chisel grind on swords

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SkinnyJoe

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Read somewhere that some chisel-ground swords were used for beheadings.

Anybody have a pic of one of these?

Thanks.
 
Phill Hartsfield Web-Page might have a pic. He makes them.
Those blades were used for combat too, not just for beheading.
 
IIRC guillotines are generally chisel-ground... I think.
Not too sure actually.

Not sure why you'd want a chisel-ground "sword-sized" blade - I imagine the handed bias you would see during cuts would probably be multiplied in a blade from 2.5-3.5 feet long -- leading to torquing and potentially damage, etc.
 
I have a chisel-ground bolo called a binakoko. It is designed for splitting coconuts. It has a sheep's foot tip so it really won't work well as a stabbing weapon.
 
Benjamin Liu said:
I have a chisel-ground bolo called a binakoko. It is designed for splitting coconuts. It has a sheep's foot tip so it really won't work well as a stabbing weapon.
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I have an small hatchet that's chisel-ground (flat on one-side but the edge is still centered). Works alright, and it seems to have been designed for
A) ease of sharpening and
B) to fit into its plastic snap-on sheath
 
Triton---Contact Phill Hartsfield. He'd love to talk to you about Japanese swords.
The kata-shinogi sword, chisel shaped blade, were usually a short.
I recommend, The Samurai Sword, by John Yumoto.
 
Lycosa said:
Triton---Contact Phill Hartsfield. He'd love to talk to you about Japanese swords.
The kata-shinogi sword, chisel shaped blade, were usually a short.
I recommend, The Samurai Sword, by John Yumoto.
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I guess you could sort of make that arguement if you like, although that grind really isn't like Hartsfields:

zukuri02.gif


and in reality is a bastardization of two different grinds one on each side of the blade.

There is little that is historically accurate in a Hartsfield sword.

Still, I stand corrected, you have accurately made the claim that historically a chisel like grind was briefly used.
 
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SkinnyJoe said:
Read somewhere that some chisel-ground swords were used for beheadings.

Anybody have a pic of one of these?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Hartsfield makes a blade called the Kubrikiri (spelling error?) that is ground on one side only and used to take the heads off of the enemy (in feudal japan times)
 
Chisel ground swords have been used popularly by Taiwanese Aboriginal headhunters and many Visayan warriors. Oftentimes, the edge is still centered, but only has one bevel, as in the bevel-less side still slopes down toward the center, but only the beveled side requires sharpening. Pretty simple from a maintenance standpoint, ya? :)
 
Leu Custom said:
That's why he says he makes his version of the old style swords ! :)
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Which is a nice way of saying that he makes ahistorical swords. Look, I don't have a problem with Hartsfield, from what I understand his swords do quite well for their intended purpose, and he's done a bang up job building his business and marketing and for that he deserves a great deal of respect. Let's be real though, his stuff is not what was found on any ancient battlefield and although you can argue that his stuff is "better" there's not a way in the world to prove it.
 
I believe through modern technology and a skill from a superb maker, Hartsfield produces a better blade than the traditional blades.
 
Lycosa said:
I believe through modern technology and a skill from a superb maker, Hartsfield produces a better blade than the traditional blades.
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You are of course entirely free to have any opinion that you want, but I think you need to quantify what you mean by "better blade."

Do you mean made of better quality steel? Do you mean aesthetically more pleasing? Do you mean heat treated better? Do you mean balanced better? Do you mean better at cutting tatami? Do you mean better for combat? "Better" is a very subjective term. The only thing that we can say for sure is that Hartsfield's design is not a historical design. You can (and I imagine have) draw your own conclusions as to why that is.
 
before this gets into whine and cheese territory, i'd like to hear your opinions on a chisel edge sword for tatami and free hanging rope. I made a chisel edge knife for free hanging rope, right handed (bevel on right, figured the camber effect would actually help the blade curve into the rope as the rope tried to bend away). I can cut 3" off the bottom of a 3" thick nylon hauser with it. Thinking about making a longer version, keeping the blade pretty thick for torsional rigidity. Should be good for kaishaku too.
 
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