Practical sword

senoBDEC said:
I'd say that's the bare minimum really, even there lots of corners cut in the shaping of the aluminum/non-steel blade, handle fit, fittings, etc....
Lots of choices in production swords and customs, American, British, German, Japanese smiths..... good stuff. Expect to spend anywhere from 300-600 to even 1000+ USD for a good (more than barely serviceable) iaito.
Swords are good mainly for killing, some better than others, dependent on skill of user in that particular type of sword and in whatever style they use.... I'd say investing in guns would be better for post-apocalyptic scenarios... if you survived in the first place *cough*.
I think a simple cross-guard falchion would serve well as a heavier machete... and as a decent sword as well. Kukri anyone? Oh, and I think an Angus Trim sword (European or Japanese) is very "practical" regarding price - and certainly practical for using in swordsmanship (blunts).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwp6W4YF2dI no comment.

I'm waiting on owning my first KC kat... should be fun :D.
Click to expand...

Agreed, there are practice blades and then there are GOOD practice blades. Here is a good practice blade:

sword203a_s.jpg


Price tag 460.00 plus shipping.
 
has anyone tried the John Gill Singh sabres and cutlass? I also picked up a damascus katana from Tony Long that balances beautifully and slices tatami nicely. Haven't tried it on salami though.
 
If your looking for heavy dudy and looks cool try looking at a sword breaker. It was used like a sword but with more force so it would break the enemys sword. Its made alot thiker and stronger, and heavyer than swords but alot more durable.
 
I don't think that the two words, "practical" and "sword", have ever gone together,... or ever will. I think what you need is a long "bush knife" or "machete". A "bush sword" is generally between about 18 inches and 24 inches. I call it a "knord", (knife/sword),... part knife and part sword. :)

Interesting thread.
 
bcr said:
If your looking for heavy dudy and looks cool try looking at a sword breaker. It was used like a sword but with more force so it would break the enemys sword. Its made alot thiker and stronger, and heavyer than swords but alot more durable.
Click to expand...

I've read articles that suggest that the "sword breaker" is simply a myth of victorian romance and medieval revival. I don't know that I've ever seen an original...
 
Tai Goo said:
I don't think that the two words, "practical" and "sword", have ever gone together,... or ever will. I think what you need is a long "bush knife" or "machete". A "bush sword" is generally between about 18 inches and 24 inches. I call it a "knord", (knife/sword),... part knife and part sword. :)

Interesting thread.
Click to expand...
Quite... swords are generally expensive - and really useful for one thing... axes on the other hand ;).

The Tony Long damascus - is that the one with the horrible etching of Chinese characters on it? not much point to "damascus" really, especially at that price point.
 
Tai Goo said:
I don't think that the two words, "practical" and "sword", have ever gone together,... or ever will. I think what you need is a long "bush knife" or "machete". A "bush sword" is generally between about 18 inches and 24 inches. I call it a "knord", (knife/sword),... part knife and part sword. :)

Interesting thread.
Click to expand...

exactly.

i really like the looks of the yataghan from dervish knives.
http://dervishknives.com/swords.htm

there was actually a combat blade very similar to the weight forward "brush blade". it was called the falcata or kopis. here is an example: http://swordforum.com/swords/historical/falcata.html
 
"The Tony Long damascus - is that the one with the horrible etching of Chinese characters on it? not much point to "damascus" really, especially at that price point."

Thanks for that . Probably "damascus effect" but no Chinese characters. Uk prices seem very high compared to US but this "Orchid" set came at a third of the list price over here so I thought I'd have to try it.
Every thing else in the garden is Khukri.
 
Re: hobbyist - no bad intentions - the Tony Long line has improved a lot - but before they had this terrible "damascus" model - looked essentially like a wallhanger with a VERY pronouced random pattern weld of unspecified metal, with a really large engraving in Chinese characters...
 
You cannot chop on anything immobile with a sword. That will severely damage the greatest sword ever made.

It is simple physics.

You can buy a great quality sword for around $750 the last time I checked, but the prices may have jumped by now.

However, these makers will not sell you anything if you tell them you are going to chop a tree down with it.

You need to do a lot more research before spending a dollar on anything.
 
It depends on your swordsmanship style of course. However, a period swordsmanship instructor I know has some Paul Chen's (Hanwei) katana for cutting practice. But I believe your swordsmanship teacher migh give you the best advice.

For hiking/surival/whatever-forest-activity my preference would be a good machette or long bowie (but I have no experience with kukris yet). Travelling throught woods with anything longsword-sized is a nuisance. Those things are suited for battles, not as an all purpose bladed sidearm. But that's just my experience.
 
I'd imagine that if you're going to be cutting tree limbs at all, you'd proably opt for a long blade that is not solely designed as a weapon. Southeast Asian goloks or parangs for example are used to clear brush, fell small trees, and as a weapon if needs be.
 
I don't have one, and it's kinda small for a sword, but have you looked at the Busse AK-47? It you whack a tree and break it, he will give you a new one.
 
Terry Newton said:
You cannot chop on anything immobile with a sword. That will severely damage the greatest sword ever made.

It is simple physics.

You can buy a great quality sword for around $750 the last time I checked, but the prices may have jumped by now.

However, these makers will not sell you anything if you tell them you are going to chop a tree down with it.

You need to do a lot more research before spending a dollar on anything.
Click to expand...

Real swords are not just enlongated bars of sharpend steel. They are very light and flexible tools designed to deliver a thrust or a cut as fast and efficiently as possible. The engineering was very complex and subject to the users skill, size, and martial art. There is a recent documentary on the sword which shows a european sword in action on slow motion film. The target was a watermelon and you can see the blade wrap almost into a U-shape as the cut progresses. Certainly not for cutting tree limbs.

Perhaps what you are looking for is more of a "short sword". These were the broad category of sidearms and hangers, that were often issued to musicians, combat engineers, artillery units, and the like; and, were designed primarily as a martial uniform device or tool rather then a pure weapon - although many, like the gladius, were excellent back-up weapons.

gladius_front.jpg45c5ecc6-08c0-4539-b7a1-998ab3401ba3Large.jpg


Gladius (photo from http://images.google.com/imgres?img...adius+sword&svnum=100&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&sa=N)

DSC_0053.JPG


Issued 19th century US Ames artillery short sword based on the Gladius (photo: Arizona Swords [azswords.com])

attachment.php


Here is a late 19th century Swiss short sword.

n2s
 
You can hack through relatively hard targets with a machete because machetes are relatively thin and flexible. Still, it is a very bad idea to get in the habit of chopping branches and 2x4's and so on with them, i.e., using them as an axe, because they will break, and when they do, sharp metal flies off in a random direction, and you or someone nearby might need to visit the hospital.

Swords, being thicker, longer, and more rigid than machetes, given the same material and heat treatment, are more likely to disintegrate on a hard target and thus less suitable for use as an axe. Swords are for killing people, not trees.

Machetes are good for clearing brush. That's it. Could a sword do the same thing? Sure. You could haul groceries in an army tank, too, but you'd be an idiot. See, a machete, being light, broad, thin, shortish, and curved in a certain manner, is optimized for clearing brush. Using a sword in the same manner would likely cause much more fatigue with much worse results, thus making self-injury far more likely. A sword of any kind is optimized for one thing: killing a person.

If you want to cut targets with a sword for practice, then that makes sense, and there are better targets than woody branches.

PS: I see the OP has withdrawn the original question. Sorry I went off on a rant there before reading the whole thread.
 
Raggedyman said:
Okay guys, go ahead and tear into me and tell me how you all carry swords every day and use them on a regular basis :jerkit:
Click to expand...

I don't carry them, but I have them to hand at all times in my home, where I promise you I could make meaningful use of them.

The shotgun is an awesome weapon. Do we carry it? No, not generally. Does that make it useless? Hardly.

Shotgun is to handgun as sword is to knife.
 
Swords aren't practical. The only reason anybody buys one, is because they want to- basically for their entertainment and fun. If that fun for this guy means to go chopping trees, then he should do as he wishes. But practically, there's very few swords capable of that. Most sword guys are into historical accuracy, not having a working tool like a knife, and so they never developed along the same performance lines. The busse ak-47 is the closest I think you're going to get. It's a little small, but easily tough enough for you to chop trees or whatever you want.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top