[Jeroen Zuiderwijk]

[Roman Bachnak]

Jeroen -

If a single metalworker produces a weapon whose elements are in different metal - all bronze but differing from batch to batch due to differing origin of the raw material - it could mean that the metalworker stocks the individual elements of the weapon: produces several hilts from one batch then several blades from another batch and several rivets from yet another batch. This would assume he has use of several hilt / blade / rivet moulds which he can use in parallel. By doing so he would avoid re-melting the metal. Or were perhaps rivets the only items stocked and each dagger made to order (which would avoid the need for multiple moulds but would require re-melting for each order)?

It would be helpful to know how the weapons were traded: Did the producer took his stock to a "market"? The "market" perhaps took the form of the metalworker travelling from a settlement to settlement with his stock (which would imply having some security detail with him to avoid robbery but that's a different topic...). Is there any evidence about the issue of how the weapons were traded in early bronze age?

[Vaclav Homan]

To swords hilts. I have experience with bronz swords from excavation. Fine swords we can holden in hand, dagger too. There is kind of small elementary bronze swords from middle bronze age. Every people who handled with it say this swords are for child.
Hilt of this small sword is obnoxious you can not handled as sabre foil or rapier with it.