Sword of the Day

[The Zieg]

A review, a recommendation, a wish post, or any thoughts on swords and sword use are my intention for this thread. MACHETES, SMATCHETS, and OTHER LONG CHOPPERS ARE WELCOME!! The more pictures, the better, of course! With that in mind, then . . .

Getting in some basic handling practice this morning. Windlass Steelcrafts' "American Revolution Saber" is a halfway decent approximation of the British 1788 pattern cavalry saber. As usual with Windlass swords, distal taper is poor, but the balance is acceptable and the hilt is solid, so striking at a pell is not harmful to the sword and it does not take a huge toll on ones wrist and forearm. This sword can be a bit like swinging the bat with the "doughnut" before entering the batter's box, but this is practice and exercise, so no harm done. Thirty minutes a day is a great way to keep the wrist and forearm toned for sparring and cutting from the saddle!

 

[The Zieg]

Hmm, maybe I ought to change the thread title to "Sword of The Week," as I spent more time with that last sword than I anticipated I would. Sparring is often better with synthetics, though, so I have been doing some drills with a cast nylon model from Purpleheart Armory this past week. It is one of their earlier patterns they call the "Hungarian Saber" intended to approximate a shorter blade with a yelman. These things have no distal taper, either, but benefit by being thick enough to take them down at the edge and foible with a gouge, rasp, file, and sandpaper. I began the process some time ago on this sword, but have not found the stopping point yet. I will get there eventually.