The Armour Archive

Why would you want to use a rattan scimitar? They would be poorly balanced and limiting to the number of effective shots you can throw.

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DukeAlaric (George S.) wrote:Why would you want to use a rattan scimitar? They would be poorly balanced and limiting to the number of effective shots you can throw.

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like I said, I feel highly uncomfortable with straight blades, especially the ones with basket hilts. It's just a thing about me, like this other one, that I can't fight in a rank.

I don't fight in a "rank" either if I get your meaning. I don't usually fight in shield walls and am allowed to go "do my thing." Then again I have been doing this for 20 years, and people generally respect that I know what I am doing.

Blades do not equal SCA sword simulators and never will.

A curved rattan simulator is a waste of your time no matter how much you say you feel uncomfortable with straight blades. Many people have tried them, no one keeps using them.

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DukeAlaric (George S.) wrote:I don't fight in a "rank" either if I get your meaning. I don't usually fight in shield walls and am allowed to go "do my thing." Then again I have been doing this for 20 years, and people generally respect that I know what I am doing.

Blades do not equal SCA sword simulators and never will.

A curved rattan simulator is a waste of your time no matter how much you say you feel uncomfortable with straight blades. Many people have tried them, no one keeps using them.

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I have the suspicions, but I will try it first(if only for the sake of my ego).
I'm kinda used to doing this - I try something that I think I'll like, it doesn't work as expected, so I find something similar that will work. So it's not that much of a big deal.(historically, a shamshir was meant to only slice unarmored opponents, which doesn't stop it from being a cool weapon )

actually your grace aveloc has been using curved swords for many years now and was quite successful while he was in the sca.

he currently still uses them and is very successful. however I agree with you that they will define the youngsters fighting style due to their shot limitations and would be a detriment to early learning.

lastly they hit much harder than a straight sword due to the curve concentrating force into a smaller area.

It's a physics thing, Ludial, and really has *nothing* to do with a curved blade being good or bad in the real world, and everything to do with the oddities of fighting with wooden weapons under SCA rules.

Your curved blade was designed to maximize the cutting surface, and decrease chances of catching the blade in bone or other snaggy body materials. It's one reason why you see curved blades in heavy use by mounted men against unarmored opponents - they can make cuts without snagging (and therefore losing) their weapon as they ride by.

SCA swords are bludgeoning weapons, not cutting ones. You're striking for impact, not trying to slice through. I had a terrible time with this my first year or so fighting - too many years of iaido left me trying to slice with my blade instead of thwacking with it. Especially with a greatsword - I'd try to glide through with a cutting motion, score a hit which would have disemboweled someone had the sword been sharp and they without good armor, and had it been ignored as light because it didn't strike with enough impact.

Heh. I still sometimes notice myself doing that, when I get tired.

Anyway, a curved rattan surface minimizes the striking surface, shortens your effective range, and in general tends to hit less often and less hard, from what I've seen. If anything, I've seen more swords curved inwards, tip in toward the target slightly, to improve the wrap shot - which incidentally would be much harder to throw with a scimitar/katana style curve.

Try it if you want, but make a straight sword too. You'll probably end up preferring the straight one because of the difference in effectiveness. I get the impression you're not the sort of person who wants a significant loss in hitting ability just for the showy nature of an unusual sword.

Ludial:

Please do not take this as a personal affront, but sadly, I was surprised that you are 20 years old. I would have guessed much younger. Given the details you've shared about your background, I can, however, understand the somewhat retarded development of maturity. I might suggest you examine the threads around here and take note of how very few individuals get treated as you were and consider if that might not have been a result of your behavior and ignorance, rather than that of this well-established community of very significant experts in armour, medieval history and combat, etc...

I would not at all be surprised if you take further umbrage at this further attempt to reach-out, but I would like to share with you some foundational considerations that I hope you will very seriously take to heart and ponder in regards to this recent dialogue:

Socrates advised us that "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

Samuel Johnson suggested that "'Tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than open one's mouth and remove all doubt."

Daniel Boorstin (one of our greatest Historians, and one of my favorite professors at the University of Chicago), stated that "The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge."

Donald Rumsfeld taught us that "There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know. "

And of course, Oscar Wilde reminded us that "I am not young enough to know everything."

The consistent theme of your posts was the absolute certitude of your known knowns and that there were no known unknowns that you hadn't already figured out how to figure out and there surely weren't and couldn't be any unknown unknowns that anyone could point out or advise you about.

Unlike Oscar Wilde, you are very clearly young enough (either physically or just mentally) to know everything.

Perhaps, Mr. Gruberman, you will be fortunate enough to close the circle at the feet of the Master and learn the patient ways of your own soul like a road leading forever towards the horizon, putting aside the vinegar of hostility for the wine of purity and humility.

I well and truly hope you begin to try to listen and learn. People who have actually been doing things two or three or four times a week at the top of their game for twenty or thirty years might actually have a clue about that which they speak -- and seen literally uncountable legions of "evil, sneaky, cunning, thieving, ninja, archer, martial artist, pirate, historian, musketeer, rogue" adolescents. In which regard, I'll leave a final quote from Abraham Lincoln:

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."

In service,

Max Von Halstern

Ludial wrote:

audax wrote:Josh Warren can do a cartwheel in full plate.

has to be pretty damn strong...

Actually, Josh is of average size and weight. And his armour is specially built for him. Add to this that he trains in it, and it's not really that much of a feat of strength.

Nah, I'm sure Josh is no weakling, but he has a harness that fits him well and he is in good shape which I believe are the factors that allow him to do the cartwheels. A lighter but ill-fitting harness on him would probably give him trouble.

Since I am the Josh Warren under discussion...

All of these are true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm11yAXe ... annel_page

There is a video of me doing some cartwheels (and push-ups, and a few other things...) in my plate. It took me two days of solid practice to get the cartwheel right. It has more to do with your armour fitting well, being comfortable in your armour, and overcoming that mental block of "I'm in a suit of steel! I can't do that!" than it does with raw strength. If your armour fits correctly, you can do an awful lot in it. My suit weighs more than 70 pounds, if you add in all the mail and padded bits and clothing worn underneath.

For the record, I am 5'10" tall and weigh about 175lbs. I like to flatter myself with the conceit that I am in good shape for my age.

Joaquin wrote: I like to flatter myself with the conceit that I am in good shape for my age.

The age of heroes? '8)'

Max Von Halstern

So, I'm sitting here, having gotten up early to take care of Conor. Poor little shit got a cough and a fever from running around with me at fighter practice yesterday. So, I'm getting the juice and triaminic together just reading a few pages of this thread when it occured to me that this ludial is a serious douche.
I think there should be a rule that when some putz that thinks the fact that they're godlike on a video game makes them somehow formidible finally makes it into armor, a video of them getting peckerslapped by all and sundry should be posted on youtube and links to that video should be included with every future post they ever make on here.
Wow, what a putz.

I really missed your outlook, and comments when you were taking a break from the board