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Karl Knisley




PostPosted: Wed 04 Feb, 2015 1:07 pm    Post subject: Falchion weight question         Reply with quote

Hello
My new falchion weighs 3.30 lbs. with a 30" long x 2' wide blade .Is that out of line with original weights?

Thanks in advance



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Timo Nieminen




Location: Brisbane, Australia
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PostPosted: Wed 04 Feb, 2015 2:01 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

As a generalisation, about 2lbs is normal. Thin-bladed and light slicers. The longer ones and really wide-bladed ones can be heavier (e.g., the Conyers falchion is 1.3kg (2.86lb); it's 1.2 mm thick at the widest part, but there's still a lot of steel there).

The 16th and 17th century ornate ones are heavier; maybe about 2.5lbs on average, and some are over 3lbs. I think these ones are either dress swords or hunting swords. I don't know about the thickness of the blades; some are ornate with deep fullers, so they're much thicker than the plain light "fighting falchions".

"In addition to being efficient, all pole arms were quite nice to look at." - Cherney Berg, A hideous history of weapons, Collier 1963.
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Roger Hooper




Location: Northern California
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PostPosted: Wed 04 Feb, 2015 3:54 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Del Tin makes a very similar sword, the DT5159 That one weighs 2 lbs 4 oz. As Del Tin typically overbuilds, I'd say that yours is heavier than it should be. Yours is 2.25 inches longer, maybe that's where the extra pound is located. Big Grin
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William M




Location: Buckinghamshire , England
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PostPosted: Thu 05 Feb, 2015 1:41 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

That is a really pretty Falchion! I like it a lot!!! I would prefer if it was much much lighter though. I feel that most blades these days tend to be overbuilt with big secondary bevels. I think I can see a big bevel on yours?
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Harri Kyllönen




Location: Finland
Joined: 12 Jun 2009

Posts: 42

PostPosted: Thu 05 Feb, 2015 3:25 am    Post subject: Re: Falchion weight question         Reply with quote

Karl Knisley wrote:
Hello
My new falchion weighs 3.30 lbs. with a 30" long x 2' wide blade .Is that out of line with original weights?


That sounds heavy. I think your blade looks like it's of the thorpe falchion style

The historical Thorpe falchion with 80cm blade weights 0,9 kg. It was heavier originally since it has corroded but I don't think it would have weighted anywhere near 0,6kg more originally like your blade does.
Windlass replica of the Thorpe falchion weights 1,2kg but it has a 70cm blade.

Check this review if interested on the Thorpe and Windlass replica http://www.myArmoury.com/review_mrl_falc.html

Sorry for the metric system.
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Karl Knisley




PostPosted: Fri 06 Feb, 2015 11:46 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hello
I have felt it to be a little heavy in the recovery,but not uncomfortably so,as it was with the, Albion Ulvbane sword ,I used to have
which was about the same wieght. The handle/grip, is a bit longer than usual on a one handed sword, and the pommel
is substancial.Ernie balanced it pretty good. I wish I`d had him put a finger ring on it,with a finger over the guard, its allmost perfect. The blade has allmost a straight bevel from the spine,with a little hand sharpened apple seed-ish edge. I believe it could cut the head off a bull with it. Not that I would (ASPCA disclaimer) :-)
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Alexis Bataille




Location: montpellier
Joined: 31 Aug 2014

Posts: 95

PostPosted: Sat 07 Feb, 2015 2:58 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

i have a tricky question : against plate protected target (like hitting the helmet), does a sharp blade make mor bludgeoning damage than a dull (unsharpened) one because of the grip of the "bite" in steel ?
sorry for my poor english
cheers
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James Moore





Joined: 27 Jan 2011

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PostPosted: Sat 07 Feb, 2015 5:29 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

J.G.Elmslie's the expert on falchions, with research papers or a book in production.
perhaps he could be asked?

From what I've read and heard him say however, your one could probably lose 1/3 of its weight - I remember him showing a langes messer with a 92cm blade that weighed just 1kg!
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Mark T




PostPosted: Sat 07 Feb, 2015 1:06 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hi Karl,

I admire your ongoing quest for a good single-edged single-hander!

James beat me to it - JG has documented many of the surviving falchions. I have to head out now, but do a search here and you should find a post by me that either includes his scaled images - or links to a thread that does. Not sure if the info he's already published online includes weights or not, but he's a very approachable (if busy) chap.

Chief Librarian/Curator, Isaac Leibowitz Librarmoury

Schallern sind sehr sexy!
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Matthew P. Adams




Location: Cape Cod, MA
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PostPosted: Sun 08 Feb, 2015 9:26 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Does the spine of the blade taper distally? If I saw a blade like that I would expect it to have a dramatic convex distal taper at the beginning of the swell, remaining thin up to a couple inches from the tip, and then see a bit of thickening at the spine to create a strong thrusting point.

It's a beautiful piece however you "slice" it.

And as far as I understand, a sharp hard blade would bite into a helmet, and cause more force to be transferred than a duller blade BUT attacking a helmet on purpose with a cut would be avoided if at all possible.

If it were me, I'd be more tempted to hit a helmet with the back of the blade.

"We do not rise to the level of our expectations. We fall to the level of our training" Archilochus, Greek Soldier, Poet, c. 650 BC
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Karl Knisley




PostPosted: Sun 08 Feb, 2015 10:55 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Matthew P. Adams wrote:
Does the spine of the blade taper distally? If I saw a blade like that I would expect it to have a dramatic convex distal taper at the beginning of the swell, remaining thin up to a couple inches from the tip, and then see a bit of thickening at the spine to create a strong thrusting point.

It's a beautiful piece however you "slice" it.

And as far as I understand, a sharp hard blade would bite into a helmet, and cause more force to be transferred than a duller blade BUT attacking a helmet on purpose with a cut would be avoided if at all possible.

If it were me, I'd be more tempted to hit a helmet with the back of the blade.



Hello
The blade is almost 1/4''' thick with no distal taper.This is where the extra pound is i`am sure.
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Matthew P. Adams




Location: Cape Cod, MA
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PostPosted: Sun 08 Feb, 2015 11:14 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

That plus the added pommel weight needed to balance it out.
"We do not rise to the level of our expectations. We fall to the level of our training" Archilochus, Greek Soldier, Poet, c. 650 BC
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