Favourite type of sword?

[Marina]

Mmm, not really a sword person, more of a staff person, such as the b?...
But if I had to choose, I would be somewhere between the Chinese Jian or the Japanese Katana.
The filipino kampilan looks pretty badass as well

[Comrade]

Its distributed over the entire body and you can be quite nimble but don't be fooled into thinking you can sing and dance for several days straight without some serious fatigue.

Yes, but note that knights were better than average soldiers in therms of physical condition. They trained for war from young age. Also, in some Orders (Teutonic Order, if I recall correctly), some, more fanatical warriors, took a vow to never remove their armor, so that they could always be ready for battle.

About that Longbow thing, I honestly would be more afraid from a crossbow.
Longbows tak a lot of practice to master and chances of survival against it are a bit higher, so there aren't many longbowmen aroud. A crossbow, however, is a weapon anyone can master in short time, resulting in dozens of peasants armed with crossbows. Although with slower rate of fire, the crossbow definitely packs more punch.

[SolarNova]

I dont collect or own any swords ..though i would like to.
My preferance is for long/broad swords i personaly think they look cooler ..or atleast 'can' look cooler.. some are just plain boring i admit.
I also like kitanas, they dont need fancy hilts or markings to look cool

Examples of the swords i like:

Nearly all Dantes swords from Devil May Cry i loved, though some had masssive hilts i must admit >.<

Masamune from FFVII ...one word 'long'

Blades sword from ...Blade

The Soul Reaver ... from the game series 'legacy of kain'

Though non of these are swords that really existed in the past replicas of these can be found and some can actually be used and they are just wicked im my opinion.

As for swords i dont like, i think rapiers are the ones i dislike the most, i just dont like the style.. sure the hilts and guards are nicly crafted ,,but the blades are just ..well ..thin...dont like em.. not disputing that they worked by anymeans.

Anyway yea ..my two cents worth as they say :P

[WanderingKnight]

About that Longbow thing, I honestly would be more afraid from a crossbow.
Longbows tak a lot of practice to master and chances of survival against it are a bit higher, so there aren't many longbowmen aroud. A crossbow, however, is a weapon anyone can master in short time, resulting in dozens of peasants armed with crossbows. Although with slower rate of fire, the crossbow definitely packs more punch.

I don't know why Vexx mentioned the battle of Hastings (I can't remember anything particularly notable on armoring in that battle), but I can tell you that in the Battle of Agincourt, where around 25 000 French knights were royally kicked in their behinds by 6 000 to 9 000 English longbowmen, the cumbersomeness of the armor played an important role, especially considering the battlefield conditions.

Wikipedia dixit:

As the battle was fought on a recently ploughed field, and there had recently been heavy rain leaving it very muddy, it proved very tiring to walk through in full plate armour. The deep, soft mud particularly favoured the English force because, once knocked to the ground, the heavily armoured French knights struggled to get back up to fight in the melee.

[Diaboso]

Originally Posted by WanderingKnight

I don't know why Vexx mentioned the battle of Hastings (I can't remember anything particularly notable on armoring in that battle), but I can tell you that in the Battle of Agincourt, where around 25 000 French knights were royally kicked in their behinds by 6 000 to 9 000 English longbowmen, the cumbersomeness of the armor played an important role, especially considering the battlefield conditions.

Wikipedia dixit:

yeah I remember reading this before. long bows are ...or where the best. due to their large size they where able to launch a arrow long distance with enough velocity to perice most armor. and when it comes to war range is a huge factor. as for cross bows depending on what type they could take a mch longer time to reload and why would you need a iorn bolt when an arrow can do the job just as good.

anyway I found I pice of my Fav sword

[RavenHawk]

Ei guys, if any of you are Samurai Warriors people, I think you might recognize Kenshin Uesugi's sword there. The sword's called the Seven-Branched Sword, and I think that this is one strange looking sword. It's a 74.9 cm long iron sword with six branch-like protrusions along the central blade and considered one of the national treasures of Japan, though its origins may have been in China or Korea. I'm not sure if was ever used in battle, considering its design. What I do know is that there are inscriptions on the sword.

Here's what it looks like:

[Diaboso]

getting stabbed by that would Sux

[Kang Seung Jae]

Originally Posted by LastRaven

Ei guys, if any of you are Samurai Warriors people, I think you might recognize Kenshin Uesugi's sword there. The sword's called the Seven-Branched Sword, and I think that this is one strange looking sword. It's a 74.9 cm long iron sword with six branch-like protrusions along the central blade and considered one of the national treasures of Japan, though its origins may have been in China or Korea. I'm not sure if was ever used in battle, considering its design. What I do know is that there are inscriptions on the sword.

Here's what it looks like:

Yes, a sword that's one of the centers of Korean-Japanese historical clashes.

[Tri-ring]

Originally Posted by Kang Seung Jae

Yes, a sword that's one of the centers of Korean-Japanese historical clashes.

Actually it doesn't since most Japanese scholars believe it was a gift from Kudara, Korea, circa 4th century AD.
The Scholars arguements is on which interpretation is correct inscribed on the sword, thus who ordered the production of the sword Wa(Japan), Kudara(Korea) or Eastern Jin(China).
Yes, on that part it is a clash between Korea or Japan.
Wiki

One side note the sword was a cermonial piece and never intended to be used in battle.

[RavenHawk]

Originally Posted by Tri-ring

Actually it doesn't since most Japanese scholars believe it was a gift from Kudara, Korea, circa 4th century AD. The Scholars arguements is on which interpretation is correct inscribed on the sword, thus who ordered the production of the sword Wa(Japan), Kudara(Korea) or Eastern Jin(China).
Yes, on that part it is a clash between Korea or Japan.
Wiki

One side note the sword was a cermonial piece and never intended to be used in battle.

I see. Yeah it looks like it's the kind that is more used as an ornamental sword than a battle sword. I was thinking if that were to be used in battle, it would be very unweildy because of its design. Heck I can get hurt if I swing it improperly.

[Vexx]

The wielder might look batshit insane wielding it ... but a few seconds later he'd be toast.

I'm going to guess its mostly ceremonial (like those Viking horned helmets - actually rare and ceremonial/decorative, you'd have to be nuts to actually use one on the battlefield... o wait ).

[Aoie_Emesai]

nvm delete.

[Spectacular_Insanity]

Originally Posted by Diaboso

getting stabbed by that would Sux

Maybe, but looking at it, I don't think it was all that fearsome. Those spines on the side would probably snap off real quick in a real battle. Not to meantion it must be very unwieldy... no doubt terrible for defense. So therefore I agree with Vexx... the wielder would most likely be toast since it looks like a purely offensive weapon. Pure offense usually results in death pretty quickly in a battlefield situation.

[Spectacular_Insanity]

Originally Posted by Diaboso

anyway I found I pice of my Fav sword

Wow, I've seen lots of picture of flamberges, but I have to say that's the best one I've seen so far. The cool thing I've read about these swords is that they are hard to defnd against because they create terrible vibrations as they are drawn down an enemy's blade in slashing-type attacks, possibly resulting in the enemy's guard being broken.

I've seen a lot of stuf being said, and some of the arguments are very interesting.

Anyways, here's some cool swords I saw on trueswords.com.

Ichigo Kurasaki's Zangetsu


Eragon's Zar'roc (this one is sold out )


Drizzt Sword Set (Twinkle and Icingdeath)


Chinese Tai Chi Sword with Ying-Yang (this one is sold out, too )

^It's always the cool ones that are sold out... naturally.

[RavenHawk]

Originally Posted by Spectacular_Insanity

Anyways, here's some cool swords I saw on trueswords.com.

Ichigo Kurasaki's Zangetsu


Eragon's Zar'roc (this one is sold out )


Drizzt Sword Set (Twinkle and Icingdeath)


Chinese Tai Chi Sword with Ying-Yang (this one is sold out, too )

^It's always the cool ones that are sold out... naturally.

WHOA! Now those're some kick-ass swords. Thanks man for the source. I'm going there right away.

[tkdtiger]

Originally Posted by Kang Seung Jae

Slight problems with what you wrote: Umgeoms were made during the Joseon Dynasty, so it isn't that old. Also, Korean sowrds DID have blood-grooves, although they tended to be from the Goryeo era, when the Korean art of swordcraft was at its height.

And finally: The folding technique WAS on par or even surpassed the Japanese, until most of the sword-makers were killed during the Japanese Invasion of Korea that started in 1592.

I was saying ancient Korean Swords in general...not nec. the sword in the pic. I did not know about the blood groove...I read that they didn't have a blood groove, but the book I read was out of date.

[Kinny Riddle]

Originally Posted by Kang Seung Jae

Sorry to say it, but the average jian IS inferior to an average katana. The main reason for jians being two-bladed is to ensure that you have at least one shape side to fight.

I'm not trying to bash jians, but given how jians were fragile weapons, it really isn't a war weapon.

True, the standard issuing weapon in ancient China was mostly the single-edged broad-shaped Dao, with its easy to thrust motion making it ideal for cavalry.

During the Ming dynasty in the 15th to 16th centuries, which coincided with the Sengoku Period in Japan, some of the jobless samurais decide to team up with Chinese pirates and raid the coasts of China with terrible efficiency, since the katana could slice the thin jian up. It was only after switching to the dao that the Ming army managed to turn the tide against the pirates.

[Tri-ring]

Originally Posted by Kinny Riddle

During the Ming dynasty in the 15th to 16th centuries, which coincided with the Sengoku Period in Japan, some of the jobless samurais decide to team up with Chinese pirates and raid the coasts of China with terrible efficiency, since the katana could slice the thin jian up. It was only after switching to the dao that the Ming army managed to turn the tide against the pirates.

During the Sengoku (Feudal) era there weren't many job-less samurais since it was the heyday for Samurais with all the feuds between clans.
That is why they call it the Sengoku era in the first place, Sengoku mean warring nations.
The Wako as it is known in Japan to my knowledge were mostly Chinese pirates dressed as Samurai since real samurais really didn't have to go far to find a battle to participate and make himself famous in those days.

[Kinny Riddle]

Originally Posted by Tri-ring

During the Sengoku (Feudal) era there weren't many job-less samurais since it was the heyday for Samurais with all the feuds between clans.
That is why they call it the Sengoku era in the first place, Sengoku mean warring nations.
The Wako as it is known in Japan to my knowledge were mostly Chinese pirates dressed as Samurai since real samurais really didn't have to go far to find a battle to participate and make himself famous in those days.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wokou

Wokou did start out as a bunch of ronins from Japan, over time, the local Chinese smugglers took over their illegal operations and went from Japanese to pre-dominantly Chinese.

[tkdtiger]

I think it's interesting to see all these perspectives on swords.