Research and Discussion Forums

...only a fragment of bone armor (which I have less problem believing since neolithic groups were still alive and well in Asia

Sorry, but the Neolithic era was 4 o 5 millennium prior to the time we're talking about.

finding one early curiosity doesn't make it a pattern.

Well, since you talk ...

I can't see the picture but if they are Haniwa figures then its from the kofun period, only Iron and leather armors are found from this period: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofun_period

The fact is there are no sources that show or mention wooden armor, and next to no artifacts found A.D. So we ...

I think you are correct Francisco. Some very early Japanese armour was indeed made of wood although I've failed to find a source text and no one claims to know of a complete suit, just fragments...
Interesting, I'de like to see an example someday out of curiosity.

I think this will be difficult ...

... the SengokuDaimyo.com website's assertion actually holds water if we remember the contextual fact that it discusses only samurai armor in the sense of the armors worn by the Japanese warrior elite between the 9th and the 17th centuries...

Well, I don't think so, the actual assertion is:

One ...

You'll notice he cites the author of the website two times, including the website itself right at the end ;). A.J. Bryant is surely one of the most knowledgeable person about Japanese armor in the west. Other than that check his bibliography: http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/katchu/katchu.bibliography ...

A quote from the website I mentionned.

One thing that needs to be addressed first is probably my biggest button: Japanese armour was never made of wood or bamboo. It was either leather, steel, or a combination of the two. Don’t even ask me.

I don't see any sources in that article... in the one ...

...Anyway were talking 100-200 AD, a little bit out of range.

Well, 100-200 is the time framework for those remaining, the article also states that "The first iron armour appeared in the 4th century and was called tanko." Which would mean that till then they would use the previous hardwood ones ...

I Bottomley and A P Hopson by Saturn Books ands its ISBN is 1-86222-002-6. Don't know the page number, sorry about that.


I've dropped off the radar for a bit, end of term is always bad for me. Anyhow, to regress some, I have the book but I can't find any reference to wood in japanese armor ...

Jeremy, this is something you have to decide way before a crime is ever committed, so that you are not fumbling for your actions in the moment. Your earlier statements remind me of an older couple who are close friends of mine whose advice for if I was ever confronted by a rapist was to not fight ...

The next thing you should do, and this can be suprisingly difficult, is get your theory to face the real world: get a straight sword, a curved sword, cut as much as you can with them, and explain the differences (if any). Plenty of suprises can arise ;)

Good luck! I hope you'll enjoy doing maths ...

But here the blade is straight, so of course the slicing effect is not apparent ;)

See this picture:
http://mink.chewa.net/curvedImpact.png

I have drawn a curved sword impacting a target, and a sort of equivalent guillotine blade in light gray. The motion of the sword is circular, centered on ...

The results are interesting, although mathematics are not my forte. But I can't help thinking that there are variables that are not accounted for. How would you explain the results of Michael Edelson's test in which the katana surpassed the longsword in the cutting test on jack?

Well the math ...

I don't think you can neglect the elasticity of the material for many targets. It's precisely for these materials that the slicing effect will matter most, that is, the actual process of the cut or thrust has to be looked at, and not just the end result... ...Of course this effect is not ...

Well first of all, thank you Benjamin and Vincent for you comments on my work, I appreciate it.

Since we can calculate the effect of curvature on cutting efficiency both in terms of sword and target, could you make a graph to express this? I'm interested to see how much advantage particular ...

What I meant was that your domino example does not really take into account the possibility that making a domino fall could be done in two different ways, one demanding more energy than the other. I don't know if it's real, but it seems to be based on experience.

Of course, the math model ...