If you make a study of the types of blades used by folks who killed humans as a profession and were "practical" about the matter you might notice a few commonalities.
 |
| Roman lance point |
 |
| Roman Gladius excavated from Pompeii. Notice the large feature on the aft end of the short sword and the lack of serrations. |
 |
| Bronze-age ax heads |
With the exception of Roman Pilum (javelin), very few of them sported features that might act as a barb and make the weapon difficult to pull out of a rib-cage or a skull.
To have your weapon stuck in an opponent either meant you were disarmed or, at the least, distracted during battle as you attempted to wrestle your weapon out of a deceased opponent.
Fantasy Sword One
This is a two handed sword that is only effective when swung like a scythe. Swords that are primarily swung and used as slicing weapons are more easily defended against than swords that are primarily thrust and used as penetrating weapon. It is easier to block or dodge a round-house punch than a jab.
This weapon boasts both a hook which will catch on everything in the anatomy and serrations which can catch on clothing. Remember, the you cannot control the trajectory of your dead opponent's fall. He can twist and trap your blade and he will be dead-weight.
Furthermore, the handle is completely straight with no "swell" to help you pull out the blade. You might have the grip-strength of a gorilla but that might not be enough when the handle is wet with blood or sweat.
BAD CHOICE!
Fantasy Sword Two
The handle makes this a non-starter. All of those needles pointing back a the hand. Ugh!
All of the notches and skinnied down areas makes this design sensitive to craftsmanship, materials and heat-treatment. It is not difficult to visualize this blade snapping or departing from the handle when most needed.
Tomahawk
This replica suffers from many of the defects of the original although I will give it credit for using modern steel.
The original was the cheapest and lightest possible trade-good manufactured in Europe and intended for Native-Americans. Compared with stone points, even the cheesiest wrought-iron axe head was a hundred times more resistant to impact and easier to attach to a shaft.
The head is too light. The interface with the handle is too small and is round (it can spin) and the cutting edge can hook on ribs/skull. Furthermore, the interface between the handle and head is not centered with the cutting edge. Hitting close to the hand will impart a bending moment on the interface that will make the handle vibrate and make your hand sting.
It is plenty good enough for light duties on the trapping line and for separating large joints of meat but falls short for more demanding tasks.
All images from Smoky Mountain Knife Works, a very fine supplier of knives and such. I picked these out of their catalog as examples of "Looks cool but is still stupid".
That gladius served the Romans well.
ReplyDeleteThe training and discipline of the Roman Army at the time of the standard short gladius served Rome well.
ReplyDeleteLater, less trained, more foreign troops Roman Army adopted longer gladius, more like their barbarian enemies used.
Cold Steel Assengi short spear. To me, a practical close quarters melee tool.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about gut hooks, serrations and the like. I've got two knives with gut hooks and neither is useful for anything but dressing game. A heavy, full tang knife, fabricated from quality steel in a simple design is an ultimate tool.
ReplyDeleteKaBar makes some really nice blades. I recently purchased the Becker 9" Bowie. Really sweet piece of hardware. I found it at the army navy store at a price from ten years ago... It seems like a match made in heaven. I'll let you know if the honeymoon ends.
https://www.kabar.com/products/product.jsp?item=BK9
ReplyDeleteAs in so much in modern culture ‘fashion’ (form over function) reveals just how far from reality some are ('allowed', shielded from harsh reality courtesy of todays lack of any real want, danger or cost of failure).
ReplyDeleteWhen you get down to brass tacks it’s not really that remarkable how consistent the (working) tools we use are, across time, countries and cultures (I have chisels from multiple ‘cultures’ and … they are essentially identical), because when you’re where the rubber meets the road (and especially if your life depends on it) function ‘defines’ form.
The gladius (and spatha) are seen as somehow having ‘influenced’ later weapons, but the truth is they were merely yet another of a long line (going back to the bronze age, and probably before) of almost identical blades … because they worked (later similar weapons weren't copies, so much as the result of a similar role/need).
Former ‘oppos’ carried various tomohawk type weapons as 'backups' (failing to consider they were only used as such because better alternatives were unavailable to the tribes). Me? I carried either a barong or a quama – modern ‘foreign/exotic culturally acceptable’ versions of identical weapons my Celtic ancestors probably carried.
[I once held an actual Crimean era sabre, only to notice how it was 'designed' to have almost a 'serrated' blade. Why? because the 'felted' great-coats of that era would shrug off a cut by a smooth blade, whereas the serrations 'sawed' through. So function ... "cuts" both ways].
Qama - sheesh
ReplyDeleteOld Hickory and Ontario make some very solid, no frills knives that work well for nearly any practical tasks, including defense. The OHs are inexpensive enough to shape the grips to your liking via hand files, and end up with an everyday knife your grandkids will never wear out.
ReplyDeleteI agree about Old Hickory knives.
DeleteYeah, the OH Pig Sticker was a low cost choice of U.S. soldiers who brought them from home. Full tang 1095 steel dagger - basic but works.
DeleteThat 'fantasy sword 1' above seems an impractical tool for the battlefield, but as a tree pruning tool is has definite potential. The long handle and pruning hook allows the user to grab and pull down the limb.with the offhand.
Cold Steel offers the Two Hand Latin machete, useful after long use is wearing you down. Using both arms to chop extends your cutting.
Simple works... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbairn%E2%80%93Sykes_fighting_knife
ReplyDeleteFairbanks/Sykes I have one
DeleteYou may find this of interest. Period photographs of people with ethnographic weapons. A bunch of Hard Men.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15325
www.zombietools.net
ReplyDeleteBladed weapons are one of those things where (literally) thousands of years have delivered designs and products that work. Truly no need to reinvent the wheel (edged weapon) in this case.
ReplyDeleteI have fair gotten my 3rd installment arrange and $30,000 that I have built up on my portable workstation in a month through an internet operator. This work is sweet and his normal compensation is much superior than my ordinary work. Work presently and begin making cash online yourself.
ReplyDeleteCheck This >>>
topearn7