When People Think They Know Swords

B

BladesB4Firearms

Joined
Oct 13, 2013
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182
So, I was talking to a fanboy the other day about a WoW sword replica he has and I was telling him that the blade he has is purely decorative and too heavy and poorly balanced to be used in really combat.

He replied by saying "The blade is high quality metal. I've tested it and it may be heavy but that weight will actually give you an advantage."

This is information on the blade we were discussing.

http://www.epicweapons.com/products/frostmournefaq.php

I'm not sure about you guys, but I'm pretty sure 420J2 is not "high quality metal." Swords should be made of non stainless if I remember correctly. (Unless made by a custom smith that REALLY knows their stuff)

A sword roughly 4ft long that weighs 16lbs????!!!! Jeez, Hanwei's Irish Lowlander Greatsword weighs less than half that and it's nearly 6ft long!

Why do you guys think people have misconceptions of what a functional sword is?
 
I thought The Atlantean was a thick heavy SOB..............16lbs?

Check out Albion's Maximillian and Tyrolean. Those are basically examples of the largest swords ever used (larger swords exist but are thought to be purely decorative) and weigh just over 5lbs.
 
falar said:
I thought The Atlantean was a thick heavy SOB..............16lbs?

Check out Albion's Maximillian and Tyrolean. Those are basically examples of the largest swords ever used (larger swords exist but are thought to be purely decorative) and weigh just over 5lbs.
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I love Albions. I tried telling him that Albion makes actual functional swords and gave him those specs you just have me. He claimed it was "too light" and that he could break one in half with his. I just wonder why people think that these heavy, stainless wall hangers are anything close to "real".
 
Alberta Ed said:
Don't waste oxygen on anyone who believes that.
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I just find it dangerous honestly. I feel as if it's my duty to tell them they run the risk of breaking the sword and injuring themselves or someone else in such a manner as using a display sword for cutting.
 
Haha! I love sparring with that kind of person. Speed has a power all its own. To be fair, weight does too, if you're strong enough to wield it. That's clearly someone who's never actually used a sword.

The reason they have those ideas? Because the only sword combat they've seen is in their imaginations. Anyone who has even messed around a little bit has an idea of the realities of the physics behind it. Reason doesn't work on that sort of person either.
 
i do not know of ANY stainless steel that i'd trust in a sword blade (M390?) but i can tell you for certain than any sword in 420 is a wall hanger

also, a 16lb sword is useless to ANYONE who isn't 6'9 and built like a young Conan
 
BePrepared said:
i do not know of ANY stainless steel that i'd trust in a sword blade (M390?) but i can tell you for certain than any sword in 420 is a wall hanger

also, a 16lb sword is useless to ANYONE who isn't 6'9 and built like a young Conan
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I've seen ONE functional sword in stainless and it was 440C. I completely agree, 16lbs is insanely heavy.
 
it looks legit but i can't imagine that it would be as durable as something exactly like it in 5160
 
The only thing I don't like about it is the hollow grind (it looks hollow ground to me). The biggest pro is stain resistance. For a weapon/tatami cutter, I think it would perform just fine. It's doesnt really need to have 5160 toughness. Plus the core is supposedly tempered softer than the edge and outside for shock absorption. I don't really want one, but it's interesting.
 
A story from Dawson

I couldn't help but remember with a slight smile that day also. Mike had made the mistake of mentioning an article he had just read about sword testing in Japan. I calmly walked over to where his heat treated Katana blade lie on the work bench and proceeded to tighten the end of the blade in the vice. His jaw must have dropped two inches when I began to bend the blade back. I could feel his chest tighten as I grunted against the strength of the blade. About the time he yelled, "What the Hell!!". I slowly released the blade, removed it quickly from the vice and handed it to him with an amused grin on my face. I calmly told him to look carefully down the length of the blade. "I'll be damned"! Mike exclaimed. "It's as straight as an arrow"

Before the dawn of companies such as Bugei that used to sell blades and packages from Howard Clark, Engnath and others, Dawson was quite popular with the iaidoka crowd of those looking for a modern made full katana length sword.

Daughter Lynn is no slouch either but I have never seen anything wakasashi. Or was there a sabre, I forget.

As to 16lbs of 420j2, it is probably pretty soft and bendy (in the end with enough pressure). I won't go so far as to say a great many modern takes on swords are overbuilt but the specimen linked at the head of the thread kind of epitomizes how some look at swowrds. Even good steel and great heat treat can make for some fairly armstrong endeavors in handling.

Cheers

GC
 
Last year after the SHOT show in Vegas I attended a gun and knife show in Vegas

Barry was there with a Katana like piece that I loved

Still regret not buying it.
 
horseclover said:
First bumped into this page somewhere around 1998-99
http://www.palus.demon.co.uk/Sword_Stats.html

Hardly complete and somewhat obsolete/less tmely but a window into the past for European swords.

Cheers

GC
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I'd bet any of the two handed swords over 8lbs were ceremonial. Even if they weren't, there are still much longer than the sword I first mentioned. A sword 47" long and weighs 16lbs... That's just too heavy for that length. It's be like wielding a splitting maul almost.
 
I laughed out loud when I read 16 pounds. I don't think most people realize a light sword is about 1.5 pounds, and a heavy sword tips 4 something.

I had a rather educated fellow in school try to tell me a sword should be around 10 kilos; I convinced him otherwise.
 
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