Sword Preference?

[Eledhwen]

Of all of the swords I have carried and worked with over the years, I always come back to the shortsword. Always. Fast, efficient, effective, and direct. No wasted motion or energy. With shield, or with another weapon, they are the sword of choice for me and always will be.

Of them all, two stand out in my esteem; the gladius, and of its iterations, and the Celtic leaf-blade sword.

To my mind, the shortsword requires a steadiness of spirit and courage, more than a little discipline. The user is out reached by others, and must close with and stay close to, the enemy, requiring more than a little physical stamina. Defense must be tighter than usual, focus intense. It is not easy, and that appeals to me.

Fortunately, the Numenoreans and the armies of the Dunedain carried them, so I am not left out in the rain by those who love longer weapons.

Favorite combination; round shield and shortsword.

Eledhwen

[Druin]

My Tramontina has a heftier, more thrust-capable blade than my Legitimus Collins, but Hackles (yep, it's earned itself a name) has much higher sentimental value, so until I get the light dao/falchion hybrid from a friend of mine, I'll stick with Hackles. I've even considered having Hackles re-forged with more steel into another, heavier, stabbier blade, thus preserving (in theory) the soul of Hackles in the new sword. Does this sound reasonable at all, or did I lose you guys when I started talking like a crazy person?

[Straelbora]

Of all of the swords I have carried and worked with over the years, I always come back to the shortsword. Always. Fast, efficient, effective, and direct. No wasted motion or energy. With shield, or with another weapon, they are the sword of choice for me and always will be.

Of them all, two stand out in my esteem; the gladius, and of its iterations, and the Celtic leaf-blade sword.

To my mind, the shortsword requires a steadiness of spirit and courage, more than a little discipline. The user is out reached by others, and must close with and stay close to, the enemy, requiring more than a little physical stamina. Defense must be tighter than usual, focus intense. It is not easy, and that appeals to me.

Fortunately, the Numenoreans and the armies of the Dunedain carried them, so I am not left out in the rain by those who love longer weapons.

Favorite combination; round shield and shortsword.

Eledhwen

I agree, not only the best choice, but best in a forested landscape. If I ever get around to commissioning a sword, it will be a short sword.

[RikJohnson]

I admit to a love for the heavy broadsword with an extended handle.
But I also love the shortsword. HATE leaf blades and spend hours filing a good leaf-blade into a straight one.
Don't care much for curved blades save the katana.
And recently I have gotten into the longsword.

I am partial to the longsword on my back and shortsword on hip as a ranger though mainly because of the movies<g>.

[Rifter]

I personally love the look of Striders Ranger blade, it suits exactly the way I trained and fight. Getting to ask Mr Lyons about it was an incredible experence. Sadly as many know only UC can officially reproduce them so in the mean time we have Valiant and Christian Fletcher inspired works but they are never quite the same to me. I generally prefer a standard long sword that I can use one or two handed. I see a few here even own the same Valiant Armories blade I too own. I generally don't enjoy single hand swords or bastard sling over your back blades...because of my training in Kenjitsu and Iai-Do I tend to use those forms and oddly enough a long sword with a nice fuller and just the right length and grip spacing works well for me.

[mcapanelli]

I don't know if I have a favorite sword. I have a favorite aesthetic, but as a functional weapon a sword is just another tool in your kit. With that in mind I'd say it depends on the situation. If I were just out and about around a camp of near my home, a good sized knife and belt axe work fine. If I'm scouting in the field and may encounter enemies, an arming sword would be my choice. If I was involved in an open engagement I'd opt of arming sword and shield, depending on the situation and my role of course, or a hand and half along with a large axe, ahlspeiss, or other type of pole weapon. The weapon with the most reach would be my first choice and we'd go down the line from there. My knife and belt axe are ever present as well. Swords are great looking and romantic but my Poleaxe is a much more formidable weapon.

[Manveruon]

I love that this thread is still garnering responses. There has been some fantastic discussion here, thanks guys!

And mcapanelli: I saw a really interesting video somewhere showing a man with a sword just get owned by a guy with a spear in several different scenarios, and since then I've gained a better appreciation for polearms. I wish I could remember the video. I think it may have even been on these forums somewhere.

[mcapanelli]

I love that this thread is still garnering responses. There has been some fantastic discussion here, thanks guys!

And mcapanelli: I saw a really interesting video somewhere showing a man with a sword just get owned by a guy with a spear in several different scenarios, and since then I've gained a better appreciation for polearms. I wish I could remember the video. I think it may have even been on these forums somewhere.

I've tried that with both spear and poleaxe. its very hard to get inside the weapons effective range and even then you may get hit on the recovery. When your on the giving end of the pole weapon, its very easy to keep your opponent at bay with just basic wards and attacks. The poleaxe I use has an axe head, a top spike, a hammer, and langets for parrying swords and other pole weapons so you can forget about trying to break it (which was rare anyway, even without the lancets), and it's 5'+. Let's not forget you can attack with the butt end as well. So what's that, 4 weapons against my one?

Even a sword and shield has problems dealing with a pole weapon. You can push the initial attack out of the way with the shield but the first attack is rarely something you expect to hit against an experienced fighter. You usually use your opening attack to set up your opponent for a killing blow. As long as you keep the threat near the centerline its almost impossible for them to mount a counter attack and regain the vor. While the shield will provide an effective defense its quite hard to get inside and counter attack without getting hit in the process.

The most success I've had was with a hand and half in the half sword, but then you're using the sword like a small spear anyway. I usually try and parry the initial attack, move the pole arm over my head and clear the centerline using my cross for leverage and protection, and either thrusting or attempting a morteshlage (sp). Even if I miss I can still thrust with the pommel and maintain the vor. Once you close the gap its fairly easy to win as your now in Kreig and have effectively negated the reach advantage the weapon had. It sounds great in theory but to be honest in it isn't as easy as it sounds.

[Straelbora]

I love that this thread is still garnering responses. There has been some fantastic discussion here, thanks guys!

And mcapanelli: I saw a really interesting video somewhere showing a man with a sword just get owned by a guy with a spear in several different scenarios, and since then I've gained a better appreciation for polearms. I wish I could remember the video. I think it may have even been on these forums somewhere.

Which is why I was disappointed and a bit puzzled in the prologue to "The Fellowship of the Ring," when they had Gil-Galad's spear not a spear, but a glaive of some sort.

[sgainbrachta]

Wow! A LOT of different but good points here! A thought I have on the cutlass thing- I am torn, myself between different blades for this "build" of Ranger. I live in the desert- Reno, NV- so I thought it might be interesting to see what a Ranger from out this way- say from the areas around Khand or Far Harad would carry.

ANyhow- some options I would consider- a grossemesser rather than a Falchion- as most Ranger work would not likely be against targets in full plate armor, and a short cutting blade is more effective than a short chopping one when less armor is considered. Also- the messers were often considered as the European form of the machete, so have excellent performance in the bush, too!

The longsword- because it can be used both single and double-handed, is extremely quick- and capable, with proper technique of defeating all kinds of armor (half swording for plate, for instance~).

The arming sword is light and fast- also shorter, so will be more useful in heavy underbrush and such- but to really get the best in a fight, should be paired with a buckler orsome kind of off-hand defensive device. Most folks think a dagger or axe- but a buckler is by far better in this use. In pretty much every fight where a dagger or 'hawk is used in the off-hand, I take the off-hand first- usually literally...

Anyhow- wether or not I carry a sword- the bow is a must- and I have a spear head with a socket carried as a dagger- so I can MAKE it a spear, if I need- and of course a long knife. In fact- I have 2 long knives- one is stout, basically my ax/camp knife, the other is much lighter, and a bit longer- for those pesky bandits...

Attached is a picture of my messer- it is about 30" long, has a by-knife and will cut brush or meat rather easily!

[mcapanelli]

So....who made your messer? I especially like the guard. There's a lot going on there that the pictures isn't doing justice.

By the way........

In pretty much every fight where a dagger or 'hawk is used in the off-hand, I take the off-hand first- usually literally...

If you're ever in or very close to NYC you're welcome to come down to my club and test that out.

[Rifter]

Nice blade. Carbon..1060?

[Manveruon]

My objection to a grossemesser is a purely aesthetic one - I've never liked the way they look. That being said, you make a fantastic argument for them, and I bet they would indeed be a very effective ranging weapon. Yours is absolutely gorgeous, incidentally. My dislike for the design of grossemessers in general aside, whoever made yours did a downright beautiful job.

[Aaron]

I really love the look of that by-knife.

[Duathen]

The most success I've had was with a hand and half in the half sword, but then you're using the sword like a small spear anyway. I usually try and parry the initial attack, move the pole arm over my head and clear the centerline using my cross for leverage and protection, and either thrusting or attempting a morteshlage (sp). Even if I miss I can still thrust with the pommel and maintain the vor. Once you close the gap its fairly easy to win as your now in Kreig and have effectively negated the reach advantage the weapon had. It sounds great in theory but to be honest in it isn't as easy as it sounds.

My experiences were similar. I always found it easiest to establish a bind and overrun the spearman. Get in quick with and go to ringen am schwert, etc.