Swords have changed with the abilities of man to forge and work metals. The first swords were generally considered to have appeared around 2,000 years before Christ, during the Bronze Age. A sword is a bladed weapon , consisting in its most fundamental design of a blade and a handle. The blade is usually of some metal ground and at least one sharp edge and often has a pointed tip for thrusting. The handle is the hilt and can be made of many materials, but the material most common is wood covered by leather , a skin, or metal wiring.