New Article on Two-Handed Great Sword Weight

[John_Clements]

See: The Weighty Issue of Two-Handed Greatswords the most comprehensive and inclusive piece written on an often unnecessarily controversial topic.

[Erich Wagner]

Cool article. That's the most comprehensive list of sword weights I've seen. I wish all collections would provide this kind of information.

Regarding the following: "These weapons were used primarily for fighting among pike-squares where they would hack paths through lobbing the tips off opposing halberds and pikes then slashing and stabbing among the ranks."

Has anyone (recently) attempted to cut the tip off of a pike with a good two-hander replica?

[Casper Bradak]

I've tried some similar things. It's not easy, and that's one at a time. I firmly believe that trying to cut the heads off pikes would be a lethal waste of time. But that's all arguable I suppose.
Also, many pikes I've seen have been equipped with langets as well, which would negate the most powerful of blows.
I do believe they were of great utility against pikes, they can tie up and sweep aside far more pikes and far more quickly than trying to cut or break the points off.
Anyway, it was an excellent article.

[GaryGrzybek]

What a great article

It's nice to know that we can easily dispell these outrageous myths with such hard evidence...or sharp evidence I might say

[Mike Cartier]

yes great article!!

[Erich Wagner]

I too was thinking it would be more likely that the pikes are simply swept aside rther than cut apart. The two hander gives you the reach to do this plus a large edges surface to follow up with. Of course this is pure speculation. I've never handled one before.

[Chris Jarko]

JC -

Thanks for the article and the detailed sword listing; I recently had the opportunity to visit the armoury of the Doge's Palace in Venice, where there are many fine specimens of two-handed great swords. (In fact, most of the swords on display seemed to be either two-handers or schiavonas, although they also had some very nice rapiers.) Much to my disappointment, however, I wasn't able to find a catalogue of the weaponry like there is for the Wallace Collection. It was still a very worthwhile visit, though.

Regards,

[John_Clements]

Actually, I meant to change that statement about cutting pikes as I've been unable to verify it with a reliable historical source and can't locate a reference to where I read it.

JC

[John_Clements]

Hi Chris, thanks, and thanks for you material too.
Yes, the Doge's collection in Venice is very famous and was well known in its day.

JC

[JeffGentry]

Hey John

Have you ever seen a wooden waster great sword that was similar in weight and balance to a blunt/sharp, i have been thinking about trying to make one, i might use some of your data if i attempt it i just didn't know much about the weight and balance of them that was a very interesting article and the pic's of you actualy weilding one look's pretty intimidating would not want to come across a guy on a battfield weilding that, run away run away, lol.

Jeff

[Casper Bradak]

Another thing that I really liked about the statistics given was the distal taper of the weapons. It's such a massive difference, often a 5:1 ratio of strong vs point, giving such strength to the strong, and such lightness and sharpness to the point/cutting portion, which has such a major effect on the balance as well, yet is never seen to any appreciable degree on replicas.
Replicas nowdays seem to be nothing more than silhouettes or shadows of the originals at best.

[GaryGrzybek]

Peter Johnsson has raised this fact in several on line discussions and it's obviously one of the key ingredients in crafting a fine weapon. Proper distribution of mass will make a heavy sword feel much lighter than it really is. My Albion Armorers Baron is near 4 pounds but feels very lively and responsive. This is certainly a wonderful change than what we're used to.

[Tony_Indurante]

Actually, I meant to change that statement about cutting pikes as I've been unable to verify it with a reliable historical source and can't locate a reference to where I read it.

I think that this is a legend that has just grown up around misinformation and lack of actual scholarly pursuit. I haven't been able to verify this either, and believe me, I tried. For a real good example of what big 2-handers were used for, see Di Grassi's section on the two hand sword (which may be in the article- I haven't read it yet).

Tony

[John_Clements]

I've updated the article adding additional measurements for 70 more hsitorical two-handed great-swords as well as seevral more images of sample pieces. Check it out.

JC

[Joe Fults]

Liked the article.

Thanks for putting it up.