Research and Discussion Forums

Hey, thread necromancy! I'll chip in.

You might be an Armateer if your entire backyard is a dust bowl because your footwork has killed off all vegetation...

Hey John, I found that watching the numerous videos on the page greatly helped guide my study. Learning by imitation isn't perfect, but it certainly helped me pick it up much faster once I found a group. The articles and essays on this page may help also, but I overall found the videos much more hel...

And of course, while the solid ballistic plate inserts provided to 21st-century infantry in the most industrialized nations are more often made of ceramics rather than metal, they nevertheless represent a large-scale return of solid-plate armour to the battlefield. Yeah, next thing is gonna be powe...

LafayetteCCurtis wrote:
Another source you might be interested to check out with regards to variations in sword quality (and in the skill of swordsmiths) is this paper on the sword industry in a Sudanese town: http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/hunley/kassala.pdf

Interesting, great link! Thanks.

Hey Benedict, Welcome! The first thing I'd say is that the problem with "weaponskills" in most games I've seen is that it tends to ignore the fact that combat skills have core fundamentals that are universal (eg timing, leverage, footwork, opponent reading, etc etc). A classic example of t...

Until easy sword reproduction came around, it's cheaper to equip 10,000 soldiers with a spear and a knife than equipping 1000 with swords, isn't it? I can see where Carl is coming from when I think about how to equip an army cost-effectively. As Stacy mentioned the sword is best for the individual c...

Welcome!

Hey Raman! Welcome. Each suit is unique and probably custom-made to the individual, so I think it really depends. If a certain piece makes riding or whatever more difficult, or if there's a battle where horses won't be so effective, the knight could make adjustments to his gear to fit the situation....

I want one, and making my own sounds like the best way of getting one. "We were able to see several new swords coming from MRL, including a splendid Medieval estoc --the original historical piece which I have had chance to play with in the past. The replica was especially light, and would even ...

Oo, another question about the estoc suddenly popped up.

Is the "blade" of an estoc weighty enough and stiff enough to cause significant blunt trauma, or is it perhaps weighted more at the base and therefore doesn't have much mass at the end?

Interested in the prevailence and use of the estoc as well. Since it is simply an edgeless, point only weapon, wouldnt it be more practical to use a short spear in armored combat? Just wondering Hmm, good question. I would also think that a short spear would work just as well. But I guess the fact ...

Simple sparring with steel blunts, a zorn caught me in the right elbow. Wasn't a big deal, but it really hurt throughout the night as I tried to sleep. Internal swelling in addition to the crushed bleeding skin, apparently. It's been nearly two years since then, the scar is still there. If only it w...

Caleb, I'll agree with those except for the Samurai III one. That one sucks, and is no where near what happened according to the text. Some license for entertainment is ok, but they way overdid it. Yeah they did overdo the staring-off and running along the beach, but the actual exchanges weren't TH...

Several good ones, I have samples: The Duellists 1977 first duel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VVHSounmrE Final duel from Samurai III http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhbCEi_Aac4 Twilight Samurai duel (Duel starts around 2:30) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg5qChXeDdI And let this be a word to thos...

Also remember that prior to the Industrial Revolution, swords were all still hand made individually. There really was not "mass production" as we know it today or even in Victorian times. While it is certain that many swordmakers probably had large crews that turned out many weapons, espe...