Tech Tuesday

Aluminum.

Or Aluminium depending on which side of the ocean you are on. One story attributes the name difference to scientific tastes of the time. European scientists simply liked their elements to end with the -ium ending! Science wasn't always (and in many ways still isn't) just cold hard facts, it used to be a social fashion.

Back to the element at hand. If you have picked up a broadsword with a steel blade you know how heavy they can be, especially after wielding the weapon in class or rehearsal. Some people like the weight and the extra reality it brings. Steel is also very durable and trusted.

Then you lift an aluminum blade. Aluminum broadswords are about 1/3 the weight of their steel cousins. This is wonderful for some people. They are also shinier, they make a louder, clearer ring when clanged together, and require less maintenance since the blade won't rust or corrode. The lightness of the metal also helps to make wider smallsword blades to give those weapons more stage presence.

So why doesn't everyone have weapons made of this miracle metal?

One big challenge is incorporating aluminum weapons into a world of steel. Steel beats aluminum every time and often badly. Nobody wants their shiny new toy destroyed!

Aluminum can be tough on itself as well. Almost all aluminum products are alloys of some sort, even aluminum foil is mixed with other elements to improve  strength, luster, etc. One of the stronger aluminum alloys is aircraft aluminum which has the same tensile strength as low grade steel. The stronger you get, however, the heavier the metal gets and the more the cost goes up. Aircraft aluminum is the best bet for stage and Film though.

Now we have a strong alloy, its going to last right? Sadly, aluminum will always fail at some point. Engineers working with the metal have to plan for a finite life span.

This makes the lower maintenance level a blessing and a curse. Hopefully when you clean your weapons of minor destruction (you do clean them right?) you are checking for burrs on the blade, rust, or stress fractures/cracks in the tang (the metal section the grip covers) and shoulders (the area at the top of the hilt where the tang meets the blade). If you don't check these areas after use or long term storage, you can miss potentially dangerous warning signs of an upcoming blade failure. Since the aluminum blade most often comes as one piece that doesn't need to be welded, the failure will most often be at the threads that attach the pommel. This is where the stresses of impact will gather and because aluminum is a soft metal, over time the stress combined with turning/tightening the pommel will strip the threads and cause the pommel to come loose or fall off.

The intent is not to dissuade anyone from aluminium, it is still a valuable piece of tech in our trade. The info is meant to give a broader understanding of the positives and negatives besides the obvious weight, shine, and ring.

If you have questions, leave a comment or send an email to fightjamchicago@gmail.com and I will be happy to help!

Greg