Chinese fork weapon

[Gavin Nugent]

Hi everyone, from what I have read over the short years of my life, this type of weapon, like all weapons of these origins except the noble sword and a few other exceptions, the "sai" for want of a better word today, had their orgins in farm life, as did your staves, tonfa, flail, nunchaku etc. this style of weapon was once used in pairs for bailing hay, much like a large fork on a pole was used. I am not saying this example was but who knows what hands held it and when.....


Gav

[Chris Evans]

Hi Folks,

For what it is worth, my 2 cents:

These weapons were essentially non-trenchant, though they could poke or even stab, and lacked an edge. They relied on their effectiveness on mass to inflict blows and as such were in no need of temper, soft iron sufficing. I am told that their effectiveness against swords principally lay in their being hurled against the swordsman whilst out of his/her range - Once within range they were used in a manner not too dissimilar to that of the European left hand parrying dagger.

This weapon was introduced to the modern world by Okinawan karate experts, who used it as a traditional weapon. along with several others, equally low tech. They were made by village blacksmiths and the layering reveled by the rust reveals the flow of the metal during the hammer forging process.

Cheers
Chris

[josh stout]

Thanks for the explanations on wrought iron. I still doubt that the business end (blade?) of this gen (sai in Japanese) is iron simply because I have seen many such Chinese sword breaking weapons such as bian and taichi rulers (chih) with tempered steel bodies. There are often some signs of folding, and signs of differential hardening at the edges. I have seen some polished ones where this is clear.

Am I correct in thinking that wrought iron would never be bright and shiny like steel?

The bian were designed to bite into a sword when they hit it, and severely damage it hence the advantage to hardened edges. In the case of the taichi chih, it was fashioned after actual rulers complete with "inch" marks, which would make it more of a craftsman's tool than an agricultural implement. It is interesting to think of the gen originating as a kind of pitchfork. It seems that many of these weapons were made after tools in order to avoid laws against carrying weapons.
Josh

[Chris Evans]

Hi Josh,

Originally Posted by josh stout

Thanks for the explanations on wrought iron. I still doubt that the business end (blade?) of this gen (sai in Japanese) is iron simply because I have seen many such Chinese sword breaking weapons such as bian and taichi rulers (chih) with tempered steel bodies. There are often some signs of folding, and signs of differential hardening at the edges. I have seen some polished ones where this is clear.

Am I correct in thinking that wrought iron would never be bright and shiny like steel?

The bian were designed to bite into a sword when they hit it, and severely damage it hence the advantage to hardened edges. In the case of the taichi chih, it was fashioned after actual rulers complete with "inch" marks, which would make it more of a craftsman's tool than an agricultural implement. It is interesting to think of the gen originating as a kind of pitchfork. It seems that many of these weapons were made after tools in order to avoid laws against carrying weapons.
Josh

My understanding is that apart from hurting the opponent, the primary aim of these weapons was to parry and trap the opposing sword. Damaging it was a secondary consideration. In this respect it is worth remembering that the quillons on Euro left hand parrying daggers were essentially wrought iron and they could trap sword blades without suffering damage.

As to whether these `sais' were tempered steel or soft iron, I guess is that it all depended on who did the forging. We are told that a lot of these weapons, depending on the time and place, were illegal, and were made clandestinely under less than ideal conditions. Also we are told that iron, let alone steel, was very scarce in Okinawa. Iron and steel in olden times was an expensive and hard to come by commodity.

Wrought iron can polish up fairly well and can also be case hardened. But to damage a sword, soft iron would have sufficed, though no doubt hardened steel would have been better. In any event, Japanse swords were notoriously easy to bend and have their edges chipped.

Cheers
Chris

[ZhenjieWu]

These kind of weapons were usually used by local police, together with another one-iron ruler (a simple iron board, about 1m long).

[Chris Evans]

ZhenjieWu

Could you tell us a little more? Are you atlking about Okinawa or other pasrts of Asia?

Cheers
Chris

[ZhenjieWu]

Originally Posted by Chris Evans

ZhenjieWu

Could you tell us a little more? Are you atlking about Okinawa or other pasrts of Asia?

Cheers
Chris

Sure. Weapons like this were often used by Chinese local forces who did the same job as modern cops. Especially in the Tang dynasty (AD 618—AD 907). This kind of weapon was not in the list of weapons used by ancient Chinese regular army. Ancient Chinese cops used another weapon named iron ruler whose length was about 1 m. The third equipment of those people were long iron chain, whose function seemed to be handcuffs.

ZhenJie Wu

[Chris Evans]

ZhenjieWu

Could you tell us a little more? Are you talking about Okinawa or other regions of Asia?

Cheers
Chris

[fearn]

Hi Chris,

According to the older texts, sai were often used by Okinawan constables. I'd guess that the Chinese form was also often carried by constables too.

F