[Reinier van Noort]

Just a quick question about swords and the tone they make when struck.

I gather that a sword that's well-made has no large vibrations, and therefore a clear tone.

Does that mean that when a sword loses its tone, that it's gained some vibrations somewhere possibly because something loosened (in the hilt)? Is this a big problem?

The reason I'm asking is that I bought a new sword a few days ago (Pavel Moc Norman), and during my first training session with it, today, it already lost its tone. Is this a reason to take it back, or is this just a "always happens, suck it up and live with it" kind of thing?

Cheers

R

[Jeremy V. Krause]

I don't think it matters. When components start "rattling" that is indeed a problem.

[Vincent Le Chevalier]

I wouldn't be overly concerned either, if it's just the tone that's lost.

The ringing sound that can be heard is an indication of high frequency vibrations lasting longer, not that vibrations are not large. The fact that the sword does not ring anymore says that these vibrations are dampenned. It's not a bad thing as we are not using swords to make music

Rattling, as Jeremy said, is another problem. It means that components are not appropriately fixed together anymore, which can be dangerous, or at least increase the risk of failure.

[Reinier van Noort]

OK, thanks. I guess I just needed to hear it from someone else.