Okay all you goth geeks, gamer geeks, SCA geeks. I'm interested if any of you have a favorite type of weapon (includes; swords, daggers, staff weapons, firearms, bows, etc.). Please limit your answers to something that exists, not all those neat-looking things you see in games, comics etc. that have looks but would be impractical. Also, don't just say "I like swords." It's okay to like swords but educate yourself. What type of sword? (backsword? Cutlass? Claymore? Spatha? Rapier? you get the idea.) Have a picture in your head but don't know the terminology? Check http://www.museumreplicas.com to help you out.
Anyway, I'm interested in hear your thoughts.


P.S.-sorry if I seem a little intimidating. I'll admit it. I'm an asshole when it comes to arms terminology and accuracy.
P.P.S.- some of you might just think me an asshole on general principle but that's okay

13th century French crossbow

scimtar or long bow =:)

Me gusta basket-hilt claymores (I like the opposition of the sturdy blade and the soft velvet inside the basket-hilt), and katanas (I am addicted to Rurouni Kenshin). I enjoy archery as a sport, but I don't go ga-ga over bows like I do certain types of swords.

I'm also a big fan of sword-chucks

Someones been reading the 8-bit theater too much...when does the guy add more comic things to it?

I can't choose between a cutlass or a machete. B)

I am interested in one handed swords, like Rapiers, and Japanese swords like Kodachi and Wakizashis. They're even cooler if they're used in pairs.
I also have a liking for the Masamune...

I have a thing for poignards and stilletos... shorter weapons are my favorite at the moment... though I do like some war hammers...

fs ;P

Louisville Slugger I got for Christmas in '82 with a facsimile autograph by Pete Rose...

as far as that museum replicas site goes,
I have a couple of friends who would spooge when they saw the Bushido Katana



Edited By blood_rose on 1031245719

I have a beautiful knife. Its a 4" bladed flick knife. Its blue and is weighted gorgeously. It fits into my hand like it should have been there all along and sits very snuggly between my breasts when I am corseted. Easy access that way.

Though I would really love a real Katana. *swoon* Though I don't think I could conceal that in my corset. ???

Mes *)



Edited By Mesmerise on 1031252775

Why, oh why does this thread seem to have been so perfectly suited for Mes...

Ah, such glorious prose woven to praise the elegant design of stabby Mr. Knife...

It's hard to pick just one. From a historical perspective, i find the pike to be as eloquent as it is crude. A simple, roughly fashioned sharpened pole when used properly by dirt-poor footsoldiers can humble a land-owning, title bearing, "noble" knight whose mount and armour cost enough to feed a village for a year.

I've always admired trebuchets. Anything that could fling a grand piano through the air with the ease of a baseball pitcher at the height of his season is a beautiful sight.

Of course, that's a seige engine. If we want to talk about personal arms, i have a fondness for sword canes. Not practical for the field, but most of us are urban dwellers anyway. I'm also keen to find a curved blade made of true Damascus steel. Not pattern welded steel, which is quite beutiful, but the ukku steel made in India and prized from the time of Alexander.

Now the fourteen section steel whip is another item i find fascinating. I imagine it takes a great deal of skill to use one. They're actually quite heavy but look so graceful when in use.

And then there's the new Hekler-Koch MP-7 recently profiled in Wired magazine ...

- AX

The pike was a nasty surprise when it made a reappearance (remember the ancient Greeks used the 15ft. Sarissa) in the hands of Swiss, Scots, and Flemish infantry at the end of the 13th cent. By the end of the 15th cent. it had become one of the dominant forces on the battlefield (along with effective gunpowder artillery and arquebuses)
When considering medieval European weaponry it's interesting how the sword gets all the fame while it was pikes, bows, and polearms that were the effective force on the battlefield. (Even a mounted man-at-arms considered the lance his principle battlefield weapon, and once that was broken he would turn to a mace, axe or warhammer before his sword.)
Anyway that's enough history. Seeing as I started this thing without giving my favorites, here they are.
I like bills and halberds because they are probably the most effective of the polearms. I also like short-bladed infantry swords, hand-and-a-half swords, and Scottish and Dutch style backswords.
As far as firearms go, I'm a black powder freak. My dad has a Sprinfield model 1861 US service rifle in complete working order. It's what I go hunting with most of the time. I'd love to get a functional reproduction of a 17th century German matchlock musket. There was such an elegance about guns back when the furniture was wood with brass and steel plates, before our modern era of plastic and blued steel.

Right now I'm looking for a nice medieval looking short bow. I have a very nice Japanese style blade similar to a Wakizashi that was a custom made piece by a weaponsmith I know who was in the SCA and teaches swordplay. I love swords, Claymores, broad swords, and long swords even katanas. I would love to have a nice stiletto too.

-lil