[Francisco Rodriguez]

I have been a collector my self for the last 12-15 years, and i never thought about the relationship between steel, carbon and good swords.

I use to think that stainless steel was the best kind of steel for swords ad long swords, but a couple of days ago I arrived to a blog post (at http://www.forgedintime.com) where an expert says that stainless steel is good for small swords and daggers, but not for swords and longswords.

In his opinion, to create a good sword we need to look at a steel with between 50 and 75 points of carbon in it. Lets say 0.50 % or 0.75% carbon in it. Steels with less than 50 points of carbon are generally too soft and do not harden to a great degree, making a blade that will be tough as can be but won’t hold an edge and will stay bent if flexed. Alloys with between 50 and 75 points of carbon are better when talking about real medieval swords, according to these expert.

I believe, that if you want a battle ready sword, well, this guy is 100% right. But when i buy a sword, sometimes i just want it to look good in my office or at my house, so a stainless steel "too soft" but "Shinny" works for me as i said in my blog http://eliteswordsblog.com.
What do you think about it?

[Eric Allen]

Stainless isn't too soft--in fact just the opposite, its too hard and thus too brittle.

But, yeah, stainless steel is pretty much useless for a sword that is anything other than a wall ornament. In fact, because it is so brittle, a stainless steel sword blade is actually dangerous--and not just in the sharp-n-pointy way.

But for an inexpensive decoration piece that is never coming down off the wall, sure, whatever floats your boat. Personally, I find the color and texture of stainless steel off-putting, like a cheap, bad pseudo-chrome job on a bargain-basement kitchen utensil. I much prefer the muted grey of proper steel.

Even professional chefs avoid stainless steel if they can help it.

[Timo Nieminen]