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calostro5 said:
Things are not made like ancient times anymore. Nowadays everything is made to use and throw away
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That's true with most things. I'm old enough to remember when water heaters, refrigerators, washing machines would last 50 years. Planned obsolescence. Then again I had a ice carving side business for decades
The ultimate melt down one use product. :rolleyes:
 
A good lesson should be don’t buy cheap things that shouldn’t be cheap. Not that expensive things always last longer, but well made things tend to cost more.
Tho in sword’s case this guy got to be some high ranking chieftain, of course his stuff is made the best.
 
Iron age was beginning before bronze went extinct. Ability to maintain hotter fires needed for iron. Carbon was added to mix & things got better. Actually steel has continued to evolve for specific needs rather recent times. Blast furnace. Stainless steel comparatively recent.

Didn't have quality stainless steel for knives. Some came from razor blade steel. Early powder steels not as user friendly as later mixes. Last couple decades has seen improvements for knife steel. Compared to long span of time since Bronze age. Just think of all the different types of steel just used in kitchen knives. From cheap to expensive. Certainly better than early stainless steel.
 
Keith Sinclair said:
Iron age was beginning before bronze went extinct. Ability to maintain hotter fires needed for iron. Carbon was added to mix & things got better. Actually steel has continued to evolve for specific needs rather recent times. Blast furnace. Stainless steel comparatively recent.

Didn't have quality stainless steel for knives. Some came from razor blade steel. Early powder steels not as user friendly as later mixes. Last couple decades has seen improvements for knife steel. Compared to long span of time since Bronze age. Just think of all the different types of steel just used in kitchen knives. From cheap to expensive. Certainly better than early stainless steel.
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It’s an interesting topic, I just bought Larrin’s new book on steel development. Great insight I highly recommend it.
 
One thing surprised me is actually a lot of popular high performance steels were invented very early, just never made it to knives
 
spectacularly well preserved, yes.
gleaming, no. looks quite tarnished. idk what they're talking about.
 
Thanks I'll get the paperback. I still like reading books then I can highlight, underline make notes etc. Larren is the man for knife steel nerds.
 
Keith Sinclair said:
That's true with most things. I'm old enough to remember when water heaters, refrigerators, washing machines would last 50 years. Planned obsolescence. Then again I had a ice carving side business for decades
The ultimate melt down one use product. :rolleyes:
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I said it as a joke. I am convinced that nowadays many things are made to last a established working cycles or working hours.
We have enough engineering knowledge to predict how much working time will last a piece based on the wear. You can so decide what alloy to use, or adjust the size to ensure how much time this piece will last.
 
I would take Tut's meteor dagger over that soft bronze, which it predates. And those made by Bob Kramer...
Tuts tanto.jpg
 
Knew someone would get to meteorites. Truly ancient iron & small amount of nickel. 4.5 billion years old.

Large slice of Campo del Cielo iron meteorite. Silver Mercury dime for scale.

When decided to get some back in late 1990's Campo from Argentina were nice & still available. Bought large pieces. Big 17# was first then this huge slice showing interior. I soaked it in gun oil to keep it from rusting. Little later got a 7# highest grade shown with dime for scale. Wish I had bought more. Argentina has stopped export.
Little did I know they would go up 10X in value from what I paid.
IMG_20230626_022722711.jpg
People are surprised how heavy they are when hand them to them
IMG_20230626_023431111.jpg
 
Anthony Bourdain's Bob Kramer meteorite knife went for couple hundred K at auction after he died. Forget exact amount it was a lot.
 
Keith Sinclair said:
Knew someone would get to meteorites. Truly ancient iron & small amount of nickel. 4.5 billion years old.

Large slice of Campo del Cielo iron meteorite. Silver Mercury dime for scale.

When decided to get some back in late 1990's Campo from Argentina were nice & still available. Bought large pieces. Big 17# was first then this huge slice showing interior. I soaked it in gun oil to keep it from rusting. Little later got a 7# highest grade shown with dime for scale. Wish I had bought more. Argentina has stopped export.
Little did I know they would go up 10X in value from what I paid.View attachment 250753
Click to expand...
Such an interesting pattern.

Out of curiosity, isn't most of rock (or iron) on earth also 4 billion something years old?
 
Keith Sinclair said:
Knew someone would get to meteorites. Truly ancient iron & small amount of nickel. 4.5 billion years old.

Large slice of Campo del Cielo iron meteorite. Silver Mercury dime for scale.

When decided to get some back in late 1990's Campo from Argentina were nice & still available. Bought large pieces. Big 17# was first then this huge slice showing interior. I soaked it in gun oil to keep it from rusting. Little later got a 7# highest grade shown with dime for scale. Wish I had bought more. Argentina has stopped export.
Little did I know they would go up 10X in value from what I paid.View attachment 250753People are surprised how heavy they are when hand them to themView attachment 250754
Click to expand...
@Keith Sinclair - off subject - are you OK there in Hawaii? I hope so.
 
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