Editing Gladius (section)

==Manufacturing==
===Technique===
[[File:Gladii type Mainz.jpg|thumb|''Gladius'' blades of the Mainz type]]
By the time of the [[Roman Republic]], which flourished during the [[Iron Age]], [[steel]] and the steel-making process was known to the classical world. Pure iron is relatively soft, but pure iron is never found in nature. Natural iron ore contains various impurities in [[solid solution]], which harden the reduced metal by producing irregular-shaped metallic crystals. The ''gladius'' was generally made out of steel.

In Roman times, workers [[Direct reduced iron|reduced ore]] in a [[bloomery]] furnace. The resulting pieces were called ''blooms'',<ref>[http://courses.washington.edu/overney/GEN_ST_Reading_Mat/Historical_Review.pdf blooms]</ref> which they further worked to remove slag inclusions from the porous surface.

A recent metallurgical study of two [[Etruria]]n swords, one in the form of a Greek ''[[kopis]]'' from 7th century BC [[Vetulonia]], the other in the form of a ''gladius Hispaniensis'' from 4th century BC [[Clusium]] ([[Chiusi]]), gives insight concerning the manufacture of Roman swords.<ref name=metall>{{cite journal |last1=Nicodemi |first1=Walter |last2=Mapelli |first2=Carlo |last3=Venturini |first3=Roberto |last4=Riva |first4=Riccardo |title=Metallurgical Investigations on Two Sword Blades of 7th and 3rd Century B.C. Found in Central Italy |journal=ISIJ International |date=2005 |volume=45 |issue=9 |pages=1358–1367 |doi=10.2355/isijinternational.45.1358|doi-access=free }}</ref> The Chiusi sword comes from Romanized ''etruria''; thus, regardless of the names of the forms (which the authors do not identify), the authors believe the process was continuous from the Etruscans to the Romans.

The Vetulonian sword was crafted by the [[pattern welding]] process from five blooms reduced at a temperature of {{convert|1163|C|abbr=on}}. Five strips of varying carbon content were created. A central core of the sword contained the highest: 0.15–0.25% carbon. On its edges were placed four strips of low-carbon steel, 0.05–0.07%, and the whole thing was welded together by forging on the pattern of hammer blows. A blow increased the temperature sufficiently to produce a friction weld at that spot. Forging continued until the steel was cold, producing some central [[Annealing (metallurgy)|annealing]]. The sword was {{convert|58|cm|in|abbr=on}} long.<ref name="metall" />

The Chiusian sword was created from a single bloom by forging from a temperature of {{convert|1237|C|abbr=on}}. The carbon content increased from 0.05–0.08% at the back side of the sword to 0.35–0.4% on the blade, from which the authors deduce that some form of [[carburization]] may have been used.<!--Bunk: This was necessary because the soft iron was not hard enough to have taken an edge before the carbon of the [[Coke (fuel)|coke powder]] was added to the exterior of the blade.--> The sword was {{convert|40|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and was characterized by a wasp-waist close to the hilt.

Romans continued to forge swords, both as composites and from single pieces. Inclusions of sand and rust weakened the two swords in the study, and no doubt limited the strength of swords during the Roman period.

===Production===

The craftsmen with the strategic task of making the ''gladii'' were called ''gladiarii''. They were part of the Roman legions as ''fabri'', enjoying the status of ''[[immunes]]''. There were also public workshops, ''fabricae'', dedicated to the making of the ''gladii''. Epigraphic attestations of the ''gladiarii'' have been found in Italy, especially in areas of ancient metallurgic tradition such as [[Capua]] and [[Aquileia]].<ref>The Road of Amber, Maurizio Buora, A.G.F., University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1996</ref>