CRAFTS — 215/262 — Swordsmiths and armourers
Swordsmiths were originally blacksmith-cutlers specializing in blades for swords, knives, daggers and other hand-held side-arms. In the 14th century, the making of armour started to become specialised and separate from the blacksmith’s craft. Specialist professions came into being – armourers, plate-smiths and helmet makers, who not only produced, but also sold their wares. As regards weapons, there were new specialised professions – the swordsmith, bladesmith, fletcher, arrowsmith, and in later centuries the gunsmith, bowyer or shieldsmith, making wooden and metal shields. The price of a complete suit of armour was very high, affordable only to wealthy noblemen. Those who could not afford a complete suit of armour would have only partial metal armour and would rely on their agility for protection in combat.
TRIVIA
— Different types of steel would lend different properties to a blade. While hard steel with a high carbon content was especially useful for stabbing, soft steel of a lower carbon content would bend better and be more flexible. The latter were used by the Celts, showing a high resilience against the Roman swords, however, Celtic soldiers are said to have regularly needed to re-straighten their blades on the ground using their feet. The optimal blade – like those famously made in Toledo – would thus combine both qualities in welding different layers of different steel together, usually an outer layer of hard steel enclosing a soft core. Some swordsmiths would apply additional case hardening pastes for extra durability, made from clay, salt, glass powder, animal horn or urine. Very decorative swords used pattern-welding by folding and twisting the metal, creating a so-called “false Damascus steel“. A swordsmith's work on a single blade could span from 8 hours (the time it typically took to forge a rough blade) to months, especially when engaging in every step of the process, from the smelting of the steel, to the making and applying of guard and pommel, to the refining and grinding of the edge and the decoration. A refined sword like a pattern-welded blade with a decorated hilt could take over 200 hours. A good source for late medieval and early modern sword making is given by Giovanni Da Lezze's 1610 book “Catastico Bresciano“, in which he describes in detail all the steps of the production, from ore extraction to the final polishing. The exact process of the steel or the blade, however, was often kept a trade secret, sometimes even by decree: The swordsmith masters from Brescia in Northern Italy for instance were so highly valued by the Venetian rulers that they were neither allowed to emigrate from the country, nor share their trade secrets with anyone else without permission from the authorities. -> -> -> ->
