permanently poisonous blade?

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Could this poison coating be like the arsenic used to bring out the pattern in kris knives- the elderly gentleman did not seem to say that the knife was forged with the poison. I have heard similar things about garlic- "soak the blade/ fingernails in garlic and when cut the person will die". Do I believe that the blade was poisonous- probably, but forever- probably not
 
There is allot of myths with knives and swords, Someone told me once :If someone gives you a knife, give him a coin or this means very bad things. Also , if someone hands you a knife, don't take it from their hand. Ask them to put it on the floor or table and then pick it up or that person will be your enemy.
 
Permanently poisoned? Not likely. As mentioned, you could smear a paste of some sort, or dip it in a liquid, but even then, it's not going to last long.

Pure myth in my opinion. Just an intimidation tactic to scare the opposition.

Short of a hypodermic built into the knife, I don't see a poisoned knife being legitimate.
 
smcfalls13 said:
Permanently poisoned? Not likely. As mentioned, you could smear a paste of some sort, or dip it in a liquid, but even then, it's not going to last long.

Pure myth in my opinion. Just an intimidation tactic to scare the opposition.

Short of a hypodermic built into the knife, I don't see a poisoned knife being legitimate.
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If it is true, I would not want this technology resurrected. I am just asking if those words existed in theory. We never know what technologies other cultures have achieved. Damascus itself is not completely known. The Maya nation had technologies we didn't know. Nothing is too far fetched.
 
>Daverave999
>...some ionic cyanide salt mixed with the alloy

My point exactly. Though, decomposition t of NaCN (sodium cyanide) is about 572ºF (I beleive vater still needed for hydrolyses)
Organic poisons won't survive
 
If they put pryons in the metal, it could work in theory as pryons cannot be killed. They are a strand of protein like Mad Cow disease.
 
Proteins aren't alive, and excessive heat will redistribute all matter unrecognizeably. Just a matter of how much.

Permanent isn't a good word here--what we're in search of is long term. If we're going to be putting something into somebody, then we must be losing it ourselves. Eventually, you're going to run out.

I'd like to note that some metals are inherently toxic to humans.

But if I stab someone with my sword/knife/spear, I figure that's usually enough. If it's not, the second and third stabs tend to come easier than the first.

Doesn't seem that this would be necessary against humans...big animals, I get. But then you have to eat your own poison, although super diluted.
 
Artfully Martial said:
Proteins aren't alive, and excessive heat will redistribute all matter unrecognizeably. Just a matter of how much.

Permanent isn't a good word here--what we're in search of is long term. If we're going to be putting something into somebody, then we must be losing it ourselves. Eventually, you're going to run out.

I'd like to note that some metals are inherently toxic to humans.

But if I stab someone with my sword/knife/spear, I figure that's usually enough. If it's not, the second and third stabs tend to come easier than the first.

Doesn't seem that this would be necessary against humans...big animals, I get. But then you have to eat your own poison, although super diluted.
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You reminded me of something,

The old man told me that the poison becomes stronger every time you sharpen the knife.

It is permanent
 
churchlover said:
You reminded me of something,

The old man told me that the poison becomes stronger every time you sharpen the knife.

It is permanent
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This old Arabic man could probably also tell you all about Djinn, Rukhs and Ghuls. I would give his "poisoned sword" story exactly the same credence as those.
 
The stuff the indians dip their arrows in is curari. Not forge proof of course, but what if the edge was porous, or you put a narrow slot down the side of the blade and dipped it?

Curari Meaning and Definition
(n.) A black resinoid extract prepared by the South American Indians from the bark of several species of Strychnos (S. toxifera, etc.). It sometimes has little effect when taken internally, but is quickly fatal when introduced into the blood, and used by the Indians as an arrow poison.
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
On the subject of the original post-

I think a constantly poisonous blade is possible, by filling or lining the sheath with poisonous material. Thus the blade would be coated with poison at all times. Maybe a type of oil that the poison is mixed with.
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This is what is sometimes found in older Indonesian Kris knives.

I have a friend who is an avid collector and you do have to be careful with some of those older pieces.
 
A poisonous metal such as arsenic, mercury, lead, beryllium, cyanide, etc. wouldn't work because you wouldn't get enough of the metal to dissolve into the victim's blood with just a cut or stab. (Cyanide, by the way, isn't very poisonous; it's cyanide salts like potassium cyanide and sodium cyanide that are quite lethal, but the salts break down at fairly low temperatures.)

One of the functions of forging is to get impurities out of the steel.

For example, even with today's modern technology you can only get about 0.4% lead by weight into a steel alloy. You can buy steel with more than 0.4% lead if you want (the increased lead increases the surface lubricity so this type of steel is used in applications where a more slippery surface is desired) but the lead actually becomes a separate homgenous substance within the steel (Think about adding a bit of sand to a bottle of water. The sand won't dissolve in the water, but if you shake it, you can get the sand to distribute throughout the water. And if you were to then flash-freeze it, you would have ice with bits of sand distributed throughout it.) But, to make these steels, is a specialized process. And when you work this type of steel, you have to be careful not to do anything that resembles forging because you'll forge the lead right out.
 
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