Darksword Armory Revamps Production Process
Over the last few months, Darksword has been revolutionizing its production process, implementing a new steel for its blades, as well as a new differential heat-treatment process that has seen early tests with swords flexing 140 degrees.
Online, May 4, 2014 (Newswire.com) - In a major shift, Darksword Armory has completely revolutionized its sword production process. From its current production batch onwards, all of Darksword's sword blades will be made from 5160 steel, and heat treated with dual, aka differential, tempering.
This transition to the new production process has been months in planning, and required a reworking of Darksword's business model. Early preparation included the liquidation of the Hattori Samurai sword line, which Darksword had been selling as a retailer, to make room for the storage required by the larger production runs, as well as the hiring of an additional bladesmith. The initial prototypes for the new process were completed and tested nine months ago. The transition is expected to be completed by the end of September, 2014.
The dual tempering is perhaps the most dramatic change in Darksword's production process. Where before its blades were heat treated to a uniform 53 Rockwell, the spine of each sword will now be treated to 48-50 Rockwell, with the edge at 60 Rockwell. The result is a blade with a superior ability to hold an edge, while also capable of being bent to over 140 degrees and still springing back true, a level of flexibility often associated with the famous Middle Eastern Damascus swords made from a high-carbon crucible steel.
With the new production process being implemented amid a growing demand for Darksword's swords, the number of swords per production run of each model has seen a dramatic increase. This will minimize the amount of time during which swords are sold out. These changes are also happening alongside a shift to casting for all of Darkswords blade fittings.
"It's something I've wanted to do for the last three or four years," said Eyal Azerad, president and founder of Darksword Armory. "Now that we're pretty well known among sword manufacturers, this seemed like the right time to push the envelope."