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Al Muckart
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 Posted: Thu 09 Apr, 2009 1:46 am Post subject: |
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Hi Peter,
These look really, really good. I can't wait to see what comes out in the way of later-period swords.
| Peter Johnsson wrote: |
These swords will fill a gap in the line, that neither the Squires, nor the Maestros could fill.
The Maestro Line swords are contemporary training tools for martial arts, and their construction and finish reflect that fact. |
This might be a dumb question, I've never done steel reenactment combat, and I'm only just starting out in WMA.
Aside from the aesthetic considerations, are there any mechanical handling/performance differences between the Maestros and these? Obviously there aren't really compatible models in each line yet but I'm curious as to whether there are reasons other than aesthetics that the Maestros shouldn't be used for reenactment combat or these shouldn't be used for WMA practice.
Say a Skirmish-line longsword is released, would it make sense for someone to buy one and use it for both WMA and reenactment combat, rather than buying one of each or is there something I'm missing between the two aside from the fact that the Skirmish line swords have accurate appearance and construction?
Thanks.
--
Al.
http://wherearetheelves.net
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Peter Johnsson
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Thu 09 Apr, 2009 8:34 am Post subject: |
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| Al Muckart wrote: | Hi Peter,
These look really, really good. I can't wait to see what comes out in the way of later-period swords.
This might be a dumb question, I've never done steel reenactment combat, and I'm only just starting out in WMA.
Aside from the aesthetic considerations, are there any mechanical handling/performance differences between the Maestros and these? Obviously there aren't really compatible models in each line yet but I'm curious as to whether there are reasons other than aesthetics that the Maestros shouldn't be used for reenactment combat or these shouldn't be used for WMA practice.
Say a Skirmish-line longsword is released, would it make sense for someone to buy one and use it for both WMA and reenactment combat, rather than buying one of each or is there something I'm missing between the two aside from the fact that the Skirmish line swords have accurate appearance and construction?
Thanks. |
Hi Al,
Not a dumb question 
If the same original historic sword type were to be designed for the Maestro Line and the Skirmish Line, the resulting swords would look different. There would be emphasis on different aspects. The Maestro Line version would look like a contemporary martial arts tool, the Skirmish Line sword would look more like an authentic sword, but not as much as if the design was developed for the Next generation or the Museum Line.
In a WMA situation, you have a more controlled and possible focused fight than during a reenacted battle melée. I do not think thrusts are allowed in reenactment battles, but they might be allowed among some groups of WMA practitioners.
A Skirmish line long sword could well be used in many WMA situations, but depending on type, it may be less optimal for the WMA situation. The benefit for me as a designer working with two separate lines, is that I have specific situations to have in mind when developing the designs. This does not mean that there will not be an overlap, but the intended functions for the two lines are still going to be distinct.
Some blade types are better suited for the Skirmish Line than others. Narrow blades of type XIV, XIVa, XVI, XVIa and shortish somewhat pointy single edged blades are well suited for blunt reenactment use. Blades with saber cross section would be just about perfect.
Broad blades are otherwise less well suited. Viking blades push the limit as you have to add a very drastic fuller to get the to work. With the vikings the broad fuller is almost totally accepted, but making a type XIII with such a broad and long fuller would look very strange.
The blades in the Skirmish Line has to look less different from their historical counterparts that the blades in the Maestro Line. This is a limiting factor that will impact their designs and the range of possible blade types. Too pointy or too broad does not work.
Hope this explanation helps.
Last edited by Peter Johnsson on Thu 09 Apr, 2009 9:30 am; edited 1 time in total
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Elling Polden
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| Posted: Thu 09 Apr, 2009 9:08 am Post subject: |
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You can thrust in reenactment (at least the forms that I've heard about), but the target is generally more limited, so its not done very often. Most commonly you use a quick tip-rotation blow instead of thrusting, as it is faster (from your typical guard), and easier to controll.
What IS done a lot is fast, light blows against rapidly moving target in caotic enviroments, so you need a reponsive, light blade.
Peter: A question on the later swords: I and one of my friends bought some light sparring swords a while back. These had a diamond crosssection, and where quite narrow. They perfomed quite well, until they both broke within a short time, after about half a year. Mine, in particular, had clearly broken from one micro-fracture to another; it snaped about 2 cm further up on one side, with a neat little curve down to the other fracture point.
Afterwards, I have pondered on wether this was because of the diamond crossection. Most reenactment figthing blades have their strength in the edges, while the diamond section blades have the strength in the spine. Could this posibly mean that diamond cross section swords are less suited for sparring, since the weaker edges are more wounerable to fractures?
"this [fight] looks curious, almost like a game. See, they are looking around them before they fall, to find a dry spot to fall on, or they are falling on their shields. Can you see blood on their cloths and weapons? No. This must be trickery."
-Reidar Sendeman, from King Sverre's Saga, 1201
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Peter Johnsson
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Thu 09 Apr, 2009 9:35 am Post subject: |
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| Elling Polden wrote: | You can thrust in reenactment (at least the forms that I've heard about), but the target is generally more limited, so its not done very often. Most commonly you use a quick tip-rotation blow instead of thrusting, as it is faster (from your typical guard), and easier to controll.
What IS done a lot is fast, light blows against rapidly moving target in caotic enviroments, so you need a reponsive, light blade.
Peter: A question on the later swords: I and one of my friends bought some light sparring swords a while back. These had a diamond crosssection, and where quite narrow. They perfomed quite well, until they both broke within a short time, after about half a year. Mine, in particular, had clearly broken from one micro-fracture to another; it snaped about 2 cm further up on one side, with a neat little curve down to the other fracture point.
Afterwards, I have pondered on wether this was because of the diamond crossection. Most reenactment figthing blades have their strength in the edges, while the diamond section blades have the strength in the spine. Could this posibly mean that diamond cross section swords are less suited for sparring, since the weaker edges are more wounerable to fractures? |
Difficult to say, as there are so many unknown factors.
The culprit might well be heat treatment rather than cross section.
If a diamond sectioned blade is both beaten and exposed to a lot of flexing, you could see fatigue resulting in fracture.
I do not think I could provide a good general answer to this. I would first ook to the heat treat, secondly to the steel and then only the cross section.
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Sean Costello
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| Posted: Sat 16 May, 2009 6:27 am Post subject: |
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| Elling Polden wrote: | | You adjust the gloves to the sword. Many people start out basing their gloves on very rough welding-type gloves and adding padding, leather or metal to those. This just isn't a very good strategy. You need to start out with thin gloves, or the historical mitten design with thin leather for the inside of the hand, and add padding or leather to the outside of the glove. Otherwise you will not get a propper grip on your sword. |
It depends on the group you join as well, with the group I'm in, our gloves are just leather rigger's gloves from the local hardware store and we glue several layers of felt to it and then sew leather over the top to make them padded with some hardened leather around the cuff to protect the wrist joint.
An example of this is the pair of battle mittens produced by Lugh Recreations(http://www.lughrecreations.com/leather.html) who are a garrison in the New Varangian Guard (www.nvg.org.au).
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