Anton Irmen
BOUNCED EMAIL: I need to update my email address in my profile!
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2001
- Messages
- 68
Please excuse, that it took me so long to post something about my favourite new toy, but my testing efforts were severely hampered by the fact that I suddenly (like in accident) had the pleasure to find out, that broken things (bones) need to be fixed (hospital).
Well, anyway, I could play around with the Falcata a bit, but not to the degree I desired (you will notice, that the word helmet occurs only one time, namely here). I did some standard stuff, like cutting ¼ inch plywood, and attacking a pretty helpless, makeshift tatami-something and chopping off branches.
Results: Neat. The cuts in the plywood were the deepest I ever made, around 15 (37 cm). Compared to the standard 8 a medieval sword makes, it is not actually that bad. The plywood was not what I would call cleanly cut, but rather looked a little bit exploded (well, the blade has a rather wide cross-sectional geometry). The Falcata trails pretty well, I was able to hit marks I made on the plywood rather accurately (stabbing and cutting). Many cuts showed a little curve at their lower part, maybe indicating that I wasnt drawing the cut long enough. Cutting through cardboard was real fun, the recurve of the blade without a very pronounced elbow basically does the cutting by its own, you just have to move the blade a little. And the grip simply is cute it makes a Falcata a ideal (although a little short) cavalry weapon: Just give the blade a little swing downward, let loose, and the shape will take care that you dont loose control, and the horses velocity will take care about the rest. It is really hard to describe, but you can throw the blade downward in a circular motion, rather than the straight chopping you usually do. By the way, Sanu really improved the grip by making the curve of the handle wider than I suggested with the model)
Chopping off branches was a little disappointing, because the branches were too thin (around 2, pine-wood) to be a worthy opponent. Despite the full-tang construction, I did not feel any noticeable impact shock and cut through the branches mostly in a single stroke (I sometimes missed the correct angle).
But, and you might have been waiting for it, at way over three pounds, the Falcata is too heavy to be really enjoyable. But it is such an effective design (I am referring to the originals; not to the model I copied from those originals), that I really would like to see the results of second try. My recommendations: Weight limit at 2.5 lbs., preferably less, and, maybe even more important, a point of balance that is closer to the hilt as in case of the prototype (something around 4 might work). To achieve this, the Kamis are free to do whatever they think is appropriate to make a fairly light, but sturdy sword (subtle message: This is a sword, not a large heavy duty Khukuri). Ways to reduce the weight could be: Deeper fullers, as deep as they think would be possible without risking warping of the blade during heat-treatment. They also could put the primary bevel a bit higher, making the edge slimmer (I doubt that they would fall for the idea of a simple flat bevelled blade, which continuously tapers from the spine to the edge), as I suggested with the model.
So much for now, and maybe after those bones finally found together, a story with a helmet in the topic might follow (Oh, now the word showed up for the second time)
anton
Well, anyway, I could play around with the Falcata a bit, but not to the degree I desired (you will notice, that the word helmet occurs only one time, namely here). I did some standard stuff, like cutting ¼ inch plywood, and attacking a pretty helpless, makeshift tatami-something and chopping off branches.
Results: Neat. The cuts in the plywood were the deepest I ever made, around 15 (37 cm). Compared to the standard 8 a medieval sword makes, it is not actually that bad. The plywood was not what I would call cleanly cut, but rather looked a little bit exploded (well, the blade has a rather wide cross-sectional geometry). The Falcata trails pretty well, I was able to hit marks I made on the plywood rather accurately (stabbing and cutting). Many cuts showed a little curve at their lower part, maybe indicating that I wasnt drawing the cut long enough. Cutting through cardboard was real fun, the recurve of the blade without a very pronounced elbow basically does the cutting by its own, you just have to move the blade a little. And the grip simply is cute it makes a Falcata a ideal (although a little short) cavalry weapon: Just give the blade a little swing downward, let loose, and the shape will take care that you dont loose control, and the horses velocity will take care about the rest. It is really hard to describe, but you can throw the blade downward in a circular motion, rather than the straight chopping you usually do. By the way, Sanu really improved the grip by making the curve of the handle wider than I suggested with the model)
Chopping off branches was a little disappointing, because the branches were too thin (around 2, pine-wood) to be a worthy opponent. Despite the full-tang construction, I did not feel any noticeable impact shock and cut through the branches mostly in a single stroke (I sometimes missed the correct angle).
But, and you might have been waiting for it, at way over three pounds, the Falcata is too heavy to be really enjoyable. But it is such an effective design (I am referring to the originals; not to the model I copied from those originals), that I really would like to see the results of second try. My recommendations: Weight limit at 2.5 lbs., preferably less, and, maybe even more important, a point of balance that is closer to the hilt as in case of the prototype (something around 4 might work). To achieve this, the Kamis are free to do whatever they think is appropriate to make a fairly light, but sturdy sword (subtle message: This is a sword, not a large heavy duty Khukuri). Ways to reduce the weight could be: Deeper fullers, as deep as they think would be possible without risking warping of the blade during heat-treatment. They also could put the primary bevel a bit higher, making the edge slimmer (I doubt that they would fall for the idea of a simple flat bevelled blade, which continuously tapers from the spine to the edge), as I suggested with the model.
So much for now, and maybe after those bones finally found together, a story with a helmet in the topic might follow (Oh, now the word showed up for the second time)
anton
