . . Last edited by fernando; 19th August 2021 at 06:33 PM.