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Post by Arima Jinsuke on Apr 22, 2010 22:23:01 GMT -5
So, bored, I was pawing through Effingham-dono's superb website for tidbits of info I may have missed or forgotten, and I found myself in the Miscellany:Swords section.
I noticed an interesting sentence:
"Japanese swords are single-edged, though there are occasional exceptions found in some older swords, in which the front third of the back of the blade is also a cutting edge. "
Fascinating. Does anyone have any pictures of these blades? How old are they? What era? Was there a particular shape or type of blade associated with this feature?
I'm curious because theres a simple (but often effective) technique with a European greatsword where one "misses" on purpose then snaps the back edge of the blade into the side of the opponent's head. Putting a back edge (even only 1/3rd or 1/2 the length of the blade) on a no-dachi or o-dachi would allow one to pull this off without having to turn the blade around (which can be tricky and telegraph a move to an observant opponent).
Any thoughts?
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Post by tengumoon on Apr 22, 2010 22:59:47 GMT -5
I have seen these swords,they look very much like early Chinese and Korean blades. Unfortunately I dont have any further details like era or photos...sorry
as to the technical art of turning a blade - that doesnt always telegraph if done correctly - tho of ourse in SCA gloves/gauntlets it can be tricky
my answer to this problem was to simply put another "edge" tape on the back of my katana
two reasons:
1 the inherent nature of the game (concussion striking) is very different to the majority of the techniques associated with Japanese weapons (swords,spears and naginata - tetsu bo being the obvious toy to choose for SCA!
2 I I was to hit someone with the bak edge of a katana I am more than likely to either cause serious damage or at least set up a secondary move that will inflict that fatal damage (its the same reasoning why I have a pommel thrusting tip on my katana)
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Post by Please Delete on Apr 24, 2010 11:05:48 GMT -5
I'll have to see if I can find some, but I've now seen quite a few Heian period swords with a sharp edge on both sides of the blade, though usually just turned back through the mono'uchi on most. II want to say you should look up the Kogarasumaru tachi for an example, but I'm too tired to verify that at the moment.
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Post by Arima Jinsuke on Apr 25, 2010 10:59:10 GMT -5
I'll have to see if I can find some, but I've now seen quite a few Heian period swords with a sharp edge on both sides of the blade, though usually just turned back through the mono'uchi on most. II want to say you should look up the Kogarasumaru tachi for an example, but I'm too tired to verify that at the moment. Thank you. Thats the exact right thing to look up. Fascinating. Kogarasu Maru, the "Little Crow." You learn something new every day, and this was a cool thing to learn.  I don't know if its going to prompt me to put back-edges on my blades or not ("Blah blah blah anscestor was a swordsmith blah blah blah handed-down blade blah blah blah"), but its a nifty tidbit of trivia to poke away in the old melon. |
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Post by oravainen on May 9, 2010 14:55:07 GMT -5
Spontaneously scanned from book of mine this is a tsurugi probably from the kunstkamera collection, I'm not sure about the date  According to my limited understanding (feel free to civilize me  , the word ken can be used for swords in general. But the word is also associated to these straight, double edged swords, which are also called tsurugi. slightly offtopic, the blade of that tanto below reminded me instantly of a rondel... |
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Post by worldantiques on May 9, 2010 17:40:47 GMT -5
So, bored, I was pawing through Effingham-dono's superb website for tidbits of info I may have missed or forgotten, and I found myself in the Miscellany:Swords section. I noticed an interesting sentence: "Japanese swords are single-edged, though there are occasional exceptions found in some older swords, in which the front third of the back of the blade is also a cutting edge. " Fascinating. Does anyone have any pictures of these blades? How old are they? What era? Was there a particular shape or type of blade associated with this feature? I'm curious because theres a simple (but often effective) technique with a European greatsword where one "misses" on purpose then snaps the back edge of the blade into the side of the opponent's head. Putting a back edge (even only 1/3rd or 1/2 the length of the blade) on a no-dachi or o-dachi would allow one to pull this off without having to turn the blade around (which can be tricky and telegraph a move to an observant opponent). Any thoughts? You have the "ken" style blade which is a complete mirror image of the cutting edge on both sides, but from what I have read the ken blade was used for religious purposes, this is another type of blade with 2 edges which looks more like its for actual use. I can not remember seeing any type of sword besides a tanto having 2 cutting edges. You also have yari that were used as tanto or wakisashi and I believe even katana that have 2 cutting edges.  from>>> www.ricecracker.com/ |
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, the word ken can be used for swords in general. But the word is also associated to these straight, double edged swords, which are also called tsurugi.