[Charles B McFadden]

The best pure medieval 1 handed cutter, I didn't have enough room to type that in the title.

I don't care one bit about the thrust, I just want to slice and chop, slice and slice and slice and chop.

Don't care about the price at all, which ones fall into this kind of category? And if there is one that is the best at this hands down, don't be afraid to let me know.

[Christopher B Lellis]

I have not handled all of them so I can't say with certainty which is the best for that but I do own this sword and it's all cutter. Don't be fooled by the acute tip, the blade is too flexible to be a reliable thruster, it's simply not good at it but it feels great in the hand and it's a devastating cutter, ask the dozens of pork shoulders I've chopped up.

Bone? heh, might as well be balsa wood.


http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/ne...igil-x.htm

Is it the best medieval cutter? I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was.

Either way, I think you would be happy with this one.

[Nathan Robinson]

What do you want to cut? In what manner?

[Charles B McFadden]

[Charles B McFadden]

[Kai Lawson]

Is there a style of swordsmanship you practice, or are you just swinging it?

[Charles B McFadden]

[Charles B McFadden]

Answer my question with questions and then say nothing after I answer YOUR questions.
Thanks for the interrogations guys! I didn't realize this subject was so.. serious.

Except for you Christopher.

[Tim M.]

It's been a couple hours since they asked their questions, and you gave answers, please be patient. Your impatience is a warning sign in of itself in wanting a sword for cutting.

It is a serious subject, especially because this will be your very first sword for cutting. When a person is using a sword, they need to be educated on the proper usage of the type of sword they are using, as well as capable of basics like edge alignment, not to mention safety. There is a lot that can go wrong in cutting that can end with a badly damaged sword or an injured person. Using a sword bears as much responsibility as using a firearm in my opinion. I can tell you from firsthand experience that using a sword is not a joke. I have a very warped and damaged Gen2 Celtic because I did not take the time to prepare myself properly before serious cutting.

[Nathan Robinson]

[Christopher B Lellis]

Wow.

What happened here? That went bad out of the blue.

[Timo Nieminen]

As for the original question, I'd expect the Soldat to be a pretty good cutter, especially for mats.

(If the OP didn't specify "Medieval", I'd have suggested the Cherusker, too.)

A 2-foot-and-a-bit kitchen knife? Sounds like a recipe for good cutting!

[T. Kew]

What makes a good cutter isn't exactly a trivial question. If you're involved with ARMA, I presume you're probably learning longsword techniques first and foremost, which would seem to indicate something usable in two hands with longsword moves would be appropriate.

So perhaps try a Knecht.

Of course, if what you want is a sword to verify your techniques with a live edge, you should instead look at buying a sword that's a close match to your existing training items.

Given that you seem to be demanding a one-hander, however, I'd probably look at either a Soldat or some early type XI or similar---but why must it be one-handed?

There's no such thing as the "best" cutter - different cutting swords are optimised for different techniques, and different targets. A keenly sharpened hollow-ground blade such as the Kingmaker might be viciously effective against unarmoured flesh, but prove tricky to drive through a thick mat, while something such as a Soldat or Vassal could blow through that target---as long as you get the edge alignment perfect, otherwise you could well say goodbye to your sword.

People have all sorts of things they might be busy doing between posts. I'm about to dive off to a lecture, for example, so will be delayed in any responses for a few hours. The wait can seem like a while if you're sitting at your computer waiting for a response, but recognising that people are asking questions to be usefully helpful and that it might take a while for them to respond will get you a lot further than demanding instant advice.

[Craig Peters]

The Tritonia, because of the broadness of the blade, and it's blade profile, will be a fierce cutter. As an added benefit, since it is a Type XIIIb, it will meet your criteria for not needing to be good at thrusting. Type XIII and its subtypes arguably have the poorest tips for thrusting, but they are tremendous cutting swords. So that might be my choice.

[Kai Lawson]

I second the Tritonia, with the Saint Maurice of Turin as a back-up. It might take some doing to swing, but if you can keep edge alignment, I can't imagine why you couldn't cut through almost anything in your house