Origin of the term Eisenhauer

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by katana

Checking 'Babelfish' I have found that 'Eisenhauer' does not directly translate. Checking 'eisen' and 'hauer', as seperate words gives iron and hauer (ie no translated word)

However, eisen and haue ( I removed the 'r') is iron strike, this ties in neatly with Michael's post......afterall couldn't a blade/blacksmith be discribed as an 'iron striker'. Perhaps the term is not to do with the quality of the steel...but the quality of the blades's manufacture ??

Regards David

Very well noted David! From my slowly growing understanding of metallurgy, it is the technique and processes of the forger which accomplishes the quality of the steel. In the discussion on wootz on a concurrent thread, one of the reasons that the secrets of wootz were essentially 'lost' was that ore supplies which inadvertantly carried trace elements became exhausted as well as British orders to cease production in those regions ended the source.
Since the ore supply was no longer available, and smiths were unaware that these minerals were key to the process, they could not properly reaccomplish the same grade of wootz steel.
The quality of Solingen steel is not only in the ore, but the forging process.

All best regards,
Jim