short shortsword

H2H907 said:
Guess I'll leave the forum biz to you "experts" hiding in the fortresses of solitude that are your parents' basements. I'll just continue training my men and buying the knives I like.
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Just a little constructive criticism here: You should get to know people before forming an opinion about them. Yes, even on teh internets. Speaking of which, all zenheretic was trying to do was add to the conversation. Getting pissed off because someone may disagree with you is childish.:)

Oh yeah, and this looks like it would suit the OP just fine.:D
ramshorn.jpg
 
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Ultra said:
Hey

I'm looking for a short sword, for very close combat. It must also be able to slash, so it has to be a leaf-shaped blade.

Now, I am FULLY aware of the fairbarn combat smatchet, so mods please kick out anyone who links to one after this warning, thanks. The smatchet in question does not have enough length for my needs.

There is also a bronze swordmaker who makes a model called the "ewart park", this is perfect in shape and construction, but too LONG.

I need something inbetween those two, 30-35 cm. long leaf shaped blade, as short handle as possible (no longer than 15 cm.) Preferrably steel, but anything flies. And yes, it's gonna be used and not for stage combat either..., so make sure it is made to be used.


Please help, as my googling skills have run out.
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Since no one else asked, I will. Why do you need to have a short sword for close combat? If you are thinking about using that in a CQB environment, life has gone from bad to "sucking" if you have to use a knife in close combat, that is what your rifle if for.

Now if you want one for the cool factor of having a lot of sharpened steel, then just say so.
 
flbache said:
Since no one else asked, I will. Why do you need to have a short sword for close combat?
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Obviously it's because he never knows when he's going to have to fight some of those freaky looking Persian Immortals like in 300 and it just wouldn't be sporting to use a rifle on them. A smatchet on the other hand would be completely fair. Besides a short sword looks really cool when you've taped a piece of plate steel to your back and chest so that you can block bullets for the rest of your tactical mall security team while they lay down covering fire...
 
I enjoyed this thread so much I had to go out and order a Clax! A smatchet just wouldn’t do.:D I will try to get some pics up in a day or so, now I am just going to wait around and hope for some zombies.:D
 
Well the Clax got here and I was wandering through the house looking for stuff to chop

clax.jpg


I have looked the knife over and it looks pretty darn decent for the price. This pic is the biggest thing that caught my eye. The handles had some extra cutting on them. The sheath looks nice, but I am going to get a friend of mine to make one similar but with the snap and opening reversed and with a heavier belt loop.

clax1.jpg
 
H2H907 said:
Sorry, kid, my interest in the conflict in question predates most of the movies that refer to it. The Spartans shortened their xiphos swords to around 13" in length, recognizing that this was the most efficient length for their purposes. I've even held an original bronze age archer's sword with a blade well under a foot in length. My point was simply that "sword" is more about intended use and technique than size. In the book of Judges, Ehud, the left-handed man, used a sword small enough to hide behind his thigh to assassinate a king who was oppressing the Hebrews. As the term translated as "thigh" in the OT is sometimes actually a sexually-toned-down reference to genitalia, it may have been even smaller still. That is, unless Ehud was hung like a mammoth.

Thanks for playing though.
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Oooh, I got called a kid.

Also what does this reply have anything to do with your buddies sword that can cut logs with a single blow?

The only thing that can do that is a Smachet.

BOKER-Smachete-7.jpg
 
I just got this one. If you can't get a smatchet, it's the next best thing.

Patton_Full.jpg


Next to a Scrapyard DFLE for scale.

Patton_DFLE.jpg
 
These things go for about $40 and they're made out of supposedly "dendritic" stainless.

I just got one. Decent tool. Light, quick, sharp, and disposable.
3006bb.jpg
 
zenheretic said:
Without going into the impossible debate of what is the magic length between a sword and a knife, why does the potential fact that Spartans used a 13" blade indicate they are swords?
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I have usually heard that blades up to somewhere around 18" are considered
to be knives, then moving up to short swords at roughly 18" to about 24"
with over 24" considered to be swords. This is referring to blades used as weapons as opposed to machetes, etc.
This doesn't mean a shorter blade cannot be a formidable weapon.
The Spartans, Ghurkas, Moros, and a fellow named Bowie managed rather well
with blades under 18"..........
 
Maybe not as flashy as all these new fangled things but I'd take one of these over a silly lil smachet any old day.
15welch1.JPG

15welch2.JPG


Cheers

GC
 
Bors said:
Do you have any info on this?
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The Lord Howard de Walden trench knife, or often known as the Welch/Welsh knife. There is a blurb on this page and iirc, it was the grandaddy for these "modern" cheese knives. I could be mistaken about that but I seem to recall a reference regarding how the smachet thingies came to be.
http://www.rwfmuseum.org.uk/nb.html#The de Walden 'Trench Knife'

That image host is being flaky this week so I'll post them from somewhere else.
15welch1.JPG

15welch2.JPG


Guns America was/is listing one that may well be a reproduction. This one was on the bay some months ago, I didn't watch what it moved for.

Cheers

GC
 
horseclover said:
The Lord Howard de Walden trench knife, or often known as the Welch/Welsh knife. There is a blurb on this page and iirc, it was the grandaddy for these "modern" cheese knives. I could be mistaken about that but I seem to recall a reference regarding how the smachet thingies came to be.
http://www.rwfmuseum.org.uk/nb.html#The de Walden 'Trench Knife'

That image host is being flaky this week so I'll post them from somewhere else.
15welch1.JPG

15welch2.JPG


Guns America was/is listing one that may well be a reproduction. This one was on the bay some months ago, I didn't watch what it moved for.

Cheers

GC
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Lord Howard de Walden had a good eye for design and functionality. :thumbup:
 
For a serious smatchet answer, if the problem is that the A-F Smatchet is too short for your needs, what about getting an 18" Cold Steel Barong Machete, using a grinder to remove enough stock to make it symmetrical and the desired lenth, and then sharpening the dull edge? This way you can have an extra large smatchet for around $20.00 and some work.
 
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