Swords were not effective weapons until the dawn of the Bronze Age, and truly became great tools of war during the Iron Age. Previous to this era, rough blades were fashioned from flint, wood, or other materials like bones and antlers. While these materials were effective for clubbing, cutting and piercing, metal swords are vastly superior to their ancestors.
It was not until man found copper around 3700 BC that swords could be considered truly effective. Copper on its own was very soft and swords crafted from this material needed frequent sharpening. Copper was smelted with tin to form bronze, which needed far less maintenance then their copper counterparts, and a new era was born. The great civilizations of the Middle East armed their large armies with bronze swords. Swords in early Egypt resembled oversized daggers, and were meant only for thrusting. The first cutting swords had a sickle-shaped blade and were invented around 2500 BC. The Assyrians of the era also carried bronze swords, which were fitted to the soldier’s belt and worn horizontally. These early swords were also rather short and very decorative for the time, usually featuring some sort of ornamentation below the grip. The Greeks of the Bronze age employed much longer swords used solely for thrusting. The earliest Greek swords took the shape of a cruciform , but slowly evolved to a slightly curved shape by about 700 BC.
A new age in the history of man was born with the discovery of iron, which was smelted as early as 3000 BC, thus the beginning of the Iron Age. The Hittites are credited as being the first to make swords from this new material, and they conquered vast areas of territory, easily conquering opposing forces using who were using inferior weapons. The swords created with iron were harder and more durable that those crafted from bronze, and created a far better weapon. Although iron had been known for a long time previous to its use as a blade material, smiths found it very difficult to work with. The Hittites discovered, likely by accident, that if carbon was heated along with iron, then put in water to cool, they could make a durable iron blade. They kept this secret closely guarded, and it was many years before this technology reached the Middle East, Africa, and the rest of the developed world. The Romans, famous for their swordsmanship, adopted iron weapons after the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC.
Although bladed weapons had been crafted before metal was around, they were crude and often ineffective at cutting or thrusting. Due to artisans furthering the craft of forging swords in the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, they became an absolute necessity for close combat. Whether mounted on horseback or engaging in hand-to-hand combat on foot, swords became a universal weapon to keep one’s enemy at bay.
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Mount & Blade Combat 2
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NINJA COMBAT TACTICAL KNIVES NEW KNIFE SET 2 BLADE $3.99 |
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Mtech Military Tanto Blade Combat Survival Knife Camo $16.99 |
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Mtech Military Tanto Blade Combat Survival Knife Camo $16.99 |
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DVD: 21st Century Knife Combat Volume 2 : Long Blade $50.95 |
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DVD: 21st Century Knife Combat Volume 3 Blade vs Blade $50.95 |
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New Combat Fixed Blade Hunting Survival Knife w Sheath $10.75 |
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New 15″ Full Tang Steel Fixed Blade Combat Bowie Knife $20.99 |
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15″ Full Tang Stiletto Style Fixed Blade Combat Knife $20.99 |
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New 13″ Full Tang Steel Fixed Blade Combat Bowie Knife $20.99 |
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New Combat Fixed Blade Hunting Survival Knife w Sheath $10.75 |
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NEW BLACK TACTICAL COMBAT KNIFE W FIXED BLADE $11.50 |
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Blade 12-1995 Kano Mortal Combat Christmas knives $9.49 |
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Frost Cutlery – Combat Scout – 12″ Fixed Blade Knife $0.99 |
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QUEENS BLADE Combat Instructor ALLEAN Figure Loyal Blue $99.95 |
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Deadly NHB Sicilian Blade Knife Fighting Combat Book $21.23 |
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12″ New Black Fixed Blade Combat Survival Bowie Knife $16.75 |
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12″ Black Fixed Blade Tactical Combat Serrated Knife $16.75 |
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DVD BOX SET Blade#1 # #2 & #3 Knife Combat skill KARATE $19.99 |
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ONTARIO SP1 MARINE COMBAT FIXED BLADE KNIFE USA KA BAR $24.99 |
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ONTARIO SP10 MARINE RAIDER COMBAT FIXED BLADE KNIFE USA $31.00 |
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HK103: Black 12″ Fixed Blade Combat Knife w/Sheath $10.99 |
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1 NEW Hunter Military Training Knife Fixed Blade Combat $4.25 |
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NEW Tanto G.I. Training Knife Combat Military Blade MMA $9.97 |
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Cold Steel Recon Tanto Fixed Blade Combat Knife AUS 8A $65.99 |
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Batman Night Wayne Tech Combat Gauntlets Spikes Blades $59.95 |
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Double Bit Combat Axe, Wood Handle, Black Blade, Leather Sh. $59.99 ATTRIBUTES Carry System: Leather Sheath Handle Material: Walnut Overall Length (inches): 14.50 Special Features: Double Bit… |
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Lightfoot LCP Combat Pen $82.49 … |
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Combat Commander, Black Blade, Plain, Nylon Sheath $54.50 … |
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Combat Line Progressive Blade [VHS] If you’re looking for the most dynamic, hard-hitting and comprehensive instruction in the Filipino martial arts ever captured on video, you need to look to Datu Kelly S. Worden. Connecting the Systems is a complete 9-tape course in Datu Worden’s unique brand of the Filipino arts that presents step-by-step instruction in virtually every aspect of this devastating fighting form. The videos in this s… |
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Combat Line Progressive Blade [VHS] $29.95 … |
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Combat Line Progressive Blade [VHS] $29.95 If you’re looking for the most dynamic, hard-hitting and comprehensive instruction in the Filipino martial arts ever captured on video, you need to look to Datu Kelly S. Worden. Connecting the Systems is a complete 9-tape course in Datu Worden’s unique brand of the Filipino arts that presents step-by-step instruction in virtually every aspect of this devastating fighting form. The videos in this s… |
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Gerber 22-41121 Prodigy Survival Combat Knife $43.95 GERBER Prodigy, Serrated Edge, Designed cues for the new Prodigy were inspired by the award-winning LMF II, another knife engineered by Gerber’s Jeff Freeman. The Prodigy is much smaller (9.75″ overall length), but it certainly packs as much punch as its predecessor. The full tang, high-carbon stainless steel blade is beefy, and coated with black oxide for improved corrosion resistance and reduced… |
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Gerber 22-41870 Hinderer Combat Life Saver Knife with Serrated Edge $55.24 KNIFE, HINDERED CLS, BOX PKG… |
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Gerber 22-01966 Covert Knife with Serrated Edge $45.80 KNIFE, COVERT FAST, SE, BOX PKG… |
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Midnight Rendezvous $15.00 … |
