Material for weapon blades has to be selected to achieve a balance between hardness and
toughness and the balance is dependent upon the intended use of a blade. In antiquity, the main
metal used was copper, then of bronze and later iron. Perhaps the most well known is pattern
welding, a technique used for katanas (samurai swords) and blades made to resemble damascus
steel blades. This was a very labor-intensive technique - and thus such swords were very
expensive.