The Armour Archive

There are basically two options, and they involve how you build your sword.

The first approach is if you use a longer sword; say about a yard long and above. The best way to do it is to start with rattan that is about 1 1/2" wide. Then you carve down the sides so you can clearly see the difference between the flat and edge of the blade.

See? The sides are flat. You know how to use a utility knife, right? You have a marshall's gauge, right?

I can't force the gauge all the way over the blade. It is just over 1 1/4" in width.

I also like to fight with a falchion, that is made from a 2 1/4" piece of fat rattan. It's really easy to tell when I land flat. Hell, it's really obvious to me when I do it.

My falchion is also just over the minimum width- I can't force the gauge over it.

The length of the falchion blade.

Overall length of falchion.

The width of my falchion.

At the end of the day you simply look at your sword blade and you can tell how many off-edge shots you threw that day. It's not perfect because of blocks you may do etc. but you really get a clearer picture of what you are doing.

If you use a narrow piece of tape on your edge you can REALLY nitpick them.

I've got an old axe-handle I use for pell work that has the exact same dimensions as your falchion. Really easy to tell a flat blow.

I just spent a lot of time practicing on weeds and small trees with a machete, you figure out if you hit flat or not real quick.

Rey

Vitus von Atzinger wrote:If you use a narrow piece of tape on your edge you can REALLY nitpick them.

I use about a 1/4-3/8" strip for just that reason. I like to know where I am striking.

If I may suggest, I gained a great deal of control on that since I started using the sword made by Duke Paul, which I intent to model my future ones after.

He carves the grip rather aggressively, so that instead of a round grip you have a rather narrow oval, close to the shape of actual sword grips. Hitting flat then becomes anatomically harder than hitting straight. (hitting hard is a different matter)

Worth considering as part of sword building.

Glaukos

I've always had a very oval grip, it gave me a better grip. For the past 3-4 years I've used a shaped blade. I highly recommend it.

To avoid striking flat, a shaped grip that lets you know your edge alignment is the single most valuable tool. Shaped blades help make it more obvious (on both the striking and receiving ends) when you land flat, but a shaped hilt tells you if you're properly aligned before you hit.

And checking your blade for where the marks fall should be something everyone does in the course of learning to hit with sticks, as it tells you lots of things about how you are fighting.

...It never actually occured to me to shape the blade, and -not- shape the grip as well. People do that?

What Kilkenny said.. my grip had to sit so the "edge" was lined up with my knuckles (the middle set, not the ones at the base of the fingers) and once that happened, bingo, no more flatso.

My grips are oval BTW.

Yup! Agree on all counts!


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Glaukos the Athenian wrote:If I may suggest, I gained a great deal of control on that since I started using the sword made by Duke Paul, which I intent to model my future ones after.

He carves the grip rather aggressively, so that instead of a round grip you have a rather narrow oval, close to the shape of actual sword grips. Hitting flat then becomes anatomically harder than hitting straight. (hitting hard is a different matter)

Like Paul, I also carve the grip into a shape that not only better fits the way my closed hand works, but also enables me to gauge -- by feel -- if I am on-blade or not.

Not QUITE Oval -- perhaps more closely that of a tear-drop shape, where by bringing one end of the oval to more of a triangular angle, that edge can sit squarely within the line made by my knuckles when gripping (the line roughly indicated by the top of the ruler in the image below) and keep me constantly aware of where the blade is -- since if the triangular edge is in that knuckle line, the blade will be in-line with that edge/line.

Max Von Halstern

I use a balsa wood yard stick for slow work. Swing too fast while flat, <crack>... I also used shaped blade/handles for my rattan wasters.

I agree about starting with oversized rattan and giving the blade 2 flat sides, and also shaping the grip. The shaped grip is how you can feel when you hit flat.

I have taken to doing pell work up to about 1/2 speed with a steel sword.

Rey wrote:I just spent a lot of time practicing on weeds and small trees with a machete, you figure out if you hit flat or not real quick.

Rey

When I lived in Maryland I had to clear a lot of briar bushes with a bushhook. Man that was a workout and if I didn't hit cleanly, the bushhook twisted and didn't "bite" on the briar bushes.

-Aaron

I have an aluminum waster I made a few years ago that I use for pell work. The grip is intentionally very rectangular. Edge-on blows are just fine but blows that come in flat or off-edge kick the blade sideways making the grip turn uncomfortably in the hand. I find that this works very well when I am trying to figure out new shots or fine tune old ones as I get immediate negative feedback when my technique even begins to get sloppy even at slower speeds.


- HRH Ieuan

I shave my swords down you can really feel when the blade "rolls"..as an added bonus to my swords, they are carved for me... handles and all...Since I have arthritis in my right elbow and can't get full extention I have my swords canted from my handle...works great for me but when people borrow my sword they roll their shots. It is funny to watch their faces until they figure it out , or I tell them...

The first thing done with my sword was to carve out the grip to fit my hand. I can really tell the difference in how I handle a sword that isn't more fitted for me.

Tasia

I always shape my handles, sometimes I shave the blades, but I am curious as to why you have to have a longer sword? but you Falchion can be short. This makes no sense to me. Striking on blade has to do with technique not length IMO.

Thor-

I almost never ever throw a flat blow with a single handed sword.


I do not throw 'wrap' shots.


Hmmm.........

Mark1-A1 BAttle pancake. My standard training tool to get people out of "stick mentality."
Get a cardboard box. Cut it in half so it's long like a really ridiculously wide sword blade.
Put a stick up its butt and tape it solid.

Twenty minutes with that and you won't cut flat for a month.

I like that falchion!

I think Leo is trying to say something... maybe if I turn my laptop upside down and grab a mirror