Another thing I'm slightly ignorant on. I know precious little about swords and what they look like. As a matter of fact, I'm rather ignorant in that entire sword area. I'm not good at sword fighting, sword explaining, sword describing, sword-okay, well, you get the point.

So, care to share what it is you know about swords? What kind of swords do you like to use when writing?

Bethany Faith

I like to use laser swords when I write, they put the wielders on equal footing with laser assault rifle users.

If you want help describing swords, Bethy, try looking up pictures of swords on the internet. That really helps, because then you can describe it visually.

I'll try to list some swords off the top of my head and then describe them.
Here goes-

Longsword- It's basically halfway between a short sword and a broadsword.

Rapier- Really thin, flexible, and with a full guard around the hilt. It is the type of sword used in fencing.

Short sword- They were made famous by the Romans, whose normal foot-soldier carried them. Has a rectangular guard that, if used properly, barely protects the hand (see Varon's or BushMaid's avatar but usually not curved). Devastating in very close hand-to-hand fighting but offers very little defense.

Broadsword- Normal double-edged sword but bigger and much heavier. Has a guard like a short sword's but, like everything else on the sword, is thicker. Adds potential damage one could make in an attack but slows one down and tires one out sooner.

Daggers- Everyone knows about 'em, they are basically short, "short swords" or really tiny swords. They are very versatile. They can have small, sharp blades or large, jagged blades. They can have a small guard or no guard at all. They can be used as hand-to-hand combat weapons, as throwing weapons, or as Swiss Army knives. They are easily concealed, they offer no resistance to movement, but offer very little defense against attacks (even less if the dagger doesn't have a guard).

I did this list all from memory so please call out any mistakes.

People in chat reminded me of this one.

Katana- Weapon of choice for the Samurais of Japan. Katanas have long, small blades (but still rectangular, they aren't lance in shape like a rapier) with a tiny, rectangular guard at the end. The blade usually has a curve to it ranging from barely noticeable (the type Japanese officers wore during World War II) to a small curve (the type more often portrayed as Ninja swords). Has the same advantages and disadvantages as a rapier with the exception that a katana is not flexible.

Here are a few images of a bunch of different blades from my virtual sword collection . {Please note that I don't own any of these images, they're just for general enrichment of this topic }

As a (somewhat) random comment on Dawn's first image...


Dex/Str = Dexterity/Strength

The more dexterity a sword requires, the faster the swordsperson has to be. Meaning they'll need less force behind their strokes and that the swords are lighter. A Rapier is a very light sword and is more about quickness verses hard-knocking blows.

The more strength a sword requires, the heavier it is and the more force the swordsperson will have to put behind it. The Broadsword is a very heavy sword (partially due to its larger blade) but you might notice (on the image - which isn't purely accurate) that all 5 swords require some dexterity.

All swordspeople need to have some move-ability and quickness, their level of strength will depend on their training, what they were trained to use, and (yes) their gender. You aren't likely to see a swordswoman running around with a broadsword (Boromir's sword - for you Lord the Rings fans out there) you may not even see them with the standard longsword. The Sabre (Arwyn's sword in the movies) or the short sword is a more likely choice swordswomen, along with the Rapier.


Another note I'd like to make about sword fighting in general:

People blocked with the flat of their blades. Have you ever tried hitting the sharp ends of two knives together? You'll easily end up with small nicks. Now, imagine putting all your strength behind a blow and hitting the sharp edge of another sword. Big nick! And knights and soldiers, yes they carried around whetting stones (stones used to sharpen their blades) but these stones were not meant to repair the damage made from hitting the sharp edges of two swords. These nicks had to be repaired by a blacksmith, and when you're at war, you don't get the chance to take your blade to a blacksmith after every battle.

Thus, it was the natural idea to block with the flat of the sword. Besides saving the edges for attacking blow, the flat edges of a blade has more give to it, allowing better absorption of the opponent's blow. Saving you from some of the vibration of your sword as it absorbs the energy. If you block with the sharp edges, the stiffer edge, your sword will have to absorb much more energy.

So! Not only do you save yourself from trekking to the blacksmith every other day, you save your hands from getting numb and your sword from breaking under the strain of absorbing a blow. All this to say, at times, a swordsperson may have to defend with the sharp edges as their only resort.

Note: I edited the katana to include its curve.

Scimitar- Scimitars are most known for their use by Muslims in the Crusades. They have wide blades that give a sharp curve, which makes the sword look somewhat like the Muslim moon. They are usually not double-edged but can be.

Cutlass- You probably saw them in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. They have a straight single-edged blade with a circular guard that covers the hand very well. In summary, it's exactly like a rapier except for the blade.

*reads all and finds nothing un-said*

I can think of one other type I'm missing but I can't remember its name and I don't know much about it. I decided to leave it alone.

@ Suiauthon: I edited your post to say Longsword instead of Normal sword, I'm assuming that's what you meant, right?

Argh, Griffin! You beat me to it.

I'm not sure. I might of meant that. What do you call a sword that is the stereotypical sword? A sword that is of normal length, normal weight, normal guard length, etc. ?

Look at the second sword from the bottom on Evenstar's first link. Is that what you meant?

*thinks hard*

Yes.

Longsword is what I mean.

Okay, good, I didn't want to put anything you didn't want.

What is that sword with the two stabbing points at the end? ... something starting with an Aed or Ael?

I know a bit about the European swords. Here's some good info on them. http://www.thehaca.com/terms4.htm

My personal, favorite sword is a great sword, which has its origins in the German Lanchneit sword (I think that's how you spell it but I'm not sure). It was meant to be used with both hands and had a long and heavy blade. As chain mail declined and plate armour became the standard they needed a sword that could penetrate plate, hence the German Lanchneit sword. When other nations saw its effectiveness at cutting through pikes and infantry lines they made Lanchneit swords of their own calling it a great sword. However, the great sword required intense training and strength therefore the users of it were few and received double pay, sort of like the medieval black ops.

Plus, when you used a sword like that, you are necessarily bereft of a shield, as you are using both arms to wield the sword.

For some reason, I have a strange fascination with falchion swords, if it hasn't been mentioned already. They're small, but heavy swords with a single blade. For the most part they are straight, but end in a slight curve. Kind of like combining a regular sword with a scimitar. A lot of the times, it was considered improper for a knight to have, their preferences residing in more expensive swords (falchions were considered low quality swords in comparison to others). Though during medieval times, it was mass-produced and knights that had been on a Crusade tended to prefer it.

http://getasword.com/blog/wp-content/ga ... swords.jpg

http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/falchion-sword.htm

I think Ouskar Drund shall use a smaller and lighter falchion.

That is a pretty awesome sword.

eru

One weapon you might consider is the poniard. While retaining many of the same characteristics as a dagger, the poniard has a slightly wider, shorter, and flatter blade, making for a generally more durable and concealable weapon overall.

With regard to the falchions mentioned earlier, one place they emerge in modern fiction is Brisingr by Christopher Paolini, who definitely did his research and understands how to use one.

My personal favorite curved-blade sword is the Greek kopis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopis). Due to its extended, forward-curving blade, the kopis meant its wielder had to exert more control over its direction, but gave the benefit of having more force along a smaller area.

By the by, I really do recommend katanas for your story.

For me it depends on the size of my character on what type of sword they use.

Hand and a half - I use for an averaged sized and strong-ish person.

Two-handed - I like to use for a large and strong person

One-handed - for my more, skinny scrawny and not-so-strong people (In other words, my main character)


I get all my information on things like this from my two older brothers, Daniel and Josiah (Also their names on HW). If you would like I can tell them about this thread so they can give you more info on this!

I use different swords depending on culture, and what type of fighter the said person is.

The MC in my fantasy goes through about fifty swords because of his reckless fighting style he constantly breaks them. (And no there are no magically unbreakable swords in my world.)

Which was not an uncommon occurrence when swords were in use. The blades would often break if they weren't high-quality swords. Blacksmiths were in the business to make money and regular soldiers needed swords, cheap. This was especially common from about 1500-1700 when light swords such as rapiers were in use.