Dacian - Romanian - Falx sword

Emanuel · 18th July 2005, 04:19 PM

Greeting to all

I'd like to bring everyone's attention to this particular blade native to the ancient Dacians - my own Romania - reputed to have considerably impeded the Roman conquest of 106 ad. Its power was such that it could split Roman helmets and shields, leading Emperor Trajan to order extensive modifications to Roman equipment. Its hilt and blade were of equal length, as long as three feet. Its uses varied from a slashing motion to hooking shields and opponents. These are the only graphic references I could find of this blade, as actual examples are practically nonexistent anymore. The blade's resemblance to the Burmese/Laos dha is striking. Any thoughts on this?

Manolo

Aqtai · 18th July 2005, 07:38 PM

I think there are a excavated examples of a similar Thracian weapon called a rhomphaia which have been found in Thrace.

Battara · 18th July 2005, 07:56 PM

Incredible and enlightening!

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Sounds like a formidible weapon in the hands of an expert. Reminds me also in some ways of a katana. The gladius forced the Romans to come at close range and this was able to keep them at bay while cutting them to pieces (until the modifications came). Also reminiscent of how the Moro kampilan and the dha (for you dafia out there

) would have been in effectiveness against smaller arms. Cato in his book even states that some Moros suggest that the spike on the ends of some kampilans was used to distract or strike in a similar manner as that mentioned for this Dacian weapon.

Emanuel · 18th July 2005, 08:12 PM

As I understand so far, the romphaia was the large variant of the falx. In both cases, the blade was only sharpened on the concave side. All other curved weapons I know of generally use a convex cutting edge. Similarites therefore exist with the dha and katana type swords only in shape. This blade was apparently used through a combination of slashing and pulling motion, forcing the curved section into the victim/object. As devastating as it was, it must have been fairly unwieldy since such blades were abandoned after the 5th c. ad. It must have acted much like the huge zweihander and flamberge blades used more as pikes to break tight formations. I'd love to get my hands on one.

fearn · 18th July 2005, 08:36 PM

Great to see this!

I've admired the falx and rhompaia for a long time.

One thing to point out: you can buy similar blades for less than $30 at large hardware stores: they're called bank blades (glaive in French), and they're used for clearing brush. The falx as a tool was used for coppicing (i.e. cutting trees and shrubs down), and this is simply a weaponized version of it. A similar story holds for the English Brown Bill.

Glad to see that people are making them again.

F

Aurangzeb · 19th July 2005, 01:50 AM

Hello all!

I have been looking where to buy a repro falx for a while looks like I will make my own out of the modern counter parts blade!

"Home Depot" here I come!!!!

Emanuel · 19th July 2005, 02:49 PM

I find it strange that the scycle/scythe blade design was simply abandonned. The only other examples I've seen of such curvature are african weapons like zairian throwing knives and executioner swords. One question bugs me: From a functional/physics point of view how is the concave edge more or less effective than the convex? The convex focussed all cutting power at the apex of the curve, does that apply to concave as well?

My appreciation for any answers.
Manolo

Titus Pullo · 12th January 2006, 12:28 PM

I once bought a Thai sword from a Ayuhdya. A real life size war sword, which seems to have some kind of tar coating on it above the sharp edge, except it was sharpened slightly. This thing was kindda heavy, so I guess you had to train to get fit inorder to use that thing well! The handle was rounded and tapered towards the end, and it has a very thick brass guard. It comes with black, painted wooden scabbard, and red rope (unfortunately, I lost it). My dad burrowed my sword and had it sharpened at a cutlery store, so he could cut the tree branches in the front yard. It worked extremely well.

But one day I decided to sell it for $ 100 because I wanted the money to buy a bearded dragon, or a tortoise (I've always been an animal fanatic, especially the tarantulas and reptiles). Anyway, I wanted to show off to this 18 year old kid, David, I'm selling it, to (bear in mind that I didn't have that much knowledge about swords, just enough). So I asked him if he had anything I can test cut the sword, and ran to his other friend named Tommy, that was working on the car, and grabbed an empty plastic, engine oil bottle for me. I wanted to copy what they did in the movie, I think, "Kill Bill", and tossed the bottle up in air, and swung it as hard as I can, making slashing movement as soon as the edge hit it. The bottle was made from very tough plastic, but despite it it cut quite a deep gash in it...about half inch long, more or less! And when I examine the sword for the oil stain to see where the blade had made contact there was a lot of oil stain on the edge. However, I did hit the bottle where there was some angle to it, but it was a good sword despite the fact my dad had used it to cut down the tree branches way earlier.

Andrew · 12th January 2006, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titus Pullo

I once bought a Thai sword from a Ayuhdya. A real life size war sword, which seems to have some kind of tar coating on it above the sharp edge, except it was sharpened slightly. This thing was kindda heavy, so I guess you had to train to get fit inorder to use that thing well! The handle was rounded and tapered towards the end, and it has a very thick brass guard. It comes with black, painted wooden scabbard, and red rope (unfortunately, I lost it). My dad burrowed my sword and had it sharpened at a cutlery store, so he could cut the tree branches in the front yard. It worked extremely well.

But one day I decided to sell it for $ 100 because I wanted the money to buy a bearded dragon, or a tortoise (I've always been an animal fanatic, especially the tarantulas and reptiles). Anyway, I wanted to show off to this 18 year old kid, David, I'm selling it, to (bear in mind that I didn't have that much knowledge about swords, just enough). So I asked him if he had anything I can test cut the sword, and ran to his other friend named Tommy, that was working on the car, and grabbed an empty plastic, engine oil bottle for me. I wanted to copy what they did in the movie, I think, "Kill Bill", and tossed the bottle up in air, and swung it as hard as I can, making slashing movement as soon as the edge hit it. The bottle was made from very tough plastic, but despite it it cut quite a deep gash in it...about half inch long, more or less! And when I examine the sword for the oil stain to see where the blade had made contact there was a lot of oil stain on the edge. However, I did hit the bottle where there was some angle to it, but it was a good sword despite the fact my dad had used it to cut down the tree branches way earlier.

Welcome, Pullo. Interesting story. You'll find many members here are Thai sword enthusiasts. Try a search for "dha" or "darb" of the archives, and you'll come up with a fair amount of information, if you're interested.

By the way, great user name. I love that show. (but your avatar isn't Pullo, it's Voremus.

).

Titus Pullo · 13th January 2006, 05:26 AM

How great! What an unexpected pleasure! By the way, I'm a Thai, borned in Bangkok. I came here when I was 11; then went back in the 1990, and after a year, went to live in Penang, Malaysia for 2 years, and finally, came back here at the end of 1993., and I'm still here.

18th July 2005, 04:19 PM	#1
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Dacian - Romanian - Falx sword Greeting to all I'd like to bring everyone's attention to this particular blade native to the ancient Dacians - my own Romania - reputed to have considerably impeded the Roman conquest of 106 ad. Its power was such that it could split Roman helmets and shields, leading Emperor Trajan to order extensive modifications to Roman equipment. Its hilt and blade were of equal length, as long as three feet. Its uses varied from a slashing motion to hooking shields and opponents. These are the only graphic references I could find of this blade, as actual examples are practically nonexistent anymore. The blade's resemblance to the Burmese/Laos dha is striking. Any thoughts on this? Manolo Attached Images

18th July 2005, 08:12 PM	#4
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	As I understand so far, the romphaia was the large variant of the falx. In both cases, the blade was only sharpened on the concave side. All other curved weapons I know of generally use a convex cutting edge. Similarites therefore exist with the dha and katana type swords only in shape. This blade was apparently used through a combination of slashing and pulling motion, forcing the curved section into the victim/object. As devastating as it was, it must have been fairly unwieldy since such blades were abandoned after the 5th c. ad. It must have acted much like the huge zweihander and flamberge blades used more as pikes to break tight formations. I'd love to get my hands on one. Attached Images

19th July 2005, 02:49 PM	#7
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	I find it strange that the scycle/scythe blade design was simply abandonned. The only other examples I've seen of such curvature are african weapons like zairian throwing knives and executioner swords. One question bugs me: From a functional/physics point of view how is the concave edge more or less effective than the convex? The convex focussed all cutting power at the apex of the curve, does that apply to concave as well? My appreciation for any answers. Manolo Last edited by Manolo; 19th July 2005 at 03:44 PM.

12th January 2006, 12:28 PM	#8
Titus Pullo Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 123	I once bought a Thai sword from a Ayuhdya. A real life size war sword, which seems to have some kind of tar coating on it above the sharp edge, except it was sharpened slightly. This thing was kindda heavy, so I guess you had to train to get fit inorder to use that thing well! The handle was rounded and tapered towards the end, and it has a very thick brass guard. It comes with black, painted wooden scabbard, and red rope (unfortunately, I lost it). My dad burrowed my sword and had it sharpened at a cutlery store, so he could cut the tree branches in the front yard. It worked extremely well. But one day I decided to sell it for $ 100 because I wanted the money to buy a bearded dragon, or a tortoise (I've always been an animal fanatic, especially the tarantulas and reptiles). Anyway, I wanted to show off to this 18 year old kid, David, I'm selling it, to (bear in mind that I didn't have that much knowledge about swords, just enough). So I asked him if he had anything I can test cut the sword, and ran to his other friend named Tommy, that was working on the car, and grabbed an empty plastic, engine oil bottle for me. I wanted to copy what they did in the movie, I think, "Kill Bill", and tossed the bottle up in air, and swung it as hard as I can, making slashing movement as soon as the edge hit it. The bottle was made from very tough plastic, but despite it it cut quite a deep gash in it...about half inch long, more or less! And when I examine the sword for the oil stain to see where the blade had made contact there was a lot of oil stain on the edge. However, I did hit the bottle where there was some angle to it, but it was a good sword despite the fact my dad had used it to cut down the tree branches way earlier. Last edited by Titus Pullo; 12th January 2006 at 12:39 PM.

18th July 2005, 07:38 PM	#2
Aqtai Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Merseyside, UK Posts: 222	I think there are a excavated examples of a similar Thracian weapon called a rhomphaia which have been found in Thrace.

18th July 2005, 07:56 PM	#3
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,139	Incredible and enlightening! Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Sounds like a formidible weapon in the hands of an expert. Reminds me also in some ways of a katana. The gladius forced the Romans to come at close range and this was able to keep them at bay while cutting them to pieces (until the modifications came). Also reminiscent of how the Moro kampilan and the dha (for you dafia out there ) would have been in effectiveness against smaller arms. Cato in his book even states that some Moros suggest that the spike on the ends of some kampilans was used to distract or strike in a similar manner as that mentioned for this Dacian weapon.

18th July 2005, 08:36 PM	#5
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Great to see this! I've admired the falx and rhompaia for a long time. One thing to point out: you can buy similar blades for less than $30 at large hardware stores: they're called bank blades (glaive in French), and they're used for clearing brush. The falx as a tool was used for coppicing (i.e. cutting trees and shrubs down), and this is simply a weaponized version of it. A similar story holds for the English Brown Bill. Glad to see that people are making them again. F

19th July 2005, 01:50 AM	#6
Aurangzeb Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 306	Hello all! I have been looking where to buy a repro falx for a while looks like I will make my own out of the modern counter parts blade! "Home Depot" here I come!!!!

13th January 2006, 05:26 AM	#10
Titus Pullo Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 123	How great! What an unexpected pleasure! By the way, I'm a Thai, borned in Bangkok. I came here when I was 11; then went back in the 1990, and after a year, went to live in Penang, Malaysia for 2 years, and finally, came back here at the end of 1993., and I'm still here.