Historical Metallurgy 1

[dpa]

Hope this is not too far off the topic. I have a Confederate sword that typifies why the South lost the Civil War. Basically it is a poor hand made example done by a blacksmith who was not a sword maker. Cracks in the blade have been repaired with what the previous owner referred to as "pancake welds". Hot metal was dripped on the tips of the cracks to stop the spread. One metal is silver in color and the other is gold. Neither has ever shown the slightest tendency to tarnish. I believe the silver color is an alloy from that era known as "German Silver". Does anyone know what the gold colored metal might be (other than gold). Was there an allow that resembled gold in those days. Has anyone heard the term "pancake weld" before.

Thanks
DPA

 

[Greenleader]

Hello DPA.

I make swords as a hobby, but am not real up on the historical nuances. This is a forum that I frequent, which by the way, has a metallurgical section.

http://forums.swordforum.com/index.php?s=28d415756ce99e1152c88f04d0035202

No doubt you questions could be answered there. Gerald

 

[dpa]

Hi Greenleader,

Thanks for the quick response. I wasn't expecting to hear anything until tomorrow. I'll check out the web site and let you know. I'm at dave_adkins@msn.com just in case someone decides this was not an appropriate question for this forum.

DPA

 

[thingmaker3]

A copper & zinc alloy called "spelter" was often used by blacksmiths of that era for brazing operations on thin sections. Alex Bealer describes the use of spelter to repair saws and shovels in rual Alabama as late as the 1940's & 50's.

Searching for the Path of Least Resistance

 

[dpa]

Thanks thingmaker. That sounds like what we are looking at here. I knew that Confederate women gave up their gold jewelry to support their cause but I doubted that it would have been used this way.

You can tell they were hard up for metals though because the cracks are only repaired at the tips and only on one side of the sword.

I always felt sorry for whoever carried this sword. He must have been looking to capture something better on the battlefield. The handle looks like the first year of production of the Model 1812 by Nathan Starr. It seems to be a recycled model 1812 that had been broken at some time and the blade replaced with this very crude hammered example of 'turning plowshares into swords'. The scabbard is wood with a very dry pigskin cover and the scabbard tip is broken off so the tip of the blade shows through. It gives a kind of personal touch to history.

Thanks again,
DPA