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Sword, is a weapon consisting of a long, sharp edged or pointed blade fixed in a hilt (handle and protective guard). In a general sense, the term sword is any side arm for cutting or thrusting, such as a blade, saber, cutlass.
Swords used in the most ancient times were made of stone, bone, or wood. Bronze swords, which were probably known to the Egyptians as early as 2000 bc, were the first metal swords. Harder iron swords, appearing at later times in different parts of the world, quickly proved superior; these remained in use until fairly recent times, when steelmaking was perfected and steel blades appeared.
The sword has always been a personal weapon, effective only in hand-to-hand combat. Modern warfare have made swords obsolete as combat weapons.
The sword consists of the blade and the hilt.
The name scabbard applies to the case which covers the sword when not in use.
Humans have manufactured and used bladed weapons from the Bronze Age onwards. The sword developed from the dagger when the construction of longer blades became possible. Iron swords became increasingly common from the 13th century BC. Iron had the advantage of mass-production due to the wider availability of the raw material. Early iron swords were brittle compared to steel blades. They were even inferior to good bronze weapons, but the easier production, and the better availability of the raw material for the first time permitted the equipment of entire armies with metal weapons. Eventually sword makers learned that by adding an amount of carbon in the iron, they could produce an improved alloy now known as steel.
Improvements to the sword over the years included lengthening of the grip, allowing two-handed use, and a longer blade. By 1400 this type of sword, were common. Swords of political and military leaders, nobles, and warriors frequently were ornamented, with hilts elegantly decorated and blades inlaid with gold and silver or forged. The sword in this time period was the most personal weapon and the most versatile for close combat, but it came to find a greater role in civilian self-defense than in military use as technology changed warfare.
