- Joined
- Oct 25, 2004
- Messages
- 3,178
Well, it turned out that I didn't have to work yesterday. I was in a bad mood and I knew just what would fix that: slaying some more beer cans. For this session, though, it was time to try some new things.
First up was the Everest Katana, of course. After a thorough cleanup, a few etch/polish cycles to bring out the temper line, a sharpening and some more cleanup (and it still reeks of laha), it was ready to go. A Satori-ryu backhand chop served to get me aquainted with the EK's handling...well, not really, but I wanted to do it at least once.
The katana was intended to be used with two hands so I figured I ought to try that at least a few times. One of those cool diagonal cuts seemed to be just the trick.
Remembering Dan Koster's request, I tried doing multiple cans in one pass with the Kobra. I tried six at first; it didn't go that well, but I did get five of them. (I also got quite wet.) Four seemed to be more realistic for my level of skill. I hope to do five, perhaps six, but the lack of blade length will make this very difficult for me. I'll practice this a bit throughout the week as more cans become available. The problem is that, target-wise, this is a very expensive cut. Now that I've got my neighbors trained to save their recyclables for me the supply of targets should increase.
What really had me thinking, though, was the recent thread on cutting vs. thrusting. As my own particular opponents consist entirely of beer cans and other recyclables, I found it very easy to test the two schools of thought under field conditions.
The Napoleon Sword seemed to be a good candidate for thrusting against beer cans. It looks quite easy but it took me a good twenty minutes of practice before I could reliably puncture the darned things. The thrust must land with plenty of force and it must strike nearly dead center, otherwise it merely skids off or rips the can. This actually seems to be an excellent exercise for developing thrusting accuracy and I plan on doing this a lot more. Set the can swinging for extra difficulty.
The Napoleon Sword also faired well against a plastic soda bottle under similar conditions; however, this was toward the end of the session and I was thrusting fairly accurately by then. I'm guessing it's probably a bit easier, as the tip should dig into plastic easier than aluminum.
But hey...the tip on that Everest Katana is pretty sharp. Although designed as a cutter, they supposedly thrust just fine. I decided to try it out. Test sat. I never missed a thrust with the EK - not to say that I'm skilled with it by any means, but the second hand vastly improves tip control.
Of course, if I'm going to be stabbing beer cans I can't very well leave out the seax.
My conclusion: slashes are more spectacular and probably more efficient against beer cans but both techniques are effective.
During last weekend's cutting session, I stumbled upon an unopened beer that had been left out in the sun for a day or two. Since it was probably skunked I decided to put it out of its misery with the Talwar. It wasn't as spectacular as I'd been expecting but it made a very cool sound: This is stupid.
I really need to get a new hobby. In the meantime, the game's starting in a bit and it's time to make some new targets. Enjoy.
First up was the Everest Katana, of course. After a thorough cleanup, a few etch/polish cycles to bring out the temper line, a sharpening and some more cleanup (and it still reeks of laha), it was ready to go. A Satori-ryu backhand chop served to get me aquainted with the EK's handling...well, not really, but I wanted to do it at least once.
The katana was intended to be used with two hands so I figured I ought to try that at least a few times. One of those cool diagonal cuts seemed to be just the trick.
Remembering Dan Koster's request, I tried doing multiple cans in one pass with the Kobra. I tried six at first; it didn't go that well, but I did get five of them. (I also got quite wet.) Four seemed to be more realistic for my level of skill. I hope to do five, perhaps six, but the lack of blade length will make this very difficult for me. I'll practice this a bit throughout the week as more cans become available. The problem is that, target-wise, this is a very expensive cut. Now that I've got my neighbors trained to save their recyclables for me the supply of targets should increase.
What really had me thinking, though, was the recent thread on cutting vs. thrusting. As my own particular opponents consist entirely of beer cans and other recyclables, I found it very easy to test the two schools of thought under field conditions.
The Napoleon Sword seemed to be a good candidate for thrusting against beer cans. It looks quite easy but it took me a good twenty minutes of practice before I could reliably puncture the darned things. The thrust must land with plenty of force and it must strike nearly dead center, otherwise it merely skids off or rips the can. This actually seems to be an excellent exercise for developing thrusting accuracy and I plan on doing this a lot more. Set the can swinging for extra difficulty.
The Napoleon Sword also faired well against a plastic soda bottle under similar conditions; however, this was toward the end of the session and I was thrusting fairly accurately by then. I'm guessing it's probably a bit easier, as the tip should dig into plastic easier than aluminum.
But hey...the tip on that Everest Katana is pretty sharp. Although designed as a cutter, they supposedly thrust just fine. I decided to try it out. Test sat. I never missed a thrust with the EK - not to say that I'm skilled with it by any means, but the second hand vastly improves tip control.
Of course, if I'm going to be stabbing beer cans I can't very well leave out the seax.
My conclusion: slashes are more spectacular and probably more efficient against beer cans but both techniques are effective.
During last weekend's cutting session, I stumbled upon an unopened beer that had been left out in the sun for a day or two. Since it was probably skunked I decided to put it out of its misery with the Talwar. It wasn't as spectacular as I'd been expecting but it made a very cool sound: This is stupid.
I really need to get a new hobby. In the meantime, the game's starting in a bit and it's time to make some new targets. Enjoy.
