Lamination in Central African pieces

Justin · 16th December 2005, 01:14 AM

This knife I posted a month or so ago ;
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1472
shows forging flaws that looks a lot like it was made of steel rods that were laminated together.The knife over all seems to be African in origin which leads me to my question,did the Central or South Africans use laminated blades and if so what types of lamination did they use?

I know they didnt make patterned damascus, but I didnt think they made blades of anything but 'mono steel'/iron.

thanks in advance for any help.

tom hyle · 18th December 2005, 07:29 PM

generally, the production of mono steel as such is a fairly high tech procedure, and AFAIK dates to only the 18th C in Europe. There is a legend that African iron has been of especial purity (thus never going thru the permutations that led to discovering steel). However, I have seen numbers of central African/Bantu blades with forging flaws and other signs of what looks like simple lineal laminate (folding for homogeneity/alloying).

VANDOO · 18th December 2005, 08:04 PM

I WOULD THINK IT POSSIBLE THAT BLADES WERE SOMETIMES LAMINATED AS THEY WERE OFTEN MADE FROM SMALLER PIECES OF METAL THAT WERE USED AS CURRENCY. THE KISSIE PENNYS FROM LIBERIA COME TO MIND, IF A LOT OF THEM WERE HAMMER FORGED TOGETHER TO FORM A BLADE IT WOULD BE LAMINATED. IT WOULD BE KIND OF LIKE MAKEING A BLADE OUT OF A BUNCH OF PIECES OF WIRE OR LONG NAILS.
A INTERESTING QUESTION

Freddy · 19th December 2005, 08:50 AM

I have little knowledge of metallurgy, but do you mean this when you talk about laminated blades on African weapons ?

According to my very humble opinion, this is a Mbuun knife from Congo.

Justin · 19th December 2005, 12:49 PM

Thanks for the comments,
Freddy,your knife is just what I was looking for.

Vandoo,I think you nailed it for my knife in particular,long thick nails would have been about right for the flaws in my blade.

Tom-thanks for the definition of 'mono steel', I was a little confused on that.

16th December 2005, 01:14 AM	#1
Justin Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 175	Lamination in Central African pieces This knife I posted a month or so ago ; http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1472 shows forging flaws that looks a lot like it was made of steel rods that were laminated together.The knife over all seems to be African in origin which leads me to my question,did the Central or South Africans use laminated blades and if so what types of lamination did they use? I know they didnt make patterned damascus, but I didnt think they made blades of anything but 'mono steel'/iron. thanks in advance for any help.

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18th December 2005, 07:29 PM	#2
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	generally, the production of mono steel as such is a fairly high tech procedure, and AFAIK dates to only the 18th C in Europe. There is a legend that African iron has been of especial purity (thus never going thru the permutations that led to discovering steel). However, I have seen numbers of central African/Bantu blades with forging flaws and other signs of what looks like simple lineal laminate (folding for homogeneity/alloying).

18th December 2005, 08:04 PM	#3
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	I WOULD THINK IT POSSIBLE THAT BLADES WERE SOMETIMES LAMINATED AS THEY WERE OFTEN MADE FROM SMALLER PIECES OF METAL THAT WERE USED AS CURRENCY. THE KISSIE PENNYS FROM LIBERIA COME TO MIND, IF A LOT OF THEM WERE HAMMER FORGED TOGETHER TO FORM A BLADE IT WOULD BE LAMINATED. IT WOULD BE KIND OF LIKE MAKEING A BLADE OUT OF A BUNCH OF PIECES OF WIRE OR LONG NAILS. A INTERESTING QUESTION

19th December 2005, 08:50 AM	#4
Freddy Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sint-Amandsberg (near Ghent, Belgium) Posts: 830	I have little knowledge of metallurgy, but do you mean this when you talk about laminated blades on African weapons ? According to my very humble opinion, this is a Mbuun knife from Congo.

19th December 2005, 12:49 PM	#5
Justin Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 175	Thanks for the comments, Freddy,your knife is just what I was looking for. Vandoo,I think you nailed it for my knife in particular,long thick nails would have been about right for the flaws in my blade. Tom-thanks for the definition of 'mono steel', I was a little confused on that.