As a hopefully-minor digression, I once got one of these, thinking it looked sufficiently "Jacobite era" for my taste but also nice enough to wear on formal occasions:
http://www.southernswords.co.uk/late...ack-2052-p.asp
You can click on the image to see a full-screen version.
It's advertised as having a "high-carbon steel blade", and I managed to look up what steel, specifically, was used. I don't recall just what it was, but it's one used a lot in the UK which compares well with the 5160 steel used a lot in the US by custom sword and knife makers who make "functional" blades. I think some sites also described it as "battle ready".
It proved impossible to sharpen. The steel, of a composition which was actually quite suitable for a knife of this type, had not been properly heat treated, and was so soft it could not take an edge. It also turned out that the blade was chrome-plated, and the finish scratched very easily.
Last edited by Dale Seago; 23rd August 13 at 12:22 PM.
"It's all the same to me, war or peace,
I'm killed in the war or hung during peace."
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