Wicked Weaponry

Swords

The word ‘

sword

’ comes from the old English word ‘Sweord’ and likely that the Dutch word ‘Zwaard’ and the German word, ‘Schwert’ come from that same stem. While the Italian word, ‘Spada’ and the Spanish word, ‘Espada’ most likely derive from the Latin word, ‘Spatha’.

Sword

s have a history as long as the history of man. We start off with the wooden club and sharpened stick, both of which survived today in the Drum Major’s Mace, the Beefeater’s Halberd and the lance. Development of weaponry came through the stone age with its flint axes and arrow heads until the Bronze and Iron Ages , when humans had learned how to extract copper and tin from ores and later on extract and purify iron.

When crafting the first swords from bronze, they were either cast in a mould or hammered out of a lump of bronze, then ground to its final shape on stone. The latter method was most preferred because it was discovered that cast bronze was likely to be brittle. While forging hardened and tempered the metal. Once the sword was made, it was decorated by hand to the customer’s wishes.

Over time the craft of swordsmithing, has changed little since these days. However, the blade is now forged from bar steel by mechanical hammers instead of a Blacksmith’s mighty arm, though, mechanical stamping and acid etching has partially removed the customisation of hand decoration. Regardless the crafting of swords is the only one where the basic methods of manufacture date back to the Bronze Age.

Nowadays, a standard service blade starts off as a bar of steel at 12 inches long by 1 inch wide by 5 inches thick. This gets heated and drawn out through mechanical hammering to 24 inches, by 3/4inch by 1/4inch. It’s then reheated and passed through shaped rollers from which it should come out in the roughly, the correct measurements and shape of the required blade. Next it is ground on large stone wheels in the grinding mill to its final correct form. The blade gets hardened, tempered and proved in the hardening shop. Finally, the blade gets polished and embossed with the required patterns and insignia.

Examples of Swords
Some examples of swords that are known are:

• Broadsword: Has a broad blade and two cutting edges that is used for cutting.
• Claymore: This is a large double-edged broadsword that was once used by Scottish Highlanders.
• Cutlass: This sword is short, heavy and curved with one edge that was used commonly by sailors.
• Rapier: A straight sword with a narrow blade and two edges.
• Saber: A fencing sword with a v-shaped blade and a slightly curved handle.

 

Given that World of Legends is a fantasy based site, swords are a common weapon for characters to wield. As such, it makes sense for there to be somewhere to learn how to wield a sword. Oh wait, there is! Ledger Hunting, the infamous Skillmaster of Melee Combat can train you in swordsmanship, if you have the dedication and drive to hard work then that is ideal for you! Alternatively, if you prefer the crafting approach, you can find yourself a forge to borrow at Blacksmithing class, by Jorge Farwynn, Master Blacksmith. The final year of Blacksmithing, you can forge your own sword.

In addition to this, you can buy a bunch of swords on site, and they are:

The Blacksmith
The Collector

For more detailed sources of information, see the following links:
Pooley Sword: The Evolution of Swords
The Collector
The Blacksmith

~ The Mystic, Hecate