Folded Steel Versus Carbon Steel

Folding Steel Process

• Folding steel is the technique used by blacksmiths to remove impurities from the metal and thereby strengthen it. Typically raw iron, particularly in the days of antiquity, would be inundated with contaminants such as sand or dirt. After the Iron was melted, the metal would be pounded by the blacksmith’s hammer on an anvil and “folded” to drive out the impurities.

Carbon Steel Process

• Carbon steel is manufactured by chemically reducing the iron ore through exposure to high heat. Carbon steel is produced by placing iron into a basic oxygen furnace where it is converted to steel. The advantage of carbon steel is that the properties of the metal are uniform and the steel can be produced in quantity.

Folding Steel Blades

• Blades of folded steel are produced by melting the Iron, forming it to the desired length and shape, and purifying the metal through the folding process. The blade is then finished by manually sharpening the edges, typically with a grinding stone, and decorating the sword as desired. A sword of folded steel can usually be identified by the appearance of layers on the side of the sword; depending on the craftsmanship of the blacksmith, these layers are harder to identify on higher quality swords.

Carbon Steel Blades

• The majority of modern commercially produced swords, especially reproductions of European and Japanese swords, are produced from stock carbon steel. The blades are cut from the steel by milling machines, ground into a blade, then heat treated. Carbon steel blades can be identified by the uniform finish of the metal; unlike folded steel, there is no layered effect to the appearance of the blade.