Ulfberht was like a Medieval luxury brand for swords but unlike your Gucci purse, the swords were of such high quality they were almost … mystical. Dozens of these swords made with metal so strong and pure it’s baffling how any sword maker of that time could have accomplished it
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By Andy Extance2016-01-15T00:00:00+00:00
The skills behind the legendary sharpness of wootz steel were once forgotten, but Andy Extance talks to the researchers unsheathing its secrets
From beside his computer David Edge picks up something that marks his office as unique: a 19th century Afghan wootz steel dagger. Its chaotic, swirling patterns are striking as the blade is tilted. Although Edge is head of conservation at the Wallace Collection in London, UK, which has many exotic knives and swords, he personally owns this dagger. The patterns’ similarity to the rings that oil forms on the surface of water makes it obvious why the alloy is sometimes called watered steel.