[Regia-NA] sword thickness
MIKE LAWSON
list-regia-na@lig.net
Tue, 30 Jul 2002 15:33:35 +0000
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<DIV>Out of curiosity what are the thickness of sword blades of our period?Thinest & thickest mesurements?</DIV>
<DIV>When we talk to the public we generally say things like "The sword weighs the same as an original but it's blunt for fighting".Just how true is that,i usually ask for a blade to be made around 5mm thick without knowing how thick the blades of the original actually were?</DIV>
<DIV>I'm not bothered how flexible a blade is as long as it's strong enough & safe enough for combat use but i do want my {expensive! } equipment to be as acurate as possible to avoid any future problems with authenticity.A blunt blade will always be heavier than a sharp of the same dimensions by the nature of the extra metal needed to stop it having a sharp edge but i don't want it any heavier than it has to be!</DIV>
<DIV>Thanks to the Wirral for a good show,very relaxing. Whilst there i got involved in a conversation where i put forward an argument that Regia is doing the battles all wrong in some cases {oh no!I hear?}.When it comes to our battles we always portray 2 armies meeting,men in mail,the clash of steel on steel but how acurate would that be?I believe that the Viking raiders attacked unannouced or with very little warning , giving the local lord very little chance to organise any form of defense.The lord may have a couple of well armed retainers{?}but by & large the main defense must have come from the local population who would have been farmers.If the farmers run away they live to fight another day,they also have somewhere safe to run unlike there Viking counter parts who are there to fight by choice & are generally well armed & armoured & well motivated.I believe that this means we ought to do more battles with unarmoured Saxon farmers armed with spear & shield & the occasional axe & a couple of blokes in armour versus a load of Viking raider {fewer in number than the Saxons?} who are much better armed & armoured.</DIV>
<DIV>We all know this aint gonna happen,"i didn't travel 300 miles to be a peasent farmer,i'm off to a society that will let me use my fancy kit" would be flying around in 2 shakes of a spear & we would loose members very quickly.So i put these ideas forward to stir up a debate?</DIV>
<DIV>Feedback would be intresting?</DIV>
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