Paradoxes of sword design

[dubsartur]

My post on the theories of Vincent le Chevalier (real name, not a pseudonym) and Peter Johonsson has popped! https://bookandsword.com/2020/05/09/paradoxes-of-sword-design/

[Jubal]

I feel that a sword is a thing I should own sometime. I find it hard to justify the cost, alas.

But this was interesting, thanks Though I doubt I have the brain space to work my way through the full eighty minute talk: I like historical weaponry, but there rapidly comes a point where I feel that without any experience using a sword I find it hard to intuit what's going on with people's discussions of them.

[Spritelady]

Hello there - I was wondering if you'd mind having a chat/giving me some advice about writing fiction that involves sword forging? Seemed from this post (and the blog post was an interesting read!) that you have some knowledge in this area?

Feel free to direct message me if you're happy to chat about it 

[dubsartur]

  You're welcome!  Yes, I wanted to boil down the talk and point to some more digestible webpages.

  A Voice wants me to point out that Tod's big knives are around 70 GBP and Armae in France carries Matthew Amt's classical Greek xiphos (SW 156) and kopis (SW 157) for around 115 Euros (although Deepeka in India may have started making theirs too heavy again, the two-edged sword should not weigh over 700 grams pounds plus the scabbard and I saw someone whose weighs more than 900!)

  One reason my focus right now is on getting some kind of full-time work is that with an apartment over 15 square metres/150 500 sf and disposable income my life would be a lot more healthy and fun.  There are limits to the crafts and sports I can do right now. 

   Spritelady, I would be happy to try!  These days I mostly train in parks with sticks (and carve up villainous chickens which looked at me funny after emerging from the oven).

[dubsartur]

Roland Warzecha has a series of posts about how he likes to wield the bronze sword from the river Tollense, near the site of a famous Bronze Age massacre slash battle (in German a battle is a Schlacht which is related to the word "slaughter") https://www.patreon.com/posts/preview-tollense-110579699  Not all Bronze Age swords had small pommels like this sword.