The key objective is mapping the internal microstructure of a series of samples of European sword blades from the 17th-18th c. The samples, which include a full blade and are sanctioned for destructive analysis, will later be extensively metallographied in order to compare the results of both techniques. There is a lot of technological elements that configure the complex mechanical properties that made a sword blade the right tool for its intended job. They are theoretically known, but how were they put into action in each case is still under study. If the identification of some of these key elements can be proven to be obtained through ToF-ND, this opens up the possibility of getting permission to analyze some sword blades with a well-known provenance but that, being (consequently) historically and monetarily very valuable, would not be able to be analysed otherwise.