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Old 02-17-2018, 03:16 AM   #7
Celti
 
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: USA, Arizona, Mesa
Default Re: Crystal sword...

Personally, I think people put far too much emphasis on the word "crystal" when it comes to this trope. Ask somebody in the eras we're echoing, and "crystal" has little to do with geometric ordering of atoms, and everything to do with being smooth, cold, transparent, and shiny.

As for "single crystals" being more unyielding — you want your sword blades to yield. If a blade doesn't bend, it breaks. Even a super-hard blade, crystal, glass, or metal, will need to be able to deform at least somewhat so that it doesn't spiderweb with cracks and then shatter — just like your smartphone screen, and thus why so many of the new ultra-strong glasses being developed aren't just going for hardness (i.e., scratch resistance, but also the ability of a crystal sword to take and keep an edge) but for flexibility, so they don't shatter in your pocket (or when parrying a blow, or striking at armour).
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