Purpose of modern swords




Lieutenant Colonel John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming "Jack" Churchill, DSO & Bar, MC & Bar (16 September 1906 – 8 March 1996), nicknamed "Fighting Jack Churchill" and "Mad Jack", was an English soldier who fought throughout World War II armed with a longbow, arrows, and a claymore. He once said "any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed."
Churchill was said to be unhappy with the abrupt end of the war, saying: "If it wasn't for those damn Yanks, we could have kept the war going another 10 years!


My hero.
 
This is an interesting question/topic, but this is almost in the realm of a Zen parable like, "what is the sound of one-hand clapping." If we have to ask the question, aren't we asking for something that can't really be explained? I don't know. I have loved swords since I was a kid. I make swords and knives for a full-time living. I cannot answer that question.

I went into a local gunshop a few months back to see on the availability of a semi-auto .308. I don't know if I want an AR-10, M1A or H&K - not the point. The guy behind the counter asks what I want it for. I smile because there's no real answer to it and I walk out the door. I'll go somewhere else.

We can list the things we can do with a katana, rapier or a tactical shortsword, but those are icing on the cake, really. The love of a sword... what else can you say?

-M
 
@ Lycosa — The word 'spiritual' has a lot of meanings to people. Many of those connotations are expressly not what I mean. So it's just a matter of being misunderstood. I'm not even sure if 'spiritual' is the right word, but it's the best I could come up with.
@ Michael — You remind me of the Louis Armstrong quote, "Man, if you gotta ask you'll never know." I think that applies here, but I don't find it to be a satisfying answer. I think it is a possibility that there is no satisfying answer, but I also think there is a better one. "The love of a sword" is also an unsatisfying answer, however true it may be. Loving swords is what motivates us towards our actions, but why do we love swords so much?
I think there is an important distinction between questions that one has not yet discovered an answer to and questions that have no answer. When something appears to have no answer, it may be because we haven't tried hard enough to answer it yet. History is full of examples.

- Chris
 
Hey Chris. Good points. Of course my answers are unsatisfying, but if I were to say that the modern purpose of a sword was to hang on my wall like a painting, would that really be true? If I were to say that the purpose was to cut and kill and a potential rapist that comes into my daughter's room at night, that too would not really tell the whole story of my purpose for having a sword. And to have a sword for competitions and/or general brush clearing around the shed isn't quite the purpose of swords in modern times either. All that stuff is secondary really. So, I guess this has just been a continuation of more unsatisfactory philosophizing, but I don't have an answer - even to myself and I am okay with that.

P.S. I did forget about the zombie problem - damn. + Swords don't run out of bullets. Mustn't forget the zombies...

-M
 
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Michael Rader said:
This is an interesting question/topic, but this is almost in the realm of a Zen parable like, "what is the sound of one-hand clapping." If we have to ask the question, aren't we asking for something that can't really be explained? I don't know. I have loved swords since I was a kid. I make swords and knives for a full-time living. I cannot answer that question.

I went into a local gunshop a few months back to see on the availability of a semi-auto .308. I don't know if I want an AR-10, M1A or H&K - not the point. The guy behind the counter asks what I want it for. I smile because there's no real answer to it and I walk out the door. I'll go somewhere else.

We can list the things we can do with a katana, rapier or a tactical shortsword, but those are icing on the cake, really. The love of a sword... what else can you say?

-M
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maybe he was asking to try to fill your "need"...homde defense, SHTF, target, hunting etc...I always ask the intended purpose of a weapon when i am helping someone pick it out....

if your answer was "I just want one" we would go from there...no need to take your business elsewhere...unless when he asked you he did it in a rude way....
 
As a practical matter, if you should shoot someone, no matter how justified, there is a good chance your firearms may be confiscated for awhile. Having a sword around, may help you get through the night.
If you live/visit an area, that is is gun unfriendly, a sword is better than a harsh word.
 
You guys have got this thing pretty much covered.
Great thread. :thumbup:
 
Edwood7 said:



Lieutenant Colonel John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming "Jack" Churchill, DSO & Bar, MC & Bar (16 September 1906 – 8 March 1996), nicknamed "Fighting Jack Churchill" and "Mad Jack", was an English soldier who fought throughout World War II armed with a longbow, arrows, and a claymore. He once said "any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed."
Churchill was said to be unhappy with the abrupt end of the war, saying: "If it wasn't for those damn Yanks, we could have kept the war going another 10 years!


My hero.
Click to expand...

This guy is a winner.
He obviously got some mad chicks in his day.
 
OK, I'll be the one to post what we all know:

The sword has a phallic value.
It did when Samaria carried them, it did when Vikings got off by hacking things with swords, and it still gives men a psychological woodie today. There is something very macho and fulfilling about gripping the hilt and swinging a sword around.
A good axe will cut tree limbs better. A sledge hammer would probably be just as effective as a home defense weapon ( and a .357 surely is better)....but a sword is just plain manly and cool. I believe that the same reason men love them is why women dislike them.

All that said, there is also something else that is special about a real sword. It causes an interactive response when it is wielded. The endorphins spike and there is some sort of genetic ancient memory of days when a sword was the ultimate weapon. Watch a person pick up a sword. He tunes out the rest of the group, and concentrates on the sword. I also have noticed that this effect does not happen nearly as much with a SSO. The hand can tell a real sword from chrome and stainless junk.

The final reason a sword is special is that not everyone can make one. A properly made real sword has a life of its own. A rough translation of a very old saying goes, " The smith gives life to the sword...and the sword gives meaning to his life."
To be able to make a sword and make it come "alive" is a talent that separates the few from the many. Swords have always been attributed with having a "spirit" or life, and the term birth is commonly used to refer to the forging and quench. Good swords were often named and attributed with special values. They were given a place of honor in the house, and frequently buried with their owner.
In ancient days a good swordsmith was one of the most valued members of society. They were often given royal esteme, subsidized by the crown, and pensioned when old. Most all other craftsmen , regardless of their talent, were not treated this way at all.
 
Very nice, this discussion only makes me want a "live" sword even more. I have a Swamp Rat Waki, but I feel that's only a starter kit.
I have a Kingfisher Hickory Iwama Bokken, that's hand-cut. It feels great in my hands powerful and lively at the same time. I can only imagine the real deal, oops getting a woodie!
 
bladsmth said:
...In ancient days a good swordsmith was one of the most valued members of society. They were often given royal esteme, subsidized by the crown, and pensioned when old. Most all other craftsmen , regardless of their talent, were not treated this way at all.
Click to expand...

I enjoy swords for historical reasons. It is easy for us to forget how much of human effort, throughout history and across the span of the globe, has be invested in the development of and perfection of the sword. It's history is the history of science and technology. A real sword is an engineering masterpiece. We might think of them as rapiers or katana's, or other well know sword patterns today, but how many hands had to work on the problem before those familiar forms successfully evolved? Not a gram of excess weight, perfect balance, perfect temper, just the right amount of flex...and always evolving to embrace new advantage in an ages long three way contest between the sword maker, the sword user, and the armorer. Eventually the gun replaces the sword, but only after metallurgy developed for the sword advances, to where it can perfect the gun.

The sword is symbolic of many things. It is central in the history of all civilizations; of progress, power, justice, purity, ingenuity, brutality and art; it is the modern embodiment of something that has been with us since Man first chipped a chard of flint into useable form. We still live and die by the sword, whether we choose to belive it or not. Perhaps it is good to have a small reminder of that decorating a wall.

n2s
 
Humans evolved to use tools, we are built for it. Put a well made, balanced, and beautiful tool in our hands and we feel powerful. Yep, woodie. Guns, for me, feel a lot like dead weight until I pull the trigger. It's only at that point when the gun fires that it's use is fulfilled and understood. A sword has a way of making every movement elegant and pleasing. The purpose of most modern swords is money. The purpose to buying them, as was said, is justified as defense, art, martial arts, or collecting. There seems to be no real reason. Regardless, I want more.

Look at bows, do we need bows? Not really, but there are now more designs than before, with pullies and synthetic materials. Better? Sure. Needed? No. Unless you're a felon and want to hunt, but that's a whole other mess.
 
During WW2 the Japanese used them to behead American prisioners of war. I believe they had contests to see who can do the most in a set amount of time.
 
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