Swords: Difference between revisions

* The curved design of the Talwar makes it ideal for both stabbing and slashing attacks, and also for the user to suddenly [[Everything's Better with Spinning|spin and attack from an unpredictable direction]], throwing his opponent off-balance. There is also a spike attached to the pommel, to strike at the enemy in close quarters when it is not practical to use the blade.

** The Talwar also had varying designs which could be changed as per one's fighting style; a common favorite among elite warriors was to broaden the blade towards the end, which would exert a tremendous amount of concentrated force into cutting attacks, much like a lighter version of a Falchion. A skilled enough warrior could easily cleave a person in two with such a Talwar. There is even a story of Maharana Prathap Singh cutting a man's head vertically from the top, completely down to the neck. Right '''''through the helmet'''''. So, yeah.

* Okay, now dive in for a deep one. Ever since Crusades and throughout the Middle Ages the Europeans were utterly fascinated with the swords of their Middle Eastern rivals. Their striking patterned steel, whose look resembled a wood grain of the flow of water, was ascribed nearly magic properties, like slicing other swords with ease, being able to be bent into a circle and then spring back, or effortlessly cutting the silk gauze thrown against the blade. Equally fancy stories were told about the technology of their making, like tempering the blade in the body of a young strong slave so his life force would go into the sword. The best known (for Europeans) center of production and trade in these swords was in the Syrian capital of Damascus, so they had became to be known as [[Damascus Steel|Damascus blades]].

** In fact these swords were made from the very high quality high-carbon (to the level it could be better classified as cast iron, not steel) crucible steel of Indian origin, now commonly called "wootz", a corruption of several South Indian words meaning "steel". This was a highly unusual alloy of exceptional properties, now as the science finally was able to study it, ascribed to the peculiar distribution of iron carbide grains in the relatively soft and malleable iron matrix. These grains, which are ultra-hard, were arranged in bands, giving the steel its striking look and excellent cutting power, as after sharpening these bands served as micro-saws.