#Double Swords

[madcat-world]

Dark Warrior Double Swords - BenedickBana

[mimefish]

insane shoutout to Pearl for this one. want pickles? good luck babe!

[valtsv]

HEARTWARMING: the person you love and trust enough to sleep beside breathes loudly and regularly, providing you with the comforting knowledge that their heart still beats even while unconscious. DEVASTATING: it's annoying as fuck and you could honestly smother them with their pillow for five minutes of peace.

[carrotchipper]

More tarot life cards. Bdubs, his moms, and Mumbo.

Grian - Scott - Pearl - Martyn

Jimmy - Scar - Joel

Lizzie - Ren - BigB

Skizz - Impulse - Etho - Tango

Lovers - Fortune - Death - Judgement

[ashykneecaps6]

Des Leo

A few ref sheets of my iteration's character designs will be posted weekly. Hopefully I can stay on schedule, I'm so busy :(

[transmechanicus]

The bolt action longrifle is like the greatsword of the cowboy world

[petermorwood]

I have a sword question, if I may. Or more of a sword confusion Im seeking clarification on.

In my mind a fantasy european standard sword (that obviously doesnt really exist, but like, when a knight or someone in a story has an unspecified sword), I always imaged a straight blade with a triangular tip, both edges sharp cutting edges.

Then at some point I learned about eg scimitars that have a cutting edge and a ...blunt edge?

I was looking at your recent addition to the post about the Turkish sword, where you distinguish between an inner cutting edge on a sword v an outer cutting edge.

And then Im thinking of those enormous zweihander types that are all about momentum and do those even need a particularly sharp edge? They seem in dnd parlance to be a bludgeoning weapon not for slashing.

And while Im asking, like. Rapiers are very stabby weapons, do they have sharp edges at all or judt a sharp point?

I guess my overall question culminates something like "what parts of swords are designed for what damage and why? Is there anything all swords have other than blade and handle like can they all be used for stabbing or do some have very blunt points etc? Is it a big deal for a sword to be double-edged, does that necessitate specific training? Whats up with different sword blades?"

I realise thats a pretty enormous question that might be unreasonable to ask. Im happy with whstever response you are or arent willing to give. Hope you have a good day :)

Sharp edge / blunt edge is the setup on any kitchen or table knife you've ever encountered, and being able to put a hand on the blunt "edge" - usually called the back of the blade - not only helps when mincing herbs or garlic, but also features in some techniques of swordplay.

Other techniques employed non-blade parts of the weapon, using the pommel like a mace and the crossguard like a pick-axe.

*****

Whether swords should be straight or curved, single- or double-edged, was an argument which continued as recently as the early 1900s.

The last swords issued to cavalry for combat use (modern parade swords don't count) were both remarkably similar designs, straight-bladed for thrusting, adopted by the UK in 1908...

...and the US in 1913.

There was, of course, strong opposition from those who insisted cavalry swords should be sabres curve-bladed for cutting instead.

Equally of course, both sides failed to notice - or ignored, since a certain kind of cavalry officer was only bright as regards boots, buckles and buttons - the uncomfortable fact that machine-guns and repeating rifles had made the whole ta-ran-ta-rah "cut them down with your swords, men!" cavalry charge an exercise in futility.

*****

D&D, unless they've considerably upped their accuracy game, isn't much of a reference for weapon realism.

"Enormous Zweihanders" and other big swords such as the Montante were a lot lighter and more nimble than they'd seem from reading an encumbrance chart.

They had their own techniques to take best advantage of length, leverage and momentum and were indeed sharp. Given a choice between a sharp combat weapon and a blunt one, sharp makes far more sense.

In addition, a sharp blade is lighter than a blunt one simply through having less metal. It may only be a few grams of difference, but it IS a difference.

That's also the reason behind a fuller, the groove(s) along a blade.

They're not "blood gutters", tough and cool though that may sound, but a way to reduce a sword's weight while preventing its blade from getting excessively flexible.

Finally...

The re-enactor is wearing half-armour, but these big swords were also meant for use against unarmoured opponents. Bodyguards often carried them (they looked impressive) and those sweeping strokes could block an entire street while The Boss got away.

That's when an ability to cut rather than merely bludgeon makes all the difference. Determined assassins might try to rush a blunt sword, but a sharp one would give anyone second thoughts...

*****

Double-edged swords versus single-edged ones seem to vary depending on cultural preference - also on period of history and intended function.

Bronze Age European swords had straight or leaf-shaped blades with double edges...

...while Ancient Egypt had the curved, single-edged khopesh, a shape which also turned up in Ancient Assyria (this one's in the Metropolitan Museum, New York USA).

It's listed as a "sickle sword", an incorrect term which I wish would go away because sickles are sharp on the inside of the curve while swords like this - their grip-shape shows how they're meant to be held and swung - are sharp on the outside.

And just when "the Ancient Middle East used curved single-edge swords" looks like a handy generalisation, along come straight swords, one from Ancient Egypt...

...another from Luristan, now part of modern Iran.

This next one comes from Ancient Iberia (Spain), right at the other side of the Mediterranean. Evidence of trading links? Your guess is as good as mine.

Iberia went on to use the falcata, a short single-edged forward-curved sword.

Those extra bits round the blade are scabbard metalwork; the wood and leather scabbard is long gone. This repro shows how they would have looked when in place.

Iberia also used a straight double-edged sword which so impressed the Romans that they adopted it, refined it and used it for several centuries. Here's one of the several Roman versions of that gladius Hispaniensis (Spanish sword), double-edged, mostly meant for stabbing but capable of very effective cuts as well.

Here's my repro of a similar sword, the elegant "Mainz" pattern with its long point and waisted blade. Very pretty, and pretty wicked.

*****

"Curved single-edged swords are Eastern, straight double-edged swords are Western", is another generalisation that won't work.

Here are Eastern straight swords...

...and Western curved ones.

*****

Viking swords were all double-edged...

...except when they weren't.

*****

Many rapiers could cut. Smallswords, which came later, couldn't.

Earlier rapiers with broader blades cut better than later ones with narrow blades, but IIRC even the later Italian and Spanish rapier styles include cuts directed at the opponent's face and sword-arm.

I have a notion that the modern thing about cutting with rapiers is based (like back-carry) on seeing it done in movies. IMO - more about it here - that's actually more a modern stage-combat safety thing than a period real-combat move. A fumbled cut is bruising and unpleasant even with a "safe" prop sword, but a fumbled thrust into the eye-socket or throat with that same "safe" sword can be fatal.

Even those early rapiers wouldn't sever a head or limb - a finger maybe, hence the elaborate hand-protection of swept and cup hilts - but blood from a forehead wound running into the eyes was, and in boxing still is, an efficient way to finish a fight by ensuring the opponent can't continue. One of the duels in "The Duellists" ends this way.

This example is a bit optimistic, IMO...

...but a longsword (double-edged)...

...or a messer (single-edged)...

...was quite capable of disarming an opponent in a very literal way.

*****

Some swords had minimal points, being intended mostly for cutting. One example of this is the Indian khanda broadsword. The second example is also very clearly single-edged.

Another cut-only sword without a point (but with double edges) is the Richtschwert (justice sword)...

...though this was a single-function (and hopefully single-cut) tool rather than weapon, neither balanced for nor intended for combat.

Hope this has helped answer the questions!

[cup-o-stars]

Last part for old GF sketches

(Actually, most of these aren't old at all, but their average is brought down by the last picture, which I drew back in August and kept forgetting to post)

[shadowed-yet-vibrant]

It’s fascinating how little the US at large knew about Walz before this week, but at the same time… it makes sense. He wasn’t their governor. They haven’t seen the incredible work he’s done first-hand, and they haven’t had years to appreciate his authentic charm.

He’s never been a politician who sought out the limelight - everything Minnesota has done in this historic year of progressive legislation and policy has been relatively quiet. He’s not on the road jockeying for the latest sound byte on CNN or some podcast - he’s working to implement the policies people want. He’s tweeting about Mountain Dew. He’s at the state fair eating fried food and talking to his constituents. This is the governor we know. A man who cares deeply about the work he does and the people he represents, not the fame, not the clicks.

He’s genuine. Minnesotans know that. Now it’s time to sell that to the rest of the country.

[caffeinatedvigilantewriter]

Completely inspired by the steamer DamianxDanny AU

So Dani has been traveling the world for four years at this point, learning about culture.

A big part about culture is music

So Dani learned to sing and play instruments from around the world.

And she gets good.

So at the Casper High senior bonfire for graduating seniors and family (Danny and the crew) someone records her singing a mix of traditional songs from countries around the world and posts it under an anonymous account.(probably Wes)

And it goes viral.

People are begging Dani to do a song from their country.

So Dani makes an account for her singing. She wears a mask though, so no one knows her identity (it would be kinda hard to explain her lack of legal papers). The account quickly explodes in popularity.

Eventually Bruce finds it and immediately begins to track her down because the anonymous singer the Ghost (the fan base calls themselves spirits) has Lazarus green eyes.

But because Dani has no legal papers, they most he can find is Danny Fenton, who is male, 18, freshly in collage, and has the singing voice of a dump truck. He’s differently not the Ghost.

Damian notices his father struggling with a case, and decides to help by watching each and every one of the Ghosts video.

And, somewhere along the way, he ends up falling a little.

Now he wants to find Ghost to take her on a date, not interrogate her.

One day, Ghost stops posting.

The entire world is demanding for answers, enough so that the JLA gets involved.

The only person who has any information is the new leaguer Red Huntress, vigilante that protected her town for years with the help of a ghost named Phantom (who had also vanished during that time)

Dani and Danny are in major shit.

The GIW found her and Danny and promptly vanished them off the face of the earth.

The only person who has any idea that they are not dead is Duke Thomas, who was on a call with his childhood friend Danny when he and his sister was taken.

Duke Thomas is currently on the run from the GIW because he know that Danny’s and Dani Fenton didn’t die in the FentonWorks Lab explosion

[leveragecentral]

LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION, 1.7 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD JOB

And the thing is? He's good! He beat Hardison's algorithm, how am I supposed to beat him?

[bonus-links]

RUINS, pt. 6

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[lurukifennecfox]

i want a 3:3 bingo Ghost courting fic with dead on main (Jason x Danny) Double edged sword (Damian x Ellie) and NightBirds (Jazz x Dick)

Danny got dating advice from his ghost friends.

Ellie's going on vibes.

Jazz tries to be normal and fails miserably

it's terrifying (to the Living) it shouldn't work but it does because Bats are just Like That™ and Liminal

i want Dick x Jazz to start last so he gets some time teasing his brothers before falling for the trap

[earendilsass]

I've finally finished my life series art yipee

Im so proud of these considering i've never tried anything that looks like stained glass

Theres also a Cleo one in the reblogs

As usual click for better quality

Flat colours (and me yapping about them) under the cut

These are also not edited for better colours just straight from the art file, idk i can never get colours just right so i usually edit them in my gallery app lol

The line art colour match the characters vibes they're not really lore based but you know what is

The poses. Obv grain is looking at the camera (and has eyes) cuz he's a watcher but also scott and martyn are looking to one side cuz they were happy about their win and pear and scar are looking to the other cuz they were sad/confused

None of them really have facial features cuz like they're players in a game come on why would they ever have an actual identity other than 'player'

Also look at scotts bow and scars cane please i put way too much detail into them

Okay enough yapping now (i lied theres more in the tags)

[tothechaos]

being self aware is so frustrating. its like fuck! what do you mean that being aware of my own shortcomings doesnt absolve me of them and that being a passive observer of them is indistinguishable from being an active participant in them!

[ashykneecaps6]

Obsessed with the yaelokre art style and media lately, so I had to draw my guy in a similar aesthetic/style

Anyways chat, time for me to disappear for another week byee