Rain guard

[CalebChow]

This video brought this to my attention:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8QBr4dTAR0&feature=sub

Any other thoughts or ideas on what the leather addition could have been used for?

It seems like getting hit in the thumb is more a matter of improper winding rather than a sword design that needs modification, but this guy's interpretation could prove useful in preventing broken thumbs.

[Matt Bryant]

That was a good video. I think it is definitely possible that they are on to something there. I have also seen the "rain guard" made of metal. And later on you see all manner of sword with side rings on the cross that would also serve this purpose very well. Come to think of it, I have never seen a sword that had the "rain guard" and side rings.

Thanks for the link.

[s_taillebois]

I would also wonder if the leather would be more effective if it were neck hide from a bull, and tanned so it was stiffer. A harder tanned leather might either catch a sharp, or simply slide it away.


The leather on the gentleman's sword in the video seemed to be fairly soft, but possibly it might have worked better that way?

Perhaps as M. Byrant noted possibly the 'rain guards' may have been a transitional state to the side ring swords of the early Renn/Late Gothic.

Or if some of this concept may have started accidentally from the town bindings for swords?

[Stacy Clifford]

I would suspect it's one of those dual purpose features that started out intended for one function and wound up serving another by coincidence. Whether it was intended as a thumb guard or a rain guard originally, it seems to suit both purposes pretty nicely. Kudos to those guys for an interesting and plausible theory. Knowing full well what "swordsman's thumb" feels like, any innovation to prevent it is a great idea.

[Corey Roberts]

In my opinion, this is a much better idea from a usage perspective, than the old idea of a "rain guard". The space between the cross and the opening of the scabbard really isn't wide enough to let any significant amount of water down the scabbard, and if water draining down into a scabbard was a problem, why wouldn't we see "rain guards" being built on all the worlds swords to prevent the same problem? I think this idea is an excellent hypothesis, although there is really no way of proving it for sure. Another though I had, if anybody has noticed these pieces of leather sit exactly where your thumb goes when performing cuts like a Zwerchhaw, or other cuts where the thumb is used to support the blade. Perhaps the piece of leather is also just an addition to aid in comfort of thumb placement?

[Sal Bertucci]

I have observed one problem with the hypothesis. In many of the images that I have seen the chape is no wider than the blade, but in the version that they are using the chape is almost twice as wide as the blade. I'd need to look at more images, but if they are using an ahistorical design, then they won't be able to make correct conclusions.

[Matt Easton]

There is a long debate about this video on the Schola Forum here:

http://www.fioredeiliberi.org/phpBB3/vi ... =4&t=13871
(you need to register to view this part of the forum..)

Regards,
Matt