Random thought of the moment

[theonlymegumegu]

(well, not entirely, as it was brought on by my playing w/ my chinese sword and watching something on ancient warfare on the History Channel just now, but...)

I want a khopesh. I also need to use my sword more often for wrist strengthening exercises.

And now that I'm on this line of thought, I think I want a gladius or spatha as well.

Comments

[wire_mother]

khopeshes are pretty damned cool. i wouldn't mind having one, and trying to figure out its best use.

personally, i recommend the claidheamh mòr (or "claymore", which, by the way, refers to the basket-hilt broadsword, not the two-handed sword which is properly the claidheamh dà làimh). in my opinion, the basket-hilt broadsword is the ultimate evolution of the cutting sword. when properly made, the metal is similar to that of the katana, folded or pattern-welded, differentially-tempered steel that holds a razor-sharp edge. it is very lightweight (a person i know who has handled originals says that the only modern reproductions which closely match the weight characteristics are aluminum blades with steel baskets), with a strong balance toward the hand that speeds up strikes and other movements considerably. and, of course, the basket serves to guard the hand from strikes.

[wire_mother]

oh, but i should mention that i also love the jiàn (劍). like the original claidheamh mòr, it has a blade that is flexible enough to wobble a bit, but is also very, very strong and sharp.

[wire_mother]

i'm not fond of most two-hand swords*, so i'd say so! ;)

seriously, though, it would probably be Anglicized as something like "claydalav". i'm not sure about that, though, since i'm not so good with the Scots Gaelic, preferring the Irish. i'm not positive about how the Scots deal with lenited sounds. it could be "claydalaw".

*in my opinion, you should stop at the "hand and a half" types, like the langschwert or katana. anything bigger has too much of a specialized use, like breaking pikes or killing horses. if you have to use two hands on a weapon, it should probably be a polearm.

[chibininja]

I LIKE SWORDS!

[theonlymegumegu]

Yes, we know. Now drink your juice box.

XDDD

[chibininja]

Sorry. I just had to post that. XD

[theonlymegumegu]

I would expect no less ^_^

(and I had to post the response... it's a reference to Red Mage saying that they needed to get Fighter his juice box to calm him down, JIC you don't recall XD)