[Runequest] Runequest Digest, Vol 2, Issue 3 [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

[Tenniel Guiver]

> Bronze vs iron -Yes it is stronger, 
> but usually more brittle & can take less side-loading force. Thus they 
> built bronze weapons bulkier & more heavy but they still would often 
> shatter when struck repeatedly with iron weapons.
) Actually, bronze is not inferior to iron... :) in some cases and
) applications it's actually  superior.
> etc

What this is saying is that bronze may be made "stronger" than iron, but 
may not necessarily be "tougher".

* Strength- ability to withstand force being applied. Materials will have 
different types of strength- tensile (resistance to being pulled), 
compressive (resistance to being squashed) and shear strength (resistance 
to being sliced or sheared)

* Toughness- ability to absorb energy before failure

* Hardness- resistance to indentation

Thus an iron sword might be tougher than a bronze sword that is actually 
stronger.  So the iron sword that constantly bends and needs straigtening 
might last longer than bronze sword that snaps parrying a mighty blow.  An 
obsidian sword (e.g. a klanth) could be very hard (and made with a razor 
sharp edge) but have very little toughness.

>Didn't iron weapons also tond to bend with use?
There is an interesting anglo-saxon account of soldiers having to 
constantly straigthen out their iron swords underfoot..can't find the 
reference.. but here is a roman account of Gaulish weapons "merely cutting 
blades . . . altogether pointless, and fit only to slash from a distance 
downwards: these weapons by their construction soon wax blunt, and are 
bent and bowed; so that a second blow cannot be delivered until they are 
straightened by the foot."

Steel can be very tough and strong.  But in early days strength was 
generally at the cost of toughness (i.e. becoming more brittle).  Ways 
around this included smashing up the carbides left over from the iron 
making process, welding different compositions of metal together (e.g. 
pattern welding... use something hard for the edge supported by something 
tough) or by techniques that controlled carbide formation (eg Damascus 
steel or the aforementioned wootz steel).  My favourite is about a smith 
that refined steel by making a sword, filing it down , feeding to chicken 
(after abaking into cakes), reforging and repeating this.  This works by 
removing phosphorus (which chickens excel at, they need it for egg 
making... helps transprt calcium apparently).

Bronze can have a wide range of properties (from soft and malleable to 
hard and brittle) depending on composition.  I did a review of ancient 
chinese bronze artifacts many years ago as amazed at the varaiblity in 
composition, some spearheads had a really high tin content and would have 
been extremely brittle (but really pointy).

But for RPGs it is probably best to ignore all of this.  Especially in 
Glorantha where bronze is the bones of the gods and iron is a substance 
with supernatural properties.
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