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Sword fighting movies have a long, proud tradition in Hollywood. Even back before the introduction of colour films,
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Today,
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Perhaps the biggest difference between cheaper and more expensive swords is the type of steel used to make up the blade. The cheapest replica weapons will use some type of Stainless Steel,
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patent leather pumps, which can be sharpened, particularly 440C, which has enough carbon in its mix to make a sword blade strong and flexible.
While Stainless Steel has the advantage of resisting corrosion, and polishing easily, it lacks sufficient carbon to be heat-treated to hold a proper edge,
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Some carbon-steel swords will quote the hardness of the blade. A value of 20-30 RC is typical of “Mild Steel” and not sufficient for practical use. 30-40 RC is good enough for a cheaper sword intended for re-enactments, as the sword will dent, but not chip. 40-50 RC is a good value for most European-style swords,
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Finally,
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