Posts: 235 Location: Maryland USA
Fri 05 Apr, 2013 7:47 pm
Mark, don't judge the Viking sword grip to be small unless you know how to use it. I've been criticized for saying that the grip on a Viking sword should be sized to fit the hand of the wielder, even though my commentary was comparing 3 1/2" grip length to a 4 1/4" grip length. Since I am a fellow with large hands, I can say that a 4 1/4" grip length can be quite snug in a hammer grip, and can transition smoothly into a handshake grip (pommel in palm) in the right sized hand, or in my hand. These swords were strictly one handers, used with a
shield in the other hand. Don't make the mistake of thinking that swords in the Viking era were used like swords in the middle ages. A longer grip with Viking style furniture may be a nice thing to think about or look at, but has no historical basis. Despite what some might say, historical basis is the only basis outside pure imagination. If you think about evolutionary forces, the evolutionary forces in sword design related to actual use came to an end long before 2013.The only evolutionary forces at work today are imagination. Nowhere in the world today do people depend on swords to defend their lives.