steel was Re: [tied] First iron swords on mass scale

The Scandinavians (ie Vikings) knew quite well how to make and CONSISTENTLY
use steel before the 14th century AD. I would strongly suggest you take a
look the metallurgical reports scattered throughout the Helgo and Birka site
reports, the work of Gerry MacDonald and Patrick Ottaway for the ironwork
from Anglo-Scandinavian levels at York, R. F. Tylecote's METALLOGRAPHY OF
FERROUS TOOLS AND WEAPONS, Berg's work on the ironwork from the Viking
settlements in the Orkneys. The metallography from these sites shows that
they could consistently produce medium carbon steel and understood quenching
and heat treating---maybe not like we understand it today---but they were
capable of turning out consistent products such as knives and swords that
were consistent. The metallography of the knives from Medieval London
(post-Viking) also show they knew how to consistently make steel.

>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Michal Milewski" <milewski@...>
> To: <cybalist@egroups.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2000 10:22 PM
> Subject: Re: [tied] First iron swords on mass scale
>
>
> >From what I've read, if real steel was ever obtained in
> ancient Europe, it was a serendipitous by-product of wrought
> iron manufacture, of inconsistent and uncontrollable
> quality. The Greeks and the Romans knew that the process was
> possible, and that the presence of charcoal had something to
> do with it, but never managed to understand the details and
> so experimented at random, without much success. Europeans
> did not learn much more about steel-making until about the
> 14th century.
>
> The first controllable steel-making technique was developed
> rather early (possibly by 500 BC) in ancient India (wootz
> steel), and somewhat later in the Middle East (Damascus
> steel).
>
> I've just found another excellent article about the history
> of iron and steel manufacture, very competently discussed,
> with source references.
>
> http://www.mri.on.ca/steel.html
>
> Piotr
>