Historical and Metallurgical Characterization of a “Falchion” Sword Manufactured in Caino (Brescia, Italy) in the Early 17th Century A.D

A historical and metallurgical characterization of a ‘‘falchion’’ sword manufactured in Caino (Brescia, northern Italy) and dating from the early 17th century was performed to understand the manufacture methods of a Renaissance sword. At first, a set of size measurements was carried out to look for the existence of constant and/or recurring macroscopic sizes, which would indicate a standardized production, or of any type of proportionality between different parts of a sword, which would prove an intentional design activity. Light optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, quantometer analyses, and Vickers microhardness tests were then employed to analyze the microstructure and obtain the mechanical properties. All the metallurgical work is supported by an accurate study on the chemical composition of both metal-matrix and nonmetallic inclusions, which allowed for rebuilding and evaluating the efficiency of the whole production process.