A question for the metallurgists: how would a bronze sword compare to an iron sword, even if the iron is low quality (ie, impurities, not heat treated etc)?
Another advantage of bronze weapons is they could be cast in a mold instead of forged.
Iron was much more plentiful than copper and tin however (especially as they were mined out), which was the main reason bronze fell out of use.
Good steel was superior to both, but much harder to make.