The Armour Archive

I had a new sword delivered to work a couple of weeks ago and the guy I sit next to told me that the weight was all wrong.

He claims that all real swords were so heavy that if you rotated your wrist whilst fighting with one your wrist would break with the strain. I disagreed with him but he is convinced.

Would someone please be kind enough to settle this argument for us?

This article has a table that contains weights, lengths, etc for a variety of surviving swords:

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/sh ... ights.html

Jurgen

I think your friend has watched to many movies. Go to the ARMA site and there is an article that has real historical swords and there weights. I have gotten to see an number of historical blades and they many times had their info right beside them and once you do the kilo to pound change none of the single hand swords I saw weighed much more than 2&1/2 pounds, ever. Even the true two handed swords weighed for the most part under 8, excluding all parade swords of course. So go get some good hard facts and next time someone tells you that take the sword and.....

RPM

Coworkers are rarely a good source of information...

A good source would be any publication by Ewart Oakeshott, the worldwide expert on European swords. Search the web for his name.

Basically, anything heavier than 4lbs is WAY off. The avareage being around 2.5 to 3.5lbs, even for some two-handers!

Sword info:
www.aemma.org
www.swordforum.com
www.vikingsword.com

Tell your coworker he needs to get better reference than Conan next time

Hugo

My bastard sword from All Saints Blades weighs in under 3lb and it has a 35 inch blade.

These folks make exact replicas and have listed weights:

http://www.armor.com/2000/index.html

http://www.albionarmorers.com/

Eynar wrote: He claims that all real swords were so heavy that if you rotated your wrist whilst fighting with one your wrist would break with the strain. I disagreed with him but he is convinced.

Yep, it's true, and my arms fall off when I wield an axe, too! (He's seen all those pictures, I'm sure, of all those unfortunate armless lumberjacks?)

The heaviest thing I regularly tote around is not my sword or axe or hammers but my briefcase which usually tops 14 pounds between the electronics, the tools and the paperwork. I have to carry it in my teeth, since my arms separated at the elbows.

You need not remonstrate with fools, Eynar, for in the end, you will only waste your time, and they will hate you for it.

I have an Arms and Armour Henry V, and I have shown it to many people, and to a one they are astounded at its litheness and balance. It is as light as any "speed stick" that anyone has made for SCA combat. The tools of destruction available to men at arms in the middle ages were fell and terrible indeed.

Jehan de Pelham, squire of Sir Vitus

Perhaps that is one of the 'one impossible things' he has chosen to believe for the day?

For a one handed sword, and ounce per inch is a good standard.