would a diamond blade sword work?

Discussion in 'Weapons' started by blue eagle, Oct 26, 2005.

  1. blue eagle

    blue eagle New Member

    It's stronger than any metal, and diamond saws can cut any metal. Something too dense might shatter in other ways, or maybe not.

    Don't know if anyone would ever make one, since it'll probably cost millions in material alone. The only diamond blades i've seen are for saws.
     
  2. adouglasmhor

    adouglasmhor Not an Objectivist

    The saws are not diamond they have industrial diamond grit cutting edge on another background. If you got a big enough diamond the right shape it would work, but they don't exist.
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2005
  3. Aegis

    Aegis River Guardian Admin Supporter

    I doubt it would work all that well actually... If I remember correctly, diamond is a very hard material in compression but not as good in tension, while a blade needs both. Can someone with material strength charts confirm or deny this?
     
  4. Sgt_Major

    Sgt_Major Ex Global Mod Supporter

    Diamonds are brittle are they not?
     
  5. Sukerkin

    Sukerkin Valued Member

    I believe they are indeed brittle (because of crystalline shear-planes). You could fracture one (a diamond) with a hammer blow.

    You need a blade to be flexible or it will shatter - try and find a slow-motion film of a sword in use and you'll see that it twists and flicks all over the place.

    Also, the edges that you could put on such a (diamond) blade would be limited, even if the problem of shearing is ignored (along with the problems of growing a diamond that large).

    So, in short, it's probably not the best material to consider using as a sword-blade.
     
  6. Stolenbjorn

    Stolenbjorn Valued Member

    If you throw a diamond (a big one, and a sword would need a very big diamond :p )- into a wall, it will shatter; it behaves very much like crystal/glass. If you made a blade the way an Aztec obsidian-sword was (a wooden staff with small obsidian-pieces aligned in a row so that they formed a rough line of cutting"teeth"); it could perhaps work.

    When oil-companies drill for oil, they use diamond pieces in the drilling-crown, beeing able to grind it's way through several thousand meters of stone.
     
  7. Tyranith

    Tyranith New Member

    Diamond is hard, not tough.

    You'd be better off making a sword out of something like tungsten carbide.
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2005
  8. slipthejab

    slipthejab Hark, a vagrant! Supporter

    A simple example of daimonds is this...

    A diamond ring with the diamond part can scratch glass quite easily... but if you take that same diamond ring and punch an iron frying pan with it... it won't pierce the frying pan... it'll shatter into a million little bits.

    A diamond sword would be useless... one only has to consider it's molecular structure... even a bronze sword could easily outdo it.

    Diamond coated saw blades work on a totally different principles for cutting than do swords.
     
  9. Evil Betty

    Evil Betty Birdy, birdy birdy

    For swords, nothing is better than properly heat-treated steel.

    I think the blade uses of diamonds are those extremely sharp diamond knives used for splitting cells and viruses.
     
  10. MrHnau

    MrHnau New Member

    titanium?

    how about some other super hard metal? titanium?

    MrH
     
  11. Anomandaris

    Anomandaris New Member

    the important thing to remember is that a blade is not meant to be rigid, the harder something is the more brittle it is.

    oh yes and using a diamond sword as the aztecs did would not be all that good anyway. The aztecs didnt want to kill people, they wanted to maim them and drag them back for sacrifice so their weapons were designed to injure not kill, also they wore no armour made of metal.

    the conquistadors had metal armour, steel swords, guns and horses, aztecs had swords made of wood and glass and fought to maim not kill, is it any wonder that the conquistadors did so well?
     
  12. Sukerkin

    Sukerkin Valued Member

    Titanium is strong for it's weight, which is why it's used in some applications instead of steel (even tho' it is weaker and more brittle).

    However, a sword made from it would be more prone to fracture and would be too light - to overcome these problems you would have to make it too massive (in terms of thickness of material) which would compromise it's utility as a weapon.

    A further problem is that because of it's hardness, putting an edge on it is difficult and because of it's brittleness getting it to keep an edge is difficult.

    Gents, there are a number of very practical reasons why blades have been made out of steel for centuries - at present, until the boffins build something atom by atom in the lab ( :D) there is no 'super' material that will relegate steel from the top of the tree for making swords (the caveat "That I know Of" obviously rides here :)).
     
  13. Cudgel

    Cudgel The name says it all

    So many points that I want to adress but Ill start with this one.
    Tungten carbide is an industrial coatings on metal cutting tools, much like indutrail grade diamonds are used, both are very hard but also very brittle. that is why there its either a coating ot very small particles bonded to the tool, the tool being made of some form of high speed tool steel, which is also somewhat hard and brittle but les so that the coating. The reason such coatings are used on metal cutting tools is to do several things.
    They are harder than steels so the edge last longer and you can run the tools at a higher spindle speed and feed rate, ie you can machine out more parts in less time with less down down for sharpening.
    But swords are meant to cut flesh which is no where near as hard as steel so plain hardened carbon steel is enough. A dull sword with the proper geommetry and edge alignment will cut through flesh easily.

    Aslo titanium is toooo light and soft to be of much use.

    EDIT

    Also diamonds are worked by quite literly hitting them with a hammer. SO they really dont have a high impact resistance as has already been pointed out erog relaly bad for use in a large cutting weapon. Its like how cermanic bladed knives are made now adays. They are really sharp and hold there edges really long but they only make them so long because anything that is really hard and holds an edge long will also be brittle, glass is harder and gets sharper than steel also but you dont see people making swords out that do you? The largest thing ive seen made out of anythign like diamond or glass are medium sized knives and they are for decorative purposes only. There is a reason only recorded sword like object made using similar materials is a flat board with obsidian glued to it.


    Also the types of tools that are actually used to shear through metal or plastic or what ever are made of steels and very rarely have any kind of coating, where as the types of tools that do have coatings are made to move at a high speed and take small chips out what it is cutting.
     
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2005
  14. MadCat

    MadCat New Member

    Therotically, it would be possible to forge a sword made of diamond, you would just need a furnace that belched out flames round the 3000-4000 degree mark. Would such a sword have good charactistics. No. Would it be pretty/expenseive? Yes. As mentioned before, a sword is a compromise between toughness and hardness. As diamonds are at the extreme end of the scale for hardness, the blade would shatter on impact. Steel is the metal that most swords are made from, since its hardness/toughness can be altered with the carbon content, has a nice density, and is cheap.
     
  15. blue eagle

    blue eagle New Member

    maybe if it was coated like a diamond saw, which supposedly cuts regular metal in some industrial metalworks(i wouldn't know). It might not maintain an edge real well even if it was made tougher somehow.
     
  16. Anomandaris

    Anomandaris New Member

    making the edge of diamond wouldnt be much good either.

    simply because youd lose the edge to any solid impact(deflecting an attack, parrying, glancing off armour, shields etc) and then youd just have a stell bar without an edge.
     
  17. Cudgel

    Cudgel The name says it all

    I already addressed that point.It wouldnt be wise because you want thing that will be a cleaving blade as oppsed to a sawing blade in a sword, UNless you except seomeon to stand still and let you saw on them or their stuff.
     
  18. tekkengod

    tekkengod the MAP MP

    Titanium? Adamantium?
     
  19. Cudgel

    Cudgel The name says it all

    Again something already covered. :bang:
    Titanium is too soft and light to either hold an edge or be usable for a cutting blade and would bend to easily if it wer to be sued as a thrusting weapon
    Also Adamantium is not a real substance but a bit of comic book super science.
     
  20. brian80

    brian80 New Member

    What about a diamond tip? With proper training, the steel blade could be used to both deflect and attack while the tip would be super-sharp.
     

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