Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

kronckew · 9th June 2007, 09:18 AM

the only way to come to a conclusion you will be happy with is to test it yourself. buy a couple of pigs & try a different weapon on each. of course your results may vary.

this is a fascinating discussion that has no doubt been going on since we humans started to knap flint. what blade shape is best and is a thrust better than a draw cut has intrigued mankind for millennia. recorded ones go back at least to the roman imperium. was it seneca or livy who said of the roman gladius that 3 inches in the gut was invariably fatal? i've seen stabbing spears bring down a bullock in seconds, and heard of men being stabbed thru the lungs with an epee carrying on a duel long enough to kill the guy who stabbed him. the french during the peninsular wars decried the horrible disabling wounds the british 1796 light cavalry sabre produced, while the british decided to regrind them to spear point thrusting form to match those usually found on the french swords. the british in india were amazed at the destructive wounds caused by indian tulwars as opposed to their sabres, the indian having made many of them either from captured british sabres or in imitation thereof - they just sharpened them better.

in this age of modern firearms and medicine, the debate continues and will for the foreseeable future. the US army in iraq are finding that a good blade still comes in handy if you run out of ammo, in spite of not being politically correct as it scares the sheeple....

as a postscript, i believe the last time a people used a sinusoidal blade shape as well as straight ones (and combinations thereof) in actual combat were the Moros vs. the Spanish and later the US Army. the USA quickly decided that the .38 cal issue revolver vs. the moro barong or kris was producing too many casualties amoungst the us army, and so started having their family ship them the old reliable .45 revolvers and then the .45 acp colt auto when the army brass finally understood. (strangely enough, in repetition of history, the army is now replacing the fancy 9mm (.38 cal) auto's the us army is finding ineffective against yet another islamic group with those same .45 acp auto's*) anyway the moros themselves seemed to favour the straighter blades for battle and the 'magic' of the sinuous ones for their leadership.

*-and as further evidence that those who do not read history will be forced to repeat it, they are re-issuing the longer range and more powerful M-14 .30 cal rifles to 'augment' the .223 cal short range M16 which had replaced them.

9th June 2007, 09:18 AM	#8
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,154	the only way to come to a conclusion you will be happy with is to test it yourself. buy a couple of pigs & try a different weapon on each. of course your results may vary. this is a fascinating discussion that has no doubt been going on since we humans started to knap flint. what blade shape is best and is a thrust better than a draw cut has intrigued mankind for millennia. recorded ones go back at least to the roman imperium. was it seneca or livy who said of the roman gladius that 3 inches in the gut was invariably fatal? i've seen stabbing spears bring down a bullock in seconds, and heard of men being stabbed thru the lungs with an epee carrying on a duel long enough to kill the guy who stabbed him. the french during the peninsular wars decried the horrible disabling wounds the british 1796 light cavalry sabre produced, while the british decided to regrind them to spear point thrusting form to match those usually found on the french swords. the british in india were amazed at the destructive wounds caused by indian tulwars as opposed to their sabres, the indian having made many of them either from captured british sabres or in imitation thereof - they just sharpened them better. in this age of modern firearms and medicine, the debate continues and will for the foreseeable future. the US army in iraq are finding that a good blade still comes in handy if you run out of ammo, in spite of not being politically correct as it scares the sheeple.... as a postscript, i believe the last time a people used a sinusoidal blade shape as well as straight ones (and combinations thereof) in actual combat were the Moros vs. the Spanish and later the US Army. the USA quickly decided that the .38 cal issue revolver vs. the moro barong or kris was producing too many casualties amoungst the us army, and so started having their family ship them the old reliable .45 revolvers and then the .45 acp colt auto when the army brass finally understood. (strangely enough, in repetition of history, the army is now replacing the fancy 9mm (.38 cal) auto's the us army is finding ineffective against yet another islamic group with those same .45 acp auto's) anyway the moros themselves seemed to favour the straighter blades for battle and the 'magic' of the sinuous ones for their leadership. -and as further evidence that those who do not read history will be forced to repeat it, they are re-issuing the longer range and more powerful M-14 .30 cal rifles to 'augment' the .223 cal short range M16 which had replaced them. Last edited by kronckew; 9th June 2007 at 10:20 AM.