Swords for Home Defense

J

Junkyard Dawg

Joined
Jan 19, 2003
Messages
128
Hi guys. I just read an article in the latest Tactical Knives mag on the use of a sword for home defense. It was only a small article, and I guess it left me with more questions than it answered. I was just curious as to what you guys thought.

My first thought is that the narrow confines of a smaller home or apartment would not be very condusive to using a larger blade, especially those of the slashing variety, like katana. A thrusting weapon like a rapier might serve better in these conditions? I dunno, a sword just doesn't seem too practical for self defense in these modern times that don't allow us to wear them on our belts.

I'm planning on getting a japanese-style blade sometime in the future, possibly a Hanwei or a Cold Steel. One thing I don't think I'll do is hang them on the walls at various places around my house, cuz then the badguys can use 'em just as easily as I can. Anybody else think of these things too? I must plead ignorance as I'm not well versed in swordplay.
 
Hey JD,

The topic has been discussed many times in many places. Survey says (and common sense too) that if it is home defense you are interested in purchase a handgun. It's easier to use, more powerful and will give you a parity with whatever intruder comes in your house.
 
I agree with Triton as usual, swords aren't all that fantastic.

You will always have people who disagree and think that swords are one of the best options for indoor defense.

I think swords are definitely far from useless (it's got an edge and a point usually), but for home defense, I would much prefer a handgun, pepper spray, stun gun, or a short bat.

I don't hide kitchen knives or various tools, and those could just as easily be taken and used by a criminal as a sword on a wall or on a stand.

If you have problems with badguys a lot, you might want to consider some more advanced form of home security rather than just a weapon.
 
a handgun or shotgun. Ifr you like blades, then a khukuri is a ax/sword in a knnife package.

Each of these options means training, tho. Otherwise get a security system.

Usig a sword in a home defense sit can get you possibly in trouble with the courts if you did use it.

Historically, there are a few variants of the shwort sword that were meant for indoor use. The Swiss Baselaard and the Wakizashi are good examples of sword for indoor use.

Keith
 
Guys, try to remember that the "Get a handgun" recommendation is not practical for everyone. Some people live in New York City or in Washington, DC, where they are illegal, and where shotguns, at least in DC, are either illegal or might as well be illegal. I suspect that there are a number of other, similar, jurisdictions. :barf:
 
Pepper spray? INSIDE the home? Won' that make you choke as well?
 
I think the recommendation is still valid though. After all you can bet the bad guy isn't obeying any such silly legislation. If you end up in court over it... well at least you are still alive.
 
Tzvi said:
Pepper spray? INSIDE the home? Won' that make you choke as well?
Click to expand...
In my experiments with decent OC products, if you spray it into a wall 6" away or so yeah you can get some negative splash, but the streams I've dealt with never sprayed anything significant back toward me when sprayed 1' foot or more away. If my arm was fully extended, I could spray within 6" and not worry about the stuff coming back at my face...just be sure not to rub your eyes with that hand for a little while! :D YMMV though.
 
When my family first immigrated here from the Philippines in the 70's, we lived in some pretty bad neighborhoods in San Francisco. My parents had little experience with firearms having lived under martial law during the Marcos regime nor were they financially capable at the time to afford one. For home defense, a 17" barong, a 16" matulis bolo, and several shorter blades were what we had and were comfortable with (including my mother) considering my family's long tradition as Kalis practitioners.

Times did change and with hard work, so did our financial situation. We moved to better neighborhoods, and as soon as my brother and I had reached legal age, several firearms were introduced and became the new frontline defense to this day. Although thier status had changed, both the big blades were never retired, though separated, and remain discreetly at guard tucked into the umbrella stands at the front doors of two different homes. The barong at mine and the bolo at my brother's. ;)

D13
 
If, under the circumstances mentioned in my last post, I were to choose a sword for home defense, I would pick a quality made reproduction Gladius Hispaniensis, such as the one that I do have. The blade is by Gus Trim and the hilt by Eric at Phoenix MetalCrafts. I can say with authority that this gem is handy as Hell and quick as a snake. It has a long, sharp tip for stabbing and a broad blade for cutting, just as Polybius says about them. Most any other form of the gladius would do, it's just that I, naturally, prefer mine.
 
He's not lying that is one sweet, wicked little blade. Isn't it Phoenix Metal Creations?
 
Some short swords that come to mind for indoor use include the Kris Cutlery Baselard (19 inch blade), and the new Cold Steel Naval Dirk, which has a 16 inch blade.

Another option might be one of the longer bayonets, like the Japanese Arisaka.
 
Not to worry I was calling it Phoenix Metalworks for a while there.
 
To the member who has a barong, do you use a production model? I've seen people mention other types of blade with makers, but I'm interested to hear what you use.
 
im very much a swordsmen and find the use of guns a rather, immoral thing but i suppose when looking down the barrel of a gun you havent much of a choice other than to pull out your own gun or use your opponents against them. however, i personally have a small collection of Japanese swords and i find that i enjoy keeping a Chisagatana and a Wakizashi near me. ive found that because of the small confined spaces of a house, a wakizashi/chisagatana is very effective.
 
The problem with a thrusting weapon like a rapier, particularly in a confined space is that once your opponent is past the point your weapon is useless. You also have to be pretty accurate to get a quick stop and you'll only get one chance.

You need to consider defence-in-depth, using what resources are available to you (ie. no guns for some of us), starting off with the outer structure of the house and moving in in layers to extreme close quarters. Everything you do must be geared at increasing the time, distance and exposure the attacker has to risk in order to get to you. What's your plan? Lock the doors and call the police. Have you considered how you'll secure the kids? Grab cellphoone, weapon and wife, go to the kids' room, lock door and call police. What if that doesn't work? Do the kids know what to do? These questions are much more important than whether a sword is ideal, good enough, whatever.

Seeing as this is the sword forum, though...

If I were going to use a sword of some kind it would probably be something like the dadao from hanwei, short blade for manoeuvrability, long handle for generation of power for chopping/slashing and you can use it like a club. The single handed broadsword has kung fu techniques for generating power in a short distance but might be a little more clumsy a wakazashi has similar diensions but less weight. A sword and knife combo might give you more options.

But do you really want to clean up all that blood?

I'd probably opt for a short staff (4') or 1 or 2 short sticks (2'), or short stick plus a heavy knife like a big bowie, machete, butterfly saber (maybe the pair). Not a kukri for me because I want to be able to thrust easily if my movement is restricted.

My bedside ENC (every night 'carry') is a 26" baton, Inova, cell phone and whichever one of my balis happens to be there - they are next to the bed on the side away from the door/window, along with a whole load of other junk. At other times in the house I usually have at least one bali with me and there are sticks everywhere for me to pick up and play with.

Keep your weapons close to where you are and away from the doors, especially the front door and bedroom.
 
Based on the criteria that has been discussed, I would say that the Kris Cutlery Baselard is an ideal home defense sword. It is not too long (the blade is 19 inches, I believe), and it is capable of thrusting and cutting with both edges, needed attributes in confined spaces. The sword is also well-made, strong, and not overly heavy.
 
Little Claw, with all of this talk of Bali-songs, I hope that you're living in an area where they may be legally owned amd used.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top