Sword

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mortablunt

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Does anyone here own a sword? I am referring to serious battlefield weapons, or at least blades that would have some practical fighting purpose.
 
I have a reproduction 1917 Naval cutlass from Cold Steel. Better quality than the original.
 
I have several swords in my collection and while I doubt I will have the chance to sever any Zombie heads with them it is nice to have that option.
Seriously though,I caught the sword bug from an early age and never lost it.
 
I have an 1861 bandsmen sword from the post civil war and a Japanese occupation of Korea NCO sword. I also have a replica Gladius, that one will cut you and quick, I know.
I would love to get a Marine Corps NCO sword, Some day.
 
Well, "practical fighting purpose" is debatable. I have a HI Imports sword that looks like a one-off. It's at Sam's, and will eventually be made into a sword that I can actually use well (this particular sword has one of the heaviest blades I've seen on a "real" sword, but needs more handle for balance and leverage). I also have a Swamp Rat Waki. I'd put its quality up against 99.99999% of historical swords~ it's no hanger. I also have a WWII Japanese NCO sword. It's just as dangerous as you'd expect a 3' piece of sharp steel to be.

I also have several HI kukuris, a HI "knife" that weighs more than most swords, and a HI "bowie" that would qualify as a short sword by most folks' standards. Any of these would be "practical fighting" swords, if by that you mean longer blades that could safely cut through flesh or other media without endangering the user.

If, on the other hand, you're asking if swords are practical in today's world as fighting implements, the answer is: only if they're not over-large, and are useful for other tasks such clearing brush. Look at Sam1911's Camp Defender thread (a bolo-inspired large knife) for an example of the type tool I'm talking about. Machetes and kukuris and bolos might also qualify.

J
 
1917 "Patton Saber" which was the US final effort. I gave Paul Chen Practical Katanas to my sons to enhance their Kendo.
Me I have a Mad Dog Saxon Sword #1 which so far is my first choice until he finishes my Cutlass some year. I sold my Busse AK 47 on jerzee devil forums to a operator bound for 'Stan last year.
A good sword will give you the POTENTIAL for a one strike finish to a fight. Think bi section or thru and thru the heart .
 
Swords/similar large blades do indeed give the potential for an almost instantaneous stop to an aggressor, but modern combat troops carry so much gear that any large knife is impractical. The Swamp Rat Rucki (bottom) is an attempt to comprise by creating a "packable" sword, but it's still too large to be practical to take into the field with 60 lbs of gear and armor, IMO. The new Chris Reeves Professional Soldier and similar knives by Kabar, Scrap Yard Knives, ESEE , Ontario and Swamp Rat, among others, are about the largest practical blade size for the modern deployed soldier. Yup, I'm opinionated, but not only have I been deployed, I've been attached to the highest-speed, lowest-drag soldiers, and I've seen what they carried, too.
 
Swords interest me for thier historical value only. I do not own one at this time but if I find one with some history it may become a wall hanger.
 
+1 on the Cold Steel Model 1917 Cutlass. It also comes with a top quality leather scabbard, and is as high quality as the original. Made by Windlass Steelcraft in India, I believe, a company known for good quality "combat ready" reproductions of historic blade designs. Mine also came with a "Certificate of Proof", saying it passed the British Proof requirements for military swords, which if I remember correctly, involved having the blade locked in a vise and bent 30 degrees to each side and springing back straight, and hacking into an oak block without damaging the edge, or loosening the grips or hilt. It feels pretty sturdy, if I were a Pirate, it's the kind of thing I'd want to carry. :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVhV8ENwIBY
 
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I've owned several swords from Albion, Del Tin, Cold Steel, Paul Chen, Fred Chen, custom swordsmiths (Hernandez, Sorrels, JPH, Dingledine, etc.), etc.
 
I have a dozen or so "real" swords, and a couple of reproductions. The funny thing is that real swords cost only a fraction of what people pay for reproductions. I don't think I've paid much over $100 for any of the real swords and a couple of the best were down in the $50 range.

Ebay is full of swords, just use "vintage", "old" or "antique" in your search query and take your pick.
 
I sold off all my swords but one, my Cold Steel Grosse Messer

I used to have a bunch, some were antiques but more were repros. Needed the money more than I needed the space taken up.
 
There was a case a year or two back when a college student who was into martil arts used a samuri sword to stop a home invasion and killed the intruder. Seems like it was near Penn State.
 
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I have a Samuri sword that a guy my dad worked with took off a Japanease officer he shot, when that officer charged at him with it drawn...

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After he got back from the war, he didn't want it around to remind him of the war, and traded it to my dad for a BB gun.

DM
 
DSCN0067.jpg

Just one of about seven, all of them are repros, but I don't see me in a sword fight anytime soon so they will do.

Yes, that is a 91/30 mosin next to it, that sword weighs 9 pounds, and will part your hair clear down to your belly button.
 
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