Research and Discussion Forums

Yeah, definitely a good point. Curves do make aiming a thrust more awkward, which proves an inhibiting factor.

I'd also argue that straight blades do have a couple additional advantages to curved ones in terms of thrusting... I would think that just from a physics perspective, straight blades ...

The Norse get surprisingly little acknowledgment for the stuff they were doing. People always hype up Japanese sword smithing, but few people know about the Scandinavian smiths who were doing arguably more impressive stuff even earlier. Here's a couple quick sources... The first one includes photos ...

I think it would be most accurate to say not that cutting power lost importance, but rather that thrusting gained importance. As everybody's saying, armor in Europe made upper-class warriors increasingly invulnerable to cuts throughout the Dark Ages and Middle Ages, and obviously cutting power vs ...

I think it's a really cool idea. I'm with Jeremy and Gene, and to a huge extent, Jonathan as well. I'm always bored out of my mind at best by most sword fight scenes in movies. I think the problem is that they're so long, laid out and structured. Take the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I know they ...

You guys are right in that you'll never regret an Albion purchase, but I think where Vincent is coming from is a little different than what you're describing. Correct me if I'm wrong, Vincent, but by the sound of it you just want something to help familiarize yourself with swords, and to cut some ...

Ok great, thanks very much guys. I'll definitely look into both of those further; I've read a little about them, but nothing in much detail. I appreciate the recommendations!

Yeah, good call. Honestly that hadn't occurred to me, though it ought to have as the metallurgy aspect of blades is something I'm also interested in. And yeah, the shape is very likely also a cultural reflection, though straight-edged swords were also prominent at that time.

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Ok, yeah I wondered about that. The one thing I had in mind was as you mentioned the leaf-shaped blades of the Celtic cultures during the Bronze and early Iron age. These swords were actually comparable in length to medieval swords as they were often used from horseback.

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Thanks very much, Patrick, that helped a lot. Ultimately I'm looking for a good balance between cutting and thrusting, which any of those three types are. They're similar enough that either of the three would serve a fairly flexible role, especially since I guess I probably won't actually be trying ...

Hey guys,

I've been messing around with wooden practice swords I've made for a good few years, and sometime soon I'd like to move on up and buy a sword. Before I do though, I have a few questions and considerations I thought I'd put to you guys with more experience, to aid my decision and help ...