Think carbon nanotubes are a new invention? Think again! When the Crusaders fought against the Muslims in ancient history, they may have felt the might of their distinctive, patterned Damascus blades. Sabres from Damascus, strong and sharp and made from a type of steel called wootz, date back as far as 900 AD. Legend has it that these sharp patterned blades could cut a piece of silk in half as it falls to ground and still maintain the sharpness of its edge after cleaving through stone, metal, and even other swords

The secret of the swords’ manufacture was lost in the eighteenth century, but researchers at Dresden University, Germany, have electron-microscope pictures of the swords that show microstructures of nanometer-sized tubes. These tubes were only revealed after a part of the sword was dissolved in hydrochloric acid to remove another microsctructure – cementite nanowires. It is possible that these carbon nanotubes running through the blade’s steel make it much more resilient. Perhaps there is some truth in the myth after all?

Source: Sharpest cut from nanotube sword