What is it about “Metal from the Heavens” that is so intriguing and fascinating to work with?
To have a weapon forged from a “falling star” would be a truly unique symbol of power indeed. In the news lately a few such weapons have popped up on the radar. In school, we have all learned about King Tut and his tomb in Egypt. Riches beyond imagining buried under the sand. Well This morning Fox news has reported that scientists have discovered that a blade that was enshrined with him is made from the iron of a meteorite.
An Egyptian dagger found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb was made with iron from a meteorite, a study has confirmed.
Using a hi-tech X-ray, the Polytechnic University of Milan in Italy found the famous dagger contained 10 percent nickel and 0.6 percent cobalt.
A comparison with 11 metallic meteorites found they were made of similar elements.
The dagger dates back to the 14th century B.C. and was found in the wrapping surrounding the right thigh of King Tut’s mummy. It features a decorated gold handle with a rounded knob of rock crystal. It was encased in a gold sheath that was decorated with a pattern of lilies, feathers and a jackal’s head.
Another separate gold blade was found under King Tut’s wrapping on the abdomen.
Iron objects were rare and considered more valuable than gold during the Bronze Age and were mostly decorative. This may have been because Egyptians found iron difficult to work with as the metal requires a very high heat to forge.
But we’re not done yet. World famous pistol manufacturer Cabot Pistols, has produced 2 1911 pistols forged from the metals of a meteorite themselves. Fitting, that the timeless metal from the stars be used to make pistols that are a timeless design themselves. I have personally had the pleasure of handling one of the first 1911 pistols to ever come off the line from Cabot. A true work of art and priceless as the CEO of Cabot told the owner of the firearm store where I was working at the time. These pistols however, are truly magnificent and may possibly leave the original I held, in the dust.
Here is what GUNS.com reports:
After months of carefully carving a 4.5 billion year old meteorite, high-end handgun makerCabot Guns finally revealed the finished product: two 1911 pistols valued at $4.5 million.
The company had been teasing the project since late last year and promised completion by the National Rifle Association’s annual convention, which was held last weekend in Louisville.
“Craftsman and meteorite collectors have long-prized the Gibeon meteorite for the beauty of its Widmanstatten crystalline pattern,” said Rob Bianchin, Cabot’s founder and president in a statement. “Luxury goods companies have used it to make watch faces, jewelry and other artistic objects. This is the first time anyone’s ever made a functioning mechanical device out of the material.”
The company was quick to point out the challenges of working with a meteorite. “No small feat from a metallurgy standpoint. The material lacks perfect uniformity, not to mention the hundreds of tiny extra-terrestrial inclusions blasted into the Gibeon meteorite’s interior during its journey to Earth.”
Cabot said each component was laboriously planned, tested and painstakingly cut to incorporate both the exterior bark (regmaglypts) and interior of the meteorite as design elements. Designers used X-ray photography, 3-D modeling, CAD-CAM design, aerospace construction techniques, electron-beam technology, and endless hours of careful craftsmanship to create two matching pistols.