The technique of folding intelacing layers of steel and iron is what made them so strong.
The smelting techniques were also supperior as well from what i heard because the iron was poor.
This tending to make the older swords exteemly good when attacking, except if they were hit by another sword head on. The poor iron caused the katana's to become very brittle and they would break easily if blocked with the edge, which is why, when they block they always turn the sword, not simply to keep the blade from dulling faster. On its side, it is quite strong and in some ways more deadly as it could crack a skull with a tap.
However, not all the ore was bad in Japan and as time went on with better knowledge metalurgy the swords did become better, and stronger. By the height of the age of Samurai most westerners think about the blades were wouldn't break so easily mostly because the armor they used often started to use metal as well as leather.
The smelting techniques were also supperior as well from what i heard because the iron was poor.
This tending to make the older swords exteemly good when attacking, except if they were hit by another sword head on. The poor iron caused the katana's to become very brittle and they would break easily if blocked with the edge, which is why, when they block they always turn the sword, not simply to keep the blade from dulling faster. On its side, it is quite strong and in some ways more deadly as it could crack a skull with a tap.
However, not all the ore was bad in Japan and as time went on with better knowledge metalurgy the swords did become better, and stronger. By the height of the age of Samurai most westerners think about the blades were wouldn't break so easily mostly because the armor they used often started to use metal as well as leather.
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