[Matthew D G]

I had a question for you Zuiderwijk

In all how much did your swords cost to make?

Congrats on the sword it looks really cool. Let us know how it cuts i've always wonderd about this sword and its cutting power.

[Jeroen Zuiderwijk]

[Rich Knack]

How would this one be classified?



It's my "budget" khopesh blade from Neil Burridge. I'm thinking it looks more like an 8A than anything else. I'm waiting on some olive wood to do the grips with (should be here by the end of the week). I'm guessing the grip area is not exactly authentic, but probably easier to cast than the flanged type and therefore less expensive, but it won't be seen once the handle scales are in place.

[Kurt Scholz]

There's still debate whether the name kopis was related to khopesh. Today's definition of kopis and machaira is not based on a clear ancient description of their characteristics and differences, but is a modern typological construct using ancient names.
Influence of such a weapon of Levantine origin on developments in Europe (with the modern typological name "falcata") can be tracked via a whole stream of influences during the Phoenician transmitted Orientalization period of 8th to 7th century BCE in Early Iron Age Mediterranean when people still were quite fond of the memorized Heroic Bronze Age (Iliad, Odyssey, Heracles and so on). That does not exclude influence from the small s-curved Hallstatt knives used in graves in conjunction with pork. These small knives never reached sword size, so for the large size sword concept a different influence was responsible.

[Kai Lawson]

Not related to etymology or the like, but the lines on that copper Iranian khopesh posted earlier are beautiful. If the 'neck' were shortened slightly and the edge sharpened, it looks as though it could function akin to the Carp's tongue bronze style swords: both cut/slash portions and a tip that could thrust passably. What a hot piece!

[Rich Knack]

Would the cutting edge of a khopesh be thin and sharp like a normal sword blade, or would it be more axe-like and better suited for chopping? To me, it seems like the rather wedge-shaped cross section is more like an axe than that of a sword, but I'd like to hear from folks who hopefully have a bit more knowledge of the subject than I have.

[Dan Howard]

The very nature of bronze means that the edge can never be as thin as a high-quality steel sword but most bronze swords have a narrower bevel than extant khopeshes.

[Rich Knack]

[Dan Howard]

Yes, but it still isn't much of a chopper. A falchion-type design like a falcata or kopis would be a better chopper.

[Rich Knack]

What happened to all the photo links in this thread? A lot of them seem to be dead - just spaces in the posts where the photos used to be.

BTW, here's my Neil Burridge sword, with the finished olive-wood grips:

[Nathan Robinson]