(urth) Fuligin invented

Thu Jan 17 12:57:23 PST 2008

That's one of the things commonly debated in sword-aficionado circles  
(metallurgy, not Gene Wolfe). The problem is something on a more basic  
level -- there is a constant, almost-perpetual trade-off between the  
properties that make a sword useful. The harder something is (e.g.,  
diamond) the more brittle it is in larger blades. But the softer  
something is, the more of a chance it will set at an unnatural angle  
or be impossible to sharpen.

Even with metals other than steel that display a greater strength  
(e.g., titanium) there are other, associated defects. Titanium is  
lighter than steel, which means that although you can create a  
sharper, stronger sword out of it, it won't do you much of anything  
insofar as cutting is concerned because there's insufficient weight  
behind the blade to cut. In order for TE to be Hiero-something  
technology, it would have to be made of a metal that surpasses the  
current limitations of our understanding, not just our ability.

Which is not to say that in the context of a world where time travel  
and the supernatural is possible that it would be unfeasible for TE to  
be made according to magical/advanced technological rules (I'm  
reminded of Heinlein's quote that one man's sorcery is another's  
engineering), but rather that there is no good reason based on our  
current metallurgical science to believe that such a material is  
feasible.

In re: fullers

A fuller (erroneously called a blood groove since it does nothing with  
blood) is usually just hammered in to the blade. It's done to either  
reduce weight or to change the cross-section shape of the sword (which  
is useful for various purposes). The reason why I'm skeptical (and I  
am by no means the expert; I've asked the experts and am waiting on a  
response) is that the hollow space in the middle of the blade would  
necessarily take away from the shock-absorbing value of having  a mass  
of softer metal in the middle of the blade. If you get a chance, go  
handle a longsword or two-hander from a collector, or see if you have  
a friend that has a functional replica made by a reputable company  
(e.g., Angus Trim, Arms and Armor, Del Tin, etc.). Watch the sword  
flex and look closely at the way it's constructed in the middle of the  
blade. I can take pictures of my Viking sword at home (which has a  
very wide fuller) and show you. It's a pressed/hammered fuller.

Lane

On Jan 17, 2008, at 12:37 PM, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote:

> All true ... But ... Do we know of what metal "Terminus Est" is  
> actually
> made? Even if Severian calls it steel (which I don't recall  
> offhand), that
> could be a "translation factor," after all. Who's to say that TE  
> isn't a
> "galaxy level" piece of technology, some bit of metallurgical alchemy
> far beyond what we can produce right now?
>
> On Jan 17, 2008 10:20 AM, Lane Haygood <lhaygood at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I've never heard of an actual mercury channel in a sword. I can ask  
>> on
>> a swordsmanship forum I frequent (where several smiths post) to see  
>> if
>> it's feasible. From what I understand of sword structure, it's not.
>> You need the center part of the sword to be the strongest part, and
>> that usually means it needs to be softer and more ductile than the
>> surrounding steel. Cutting a big channel out of the middle of it  
>> might
>> weaken its structural integrity to the point where it would be  
>> useless
>> for cutting.
>>
>> The idea is that the edges, the parts that need to be sharp, should  
>> be
>> harder. When steel hardens, it becomes more brittle. Brittle steel
>> will sharpen and hold an edge. But it's also weak. If you made the
>> whole sword out of really hard steel it would chip and shatter
>> whenever it made contact with something. So you make the non-edge  
>> part
>> of the sword out of softer, more flexible metal so that it will
>> actually absorb shock. But cutting a big channel out of the middle
>> would remove a lot of the shock-absorbing material.
>>
>> Lane
>>
>>
>> On Jan 17, 2008, at 12:01 PM, Matthew Keeley wrote:
>>
>>> On Jan 17, 2008 4:58 PM,  <brunians at brunians.org> wrote:
>>>> That sucker in the wiki article was as long as TE. Couldn't tell if
>>>> it had
>>>> a mercury channel, but that kind of thing would be obvious. I have
>>>> heard
>>>> of swords with sliding weights also.
>>>>
>>>> So Severian wasn't joking when he said the horizontal stroke was
>>>> harder
>>>> than the vertical one....
>>>
>>> According to the Wikipedia article, "The Sword of Justice at the
>>> Higgins Armory Museum is a fine example of such ceremonial weapons
>>> used to designate status and authority." If that's the sword in the
>>> picture, that's really neat, as the Higgins is only about fifteen
>>> minutes' walk from my house. I'll check it out next time I'm at home
>>> (i.e. in six months) and ask about weights and mercury in blades of
>>> that type. If anyone would know about that sort of thing, it's the
>>> folks at the Higgins. I'll see if I can get some relevant pictures  
>>> as
>>> well.
>>>
>>> I recall that Wolfe mentioned basing TE off real swords, so I  
>>> wouldn't
>>> be surprised if the Higgins had something similar.
>>>
>>> So... report forthcoming I guess.
>>>
>>> -Matt
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>
>
>
> -- 
> Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, writer, trainer, bon vivant
> -----
> http://www.livejournal.com/users/sturgeonslawyer
> http://www.danehyoakes.com
>
> I saw a dirty overcoat at the foot of the pillar of the road/and
> propped inside was an old man whom time could not erode
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