Metal as Medium: An Artisan Bladesmith’s Insights into the Fantasy of Magical Weaponry

Insights from the practice of artisanal bladesmithing, particularly when considered in the context of a modern understanding of metallurgy, suggest that many of the purported characteristics of mythological weapons may arise from factors that were well-grounded in reality. Historically the production of steel produced unpredictable results, even within steel smelted from a single source of ore. Further, working that steel was as largely an art that was cloaked in secrets, and dominated by the inexplicable knacks and tricks that practitioners had developed through trial and error. Many legendary weapons may simply have been the product of the occasional convergence of the right trace elements in the steel with techniques that happened to maximize the qualities of that base material. Similarly, many of the fantastical or magical characteristics ascribed to mythical weapons, or the purported abilities of godly artisans, may represent exaggerations of how the qualities of accidental alloys and the skills needed to identify and make the best use of them, influenced production, characteristics, or functionality of weapons.