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Matthew D G
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 Posted: Mon 17 Dec, 2007 9:54 am Post subject: |
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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. 
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Jeroen Zuiderwijk
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Tue 18 Dec, 2007 1:28 am Post subject: |
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| Matthew D G wrote: | I had a question for you Zuiderwijk
In all how much did your swords cost to make? |
Well, besides the blade, it just took mostly time to grind and polish the blade. Other then that, I spend a few euros on a suitable piece of wood, some gum arabicum etc.
| Quote: | | 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. |
I'm not going to cut with this one, as I prefer to keep it pristine. But judging from the geometry, I'd say it's not that good as a cutter. The edge angle of this particular khopesh is very large (see drawing: http://1501bc.com/files/khopesh/Khopesh_8D_Be..._14thC.jpg), so it's not particularly sharp. If this was used as a weapon (a lot of khopeshes weren't), then it would be a lot more like an axe then a sword. There are khopeshes which do have well sharpened edges, but still they have pretty thick profiles, so a true sword would easily outcut them. Then again, these predate most swords, and should be considered in between swords and axes (as they are derived from axes to start with).
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Rich Knack
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| Posted: Sun 21 Oct, 2012 1:20 pm Post subject: |
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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.
"Those who 'beat their swords into plows', will plow for those who don't."
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Kurt Scholz
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| Posted: Mon 22 Oct, 2012 3:06 am Post subject: |
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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.
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Kai Lawson
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| Posted: Mon 22 Oct, 2012 7:57 am Post subject: |
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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!
"And they crossed swords."
--William Goldman, alias S. Morgenstern
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Rich Knack
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| Posted: Thu 25 Oct, 2012 7:38 am Post subject: |
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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.
"Those who 'beat their swords into plows', will plow for those who don't."
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Dan Howard
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| Posted: Thu 25 Oct, 2012 1:54 pm Post subject: |
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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.
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Rich Knack
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| Posted: Thu 25 Oct, 2012 2:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Dan Howard wrote: | | 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. |
So does that translate out to a more axe-like edge for a khopesh?
"Those who 'beat their swords into plows', will plow for those who don't."
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Dan Howard
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| Posted: Thu 25 Oct, 2012 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, but it still isn't much of a chopper. A falchion-type design like a falcata or kopis would be a better chopper.
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Rich Knack
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| Posted: Fri 09 Nov, 2012 9:54 am Post subject: |
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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:
"Those who 'beat their swords into plows', will plow for those who don't."
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Nathan Robinson
myArmoury Admin
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| Posted: Fri 09 Nov, 2012 10:10 am Post subject: |
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| Rich Knack wrote: | | 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. |
Unfortunately people don't take the archival nature of the Internet into consideration when they host images online. They put things up on their hosts, link to them in posts and with other means of sharing, and then as time goes on they remove them from their hosts destroying the post.
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