Hello! im the new guy, and was wondering if anyone had any pics of swordbreakers (maine gauche dagger type devices with teeth on the back...) I am trying to make one (or would if i knew how the devil they went together), and haven't been able to make any headway.

Go here - http://www.deltin.it/i6.htm - and scroll to the bottom of the page to see DT2179. I was always curious why Del Tin would market a sword breaker - to help them sell more swords? :D

GEE THANKS I think it was to keep current customers alive...i'v never really heard of a swordbreaker breaking any blade-more of a catch and twist thing i think to deflect.

Might be something in the photo libraries on this site.

Do these actually break swords or do they just trap them? I wouldn't imagine that they would break a sword, but I would like to check that. I can't really picture a jitte breaking a katana either, but I think I've read some places that they could....

Probably just a leftover Victorian Museum name that was attached to these parrying daggers as they might be able to snap a thin Rapier blade ? But mostly would be good at trapping a blade. Sort of like " Kidney Dagger " instead of " Ballock Dagger "
being used by prudish Victorians.

I think the Japanese considered the oak bokken as a potential sworbreaker because a hard hit to the side of a katana could snap or bend a blade: One reason Musashi use a bokken for many of his duels ( Fact check that one ! Memory could be faulty. ;) ) A Bo or the shorter Jo stick also could be used this way.

I vaguely remember some sort of steel bar ( mace ? ) mounted on a sword hilt may also have been used as a true swordbreaker, but I don't remember where or when.

I have one of these and I don't think anyone's strong enough to hold onto a sword hard enough to allow it to be broken. In theory you could break a sword with one if your opponent had wrists like the Hulk, but in practice when you catch a blade and twist the dagger, you disarm your opponent...which is better than snapping his blade, as you can still kill someone with half a sword.

Sorry, I forgot to mention. I meant only a rapier blade. Breaking a sword, even a tiny longsword is out of question.

By the way, when this type of blade first appeared?

The Japanese Jitte could be used to control a larger blade:

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jitte_(weapon)[/url]