Patterned Steel for Sword and Knife Collecting

Swords and knives are quite collectible as a series of cold weapon family. Collection of swords can be divided into antique swords and modern swords. On the collection of antique swords and knives, sword and knife collectors have summarized the 3 basic principles:

(1) integrity. Refers to the preservation of the item in good condition. The better the degree of integrity, the higher the collection value;

(2) artistry. Refers to the degree of craftsmanship and beauty to a high degree. The more exquisite craftsmanship, the more exquisite and unique style, the higher the value of the collection;

(3) rarity. Refers to the number of the item exists today the less, the higher the identity of its wearer, the more specific historical background, then the value of its collection is higher.

The most expensive material for swords is called Damascus steel, which is a hard floral steel forged from a rare and hard-to-find iron ore in the Middle East, with a discontinuous snowflake pattern. Whether antique swords or modern swords, I believe that hand-forged artistry, high degree of craftsmanship, a limited number, and therefore the most collectible. Collection of swords should also have a general understanding of the history and types of swords. Sword has always been crowned with "the commander of the hundred soldiers", "the king of the hundred edges" of the beauty of the name. In ancient times, men wore swords is not only the fashion of prestige, but also a symbol of power and status, which produced a strict hierarchical sword system with the sword, sword practice. With the emergence of the horse team and large regimental combat, in actual combat, the sword gradually replaced the sword, so that the sword has become a symbol of decoration and power. World famous sword

Sword more types, from the world, can be divided into two major sword system:

One is the European and American sword system (we call it the Western sword).

The second is the Asian sword system (including knives), which can be subdivided into several categories, such as the Chinese sword, Indian sword, Arabian sword (also known as the Persian sword), Malay sword and the Japanese sword (we call it the Japanese samurai sword or Toyo sword), which the Japanese sword in the Asian sword system has formed a unique culture.

Generally speaking, Western swords can be divided into straight sword and curved sword, high grade are made of high quality steel hand-forged carefully. Straight sword to stab to kill the enemy, curved sword is stabbed, split both (shaped like a general sense of the single-edged saber, but the head of the sword like a double-edged sword). The body of the western sword is forged from high carbon steel and is very tough. For the status of the high status of the manufacture of the sword, the sword body on both sides of almost all carved with exquisite patterns and the name of the manufacturer, the hilt of some made of ivory, some made of animal horns, some by the sharkskin wrapped around the hilt, and some in the sword inlaid with jewels, gold and silver and other ornaments to show that the owner's identity and status. The handguard is also beautifully engraved and gilded. Scabbard generally made of thin iron plate and gold-plated silver, or outsourced leather, sheath sides are lined with leather to protect the sword. China is the originator of sword manufacturing. When many countries are still in the primitive tribal time, China's Ou Yezi, dry generals, Mo Xie and a large number of skilled craftsmen with its ingenious and exquisite skills, to create a lot of ancient famous swords, such as Zhan Lu, Long Yuan, Tai'a, Pure Jun, the fish intestines, the giant Que and other magic sword. At that time, China's sword, can be said to be the spirit of heaven and earth, gas deterrent ghosts and gods, "come as thunder collects anger, strike as the river and the sea condenses the green light", they are out of the ordinary, for the world to praise.

The Warring States period is the first splendor of China's sword manufacturing industry, but also opened the curtain on the tragedy of China's sword-making history. Qin Shihuang united the six countries, "burning books and burying scholars", the control of swords (including kitchen knives), a change in the former practice, a large number of brutalization of the craftsmen, this is the history of China's swords and knives in the first great holocaust. To the Tang and Song dynasties, China's sword-making industry began to flourish, some unique forging technology has gradually spread abroad. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, in order to promote national martial arts and sword-making skills, Qianlong recruited some famous craftsmen and personally supervised the manufacture of a number of superbly crafted swords and knives, but they have actually lost their practicality.

From the time of Qin Shi Huang, China's successive feudal monarchs were afraid of the people have weapons, and thus suppressed, bound, outlawed the sword manufacturing industry, and some of the princes and generals have a sword, in order to be the only one, often brutally kill the sword for the creation of the skilled craftsmen in order to break the skills, so that the formation of the many master craftsmen to create the phenomenon of the double sword of female and male, one left to posterity to avenge his death, the other used to offer the king after the king! The other one was used to offer to the king after committing suicide in front of the king. This also led to the gradual loss of Chinese smelting and forging techniques. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese sword manufacturing industry had declined. The Beiyang warlord era of the officer's saber almost all customized in Europe, make the country shame.

Today, some of the domestic sword factory manufacturing "famous sword boutique" has not been the same as in the past. At the same time, the sword technology books are also very scarce. On the contrary, as early as the Chinese sword manufacturing industry is gradually declining, the western sword manufacturing industry is gradually flourishing. China's unique forging techniques, like the "Four Great Inventions", were transferred to the West and contributed to the development of the Western sword manufacturing industry. Even today, the long lost "patterned steel" (also called "folding steel", steel body has a pattern like wood grain) smelting technology is still applied in the West and produce a wide range of high-grade exquisite swords, which have become the collection of the Western high society treasures. From a general point of view, the world's sword manufacturing industry is gradually sliding into the doldrums, built in 1872 for the royal family sword factory world famous factory - the British Wilcoxon company has been merged into the production, and like a domestic Taiwan-funded sword factory (world famous) and 1883 factory built in Germany WKC company (still in the manufacture of the sword, the products are sold to more than 50 countries in the world) such exquisite craftsmanship, the sword factory is still in the world, and the company is still in the production of the sword. (still making swords, products are sold to more than 50 countries in the world) such exquisite craftsmanship of the famous enterprises is now a phoenix in the sky, as few as a morning star. Due to the high degree of craftsmanship in this industry, manual labor intensity, relatively hard, and higher costs, low profits, so the research and development of new technologies less and less people, so that some of the old enterprises can hardly be maintained, so that the sword manufacturing industry towards a vicious circle.

In the world, the sword-making master and high-grade exquisite sword has been difficult to find. On the contrary, some of the mass production of the degree of craftsmanship is relatively low degree of sword but at a low price, "pink ink on the scene", so that knowledgeable people on the future of the sword manufacturing industry worries.

Japan is the only Asian country that has preserved the traditional craft of sword-making, and the Japanese sword has always been a system of its own, forming its own unique culture. Today's Japan is still active in a number of skilled craftsmen and some of the Kendo Association and other civic organizations, each year, regularly published a special collection of swords, and held product competitions. The culture of kendo and samurai swords is revered by the people of Japan and has been accepted and studied in many countries around the world. In terms of law, Japan is also the most detailed and reasonable Asian countries on the manufacture, sale and collection of swords. Japanese law provides: to blow the hair off the edge of the very sharp samurai sword, to have a government agency issued by the "sword license" in order to buy the collection. In Japan, a hand-forged ordinary samurai sword, the price is not expensive. But there is no sword hidden danger in Japan, on the contrary, the sword manufacturing industry every year for Japan to create a sizable profit. 1. People have character, hidden virtue: sword collection can not only enhance the person's artistic taste, but also in the collection process to increase personal cultural connotation. "Get a good knife and sword is certainly worth the excitement, but the process is more meaningful. The process of seeking a good knife and sword is actually the process of improving oneself." , but "people who are headstrong, scheming and capricious are also better off not collecting, because it is difficult for people of this type of character to collect good swords and knives." Collectors must learn a lot of "historical and cultural knowledge" and "professional skills" in order to get the fun, do not be superstitious about the so-called "sword masters" and "sword king". "King of the sword", at present in the world, the sword craft are basically extinct, there is no real sense of the "King of the sword" and "sword master", if only a generalized collection, or only to figure fame, collection of swords. In order to figure fame, the collection of swords without any meaning.

Currently domestic research on the history of Chinese swords and knives, randomness is very large, the level is also very amateurish, long-term development at a low level, for a concept, each say a lot, some of the so-called historical records to blackmail, inconsistencies, so that people do not know the truth. In contrast, foreign research on the history of swords and knives is very much in place, the formation of a professional system, the establishment of a specialized agency, for the point of view description, argument, argument, argument are very full

2. Maintenance should be good, "character" to be good: the more good swords and knives, the more need for good maintenance, weekdays have to carefully wait, do not! Do not move to try to chop, do not give people who do not know how to see. Otherwise, you get a good thousands of dollars on the tens of thousands of dollars to get rust on the end, if you do not have the patience, it is recommended to buy a two hundred stainless steel sword good.

3. The collection value of the sword is mainly related to its own level of craftsmanship, and speculation has nothing to do. The collection value of the sword is mainly focused on the sword heat treatment and forging process, if the sword is too luxurious, and the sword heat treatment and forging process is not characterized, then the collection will not be very significant, can only be counted as "handicrafts". For craftsmen, test the level of craftsmanship, not through the "great god knife" to show, the more simple process, the more difficult to do. Small knife than long knife is difficult to do, double-edged than single-edged difficult to do, do the most test of the sword is actually the process is all-steel double-edged knife. Now find a few domestic, really can purely by hand forging a decent point of all-steel double-edged knife (not annealed steel fire, durable, so simple), are very difficult to do. (Pure hand forging and heat treatment process, in fact, the basic fast disappeared)

4. Domestic collection of swords and daggers are few and far between. There are three main reasons for this.

The first reason is that in the 1950s, in order to develop productive forces, the state vigorously advocated the "iron and steel", all the raw materials can be steel into the furnace, resulting in the destruction of a large number of antiques, including the great value of the collection of ancient swords and swords, modern swords and daggers; even in the "iron and steel". "Iron and steel" period "survived" the sword, but also by the "Cultural Revolution" storm swept away. Before the Cultural Revolution, China had a large collection of Chinese and foreign swords, during the Cultural Revolution, was banned. Beijing in that period alone in the Military Museum of the square will collect tens of thousands of swords, with electric welding all burned in public, so that people who witnessed this scene is still fresh in their minds. "In the domestic sword collection, the pitfalls are very much, fakes are everywhere, and very expensive, the collection of less experienced people or less touch it.

The second reason: in the domestic sword collection that has survived, to the Ming and Qing dynasties, the majority of swords. But due to the lack of professional protection knowledge of many traders and collection enthusiasts, mistakenly believe that the more mutilated, rusted sword the more antique status, so that antique swords are not protected; and some traders in order to obtain greater benefits, in this has been worn out on the processing of swords and knives, painting patterns, as a way to hide from the sea. As a result, the domestic sword worth buying even less pathetic.

The third reason: many people nowadays are very interested in the fame and luxury of the sword suit, but do not pay attention to the real level of craftsmanship. Chinese traditional sword craft has basically lost extinct, the general level is also limited to the steel knife, pure steel, soft steel, green steel, treasure knife craft are lost. The collection value of swords and swords craftsmanship related to, and fame has nothing to do with, and people at the time of speculation also has nothing to do with, the price and value is not the same thing.

Chinese swords in the late Qing Dynasty was gradually replaced by hot weapons, to the Republic of China is just a false name, sword forging technology gradually lost, coupled with the destruction of the Four Olds, ten years of the Cultural Revolution, lost. Now the so-called Chinese sword, mostly under the banner of restoring the ancient method, greatly exaggerated, its craftsmanship greatly improved, the actual combat sex let a person question. Anyone only know, ancient sword, that is in the battlefield to fight out of the fame, is the soldier to defeat the opponent, save their own sharp edge, not widely known to fight out of the fame.

Ancient China's sword level in the world at that time, occupies an absolute leadership position, but due to a series of historical reasons, skillful craftsmen, often only to end up with ware hidden in the family's fate.

Teachers often also have to stay a hand of the old examples, basically a single pass, pass male not female. In fact, the passer and non-passer learning things are almost the same, just know-how and essentials, the teacher will not then give you to break this layer of windowpaper, and so on the day he went into the ground, will give you this layer of paper to break, and this time you just laxly realized that the original is this way (the original is so simple). This way of teaching skills is very fragile, once there is any change and turbulence, immediately lost. Of course, there is a reason, the teacher is also afraid of the craft of the wrong person, then lead to fire, such as martial arts inside the light and dark weapons, ancient times have a real record, but the teacher did not dare to pass down, is afraid of bad people learn to do bad things. The real craft of the master teacher will not just give others to do the sword, good weapons fell into the hands of people with eyes without pearls, purely insulted the craft.

Moreover, the casting of swords and knives has a complex, cumbersome process, poor a process, or a process not in place, out of the sword and knife, that is much worse. Tang Dynasty forging and casting sword technology, in China as early as eighteen lifetimes lost, so today's Chinese are learning to imitate the Japanese samurai sword forging and casting technology. Chinese swords, the current level of craftsmanship is not superior, not only can not be counted as a world-class sword, but also far less than the neighboring India, Arabia and other countries to make a fine sword.

Today's sword process, as if one person in the painting of ancient paintings, you copy and then like, that is also a copy of the imitation, the ink, paper, ink and ink and pigments, but also not the people used at that time, no wonder those who have been preserved to date the ancient mural, have spared no effort to protect, is because of the present day, can not be restored in accordance with the original standards, destroyed and never have. China's sword craft, are our ancestors of the Chinese nation through thousands of painstaking, set several generations of experience and become, belong to the same Chinese traditional crafts and cultural treasures. Chinese sword skills generally decline, many crafts have been completely extinct, the urgent need to explore and protect! Retain the traditional culture, in order to retain the roots of the Chinese nation ah!