my son's new blade

[rjmt]

In all actuality; if you look at historical fact, the katana (Damascas style) is actually an inferior blade metal. BUT, it was declared by the emperor at the time that ALL blades be made that way. There are better ways to make a blade.

we learned that when we researched kitchen knives
our modern Damascus style Japanese Gyuto is no better than my 30 year old Chicago Cutlery forged 440C kitchen knife for it's intended purpose

 

[Hooyah DeepSea]

As Andy put it (sort of) it's all in how you are using the blade, or what the blade was intended for.

 

[Tarawa86]

I've seen those at a few gas stations.

man, you go to way cooler gas stations than I do.

 

[rjmt]

man, you go to way cooler gas stations than I do.

the only gas station I go to is up at Ilani out of La Center
they have non ethanol 86 obtain for my '73 Ford F100

 

[JustSomeGuy]

Be sure either you or he suss out the center/point of precussion on the blade. For longer bladed swords it's very important to know before you use it for any rigorous cutting or impact training.

 

[rjmt]

Be sure either you or he suss out the center/point of precussion on the blade. For longer bladed swords it's very important to know before you use it for any rigorous cutting or impact training.

correct, we will have to determine this with practice

since my son and I are build differently, it will be a different point for each of us

after years of swinging a splitting maul for firewood, my shoulders are different from my sons

 

[Tarawa86]

the only gas station I go to is up at Ilani out of La Center
they have non ethanol 86 obtain for my '73 Ford F100

I mean, @1775usmc said he goes to gas stations with Conan the Barbarian swords - which is pretty cool. The gas stations I go to only have sheaths for much smaller swords sold in the bathrooms for like 4 quarters or something. Some of the sheaths are glow in the dark, so that's kinda neat. Although, why a sword sheath would be advertised as "for her pleasure" is baffling.

 

[GWS]

Maybe a Cold Steel training sword might be in order here.

https://www.coldsteel.com/hand-a-half-training-sword/

 

[rjmt]

Maybe a Cold Steel training sword might be in order here.

https://www.coldsteel.com/hand-a-half-training-sword/


View attachment 1328785

or maybe I stay out of his way and let him wreak havoc on the practice stand with a real blade
these will be no human practice partner, just a padded wooden stand
my son told me he considered a fake practice sword insulting
like practicing with an airsoft pistol instead of a 9mm

 

[GWS]

or maybe I stay out of his way and let him wreak havoc on the practice stand with a real blade
these will be no human practice partner, just a padded wooden stand
my son told me he considered a fake practice sword insulting
like practicing with an airsoft pistol instead of a 9mm

You're the doctor.
Good luck.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Practice swords are cheaper than E room visits.
Live blades require time and technique as a prerequisite.

 

[DunRanull]

Personally, I prefer the Wakizashi; decent length but not too long; fits along side a pack and has an easy draw.

I'd also like to have a Spartan sword, but not one of those made up "300" swords; those were not Spartan, those were out of someone's imagination.

As for the 'hand and a half', that is why the butt is tapered that way; so you have something to keep it from sliding out of your back hand.

Agreed on the Spartan and pseudo-"Spartan" swords! The Xiphos was in no wise akin to the Hollywood 300 abortions...

 

[GWS]

Practice swords are cheaper than E room visits.
Live blades require time and technique as a prerequisite.

Yep Look at Samurai sword training. They all use bokkans--wooden swords Lots of bruises and welts but no snapped blades flying about.
I remember one of those Cutlery Corner knife shows on late night TV Some sales guy was going on about some samurai sword they were pushing and he's banging it on the table to show how tough it was and PING!! The blade snaps off spins through the air right into his belly (IIRC). Deep, but not deadly

Samurai knothead

 

[Member 52301]

Practice swords are cheaper than E room visits.
Live blades require time and technique as a prerequisite.

This!

Old Lady Cate

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

or maybe I stay out of his way and let him wreak havoc on the practice stand with a real blade
these will be no human practice partner, just a padded wooden stand
my son told me he considered a fake practice sword insulting
like practicing with an airsoft pistol instead of a 9mm

Practicing with an airsoft pistol is a great way to train, if you do it right. As is using a replica sword/knife. I don't think martial arts would have survived the ages if they only utilized live blades. Practicing with a fake is insulting? That's a strange philosophy.

 

[NOC]

I studied Kendo for a few years, we never used bokken on each other; that would result in broken bones at the very least with the armor we wore. Split bamboo swords called shinai were used, we suffered enough bruises with those, primarily to the wrist. The object was to execute a fight ending strike and the wrist strike is very popular. Cut off the sword hand and the fight is over. Bokken were only used in kata (solo exercise). Historic katana use didn't include much edge to edge heavy contact; that was a sure way to a broken sword, and swords did break frequently. A lot of wakizashi were ground from broken katana blades.

The steel available to historic era swordsmiths was forged in a process that didn't leave much better than 1050. Excessive folding actually removed carbon from the alloy. Despite that some of the classic swords were wonders of craftsmanship. As battlefield weapons the bow and spear were far more important. And Japan made a point to keep firearms out of the hands of the peasants. 30 minutes training with a matchlock musket rendered a peasant capable of killing a master swordsman who had 10-20 years practice. The most important lesson I learned from Kendo is that action beats reaction. If you don't telegraph your move most people cannot react fast enough to defend.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

Yep Look at Samurai sword training. They all use bokkans--wooden swords Lots of bruises and welts but no snapped blades flying about.
I remember one of those Cutlery Corner knife shows on late night TV Some sales guy was going on about some samurai sword they were pushing and he's banging it on the table to show how tough it was and PING!! The blade snaps off spins through the air right into his belly (IIRC). Deep, but not deadly

Samurai knothead

I spent a lot of years sparring with bokken. I also did some with European swords, while there is a little crossover, they are vastly different. One of the advantages of practice swords is they are often heavier than the real deal. I know my preferred practice Bokken was. And there were broken bones at times, and doing it in actual practice was very different than most of what you see. Speed was what I learned to be most essential. I would be dead a hundred times over if I didn't use a practice blade and I was good once upon a time.

Once you try against something that hits back, you see the need for a practice blade.

 

[NobullSKS]

Katana.

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Aloha, Mark

We just started watching this for the first time….. looks like we have 15 seasons to binge. It made me think about a "show your sword" thread.
But I don't know if that around in here. I had a cheap Highlander samurai when I was younger hehehe….
And it seems like every few years the desire comes back.