SWORD MANUFACTURE. Weapons of offence were early fabri cated by the cutlers of Sheffield. Holland (‘ Manufactures in Metal') gives a representation of two men grinding a sword-blade, copied from a manuscript psalter, written about the time of King Stephen, which is preserved in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge, and which probably represents the usual construction of grinding machinery at that time. The grindstone is mounted upon a horizontal axis, which one man turns by means of a crank ; and the sword, which is straight and pointed, is pressed down upon its periphery by the other man, who sits on a beam above the level of the stone, so that his weight may be conveniently thrown upon the sword, to press it firmly against the etone.
But while there cau be no doubt of the extensive manufacture of swords in England at an early period, the blades made in Spain and Italy, and more especially those brought from the East. bore the pre eminence. The swords of Toledo were sought after on account of their admirable temper, in the time of the Moors, and even under the Romans. It has been supposed that they were indebted for their valuable qualities to some peculiar property in the water of the Tagus, which is used in tempering them. In the early period of the French invasion, the manufactory was removed to Seville, where the national junta then was; but it was found that the swords manufactured on the banks of the Guadalquivir were very inferior to these which the same workmen had made at Toledo. In the time of the crusades, and down to a much later period, Milan supplied swords of excellent quality in large numbers. But, celebrated as these and the Spanish blades deservedly were, those from the East were still more highly prized, and enormous sums were often given for them, Of all the sabres, the fame of which has reached this country, those of Damascus are by far the most noted. Very few persons indeed have eeen them ; and fewer still have been the instances in which the blades themselves have confirmed these strange stories about their temper which al e so generally circulated, and received among persons who know but little of the nature of steel. The characteristics ascribed to the real Damascus blades are, extraordinary keenness of edge, great flexibility of substance, a singular grain and fleckiness observable upon the surface, and a peculiar musky odour given out by any friction of the blade. Their quality, undoubtedly excellent as it must be, has been greatly exaggerated ; the extraordinary powers of execution attributed to Damascus blades are, in a great measure, dependent upon the strength and dexterity of the user. A gentleman who purchased one of these sabres in the East Indies for a thousand piastres, Informed Mr. Holland that, although it was very flexible, and bore a fine keen edge, it could not be safely bent to more than 45° from a straight line, and it was not nearly so sharp as a razor ; yet, when wielded by a skilful hand, it would cut through a thick roll of sail-cloth without apparent difficulty. The swordsman who tried it could, it appears, do
nearly the same thing with a good European blade.
About the year 1689 an attempt was made to improve and extend the sword manufacture of England by the incorporation of a company of sword-cutlers for making hollow sword-blades in Cumberland and the adjacent counties. The company was empowered to purchase lands, to erect mills, and to employ a great number of German arti ficers ; yet the project failed. Owing, apparently, to the parsimony of the manufacturers, which led them to use inferior materials, and to employ unskilful workmen, English sword-blades fell into very ill npute during the 1St]] century. In 1783 the sword-sellers of London, in consequence of the very bad quality of English blades, petitioned the lords of the treasury for permission to import German swords free of duty ; and this circumstance, by attracting public attention forcibly to the low state of this branch of British cutlery, led to very impor tant improvements. Mr. Gill, of Birmingham, memorialised the lords of the treasury, stating that lie could make sword-blades equal to those of Germany, and requesting a fair comparison. Circumstances delayed the public trial which lie desired ; but in 17SG, the East Indki Company requiring 10,000 horsemen's swords, divided their orders indiscriminately among English and German manufacturers. Owing to the exertions of Mr. Gill, by (whom some of these swords were made, a comparative trial was appointed, and every sword sent in was submitted to a naachino recommended by Matthew Boulton, of Soho, in which the metal was tried by forcing the sword into a curve, so as to reduce its length from 36 inches to 294 inches. The result was that 2650 of Mr. Gill's swords bore the test, and only 4 were rejected, while of the German swords 1900 were received and 23 rejected. The extremely low state of the British sword manufacture at that time is sufficiently testified by the fact that of the blades sent by other English cutlers, 2700 were received and 1084 rejected. In addition to the above-mentioned test, Mr. Gill tried his swords by striking them flatways upon a slab of cast-iron, and edgeways upon a cylinder of wroughtsiron, which they often emit through. They were so tough, although formed of cast-steel, that, after cutting a gun-barrel asunder, Gill would frequently wind the blade round it like a riband, after which it would recover its original straightness, excepting at the point. So completely did he establish the fame of his swords, that even Ger man officers applied to him for them.