Joel Whitmore wrote: |
I have been following this thread for some time. There have been others like it on other forums and it set me to wondering. I think some people are looking for something that does not exist. A well-balanced, weight-accurate sparring weapon that is nearly indestructable. I don't think that such a think exists and perhaps some are expecting too much from a maker. If you engage in stage combat and are into theatrical presentations where heavy edge-to-edge parrying and blows are dealt on a consistent basis, I think any sword will eventually fail. Historically accurate swords would fail sooner because they were not made to take such abuses. One need only to look at historical fencing manuals and see examples of practice swords that were used. The medieval masters knew that actual fighting weapons would not stand up to such daily pounding. So asking someone like Albion to make a heavy-duty , weight accurate training weapon that holds up to daily or weekly sparring is probably an oxymoron. Remember that swords, like many other things in life, are a give-and-take. Balance sometimes require that the tang nor be welded to the cross; weight considerations and correct distal taper will mean that you cannot make the blade 1/4" thick along it's entire length; heat treating will mean that consideration for edgeholding may not make it as hard as some may like and you'll get knicks and dents along the edge. I think we need to step back and remember that swords were meant to do certain things and not meant to do other things. To make a good sword a maker has to work in a narrow constraint depending on what teh sword is used for or what the sword was meant to be (i.e. historically accurate ). Just some thoughts |
Ah, but they did exist and can certainly be reproduced. Just look at Arms & Armors example. The only thing stopping me from buying a pair is the cost. We also have many original training blades in museums to examine. I think the key here is not that we want them to be indestructable but we certainly want them to be tough and hold up to some serious use. It's just that we know they will be expensive and it's difficult to lay out that kind of cash just for a training weapon. I've seen too many people buy cheap swords to train with only to have them fall apart before long. As far as the improper edge parrying goes, well that's the stage combat crowds problem. They should study the manuals more often.