#Backsword

[kultofathena]

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Early Scottish highland swords almost invariably carried the double-edged “broadsword” blade, but by the time of the Battle of Culloden (1746) the single-edged “backsword” was at least equal in popularity. Paul Chen’s Basket-Hilt Backsword, replicated from an original sword in the collection of the Royal Armouries in England that dates from about 1760, has an unusual basket with twin engraved “horned beastie” plaques and a blade with twin fullers running most of its length. The blade of the original was German in origin, but the hilt and blade are contemporary to 18th century Scotland and likely made by local cutlers. This was a common practice at the time to import high quality German blades which were then hilted and finished locally.

Available to order now.

[hirazuki]

Okay y'all, I'm going to be doing a shoot with Mairon in the forest in a couple of weeks and could use some ideas for props for him!

It's a very general concept, just a smoke generator and colored gel lights in the woods. Going for a Lieutenant of Angband/First Age Beleriand vibe. I'll probably try to work in some forlorn/beat-up post-War of Wrath shots (not drowning; we're not soaking this version because of the fake leather armor, though I fully intend on doing a drowned Sauron look too at some point XD), but there's nothing concrete beyond that. Some moody aesthetic shots, some menacing shots.

I've got a blade and lots of fake blood on the list. What else should I add?? 👀

[vio-starclad]

Sword :D

[distardre]

julance week 1: broadsword

feel free to read whoever's interested is a small info dump about swords bc i went down a rabbit hole of sword classification when i looked up a broadsword LOL

disclaimer that if you are a sword expert and i got anything wrong i am sorry, i am a measly english major who dropped out of his history course and got all this information off of comparing appropriately 20 quora posts and two random sword classification websites

(also i may be an english major but english is not my first language so sorry if the x edged blade, y hilted sword is not the way it is grammatically correct)

okay so basically nowadays the most mainstream sword among fantasy media and D&D and stuff is the broadsword HOWEVER that is not actually what the broadsword is; what is used in games, tv, etc is most commonly the arming sword (a double edged blade, cross hilted sword, intended for single hand use)

the broadsword is generally a double edged blade, basket hilted sword which's blade is wider than that of a rapier, it is intended for single hand use (hence the guarding of the hand at the hilt), and more or less is a double edged version of a backsword; it can also be referred to as a claymore (which however has also been used for the longsword in the past)

however, in the broader historical context (haha funny pun), a broadsword is literally that, a broad sword, or in other words a sword broader than a contemporary one at a given time

then we have the longsword, generally a double edged blade, cross hilted sword intended for two hand use, but can be wielded with one hand if the situation is fitted

however, we also can use the term longsword as its semantical meaning, a long sword or in other words, a sword longer than a contemporary one at a given time

then we have for example the great sword which is similar in shape to the longsword however really long, like up to the size of the person wielding it and the hilt has space for three hands and it's also fairly heavy; i saw one person refer to it as a sword shaped polearm which i found quite funny

uhhh yea okay i think thats all i have to say

i would just like to add the little detail of the fact that sword classifications are a modern thing, people back in the day would just call any sword a sword, they might use long sword and broad sword in their semantic sense but other than that they were just swords

it was with the rise of fantasy media and their focus on the middle ages that swords became misclassified too with the arming sword becoming so popular under the wrong name

moral of the story: sword classification is really confusing :)

here is the quora post i found most interesting, and pretty much all of its information checked out with others i read, if anyone wants a (admittedly way) more comprehensive explanation than mine!

[too-much-alphabet-soup]

Sanji's fingers gently brushed against the swept hilt of the rapier on the wall. The armory was full of weapons, from blades to clubs, spears to firearms. He felt intimidated, not because of the vast collection but because of what it meant. He had known of Germa's storehouses and he had spent enough time in schooling about each of the weapons he could see, well the ones that hadn't been invented in the last decade.

He knew that this rapier was for piercing attacks primarily, but could be used in a slashing motion if needed. He knew that the Kukris to its side was more for chopping motions, that the backsword has a specific place where it could be used with two hands for extra leverage. He knew how certain spears were supposed to dance in their wielder's hands, and the note of a bowstring as it loosed a true targeted arrow.

There were no chef's knives here, this room was an homage to death, murder, and skill. The last of which, even he could appreciate.

The cook stepped away from the wall and its glittering edges, he could feel his senses flooding with the scent of copper and damp. None of the weapons had gone unused, not a one held rank as a decoration.

Sanji looked at his own hands, chef's hands, still stained with the blood of butchery. But not of men, but of what was required to feed his family. He looked back to the weapons on the wall, he knew he was here for the same reason they were: intimidation and proof that even pretty things could and would kill when used properly.

With a breath he pulled his thoughts back together, letting the persona of Mr. prince settle around him once again. He put away the proverbial chef's hat and let the strategist and spy take over. At least those lessons of his youth has not fallen on unskilled ears. He pushed his hair into a new configuration and snapped the pink-lensed sunglasses into place moments before the door opened.

"I hope you didnt mind the wait, mr.."

"Mr. Prince, pleasure to meet you."

"ah, Mr Prince, well let's get down to business." The new figure pulled a chair out from the table at the center of the room, opening the table to negotiation.

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

what i love most about swords, other than actual swords, is how (in english anyway) it's a constant reminder that ppl didnt always have widely distributed dictionaries or news papers or the internet where words were (unrealistically) expected to have a Specific Meaning rather than the way they've been used for most of history, which is loose as fuck depending who you ask and when, not even getting into using a general term for sword in one language for a very specific kind of sword in another bc of different traditions in what ye basic sword even looks like- result being you will cry if someone asks what a sabre / saber REALLY is, or a backsword, or a rapier, or a broadsword, or a town sword, or a falchion, bc a lot of the time the SAME SWORD was described using several of these words at the same time OR was just called "a sword with a curved / straight blade" bc literally all that mattered was that the specific person you were talking to in your time period and your area got the specific information they needed about this sword (single edged or double? what kind of scabbard will it need? are you gonna use it mostly with one hand or two?) so instead of trying to categorize swords by words ppl just mashed together as many words as needed to explain the sword and anyway to me that's queer culture but more importantly there are SO MANY EFFING SWORDS AND I WANT (almost) ALL OF THEM!!!!

[magicalmanhattanproject]

hey y'all remember soul eater? i just randomly remembered soul eater existed and then my brain got taken over by cubitos about it. if you don't remember soul eater, the important thing to know is that some people can shapeshift into magical weapons wielded by partners called meisters. technically anyone can become a meister, but it is a thing you do have to train to do while being a weapon is something you're born with. anyway, this first post is just characters' first impressions of each other and i'll make another post with more secrets and truths if ppl are interested (i was gonna make it this one but this post is getting Long)

First Residents

FitMC and Spreen

Spreen is a cocky and extremely well trained meister who is used to working with his brother Missa or his Good Pal Roier who are both relatively laid back and used to his shenanigans. He absolutely deserves to be cocky given how absurdly skilled he is, but he clashes badly with fiercely independent, reserved, and paranoid grenade launcher Fit of 2b2t. Fit sees Spreen as an entitled brat and they simply do not vibe with each other well enough for Spreen to wield him.

Fit will let Ramón wield him fairly freely because it's important for kids to learn these things early, but prefers to handle any situation where Ramón might actually be in danger by himself.

Quackity Luzu and Wilbur

Quackity is a single chainsaw in search of a meister. Luzu and Wilbur are both meisters not in search of weapons. Luzu has his own shit going on with an AI taking over his body sometimes so he's mostly out of the picture. Wilbur was trained as a meister by his father but isn't all that interested in the job and just wants to play music. Besides, he has skinny little noodle arms and chainsaws are heavy and hard to wield.

Neither Tilín and Talluluh have ever received any formal meister training.

Philza and Missa

Phil is an old and skilled meister in need of a new weapon. Missa is a macuahuitl of pretty middling experience. He's certainly not incompetent and he and Phil are capable of working together well enough, but it's hard to get to know each other well enough to truly bond when Missa isn't around very often. Still, they probably have the most effective combat record out of any of the Federation assigned partnerships.

Chayanne is also a macuahuitl and the only weapon among the eggs. He is far more eager to learn the craft than either of his parents are for him to learn.

Slime and Mariana

Slime and Mariana are probably the Least effective duo in combat. They're both weapons, for one thing. Mariana is an extraordinarily powerful gauntlet and Slime is a 9mm glock. Mariana has at least a bare minimum of meister training, but neither of them are actually like. Any good at it. Or very good at being weapons for that matter. Or in tune with each others' wavelengths enough to wield each other. At least they're trying.

Juanaflippa could dual wield her papas on the rare occasions she could get them to both show up for her.

Roier and Jaiden

These two are another weapon4weapon pair but much stabler than Slime and Mariana. Jaiden is a scythe but she's always had an interest in learning how to be a meister. Roier has learned a trick or two from Spreen that he's willing to pass along and he's got enough experience as a weapon on his own to cover for her if she messes up. He's a backsword and he's learned how to wield himself and gotten pretty good at it, especially since Spreen betrayed him.

Bobby preferred his guns to wielding either of his parents and never got any formal meister training either.

DanTDM and Maximus

Maxo knows that he's a meister and that SOFIA isn't a weapon. That's all he can say for sure. He never knew Dan or Trump well enough to say.

BadBoyHalo

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Whatever he knows, he won't give a straight answer about it. Everyone is pretty sure his counterpart is probably Skeppy.

Dapper has been seen to wield an array of different red and black or cyan colored weapons when Bad isn't around, but so far Bad has always had an alibi and there's no solid proof Skeppy even exists.

Foolish and Vegetta

A pair of outliers. Foolish is an ex-meister long since turned pacifist and Vegetta exclusively wields weapons that don't shapeshift into humans. He says it's because he has no time for weapon drama <- the most dramatic bitch on the island.

Leo is very skilled with many weapons, but again, not the kind that shapeshift into people.

The Brazilians

Mike and Pac

One of the strongest partnerships on the island, these two have been fighting together forever. Pac is Mike's egg, but also his trusty rifle. Mike is a decent sniper, but mostly Pac just gets waved in peoples' faces when Mike is mad about something. Pac can reload himself absurdly fast, but also will frequently just jam himself and refuse to fire if Mike is making decisions he doesn't agree with.

Cellbit Forever and Felps

Felps is the rare meister who will dual wield weapons who don't come paired already. He spent years with Cellbit, a main gauche dagger, and the pair of them got along fine. A lot of what he did was keep Cellbit's bloodlust in check, but it worked. Then they added Forever, a rapier, to their little trio and Cellbit found his comfortable place as a parrying dagger defending Felps with Forever on the offensive.

Richarlyson

A baby meister in training, Richas is learning the most from Felps since Mike has been keeping his distance since the bull incident. At least he was before Felps went missing.

The French

Kameto

Kameto is a self wielding guillotine perfectly capable of handling himself, so wherever he's gotten himself off to, he's probably fine.

Antoine and Baghera

Antoine and Baghera are easily the least experienced pair on the island, but they make up for that with their sharp intelligence and the fact that they have excellent mentors. Antoine is a poleaxe with Baghera as his meister.

Etoiles and Aypierre

Etoiles and Aypierre aren't the most experienced pair on the island, but they're close to the most experienced working with each other and definitely the most dangerous. They were mentoring Antoine and Baghera when the plane crashed. Etoiles is a bec de corbin so he has a lot of relevant experience for Antoine. He is also extremely independent and capable of wielding himself to the point where he sometimes gets mistaken for a shapeshifting weapon. Between that and Pierre using non-magic weapons like Vegetta, they both spend more time apart than together.

Pomme

Pomme is going to be a meister someday, but for now, Etoiles is just teaching her how to the individual weapons that make up him and Antoine since he can defend her better on her own than by trying to have her wield him.

[blue-and-gilt]

British 1796 Pattern Swords.

A ‘Pattern’ was a centrally held, sealed example that manufacturers could refer to for measurements and other specifications. Because of this, some variation still occurred amongst the different producers. In the British context, Pattern is used in the same way that others use model.

While other patterns already existed for British equipment, such as the Brown Bess musket, the 1796 Pattern was the first introduced for swords, prior, there were the 1786, 1788 and regimental regulation swords. These regulations however, were very broad and now days, get used as much for convenience by collectors than for accuracy.

As the first pattern, the 1796 encompassed all branches of the army, and included:

The infantry sergeants sword

Infantry officers sword

Light cavalry troopers sabre

Light cavalry officers sabre

Heavy cavalry troopers sword

Household Guards troopers sword

Heavy cavalry officers service sword

Heavy cavalry officer dismounted service sword.

In terms of uniformity trooper and sergeant swords were broadly uniform having been purchased and proof tested by the Ordnance Board, another new concept that was introduced at the same time.

However since officers purchased their own swords privately there exists a lot of variation between them. Both in physical specifications such as weight or blade length or even going so far as to change the blade for the new ‘Pipe-back’. Or using a family heirloom blade that was completely non-regulation.

In the photos I show a number of officer and trooper examples, including a light cavalry style hilt on a pipeback blade, a light weight light cavalry style sword with un-fullered shamshir style blade that was likely a cavalry officers dress sword and a heavy cavalry officers dress sword with boatshell guard and a mid 18th century heirloom backsword blade.

[kultofathena]

Early Scottish highland swords almost invariably carried the double-edged “broadsword” blade, but by the time of the Battle of Culloden (1746) the single-edged “backsword” was at least equal in popularity. Paul Chen’s Basket-Hilt Backsword, replicated from an original sword in the collection of the Royal Armouries in England that dates from about 1760, has an unusual basket with twin engraved “horned beastie” plaques and a blade with twin fullers running most of its length. The blade of the original was German in origin, but the hilt and blade are contemporary to 18th century Scotland and likely made by local cutlers. This was a common practice at the time to import high quality German blades which were then hilted and finished locally.

Available to order now. 

[i-have-not-slept]

Clary stared at the sword. It was undoubtedly beautiful. The cross-guard, grip, and pommel were gold chased with obsidian, the blade a silver so dark it was nearly black. Clary’s mind ran quickly through the types of weapons she had been memorizing in her lessons—falchions, sabres, backswords, longswords. “Is it a cinquedea?” she guessed.

“It’s a shortsword. You might want to look at the other side,” said Diana, and she flipped the sword over. On the opposite side of the blade, down the center ridge, ran a pattern of black stars….

“Because Morgenstern means Morning Star, they were each named for a different aspect of the star itself—the smaller, this one here, is called Heosphoros, which means dawn-bringer, while the larger is called Phaesphoros, or light-bringer.”

—City of Heavenly Fire

Drawn for the By The Angel Bingo hosted by @malecdiscordserver

Prompt: Heavenly Fire

I had so much fun drawing this! Because Clary confuses Heosphoros with a cinquedea, I used some images of cinquedeas to inspire the design (particularly the Venetian one in the image below). It’s always a good day when I get to look at pictures of swords.

[dogesterone]

Trick or treat!

Italian Schiavona by Darkwood Armory

Schiavonas are interesting swords. They're basket-hilted and straight-bladed like backswords, but the hilt design also allows for wrapping the index finger around the ricasso in a manner similar to sideswords and rapiers. There's room for a lot of interesting ways in which you can use a sword like this. Use it like a sidesword. Use it like a backsword. Use it like a dussack. Seems like fun!

[holdingup-fallingsky]

DIG is ending, TBAGG era is almost over…

Fuck it, GVF as swords

Jake - Rapier

Classic pirate sword. More on the practical side rather than the decorative, but still very pretty.

Josh - Backsword

Similar look to the rapier, however it is only one sided instead of two sided. Also not very decorative but still very nice to look at. (Also is just a little bit shorter than the rapier kinda like Josh being just a little bit shorter than Jake)

Daniel - Two Handed Sword

LARGE. HEAVY. Like the name suggests, needs two hands to operate instead of one. The drum kit of swords. Also the largest sword on this list for our large daddy- I mean Daniel.

Sam - Decorative Dagger

Kinda like the man himself: has its uses, but mostly there for show. The sluttiest sword, if you ask me.

[swordblog]

So, people seem to want content about weapons as objects, with content about historical combat systems as a close second. Fortunately, these things can be tied together! How a weapon is constructed tends to go hand-in-hand with how it was used. So then...

[m-r-levine]

Find The Word / Last Line Tag

A belated answer to @late-to-the-fandom ‘s tag. Thank you!! 🖤 Even though it took a minute to hunt because Life but also mobile os. (The times i use a Real Computer™️ anymore outside of the Boring Job are vanishingly slender.)

Rules Guidelines: To either share their last four lines or find the words desk, done, double, dead in their WIP and post the excerpts.

Gently tagging in with neither pressure nor deadline @avrablake @winterandwords @schepper-wubs-wips @spookyceph (it won’t let me tag @ceph-the-ghost-writer and I don’t know what I’m doing wring I’m so sorry) and as always, an open tag for anyone who would like to play.

These excerpts are from Unspoken, as mi hijo maldito is in time-out for continuing to resist my efforts to get him and Vishan into the actual plot point we’ve been writing towards for 75k already.

Desk

“As you were,” said Keris briskly, even though they all knew it wouldn’t happen. She crossed to the desk at the head of the room in taut silence. Several fidgeted as she drew a copy of the third volume of the current Lists from the shelf under the wall slate and dropped it on the desk. They all knew what it held, as they knew the reassignments she’d authorized that morning would be transcribed into their proper place in the master volumes soon enough, which in turn would update the spellbound copies. They all knew she knew the Lists even more intimately than they. It was a running joke among the cadets that the Praetor was miserly with her magic because she used the better half of it to carry the Writ and all the Archives in her head. Yet not one soul dared a breath of question as she turned pages in the third volume of the Lists, skimming notations they all half-believed she didn’t need to read.

Done

Every voice on the Council served for their mind as much as their valor even from the Founding — and all of them lost shieldmates in the campaign for Xiphos. Cir understood them and their secret hearts, just as he understood Keris would need to learn how to understand the same before she could carry the mantle. They needed to purge the emptiness where their secret heart said they hadn’t done enough, that if they only fought harder, the Fallen would still be there, and no one would ever need to think of carving their shield-names in stone. They needed to strive and bleed in defense of their beloved’s honor once more, and prove to themselves that surviving the Fallen hadn’t diminished their love. And — they needed to prove to each other that they loved one another too much to keep fighting when Death joined the little battle.

Double

This one i had to stretch a little since it only occurs twice and the other instance was in a fragment

The last region in the set was not a physical place at all. Few comandanti folios stayed there long - if they were on leave to heal and did not, their folio moved either among the retired or the Fallen. Those on regular leave rotated back out with the season. Personal leave rarely stretched much longer, unless they took a quatrain for formal education in one of the powerful cities and for whatever reason couldn’t attach themselves to a local cohort.

Except for one.

Comandanti Hastatus

Davrush mej Nakun

Rated master:

Pilum, double-edge short sword, thrown hammer, thrown shortblade, short backsword, sling, dagger, buckler, lance.

Rated expert:

spear, long hammer, single edged saber, shortbow, corseque, halberd, tower shield, unarmed.

Rated distinguished expert:

longsword, arming sword, bardiche, long backsword, longbow, crossbow, round shield.

Last campaign:

Mor’chagh, see West campaign, see also Ragestorm cult mission folios.

Dead

“Discipline only tempers mortal fallibility. It's not a cure. Beware the excesses of virtue attributed to the dead."

[hylianmewmew]

b&b AU - flesh & thorn: ch 2 - the cluttered hero

2nd chapter is out now! heres a small portion but pls check it out on my ao3!! <3

Spirit rummaged around in a large chest, shouting over his shoulder, “So, if we travel to a new hero we just hope that Hylia throws us a bone by placing us nearby? Great. As if we have all the time in the world if this malice is already consuming and corrupting our worlds.” He grabbed a bag and a sheathed backsword and slammed the chest closed in frustration.

Quiet agreement fell upon the room, the fate of their worlds was placed at their feet. Hylia shifted all the pain and responsibility of every version of Hyrule to a handful of mortals, knowing there was a high likelihood it could break each and every one of them. There was no way out, no exit plan for a hero of Hylia.

The heavy silence was finally broken by Sky, “Well since we don’t have a choice in all of this I suppose we take a day to rest and plan if you and your grandma are okay with that, Spirit. There hasn’t been a chance to actually figure out a plan or at least rest and gather supplies. It’s been a hell of a few days for us and I’m not sure how prepared you are for leaving right away. Regardless, a rest would be good.”

The others nodded, Kokiri had dark under eyes and Sky didn’t want to guess how long it’s been since he had a decent night's rest until in his Hyrule almost two days ago. Sky plopped down on the small sofa next to Hare and sighed heavily.

previous chapter ♡ next chapter

[dyrewrites]

Things learned about my vampires and their sword-knowledge on the fun research hole I fell into because of pretty sword;

Ludovico trained in Italian swordsmanship(fencing/martial arts/there's a lot to it actually)--his mother thought this would get him out more and make him more appealing to women(we will forgive her well-meaning heart). He performed shows for socialites, often using a light, strictly for show Italian rapier. --thin blade that one. But he never needed to actually use what he learned, so it was more exercise and performance than genuine combat skills...

Lucient was taught swordsmanship by his Mistress, who was older than dirt, had fought in too many wars for her to remember and spent the better part her substantial undead life--before making him--with pirates (as her Master was one -- it is unknown where he is at this time, probably buried in a silver box somewhere). Lucient is very good with a sword. Any sword. He is also very fast and has the reflexes of someone constantly terrified for their life--because his Mistress made certain he was never relaxed.

The swords they have on board are backswords in design, but heavier than anything Ludovico's used--they're silver-plated, but made of iron (monsters no likey silver, magic no likey iron--the Lune Royale was beset by Hunters often).

Ludovico is going to need some proper combat experience with a sword because so far he's fumbled and gotten knocked overboard when he tried to help.

This means that, at some point, I get to write a scene where Lucient teaches him to actually sword fight.

When I tell you I am giddy.