Magnetic weapons

[Jens Nordlunde]

Gene, I promise that I won’t ask any questions – at least not now.

Jim, I think I owe you an answer to the compass question. You are right, the one telling about the compass does not give any reference, so in order to compensate for this, I think we should shorten the time period with 1000 years, also I must admit, that a splinter swimming in a cup of water hardly can be called a compass, for this I will suggest, that we shorten the time period with 500 years – is this compensation agreeable with you?

Yes Gene, I know I promised, but this is only a 'small' question.

Jens

[Mare Rosu]

JENS
Since you will not stop asking question on this great thread of yours
I will answer one at least, to me, it is a possibility, if in fact the magnetic properties of a blade were desirable as JIM states then more would be even better, it would be to me anyway.
I am still waiting for the equipment to visual demonstrate the magnetic effect on the Mysore dagger. Should be in this week, I hope.
Gene

[Jens Nordlunde]

How strong a magnet is a lodestone, and are different stones of different strength?
I think they may be, according to the amount of iron – but I am not sure.
If we accept, that the first compass (sorry JimJ) was a bucket of water with a splinter of lodestone floating on the water, how long time would it take before the stone started diving?
Should they have any use of this early compass, then either the lodestone must be a rather strong magnet – adjusting fast north-south, or the stone must be very light to give it time to adjust before diving.
Gene, I agree with Jim, that making swords and daggers always, especially in the early days, had something to do with mysticism. In the Nordic mythology the dwarfs made the weapons for the Gods, as they were a mystic people, who knew how to put whichever witchcraft desired into any blade. I think the idea of this has been Worldwide, the more a blade differed from another blade, the bigger the talismanic value – and a blade like yours would, I think, have a big talismanic value for the owner.

Jens

[fearn]

Hi Jens,

This is going off topic, but I think that, if you put the lodestone on a float (for instance, a piece of cork or wood) then it would float quite easily.

Fearn

[Jens Nordlunde]

Hi Fearn,

Yes, you are right of course - I should have thought of it, and yes, you are quite right, I was off the topic .

Jens

[Jens Nordlunde]

I have had an interesting mail from one of our new members, whom I would like to welcome to this forum, Dr. Ann Feuerbach. In the mail she told me to take an interest in Archaeomagnetism. I did not know the word, but I do know, try to go on Google and look for the word. This, I am quite sure will interest many of you, and it gives the whole discussion another angle. Happy surfing.

Jens

[Rivkin]

Archeomagnetism is using old pottery, iron deposits etc. to study the evolution of the Earth's magnetic field.

[Jens Nordlunde]

Originally Posted by fearn

Hi Jens,

This is going off topic, but I think that, if you put the lodestone on a float (for instance, a piece of cork or wood) then it would float quite easily.

Fearn

Hi Fearn,
Yesterday I saw that the compasses were made like a fish (hollow I guess) swimming on oil.

Jens

[Jim McDougall]

Yannis and Gene, thank you very much for the kind words! As Gene notes, I am simply sharing information that I can find so we can all learn together, which is exactly what this forum is all about

Yes Jens, you are a tough professor!!! I may never get this huge mess in my den cleared up, but the games afoot, and we gotta keep going!
As I noted with the compass historical data, I think it would be extremely difficult to know even within the range you suggest exactly when the first application to maritime navigation for this phenomenon occurred. The data I noted is simply some that has been referenced, but overall..the jury is still out. The main point here has been that magnetic material had no given domestic or practical value until the actual development of compasses into general use. Even at that juncture there would have been no specific purpose for deliberate use of such material in sword blades.

Back to the presence of lodestone or magnetite in the wootz producing ores in India:
In Pant (p.90), he notes "...in India the steel ingots were carried from the Nirmal District of Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), to Cutch, a maritime region on northwest coast of India and exported to Persia, Syria and the East African ports, whence they found their way to Europe".
He notes further production also at Kona Samundrum (in Hyderabad some 25 miles south of Nirmal) and at Dundurthy (14 miles east of Nirmal), and that some of these ores were mixed with some from Indore district.
It is noted further (p.92)that the ores at Kona Samundrum were a mixture of the local magnetic schist with a subordinate quantity of haemetites and the black ferruginous sands found along river beds and nullahs. These were mixed with some of the ferruginous quartzites and schist from the Indore district in proportions 3 to 2, then the mix crushed to a coarse sand. The powdered quartz and other useless matter was then rinsed from the ferrous material.
The complex and detailed description goes on, but I think this illustrates that certain magnetic material certainly did find inclusion in the materials used in wootz production here, but does not appear intentional.

I think that what was intentionally placed in the mix, besides the teak and bamboo charcoal were the leaves of certain trees or plants which were added for magical value (as well obviously as for the carboniferous content).
This is noted in Figiel (p.15) and the use of various plant material in smelting is discussed in Robert Elgoods new book "Hindu Arms & Ritual" in numerous instances.

It is interesting to consider what natural phenomenon would have caused these schists in certain areas to become magnetic. In definition, schist(Gk.=splittable) is described as a class of crystalline rocks whose constituent minerals have more or less foliated (thin, separatable laminae) or parallel arrangement due to metamorphic action.
Here I would defer to our scientists, would that metamorphic action be the lightning strikes that create magnetite from lodestone?
In any case, it appears tht Hyderabad clearly is at least one defined location for magnetism in wootz.

Best regards,
Jim

[Radu Transylvanicus]

Could the material content on the metal influence more than rather ,,induced magnetism,, ?

[derek]

Very cool thread, guys.
It got me to dig out my old Lensatic liquid filled and test some blades. Of all my collection, the one that showed the most interesting affect was an Omani Jambiya with an old blade. It pulled all the way south at the base and then swung all the way north at the tip. Most of my swords did very little in comparison. The surprise was an old and well-used Tibetan Khampa work knife that swings the needle completely north.

-d

[Mare Rosu]

Jens
I have good news and bad news on my dagger I call Mysore ( I think that is a name that depicted my feelings when I dropped the dagger, My Sore!, I wish no disrespect to the good folks in Mysore India as my southern humor is at play here )
I have replaced the Period stone in the handle and it really looks good, that is the good news.
The bad news is that the magnetic field has changed after the drop. While the same N,S,N,S, pattern with my compass is still the same, the overall attraction is a lot less now, I will try to set up a visual display of the effect tomorrow using the Iron powder (no Jens I did not polish the rust off the Iron powder and take some pictures for posting here.
I have something else to confuse, (at least it is confussing to me, that for sure), you good forum folks about all of this, is that the compass needle does not change directions the same way as I move the compass over the blade, one time the needle goes counterclockwise and then it goes clockwise as I move the compass over the blade as it reverses direction. I would think it would always move in the same direction, I will post more information, tomorrow to make this a little more understanable.
Anyway things are getting back to normal with the repair done.
But the mystery of the Mysore Dagger goes on!
Gene

















b

[fearn]

That's too bad about your dagger, Mare!

About that quadruple dipole configuration...my mom the electrical engineer (no joke!) had a suggestion:

She suggested that there's a real easy way to smuggle valuable knives. All you do is take a couple of magnets (two horseshoes or four bars) and use them to attach the knife to the underside of a car or truck. The border guard doesn't notice, customs aren't paid....or whatever.

I'm NOT claiming that your knife was purchased illegally! Far from it! Unless you have a complete provenance on it, though, it might be...difficult to figure out where and how it has travelled over the course of its existence.

Anyway, she was of the opinion that the magnetic field you demonstrated so nicely probably resulted by accident, from the knife being exposed to magnets for an extended period of time. The smuggling idea counts here--the magnets were essential, but the pattern is accidental. The alternative would be that someone deliberately magnetized it in that pattern, for reasons unknown.

Since you've dropped it once, I think that running a real test of this involving magnets and your own car would probably count as a Bad Idea. However, it's something to think about, and it'd make a nice party story, at least.

Cheers,

Fearn

[Jens Nordlunde]

Gene, it is very unfortunate that you dropped the pesh-kabz, but at the same time it is very fortunate that it did not piece your foot. Always look at the bright sides of life.
Do you have the impression that the hilt of your pesh-kabz is hollow?
The one shown below has a hollow grip, and the blade is magnetic, but only one time N-S.

Fearn, how much does your mother charge to take daggers and swords into another country, will the charge be pr border, and will there be a discount, if there are more than one border which have to be crossed?
I think you mothers suggestion sounds like a possibility we have to take into consideration.
How strong a magnet is a lodestone, and could the magnetism on Gene’s dagger have been obtained by polishing the blade with a lodestone?
Will an electric wire held along the blade improve the magnetism, so that the iron powder will be easier to work with?

[fearn]

Originally Posted by Jens Nordlunde

Fearn, how much does your mother charge to take daggers and swords into another country, will the charge be pr border, and will there be a discount, if there are more than one border which have to be crossed?
I think you mothers suggestion sounds like a possibility we have to take into consideration.

And she's such a sweet and innocent-looking lady, too. It's too bad that she doesn't live near any borders that we'd care about.

Personally, I'd secure the blade inside a body panel, simply to keep it clean.

Smuggling aside, I'd suggest that magnets would be a decent display (or whatever) mount for smaller blades, especially guardless ones. Obviously, it wouldn't work on something with a disk guard, like a katana or a dao, but for a slim-line blade, like this pesh-kabz or a dha, it might be a nice way to display it.

Mostly I'd suggest this as an explanation for cases where there are multiple dipoles across the blade. Others here have made some good suggestions about why a knife would have a single dipole, etc.

Fearn

[Radharc 59]

Hello all,

Jens suggested I check out this thread, and it's quite interesting. I am a custom knifemaker, and do everything from stock removal to forging blades, to hand forging my own Damascus (pattern welded) blades on occasion. I harden them myself, using various media, and get good results. However, I do not perform any specific processes to induce magnetic fields in any of them.

The topic made me curious, so I grabbed a compass and moved it along an assortment of my knives. The results were widely varied. Some hardly moved the needle, some made it spin wildly, and some spun it in one direction, then back in the other. Not sure what this says about the topic and folks' opinions, but it seems, for me at least, to simply be a random phenomenon.

Just my 2 cents.

Michael
www.radharcknives.com

[PUFF]

Interesting thread, indeed. I had forged a strong magnetic tanto blade too. It doesn't show any magnetic property until I heat treated. I accidentaly tempered it on a hot plate. The hot plate was for laboratory purpose with a magnetic stiring device. After tempered, the blade has so strong magnetic property that it can pick up a few 3 inches nails.

[Rick]

This phenomenon is also sometimes exhibited in stainless steel restaurant silverware of low to moderate quality ; the stuff is just stamped from sheet metal ; go figure ..

[Radharc 59]

Huh. Peculiar for sure. It may very well be, in knives at least, relative to the heat treatment processes. You mess with the magnetic field, indeed, that's the simplest way to know when a steel is at the correct temperature to quench it, in order to harden the steel. It's called the critical temperature, and when it is reached, the steel undergoes a structural change, as evidenced by the fact that it loses it's attraction to a magnet run along the hot blade. When it's up slightly past 'non-magnetic', depending on the steel, you quench it.

As an aside, I align my quench tank so that the blade is pointed towards magnetic North, and quench them held horizontally, moving them back and forth in a stabbing motion. Some claim that the mag N thing is voodoo, but my blades universally harden up well, with almost no warpage whatsoever. So, it works for me. LOL!

Michael
www.radharcknives.com

[katana]

..... just a thought.
It may be interesting to get photos of the 'lines of magnetism' for some of the swords, knives and daggers mentioned in this thread. By placing white paper over the blade (which is placed on a non magnetic background), and then sprinkling iron particles on the paper. Lines of magnetic force will appear, as the iron filings align with the field (magnetic) that surrounds the blade. Assuming the possibility that some of the magnetic properties of the blades were deliberate, it might help to see what patterns are produced and aid ideas as to why this is done.

One other thought is, blood is highly concentrated with iron (in haemoglobin), seeing as most blades were used or designed to 'draw blood' perhaps there’s a connection there.........

[Jens Nordlunde]

Hi Katana,
Maybe you should go back to the start and look through the mails - then you will see that it has been done.

Jens

[Archit Patel]

Hi,
I have had similar experience and I tried "Adding" magnetic property to a hand forged dagger. I had used an old file for forging the dagger. After Forging, Initial grinding and heat treat ment, I honed it with carborundum stone (400-450 grit) with hand. Blade size was about 8.5 inches, and 1.5 inches wide. I honned it for about 12 hours in a span of one month.
It developed strong magnetic property in the center of the blade. I have not checked the calibration though but similar method did not worked on the blades forged from Leaf Srpings.

[Jens Nordlunde]

Hi Archit Patel, and welcome to the forum .


I know that I started this monster thread, and when I did I did not imagine what it would develop into, but what I do know is, that many of those participating enjoyed it very much, and at the same time also learned a lot. This is what we all hope, to enjoy ourselves and to learn – so it was a good and interesting thread.

I don’t know much about metallurgy, so my guess may be totally wrong, but I would thing that the difference between the knife made out of a file, and the one made out of a Leaf Spring is, that the ‘file’ knife was treated with a grinding stone, and the Leaf Spring knife was probably not, or at least not so intensively. Is that correct?

Jens