Research and Discussion Forums

Jeffrey- I am sorry if I have angered you, and it was certainly not my intention to slight you or your work in any way. I did not imply or even mean to suggest that your swords were sharpened metal bars or similar atrocities. I've never seen or handled your work and have no basis to form an opinion ...

Andrzej- Understand that I am not here to argue the merits of George's paper- I don't know enough math to do so competently regardless. The theory that we call Harmonic Balance can and has been demonstrated in the real world in actual use of swords, and the effects have been reproduced, verified in ...

No worries, Brian, you don't sound hostile at all- and you've asked the $64 dollar question to boot. Did the ancients strive for this quality or is it a natural consequence of a properly balanced sword? Unfortunately it's a chicken-and-the-egg question- My belief is that it's a bit of both. HB is so...

Sounds like your Sempach meets the definition of 'Harmonically Balanced.' More and more swords are displaying this feature- in the last few years a lot of Paul Chen products as well as the more limited production or custom makers show this. What used to be the exception is becoming more and more the...

Tightly fitted swords ring nicely- but I've handled a lot of repros that are tight but still transmit shock into the hand which is unpleasant and in swordsmanship these vibrations can cause momentary loss of control and a need to re-grip the blade- not a good thing! The most extreme example of bad '...

Thank you, Stacy! Typically in swords that are not 'Harmonically Balanced' the Node of Rotation near the base of the sword can be anywhere from just ahead of the guard to just ahead of the pommel- actually anywhere but under the strong hand. I suppose it is theoretically possible for the lower node ...

In a previous post Randall Pleasant expressed the belief that so-called 'Harmonic Balance' is nothing more than 'Marketing Hype' and should be included in the 'Greatest Myths' article. I would like to take this opportunity to present a rebutal to this assertion. I must respectfully disagree with the...