RE: swords being impractical for modern self-defense: I know if I were an attacker, and I saw my victim wielding a sword, I’d think twice before attempting my crime. I’d much rather have a bullet hole in my body than risk an amputation or through-and-through impalement!! :eek: I don’t actually intend on carrying a sword around, I was just curious about the legal aspects.
FWIW: If I were to invest in a sword, I’d want a Katana. Those freakin’ rock! Kinthalis, are they as awesome in real-life as they are in the movies? (Kill Bill Vol. I & II come to mind.)
Minor Hijack: I am purchasing one of the Hanwei/Paul Chen Hsu Series Jian Tai Chi Swords (one with a 30 inch blade); does anybody know where I can purchase a proper tassel for it? I’ve never had a Paul Chen sword before, but I’ve picked up a couple of his knives. The cost was reasonable and the quality was good…outstanding if you compare them to the rest of the (crap) cutlery that comes out of China.
Katana are beautiful weapons that’s for sure. But don’t believe everything you hear. They are just as falible as any other steel sword and will not cut through tree trunks or armor or allow you to fly while wearing a ninja custome
They are also in no way superior to European blades.
With respect to both you and accuracy, being shot is not as simple as having a “bullet hole” in you. Depending upon the gun and the impact location, a single shot can easily be fatal or permanently disabling. Kinthalis is right to downplay swords as a practical weapon in this Century, or even the last couple.
Yes, you can still get plenty of “real” swords- quite a few of which have better materials and even workmanship than those of 500 years ago. But as Kinthalis and others have said- you have to shop around. Museum Replicas has about the cheapest "real’ swords out there.
As to carrying one- IANAL- usually it’s legal- but unless you’re in costume or something, expect a hassle form the cops anyway. YMMV.
Personally, when traveling to class, or to some event, I always keep my sharps in a locked case in the trunk of my car while on the road. I also make sure to have my uniform on, and some sort of logo of my martial arts organization with me for such an eventuality.
And this is true for many reasons, first being the fact that it’s just too out of place. People will give you a hard time. Crowded streets also aren’t very sword friendly.
But most importantly, while you can take a couple of classes on self-defense with a hand gun and then use one effectively, a couple of MONTHS of serious training with a sword and I’d still wager you’d hurt yourself before you’d hurt someone else.
I’m not trying to undermine the danger of a gunshot wound. I know guns are terribly dangerous and deadly. What I was implying was: assuming I were to survive a defensive attack, the resulting effects of a gunshot wound seem less horrifying to me, personally, than those of a sword attack. That’s just my personal feeling, however, and has practically nothing to do with the science of it. Wounds from sharp edged instruments just give me the willies.
Nitpick: I have never, ever seen or even heard of threading being used on any historical or traditionally made katana. The tsuka (hilt) is held in place with a bamboo pin that goes through both the handle and a hole drilled in the tang of the sword. If you have a cite for threading on any Japanese blade, not even limiting it to katana-length blades, I’d be interested in seeing it.
If you buy a sword from one of the links Kinthalis posted, you pretty much can’t go wrong. Those are probably the most reputable places out there. Especially check out Albion. They’ve gotten rave reviews from just about everyone who has seen their work. Kris Cutlery’s quality ranges from halfway decent to utter crap; personal knowledge and friends in the know. Museum Replicas Ltd. has gotten better in recent years due to pressure from good armory companies like Albion and Arms and Armor. Their quality can still be a bit spotty though, from what I’ve heard. I haven’t had a hands-on with any of their stuff in recent years, so I’m depending on word of mouth from guys who have on this.
Also check out myArmory.com for education, hands-on reviews, and more. netsword.com is pretty much THE place on the Web to find out more about swords, medieval warfare, etc. They don’t have all that much patience for anime fanboi or, “I wanna fnd out how to have a dual with my friends losing arms and eyes iz ok thx for any ehlp in advanse,” type questions, but if you’re polite, listen to what they say, and use actual spelling and grammar, you can find out a lot from them.
An interersting point: almost everyone has been cut, to some degree or another, at some time or another, in their life. They know what a knife wound feels like, even a small one. Whether you knick yourself with a hobby knife, slice a finger cutting veggies for the evening meal, or even get a nasty papercut, odds are anyone you meet will have had one (or more) at some point.
So when confronted with cold steel, I think it gives them more pause than when confronted with a firearm.
While they may know intellectually that the gun is the more dangerous weapon (in capable hands), they probably know, from experience, that if a paper cut hurts as bad as it does, what the heck will that foot of sharp steel feel like slicing them to ribbons or rammed into some soft, delicate internal organs?
I’d always been told that for purposes of crowd control, a rifle with a bayonet is far more effective than just a rifle. I think this typical experience of various “knicks & cuts” is the reason why.
I think there would also be a psychological/fear component to the equation in the sense that any fool can wave a gun (or so you might be tempted to think), but someone with a sword must know how to use it.
There’s been a few threads discussing this before, you might want to do a search, but the short answer is no. A slightly longer answer is that modern fencing sport isusually depicted faithfully, classical fencing is sometimes done right, and I’ve NEVER seen renaissance or medieval martial arts depicted in any form I would recognize.
[QUOTE=Sleel]
Nitpick: I have never, ever seen or even heard of threading being used on any historical or traditionally made katana. The tsuka (hilt) is held in place with a bamboo pin that goes through both the handle and a hole drilled in the tang of the sword. If you have a cite for threading on any Japanese blade, not even limiting it to katana-length blades, I’d be interested in seeing it.
You’re right. What I mean to say is that the assembly can be taken apart.
