what did they use?

[Eddie Smith]

What did they use in Europe for test cutting traditionally?

[Stacy Clifford]

Their enemies.

[Sal Bertucci]

[Brent Lambell]

Their enemies.

I think you are right on with that. When people talk about the historical accuracy of test cutting, one thing that I consider is that they did not need to test cut. They used these techniques and skills on the field of battle and knew what worked and what did not. We, on the other hand, do not have that benefit. We need to test cut artificial materials to learn for ourselves.

Unless we just want to believe everything we are told just because it written in a book.

[KatherineJohnson]

I'm sure they had to test cut something before going to fight a man. Probably small sapplings and the like, thats what I always kiled when I was a kid

[Michael Navas]

Sounds plausible. If these people were half as concerned with surviving as I have the impression of, they would not enter mortal combat with techniques and weapons they didn't know the properties of if they could help it.

[Jeff Hansen]

I'm sure they had to test cut something before going to fight a man. Probably small sapplings and the like, thats what I always kiled when I was a kid

Something else everyone seems to be overlooking; In the absence of modern tech. almost everyone except the truly wealthy would have spent a fair amount of time chopping firewood if they want to survive winter. I know this is very different than cutting with a sword, but it would ingrain an intrinsic inderstanding of edge control and the biomechanics of how to swing a tool from a very early age. Add to that the fact of a far greater percentage of rural population and lack of supermarkets and refrigeration, and you get a very large percentage of the population with experience in slaughtering and butchering of animals, clearing brush, (a favorite of many around here) harvesting with a sythe, etc. Plus almost everyone would have carried a knife of some sort on their person almost anytime they weren't asleep. We tend to forget, from our modern vantage, the pure physical labor involved in simply existing back in the day. To people with extensive, everyday experience in the use of tools of all sorts, simply handling a sword could give you a fairly good idea of how it cuts. Cutting things was no mystery. Beyond taking a couple of whacks at a handy branch or sapling, extensive test cutting would probably seem like a waste of time. And if you are really wealthy, and not engaged in everyday phycical labor, it would be pretty easy to have the staff bring tonight's supper around for you to cut at before it's butchered. (ah, the good old days )

My $.02

[Stacy Clifford]

My first answer was admittedly slightly facetious, but I completely agree with Jeff's point, someone who uses tools every day is going to have a lot less trouble figuring out how to handle a new one correctly. Someone who uses a scythe, sickle, machete, axe or butcher knife all the time already knows a thing or two about edge alignment. Even a hammer needs to be swung a certain way to hit correctly for a lot of tasks.