How many of you own a sword?

since there is a thread asking about guns i decided to make one about swords. mine a broad-sword,civil war sabre and rapier.

and geeks must have swords, it's a rule somewhere.

Watch me practice with it here -

http://www.youtube.com/?v=Niil_ixbGAY

http://www.youtube.com/?v=1sVzuoNIWxY

Watch me compete in a tournament here -

http://www.youtube.com/?v=Mzmd3-KP464

Thanks for sharing! :hi:

I love to share the art

I don't know anything about what you were doing, but it was fun to watch.

Long and curved...and mighty deadly...

j/k

They're not very sharp right now. Hanging in a criss-cross on my wall.

two spears, a bow and some wooden arrows, and that about wraps it up.

:hide:

I used to practice archery, but never got to be that great.

:D

No great hunter you, then?

My family were all hunters, but I rejected that kind of lifestyle for various reasons (insert pang of guilt here).

But I don't own a gun. Thinking about getting one, though. Bird flu and whatnot.

not to be discussed here, per DU rules.

Sorry.

:rofl: :spray:

That was tooooo funny!

The rifle has been damaged and the bayonet can no longer be attached. It makes one very strong all-purpose tool though.

Hand made, pretty plain actually, but that's why I like it, its PRACTICAL, not one of those showy blades that will fall apart in an actual sword fight. Also have about 2 showy daggers, and one battle ready dagger.

And both swords are from somewhere in the Middle East - interesting, huh? He bought them sometime before 9-11, though, when I had never even heard of Al Qaida.

TeeHee!


It's a WWII Japanese sword in excellent condition and includes (the thing that holds it)-sorry forget what the guy called it. I found it in the rafters of my house (we bought it in 97) along with a Victorian "Halltree" I'm curious what I'd get for these items.

that's the name for the scabbard

That doesn't ring a bell. But then again, I question the knowledge of this guy. He's a reputable antique dealer but I'm not so sure he knew much about weaponry. He was right about the sword though, as I've since seen similiar Japanesw WWII swords. The craftmanship on mine is much better though which means (from what I've learned) it was made prior to, or early in WWII. After a certain time in WWII, they began cranking them out and not caring as much about quality.

Thanks for the info! :-)

The Japanese were stamping blades as early as 1931. I can tell you if it was a stamped blade or a folded blade (a real sword) if you can take a good picture of the cutting edge for me.

Have you ever taken the sword apart? It's a good bet you have, at least, a quality sword if the tang runs all the way to the bottom of the handle as one long flat piece of metal (sort of like the blade continues from the cutting edge down to the very end of the handle. If you take the handle apart by popping a little bamboo pin and the handle slides off then you probably have a full-tang sword, and it's probably not stamped. If you take the handle apart by popping a little bamboo pin then unscrewing a nut affixed to a welded bolt near the base of the tang at the bottom (about 3/4ths the way down the tang), then you definitely have a stamped sword.

If you take the handle off there will be a series of characters there, if you see a stamp in the shape of Chrysanthemum it is a post Mieji (1870) stamped sword.

I'm bookmarking this thread as I intend to check that out. (The sword is in my shed buried under all kinds of crap and I'm afraid of waking hubby up if I get it now)

IF it's a REAL sword is it worth anything? And what if it's just (what I gather to be) ornamental... is that worth anything?

you'd need to find a good antiques dealer who specializes in weapons to give you a truly useful and at least marginally accurate appraisal. Many, many, many Japanese swords used and captured in WW2 were heirlooms, some of them hundreds of years old. I could tell you a little more if I had a good picture of the cutting edge, and the markings on the tang. All swordsmiths marked the tang with four specific pieces of information -

Their name
The date (*this may be as esoteric as the nake of the ruling samurai dynasty)
The place where it was manufactured
the Tamashagiri number/location (how many cadvers the sword could cut through in a single stroke/the location of the stroke {there are like ten places they used to test cuts on dead bodies}.)

If the sword was prepared en-mass, i.e. stamped, it would contain the year, the name of the armory from where it was dispatched, the name of the factory that stamped it, and the Chrysanthemum marking.

Because I've got the sword.

It's size is a little above my hip (I'm 5'4).
It has a clip thing you mentioned earlier but it won't budge.
The sword itself reminds me of one of my cutting knives and made of some kind of steel?
There is a brasslike piece just before round part of the handle.
It's that brassthing that I think keeps me from pulling the handle from the sword
The handle appears to be made of wood.
It has that clip thing you mentioned.
It also has some other type of metal underneath an inticate weaving of some sort of heavy fabric. Most of it is wood though.

The sheath (or whatever it is called) is in pretty poor shape but there is some Japanese writing on it.
Nothing special about it except there is a roundlink on it (maybe to be attached to someone's uniform)?
The intersting thing about it though is that it was crudely painted red which really doesn't match the fine craftmenship of the weapon.... Also in that same red someone wrote the ENGLISH letters -AG-.

This stuff probably tells you nothing....damn, I wish I could get that piece off! BUT....if you have a clue about this; good or bad, I'd like to know your thoughts

it sounds like a naval sword. I say that because you mention "Nothing special about it except there is a roundlink on it (maybe to be attached to someone's uniform)?"

This ring was typical of a naval officer's sword. The fact that the brass Kashira won't let you take the handle off after taking out the pin suggests that there is a welded bolt and nut beneath it. Thus it is a stamped sword. I could be wrong, but that it was it seems like from your description.


Note the scabbard rings-

It also sounds like an NCO Sword, this also has the ring on the scabbard -


Note single ring

If you can get the tang off look for these markings:
They will tell you for which armory the sword was manufactured. These also indicated a machine-made, or stamped sword.

Here is a fantastic resource with everything, literally, you will need to know to make a marginally accurate guess about the sword's origin, type, and worth -

http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/nihonto.htm

This is probably the best page to start at - Is it real or not?

http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/realold.htm

Hope this helps. I'd love to see a picture of the sword in question.

:)

Some more info for Maine Mary -- as BigMcLargeHuge said, the real Japanese swords can be disassembled. Sometimes the blade appears on its own, with a very simple wooden handle and scabbard. This situation is called "shirasaya". You can see the end of the bamboo peg which holds the handle together, mentioned earlier, which can be removed ... the handle will then slide off so you can inspect the metal tang. Our family had an ancestral wakizashi (the shorter sword in a pair ... we weren't a samurai family so it was the only sword that our ancestors were allowed to carry, in the old days). You should also be able to disassemble a sword with the fancier fittings (such as one with silk wrappings etc. on the handle). I'm pretty sure that most (if not all) of the swords which might have been manufactured, or re-mounted, for use during WWII (with more European-style fittings) would have kept this feature. (The metal-tipped scabbard with the rings for attaching to the belt, which is in BigMcLargeHuge's photo, is an innovation copied from Europe ... some people went the whole hog and had a sabre-type handguard put on too, so unless you look at the blade, it's hard to tell that it IS a Japanese sword.)

The end of the bamboo peg should be visible through the wrappings. There is a small end and a larger one, and if you push on the small end with the end of a large paperclip -- or better yet, the end of a chopstick, whittled down a bit if necessary -- it should slide out. (Don't use pliers or a knife tip to force it out, in case it damages the handle. I once saw a dealer try to do this, and the guy also put his hands all over the blade, leaving corrosion marks for sure .... the steel is very sensitive to finger oils!)




Once you get the tang off, it will look something like this. You've already noticed the hibaki (the copper wrap-around bit at the base of the blade). Note the hole for the bamboo peg. This particular example doesn't have any of the information (artisan's stamp, etc.) which BigMcLargeHuge mentioned earlier, but you get the idea .... By the way, the little flower on that list of symbols is a cherry blossom, and signifies that a sword was made during the reign of the Emperor Showa (a.k.a. Hirohito) ... this includes wartime swords as well as ones made for decades after, because he did live for quite a long time!




More info on the chrysanthemum marking (post-Meiji) mentioned by BigMcLargeHuge, though the sword discussed is European-style and the stamp is on the ricasso (flat area at the base of some European blades):
http://hometown.aol.com/machood/meiji.html

Pic of a loose hibaki (it's nice to know that replacement ones are available -- this one's from a swordmaker in Wisconsin ... even though it probably should be copper and not bronze)




More info on Showa-era swords:
http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/showato.htm
http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/civilian.htm

p.s. more info on valuation -- don't be afraid to shop around and get various opinions. Ever since people in North America started to get turned onto Japanese swords ("nihonto", another search term to try out), there has been a lot of bad information dressed up with mysticism out there. I have seen entire Internet forums devoted to speculation about Japanese weaponry, and a lot of it is wishful thinking ... or worse, charlatans out to bilk unsuspecting owners and buyers. Our family got lucky and had our sword evaluated in return for lending it to a museum exhibit in Toronto a couple of decades ago. In the meantime, store the sword in a dry place (not too hot or cold, basically the same conditions enjoyed by your computer). And avoid touching the blade.

If it has been touched, wipe it with a clean lint-free cloth -- there are "sword maintenance kits" with special oils available at various antique/martial arts places, for example this company in Oregon. (Don't do what my grandfather did, and attempt to remove the rust himself by scrubbing with sandpaper and steel wool!)

http://www.japanese-swords.com/index.htm
http://www.bugei.com/

The outer piece of mine only has 3 segments. Stangely though, the sword itself looks more like #1...only a portion of it's body is "beveled" (if one can call it that)

But then again, it does have the heavy inticate fabric handle you show on #2

Thank you for the info. I'll probably look into this further now!. :-)

I'm a couple of inches shorter than you, Maine Mary, and hip-height on me is about 33 inches. Anything with a blade shorter than about 24 inches (and including the handle, that would probably be quite a bit less than 3 feet in total) is considered to be a "wakizashi".

http://swordforum.com/swords/nihonto/wakizashi.html


More tips on safe handle removal -- check out BigMcLargehuge's info on this (it may not be the brass/bronze component around the base of the blade that's keeping the handle in place):

http://www007.upp.so-net.ne.jp/m-kenji/how_to_handle_sword.htm




As far as valuation goes ... some of the swords brought back to the US by returning troops were indeed old heirlooms (confiscated under the rules of occupation). Others were mass-produced for the Japanese army, with a corresponding decline in quality as the war went on. In either case, think of it as an interesting historical relic, which marks an important time in history even if it doesn't turn out to be the star of the next "Antiques Roadshow"!

Our family's sword was actually hidden by my relatives in Japan, to prevent the US forces from getting hold of it. (They weren't anti-American -- they just didn't want to lose the sword.) When my uncle (in the Canadian navy during the 1960s) visited them, they gave him the sword for safekeeping. My dad sent it back to our relatives, or rather their kids, a few years ago -- more to end family strife than because he wanted to repatriate a cultural artifact ... it would likely only have fetched a few hundred dollars on the market, since there are plenty of c. 1850 swords out there. (Dad's brothers felt the sword should go to them, rather than to me, after his death ... and he decided to circumvent the whole debate by removing the sword from contention.)

for martial arts forms.

if so ...

I do.

The girl's got steel!

(I was listening to KaTe Bush's "Joanni" and thought of you, then thought it might be too martial - "she looks so beautiful in her armour", but apparently not :))

Khash.

I'm also packin' heat.





I grew up in Georgia.
Huntin', fishin', campin' was second nature.

And I plan to get a couple more and a sword or two in time :)

both replicas; the Excalibur replica and a generic rapier for SO's ren faire outfit.

From the movie? Where did you get it?

It's a rule: every geek must have a sword. Me: broadsword, although I have many other edged weapons.

I also have a crossbow, which must make me an extreme geek. I really want a sabre, though.

Khash.

:hug:

:thumbsup:

a katana.



And of course several knives ...

Live by the sword...uh...I don't like the outcome of this!

Kinda scary :scared:

Vietnam. I don't know if that counts.

in Japan during the occupation. My grandmother, a teacher, worked with some of the imperial relatives, and was given an imperial katana/wakizashi set in recognition. It is sitting in my closet as we speak ...

Just replicas. One is the La Hire war sword and a long sword from India. My dad had a claymore which we gave to my son after my dad died.

I want a quality, albeit mass-produced sword from Albion Armorers or Angus Trim, so anywhere from $450 to 600 or so. I don't have that much to spend right now.

I could talk about my Daneaxe, but I'd rather wait till I can post photos.

Or check the Sword Forum classifieds, seawolf!

Every month or so, an Albion sword shows up in one of those places. Especially before and after Christmas, since people are thinning out their collections to get more cash. There was a mint-condition Albion Vinland (with a Christian Fletcher scabbard thrown in) that ended up going for around your price range, a few weeks ago.

Even custom blades end up getting posted (there was a specially commissioned Atrim two-hander, a couple of months ago).

Is there any type you have in mind -- Roman, Dark Ages, Norman, Gothic? I can ask around.

A japanese sword and a calvary sword.She's trained in the use of the sword as well as any number of martial arts weapons.

And I can use it too. :-)

It has an 8 inch blade on it- does that count? I would be afraid to own a sword because I know I would end up swinging it and hitting something I didn't intend to, like one of my mutts.

And though they're not really swords, I also have some MASSIVE machetes. :D :D

All replicas, but I can't afford real Japanese swords. One of them is a replica of the Hattori Hanzo sword from Kill Bill vol 2 that the s.o. got for me a few months back when I was having a bout of depression. I practiced tying my first sageo know on it.

Also a large collection of dirks, daggers, stilettos, balisongs, and other sharp things :). I bought my first pocket knife when I was 5; to this day, I'm not sure what my mom thinks (she knows about the swords). :P

That was very fun. I might take it up again someday. It's really good exercise. And if I had an ongoing interest, I could see myself buying an epee or foil.

Nothing special, really, but the Spanish blades are sort of nice.

Purchased them from Starfire Forge, based in Georgia.

Not sure what happened to my morning star

...designed after one believed to have belonged to the historical king.

going to peace vigils, and all the while, I have a rack of weapons at home. Most recently I purchased a Jake Powning original (my excuse being that he's a Canadian artisan, and I was "rescuing" his claymore "Blackbird's Lament" .... today I finished polishing it with 1500-grade paper and managed to fix most of the damage done when the previous owner chopped something he shouldn't have, and tried to hide the damage by using a grinder .... cringe!)


I also have a Del Tin 2133, a standard Norman sword by Kirby Wise, and a Saxon/Viking by Lonely Mountain Forge with some runes on it. And an el-cheapo Pompeii gladius which I modified to look more authentic. (I won't count the scramasax by White Hart Forge and the pre-Celtic bronze blade cast by a guy in Pennsylvania, because they're not really "sword" length ... or the Roman pilum head, which I haven't gotten around to mounting yet.)

A set of samurai swords and two civil war swords - a cavalry saber and an infantry officer's dress sword.

Do knives count? I have lots of knives....

Nice crafted piece too!

That's it.

and my husband has a wood one as well and a metal one a friend bought in China.

I want to get a metal one soon.

india, saber(my mother gave me at 12)
US civil war, from the north
toledo spain practice fencing sword (45 years now, had since I was 6 living in europe) I learned fencing in france at that time.
US ceremonial sword with circa. 1870
japanese practice sword and a real one. (ww2) from my dad

but no guns,or ammo.


I await the sword from lord of the rings, but my christmas elves have not made it yet.
:sarcasm:

in scabbard. Excellent shape.

Imperial German Army officer's dress sword. Nice condition.

Non-functional swords, purely for indication of military rank.

Bought it while teaching in Ethiopia

It has a Wilkinson Sword blade - with the Wilkinson emblem engraved in the blade

took a while to negotiate for it - a month or so - but happy I now own it

... count ? :)

the regular Nazgul sword and the Witchking of Agmar sword

a fully engraved blade that was most excellent...sadly i had to give it back to the masons, oh well the cops would have taken it anyway..

I bought it back when I was around 15, took me forever to save up 100 bucks. I got it at a gun show. I still have it somewhere, I think it was just a mass produced piece of crap from Italy though. It had a dagger that would detach from the handle.

No idea where it is or if I could even get my money back out of it.

I've got a mini-Glamdring & a mini-Sting. Not so good for self defense, but probably worth a few Nerd Points.

my grandfather got it in the Pacific during the war. They were mass produced for Japanese officers.

:hi:

And a Scimatar,and a Spanish Toledo sword.

a WWII German Bayonet

I used to fence in college and when my daughter took fencing I got one to fence with her because I had lost my other one, but I have since found it, so now I have two.

I have:
2 claymores
a basket-hilt claymore
a knight's broadsword
a rapier
4 katanas
A katana-wakazishi-tanto set
Some assorted cheapies, like a cheap cutlass, a double katana (the blades fit in each handle so it folds up into a stick)
Also, I have a morningstar, a couple axes, and a replica bat'leth cut from the specs of the prop used on ST:TNG