Gladius Handle Help...

[Matthew Amt]

So if people used more bronze in the iron age, they were using mostly sharp rocks in the bronze age or what? Just copper blades? This is all kindof off topic but hey, it's good stuff to learn.

There was just a lot less metal in general, for much of the Bronze Age, though of course the amounts in use varied dramatically depending on the region. Stone tools were used in Scandinavia well into the Iron Age--stone was what they had a lot of! Places like that and the Low Countries had to import ALL their bronze, since there simply was no copper or tin found there. Overall, most places had smaller populations, too, especially compared to the huge civilizations of the Roman era. And really, while there were more bronze *weapons* in the Bronze Age, during the Iron Age there was a lot more use of bronze for everyday utensils, furnishings, that sort of thing.

I've never seen a copper razor, though there are plenty of bronze ones. They tend to be very high in tin, making them extremely hard. They'll take a very good edge. Straight copper really wasn't used much at all for weapons or other items after bronze appeared, since bronze is much easier to cast and work. But you can easily get extremely sharp edges with flint and obsidian, in fact modern surgical scalpels are available with obsidian blades! So stone can be better for some applications than surgical steel. And do remember that propellers for nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers are BRONZE, not some silly modern faddish ferrous alloy.

Here's a helpful educational video for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpeqPdVyQd0

Enjoy!

Matthew