Tang shock absorbtion

[ddean]

Interesting tidbit I found while watching a
behind-the-scenes featurette on the Lord-of-the-Rings:
Two-Towers DVD.

It relates to previous comments her RE types of tangs & mounting.

When sword-fight sequences are filmed, stunt swords fail regularly
due to heavy blade-to-blade contact.
They break at the junction to the hilt, where the impact shock
fails to find any 'give'.
Due to the large amount of blade-to-blade contact while
filming numerous and large battle scenes in LOTR: II,
the weapons designer decided to innovate rather than
produce thousands of replacement blades.

He sandwiched into the hilt a layer of polyurethane rubber
and virtually none of the swords broke.

I think this relates to previous comments here RE the
shock-absorbing qualities of a laha embedded "stick tang"
on most khukuris.
Although many people have commented that laha is hard & sometimes
cracks and fragments; It must also have some shock-absorbing quality.

 

[Federico]

Ddean laha that is hard and cracks, is laha that has dried out, from either age (which is why the khuks secured with laha alone eventually fail), or it was heated too hot when poured. When in its proper state, pitch has an almost rubbery consistency, well not really that soft, but there is a certain give/softness. Its quite similar to the give in certain epoxies/glues that dont dry as hard as concrete. Probably why so many groups all over the world were fond of pitch based bonding systems.

 

[Rusty]

Whether or not the laha does any damping of the blade forces, it allows transfer of the vibration to the horn or wood, which do perform that function. The neat thing to me about laha, is when it starts fracturing, adding as much super glue as you can squeeze into the cracks produces a melting of the laha, and even a heat reaction. Some ways it reminds me of glass bedding a rifle, only without taking the stock and barrel apart to do it.

 

[ddean]

As much as I've read back through the forum for info.

Almost every day I read new little tidbits of info
that add to my brain stuff that I remember.