Interesting Facts & Information About Swords

notoriouslyconservative.com ^ | 05 04 09 | Notoriously Conservative

[Notoriously Conservative]

What does this have to do with conservatism? I don't know, I guess there have been conservatives that have used swords. Look, don't question it, swords are awesome, that's why.

The Sword Defined:

Sword weapon of offense and defense in personal combat, consisting of a blade with a sharp point and one or two cutting edges, set in a hilt with a handle protected by a metal case or cross guard. The sword may have developed from the dagger at the beginning of the Bronze Age. It was not, however, until the more durable iron sword was introduced in the early Iron Age that the sword became an effective weapon. Greek and Roman swords were very short, with pointed ends, and had two cutting edges. Medieval knights used two types of swords: a short sword with a pointed end that was used with one hand and a heavy two-handed sword with a rounded end. During the Middle Ages the best blades were those made by the Arabs in Damascus and Toledo. Swords were widely used in the Middle East and E Asia as well as in Europe. The scimitar, used by the Persians and Arabs, is a curved steel sword. One of the best known of the East Asian swords is the Japanese samurai sword, consisting of a curved single-edged tempered steel blade set in a long handle. As a highly personal weapon the sword attained symbolic importance; surrendering one's sword became a token of submission, and the custom of taking an officer's sword away from him and breaking the blade when he was dismissed from the service in disgrace arose because a sword is the mark of an officer and a gentleman. During the Crusades and later, the sword, because of its...

[LexBaird]

There was a lot of debate as to whether it was better to cut from horseback (thus a curved blade) or use the weight of the charge to simply thrust through (thus a straight blade). Patton was an advocate of the latter tactic. The idea was that it took more accuracy to slice as you rode by than it did to simply present the point, and then let the forward momentum run the guy through and pull the blade out as you passed.

[unkus]

Thanks for the neat pictures Joe 6-pack.

[dsc]

“The idea was that it took more accuracy to slice as you rode by than it did to simply present the point, and then let the forward momentum run the guy through and pull the blade out as you passed.”

The difficulty in pulling the blade out was why cavalry sabers were curved in the first place.

And it really doesn’t take a lot of skill to learn basic cuts.

[Godebert]

"Never bring a sword to an assault-rifle fight."

[clee1]

However, I guess you could bring both...

[wildbill]

I read that the gangs and general yobs of Britain, especially in Scotland began carrying short swords a few years ago.

They became a problem and recent legislation forfids anyone from carrying one.

[uglybiker]

Swords, knives, rifles, pencils, sharp rocks, broken glass, M-134D, industrial lasers...

Wot about point 'ead sticks?

[LexBaird]

Personally, I don’t have an opinion, since I’ve not used either method on horseback. I’m just relating what the argument was. Not much call for either technique these days.

[dsc]

“Not much call for either technique these days.”

Not since Winston Churchill was a young man, it seems.

[Old Student]

I have a WWII NCO-issue katana as last-ditch backup weapon for home defense. No flash, no loud noises, and it won't penetrate walls across the street from me. It also never needs reloaded. No, it won't cut through a tank, despite postings to that effect... unless it's a very small tank, anyway. ;)

OS