Hi all,
i have this small hand and half sword that i made, and i was wondering where the point of balance should be?....here are the dementions...blade length 20inch handle length 7.5 inch . i made this piece from a chain saw bar, which is a little less than .25 inch thick..but after filling and sanding ,the blade is somewhat thinner.

The point of balance would be where the sword balances easily without outward assistance...

The Features section has an article on point of balance if I'm not mistaken. If it does, then the words point of balance should be hyper linked in this post.

M.

I have read in places where all swords balance point is supposed to be at excatly "such and such" place. Well, that may work with some but not all. You may pick up five swords of the same style and find they will not all feel the same.

A "rule of thumb" is a well balanced sword should not feel so "hilt heavy" that the blade feels "whippy". Nor should the blade feel too "blade heavy" that all the weights "out there" but feels like holding a "dead piece of iron". It should feel "alive in the hand" that woos you to strike as Oakshott mentions in his book " Archaeology of Weapons". And he is largely correct.

Swords, depending on the period, are not really heavy. It is just most people are not used to holding something that extends so far out from the hand. So to most, even a 2 pound broadsword would feel awkward, if all your expertise is holding a fencing foil. But the foil was designed for a specific style of fighting, just as the medieval broadsword. Too often I have seen someone buy a medieval style single handed broadsword with a two handed grip believing that is the only way these can be used. Something like a Katana because that is all they have seen it used like.

For this kind of blade length I'd look into the balance of gladii. But handling that with two hands seems strange... Are there any hand and a half swords with such short blade? I'm quite sure I've never heard of one.

And of course point of balance is only one part of the equation. You'd have to look at least at pivot points as well, something even more difficult to find numbers for...

I have to agree that the blade turned out a little shorter than was planed....and the handle isn't prob as long as a full sized sword ...oh ya a another question. is a chainsaw bar good materail to make swords and daggers from?? :D

well, i've found that with this sword you mostly use it one handed exept when your doing downward or difficult angle chops

I bought a custom knife up in Alaska that was forged from chainsaw bar stock. My brother uses it elk hunting and it is a great knife. I would assume that properly tempered it would be good for certain swords and daggers as well.

When i made this sword i was told that the bar itself was hard enough to make a decent sword......but i think that a good temper would prob increase its durability. ~peter~