The production of spring temper in steel before modern times was diffi cult; by contrast some spring can be produced in bronze easily by work hardening, and this property was probably exploited early. Bronze saws in Mesopotamia date from 2750 B.C., and in later Minoan Crete (ca. 1500 B.C.) very large saw blades were produced. Surviving ones range from 141 to 170 cm long, 11 to 21 cm wide, and 0.2 to 0.3 cm thick. Past investigations of Minoan bronze have shown it to have up to 10% Sn, and that work hardening was used on tools and weapons. One may speculate that the production of these large saws, some of which seem to have been used by a single worker, was consequent upon progress in technology such that the necessary spring temper could have been guaranteed. -- AATA