Rose and Napoleon Sword Arrived

Dave Rishar

Dave Rishar

Joined
Oct 25, 2004
Messages
3,178
Yep, they finally showed up...a stag handled Napoleon Sword and a Rose blem. (At least, UB said it was a blem, I'm not entirely convinced.)

Sword's great. Thrusts through pieces of interior plywood, a closet door, and the crappy couch at work didn't produce any damage. Blade flexed just fine against structural members that it couldn't penetrate without failure. The balance is excellent. With a new handguard, it'll be just about exactly what I was looking for. The grip is simply gorgeous. I mean, just wonderful.

What can I say about the Rose? Simple words fail to do it justice. (Well, "By God, life's cheap out here on the Brazos" sums it up pretty nicely, actually. Yes, I did say that when I opened the package. Yes, by coworkers do think I'm nuts, but they're also jealous of my new knife.) The sheath is...well...interesting. ;) A lot of thought and care obviously went into that grip. I love it.

Wonderful, wonderful stuff. Let's hope no Dui Chirras or WWII's come up on special in the next few weeks...I'm trying to save for the holidays. :)
 
You're a lucky man to get that stag handled napoleon. Like I said on that thread, with that length, sheath and handle, you have a real one of a kind acquisition.

I was lucky enough to get a "standard" length one with some beautiful (unknown) USA wood, but if I had been quick enough and had a little more $ I would have liked to have snagged the one you got.

Sounds like a good HI day for you!

Regards,

Norm
 
Any pix, Satori? That sword was a beauty... the antler gives a unique feel- hope we continue to see more stuff with the USA stag. But since you never know, wise to grab when you can... I was really lucky couple weeks ago to grab a 14" BDC (Bura) with that same antler. Breathtaking khuk- I treasure it. My consolation prize for missing out on YCS.

Did you say you were going to re-do the sword like Patton's sword (1913) or am I mistaken?

AA
 
I'm curious how you fell about the Rose. It's beautiful, yes. Do you see yourself taking it camping or hiking?

I know HI khuks are a shock to the uninitiated, even the little BAS. But the Rose? Your Sierra Club friends might disown you.

Still....the possibilities....how about pulling that Sucker out when you're in mixed company at a donut shop, perhaps to cut in half a cream-filled?

And of course, at home it makes a great letter opener.


munk
 
Ad Astra -- my original intent was to change out the guard with a 1913-style one. I've always been impressed with that saber...it was probably the most modern (if a saber could be called modern, it wasn't even modern in 1913) style ever developed for pure battlefield useage. The Napoleon seemed close. Besides the slight differences in length and weight, though, it's only single edged; it seems to handle more like a rapier than a saber to me. I've reconsidered. The guard stays. I found it odd that it had a guard that's primarily ornamental, as the kamis seem to focus on making "users" and unlike knives, swords have only a single use; after I gave it some thought, though, I see that the guard could work for some uses and the detail on it is excellent. Bura was showing off with it. It would be shameful to remove it. Besides, a larger guard would conceal that gorgeous antler...unacceptable. I'll try to put a pic up if I ever figure out how to do it. :)

(Edit) Forgot to add -- if we were living in a society where swords were carried mainly for show but could conceivably be used for real, I would probably be carrying this one.

Munk -- it would do fine for camping. It strikes me as a knife that can do all the sorts of chores a knife is supposed to do but would also be a capable weapon. The more I handle it the more impressed I am with it; I'm trying to think of drawbacks and I can't think of many. I'd think the tip would be damaged easily with misuse (like most knives, really) and the size could be a disadvantage if the wrong people are around. This thing is the size of a small sword and has a wicked shape. Even amongst my coworkers -- all quite used to seeing guns, knives, and various other politically incorrect things -- the Rose got a lot of attention. (More than the sword.) It's far more intimidating than the AK Bowie, which is a pretty intimidating knife in its own right.

Do I see myself taking it camping/hiking/hunting/deploying/whatever? Possibly. I'm going to do it at least once, of course...I owe that much to it. I don't think I'll be taking it out every time. I have things that chop better, skin better, and whatnot; when I'm out and about I normally only need something with an edge for one or two duties. (There are times I've been camping where I didn't use a knife at all.) That being said, if I could only keep one of my knives for outdoors use for the rest of my life (especially in uncertain times) it would probably be the Rose, pending additional testing.

This seems to me to be the point (no pun intended) of a good bowie knife and what the style was intended to achieve in the first place -- it may not be the perfect tool for the job, but if it's the only tool you've got it'll work. (And, should trouble be around, it'll think twice before coming your way when it sees it.)
 
Seems to me only Crocodile Dundee or Yvsa could carry the Rose all the time. Or similar folks. Maybe Semper fi.


munk
 
Oh for heaven's sakes, if Nasty gets to carry one it's fine with me.

Though I'm mostly an independent, if you ever talked to Nasty personally you realize how capable and intelligent he is, and I'd probably follow him into the next Campaign. I don't know what the hell he'd do with me- assign me to reloading ammo or search out and locate the enemy. I'm really pretty good at nosing around the countryside...years spent alone and wandering.

I'm not in charge of assigning these values. I just note certain members of us can get away with the image more than others. Now me, for instance, as formerly cute as a chipmunk how in hell can I carrry a Rose and look credible?
Course, I do have the Desert Eyes...the kind of look you get when you've spent enough time in the desert to seperate water from bullshit. The far seeing gaze. I don't know where it comes from but I've got it. Pretty good stuff for this desert wanderng wastrel.

I never looked out of place in the Marine Campaign hat given to me. Nor with six shooter on my hip.

But the Desert Rose? I just don't know. Not that I seriously give a rat what people think If I wanted to carry it, I do see, none the less, some of us can pull off this use better than others. It's a matter of what feels 'right' to the overall heart and soul of the carrier.

Look- If Bruise went around with the Rose and he kept saying; "I never knew a Dame who didn't understand a slap in the face or a slug from a .45"
Would you take that seriously?

There's a reason my handle isn't Cyanide Eagle, or Spitting Snake, or DeathRomancer, Or Daggered Heart, Blood-Drip Steel, Skull-Eyed Warrant, Python Virtue, Death's Own Jusitice...

So to all of you who pull out and pull off the Rose- God Bless you. By God, Life's Cheap Out Here on the Brazos. I don't think you'd find me out of place standing beside you on the sandbar with my model 58 on my hip and a WWll 18" on the other side.

Chance are, if Rusty wasn't there with me, maybe Raghorn, and Semper Fi, 45/70, and several other hard heads, then the Campaign wasn't worth joing and I wouldn't be there.

munk
 
That's an interesting take on things, Munk. :)

News flash: the cat was doing some prowling around on the workbench a while ago and managed to knock the Rose off while the handle was drying. Four foot drop to a shag rug, point first. :( Let's just say that I have some grinding to do now...but not too much, and what the heck, there was a bit of pitting there anyway.

So...unfortunately, it's confirmed. Don't abuse the tip on the Rose. We can thank Oscar the knucklehead tomcat for performing the testing I that didn't have the heart to do. :mad:
 
munk said:
Look- If Bruise went around with the Rose and he kept saying; "I never knew a Dame who didn't understand a slap in the face or a slug from a .45"
Would you take that seriously?
Click to expand...

I think the last "tough guy" line I used was...

I'm so tough, I'd eat the boogers from a dead man's nose.

It wasn't taken seriously either.
:rolleyes:
 
BruiseLeee said:
I think the last "tough guy" line I used was...

I'm so tough, I'd eat the boogers from a dead man's nose.

It wasn't taken seriously either.
:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Bruise!!!! TMI!!!!:rolleyes: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: !!!!
 
Satori, I'm sorry for what happened. It sounds like the time I got my 1300 dollar MT Bike home and laid it on the paved garage slab to adjust the derailer. We'd driven 1800 miles in 2 days, and were exhausted. MY son got on his bike, road over to see what I was doing, slowed too much, and boy and bike crashed directed onto the rear wheel and derailer of the bike. Then, to extricate himself, he thrashed around quite a bit. I hadn't even ridden the thing yet.

My cat Jake once brought a mouse in from outside and as i watched in slow motion horror laid intdown in front of my five thousand dollar stereo. ( when I lived alone...) The mouse ran directly into the shelf system holding the devices, hand made for them, and disapeared. I figured the wiring would be chewed up by next morning. I shook with rage I was so mad at poor jake.

But he loved me, all he wanted was for me to taste the mouse.


munk
 
One need not worry for Oscar; when he's not tangling with (and being mangled by) the local racoons, he's dodging near misses around the home. I believe he's expended eighteen lives thus far. I understand that the industry standard is only nine but he's a very large cat so it sort of makes sense.

Oscar and I don't always see eye to eye. I threaten him with medical research on a daily basis. ("If you shred the furniture/attack my leg/lay on my throat while I'm sleeping and choke me/knock my beer off the counter/break a [insert item here]/bring a live animal with arterial wounds into the house thereby making the living room look like something out of 'Pulp Fiction'/try to trip me on the stairs in the dark again, I'm donating you to medical research!") I'm looking at it as training for possible parenthood. (The responsibility part, not the medical research part.) I'm not interested in children but a possible future Mrs. Satori may be and the way I look at it, if I can't handle a cat I can't handle children. The cat is certainly a handful.

No harm done in this case. The cat's fine, the carpet's ugly, and the part that snapped off was pitted. After I'm done grinding and resharpening the Rose will be better for it. Oscar's off the hook. This time. Medical research is still an option.
 
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