[Ansteorra] armour materials, was Gauging interest for a Cut Test BBQ

[Haraldr Bassi]

Very interesting stuff. Not an area I've personally researched but your data does raise a 
question in my mind... is it possible that the hardened steel was knowingly discontinued due to 
a change in the types of weapons needing to defend against? I would expect hardened to resist 
broad blade cutting much better, but would it also resist high speed blunt force impact (e.g. 
musket ball)? What about small narrow thrusting areas (schlager and arrow tips)?

It just seems curious to see the entire continent discontinue something that had been only 
recently implemented within a hundred years of each other.

Haraldr

On 2/16/11 7:56 AM, Dave W wrote:
> The short answer is medium carbon steels.  The slightly longer answer is
> that by 1400 some armors had the carbon content to be heat treated.
> Originally this was through an interrupted, or slack quench, then later with
> a full hardening and tempering.  The most significant difference was the
> lack of homogeneity in the steels.  The steels produced varied in carbon
> content and slag content depending on the production method.  It was the
> quality of the iron ore in Styria that allowed the German armorers to
> produce more consistent armors.  The trend was for an increase in the
> hardness of the steels through the end of the 15th century, peaking around
> 1480 for the Italians, at which point their hardness fell off rapidly.  For
> Innsbruck and Augsburg, the primary German centers of production, the armors
> retained higher hardness values into the 1520's before falling more
> gradually.  The English armors improved in quality with the establishment of
> the Royal Armoury at Greenwich in 1515.  That armory saw an increase in the
> hardness of its armors peaking around 1590 as they followed a similar curve
> to the other centers of armor production.
>
> For comparisons sake of the hardness of various materials, using the Vickers
> scale:
> Wrought iron around 60 VPH
> Mild steel around 140 VPH
> Hardened steels from 200 to 550 VPH
>
> For a great introduction to the subject I recommend The Royal Armoury at
> Greenwich 1515-1649, by Alan Williams and Anthony de Reuck, ISBN 094809222X.
> For an in depth look at the topic, there is no better source than Alan
> Williams the Knight and the Blast Furnace, ISBN 9004124985.
>
> Hope that helps,
> Alexis
>
>
> BTW, anyone know what metal was being used in armor by the end of our
> period? Obviously it was not tempered stainless. Is our mild steel a good
> approximation of their state of the art? I know steel was in use for very
> small applications but did they make it in quantities sufficient for armor?
>
> Doré
>
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