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Li Jin




Location: NYC
Joined: 21 Feb 2008

Posts: 46

PostPosted: Sun 12 Oct, 2008 12:21 am    Post subject: The quality of Rapiers?         Reply with quote

Hello:). I recently got into the usage of Rapiers, and I also bought one. What I know about Rapiers are that the blade have a pointy point, here comes the problem I've encountered. The Rapier I bought are made in Hanwei, and it came with
pretty pointy blade, but does Rapier blade points gets dull easily? I have only practiced some lunges and accidentally hit the
wooden door couple times, and the point just got dull Eek! . Is this only a quality problem or every weapon with sharp point or sharp edge gets dull quickly during usages? Thanks very much.

Jin
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Sam N.




Location: Beijing, China
Joined: 03 Mar 2007

Spotlight topics: 1
Posts: 114

PostPosted: Sun 12 Oct, 2008 7:32 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

It could partially be a quality problem, but there is also something else to consider: a rapier point is not made to hit hard objects like wood or metal, it is made to go through soft flesh and muscle. Rapier points in general could be made quite thin and fragile because they simply wouldn't encounter hard surfaces during normal use. Points that encounter hard objects as part of their job tend to be more obtuse and wide/thick (such as the point on a nail).

Heck, the only time I can really see a rapier point being hit against something hard would be if you hit the cup or shell of your opponent's rapier.
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Allen W





Joined: 02 Mar 2004

Posts: 285

PostPosted: Sun 12 Oct, 2008 8:30 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Rapiers are also meant to perforate human skulls. The originals I've seen had dull yet still acute points. That is very little surface area to distribute impact but they wouldn't draw blood from a fingertip merely pressed down against the point.
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Sam N.




Location: Beijing, China
Joined: 03 Mar 2007

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Posts: 114

PostPosted: Sun 12 Oct, 2008 9:56 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Allen W wrote:
Rapiers are also meant to perforate human skulls. The originals I've seen had dull yet still acute points. That is very little surface area to distribute impact but they wouldn't draw blood from a fingertip merely pressed down against the point.


True. I guess this would depend a lot upon exactly what sort of rapier you have. You are right, I have seen rapiers with wider, "stronger", points. However, I have also seen transitional rapiers that sometimes have points bordering on "sharpened epee".

I have also read quotes from some smallsword and rapier manuals, along with historical accounts from duels, that spoke of points and blades breaking. So it wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence.

I guess it would depend upon what sort of rapier you had.
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Sam Barris




Location: San Diego, California
Joined: 29 Apr 2004
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Posts: 630

PostPosted: Mon 13 Oct, 2008 4:47 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

In general, I've found that doors are the most inoffensive of creatures; they wish only to open and close and provide passage from one space to another—and sometimes sing. There really is little to be gained by attacking them. And they hardly give you any EXP or gold when you kill them. Wink

That said, the two possibilities I see are that the point was ahistorically acute to begin with (already covered above) or Hanwei had some issues with their quality control in the heat treatment department. You can probably fix the damage with a file and some polishing compound.

Pax,
Sam Barris

"Any nation that draws too great a distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting done by fools." —Thucydides
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