obsidian blades
Glass-sharp cutting tools
Obsidian blades are cutting tools made from volcanic glass, prized since prehistoric times for edges sharper than modern surgical steel.
The material fractures in smooth, curved surfaces that can be knapped to molecular thinness.
Ancient Mesoamerican warriors mounted them in wooden clubs; today surgeons occasionally use obsidian scalpels for delicate incisions that heal with minimal scarring.
- macuahuitlAztec obsidian-edged war club
- ancient weaponsCombat tools from antiquity
- arrowheadsSharpened projectile tips
- volcanic glassAmorphous ignite rock
- volcanic originsCreated by erupting magma
flintknapping · archaeological finds · igneous rock · silica · surgical · brittle · death rituals · ritual sacrifice · conchoidal fracture · scrapers · heat treatment · scalpel · prehistoric technology · sacred objects · spears · stone tools · cutting · flint
obsidian bladesbronze swords
Metal weapons, antiquity
forged steel · wrought iron · Damascus steel · aluminum · stainless steel
obsidian bladeslaser cutters
Devices using focused light to cut
industrial machinery · plasma cutters · power tools · chainsaw
obsidian bladesbludgeons
Strikes with blunt weapons
tempered steel · blunt instruments · clubs · maces · hammers