How easily do swords break?

As a general rule, a modern practice sword has a reasonable life span of about 2-3 years, assuming that you're training with it for 2 hours, twice per week each week. So on the whole, however, swords won't just break for no reason; but they're not indestructible.
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What can cause a sword to break?

It can happen for a few reasons.
  • The carbon content is too high. Carbon is what gives steel its extra strength versus straight iron. ...
  • Poor quality materials. Steel that is sufficiently contaminated with other elements could become brittle and shatter. ...
  • It was not properly tempered when the blade was created.
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Can swords crack?

Yes, it is extremely serious and could cause the sword to splinter or fracture without warning if any further cutting is done. Stresses on the blade will always try to relieve themselves through a weakpoint, so I think it is probably time to relegate the hardened old sword to a spot on the wall...
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How long do swords last?

Assuming thorough, regular maintenance, a sword can last almost indefinitely - the oldest one I've held that has seen use was about 250 years old and might still be usable, given a good cleaning.
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Do swords break or bend?

The amount of bending exceeds the elastic limit. Depending on the carbon content and the heat treatment (and other alloying elements), the sword will either break or take a set (i.e., get a permanent bend).
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Why do I break swords?



Are swords brittle?

As one of the last processes in fabricating a sword is quenching and tempering it. Quenching hardens the metal so it holds an edge longer but this also makes it very brittle. To restore some ductility and durability the sword is tempered.
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What is the strongest sword on earth?

The Honjo Masamune is so important because it represented the Shogunate during the Edo period of Japan. The sword was passed down from one Shogun to another for generations. In 1939 the weapon was named a national treasure in Japan, but remained in the Kii branch of the Tokugawa family.
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Can a sword be too sharp?

If a sword blade is too sharp when it hits a hard target, the edge can take additional damage that could have been prevented. The slice, on the other hand, operates primarily through shearing. Again there is force applied, but, as a slice does not involve a percussive impact, it has less force than found in a blow.
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Are real swords sharp?

Surviving sword specimens, the historical instructions for their use, and the descriptions in the record of the injuries they produced, all confirm that Medieval and Renaissance swords were indeed sharp “enough.” But there is no reason to believe that every kind of sword had the same degree of sharpness along the ...
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What is the oldest sword ever found?

However, archaeologist Marcella Frangipane of Rome University unearthed nine swords dating all the way back to 3300 BCE – Frangipane declared the swords of Arslantepe the world's oldest and first swords ever discovered. The Arslantepe swords are made from an arsenic-copper alloy and were found in relatively good shape.
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Can swords slice through bone?

There are three main factors that directly influence whether or not a sword can cut through bones. One of those factors depends on the blade wielder. First of all the weight of the blade increases its cutting abilities. More mass means more force to smash some bones.
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Can a sword Bend?

A bent sword can be the result of using a poor quality weapon, an incorrect cutting technique or both. Even a well-manufactured mono-steel blade or traditionally folded-steel model will bend or twist if your technique is off. Strangely enough, bending is the good news.
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Can swords stop bullets?

Swords are very hard and very strong - and if you're trying to deflect a bullet rather than stopping it, a strong piece of metal held at an angle should do the trick quite nicely!
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Can a broken sword be fixed?

You could theoretically repair a broken sword (played straight), but it's difficult and usually requires complete reforging of the weapon, meaning that for historic practical use, it may just be easier to get a new one (averted).
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Which metal is best for sword?

The best metal for a sword is carbon steel. Carbon steel comes in many variations denoted by the number 10, followed by a two-digit number that represents the carbon content. Carbon steel under 1040 is too weak for a sword. The best overall metal for a sword is carbon steel rated at 1060.
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How long does it take to Smith a sword?

Usually a sword would take about 1-2 months to finish, not because they where spending that long making a sword, but because they'd be making a dozen or more swords at the same time to better make use of their resources; there's a lot of waste when you're smelting metals.
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Do swords bleed?

Even 2,000 years old, it bleeds. And it smells like a steak cooking, like cooked meat. I've encountered this before with Japanese swords from World War II. If there's blood on the sword and you start polishing it, the sword bleeds.
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Do swords get stronger with blood?

Swords were tempered in urine or blood -- FALSE

The steels smelted in Medieval Europe required either clean water or oil for quenching. Urine or blood would not allow a blade to temper properly.
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Can katanas cut through bone?

Katanas are sharp and strong enough to cut cleanly through bone, metal, armor, and probably even the sun, if only someone could get close enough.
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How did Knights sharpen their swords?

The whetstone, sometimes referred to as a honestone, was a common object in medieval London, and it was used primarily for sharpening knives and other blades. This particular whetstone is made of stone that is 145 millimeters in length and 11 millimeters wide.
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How did Vikings sharpen their swords?

Men must have routinely sharpened their weapons with a whetstone. The whetstone shown to the right was found in a Viking-age context. The wear patterns indicate it was primarily used for sharpening a long-bladed weapon (such as a sword) rather than shorter weapons or agricultural tools.
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What is the deadliest sword style?

What Is the Deadliest Sword in the World?
  1. The Katana. One of the most famous swords in the world is also one of the deadliest. ...
  2. The Claymore. Along with being the finishing move of WWE wrestler Drew McIntyre, the claymore is a great Scottish blade. ...
  3. The Urumi. ...
  4. The Muramasa. ...
  5. The Scimitar. ...
  6. The Hook. ...
  7. The Gladius. ...
  8. The Estoc.
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What sword has the most kills?

Deadliest swords in history
  • The claymore, the longsword, and William Wallace.
  • The katana and Masamune: Japan's greatest sword smith.
  • Para 3: Saladin's singing scimitar.
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Why are Japanese swords so strong?

Katana-makers use two types of tamahagane: high-carbon, which is very hard and allows for a razor-sharp edge, and low-carbon, which is very tough and allows for shock absorption. A sword composed simply of one kind of steel or the other would either dull too quickly or be too brittle.
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