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10 facts about swords and sword fighting that authors get wrong

5K views 41 replies 21 participants last post by  JamesOsiris 
#1 ·
Cool article, word a read 8)
 
#3 ·
Hmm. Lots of misinformation, few "facts". The blood channels are NOT to make the sword lighter, they are to prevent suction making the blade difficult to withdraw after a deep thrust. Iron in blood does not create rust, oxygen does. While "chopping" another sword in two is unlikely, it is possible to snap a blade if struck at the right angle with sufficient force.

Not very well researched and clearly written by someone with zero experience.
 
#4 ·
Knew most of that.

The ones which get me the most when ignored are fingerprints on the blade, and not wiping it down immediately. Both show a complete lack of understanding about blades.
 
#6 ·
DarkScribe said:
Hmm. Lots of misinformation, few "facts". The blood channels are NOT to make the sword lighter, they are to prevent suction making the blade difficult to withdraw after a deep thrust. Iron in blood does not create rust, oxygen does. While "chopping" another sword in two is unlikely, it is possible to snap a blade if struck at the right angle with sufficient force.

Not very well researched and clearly written by someone with zero experience.
This is correct. This article is not the Holy Gospel of sword-fighting. Some bits of it are true - some bits are absolute b******s.

Do your own research - it always pays in the end.
 
#7 ·
Kenson said:
This is correct. This article is not the Holy Gospel of sword-fighting. Some bits of it are true - some bits are absolute b******s.

Do your own research - it always pays in the end.
Lol, yeah, of course we should always do our own research. If I could only find someone who actually fought in battles with a sword to talk with, that would be awesome. In the meantime, just a bit of fun perusing the topic. ::)
 
#8 ·
ebbrown said:
In the meantime, just a bit of fun perusing the topic. ::)
There can be only one!
 
#9 ·
ebbrown said:
Lol, yeah, of course we should always do our own research. If I could only find someone who actually fought in battles with a sword to talk with, that would be awesome. In the meantime, just a bit of fun perusing the topic. ::)
While finding people who have fought battles with edged weapons might not be an easy task, finding people trained in the use of edged weapons is not difficult. The Military still uses bayonets - with blood channels or Fullers - and teaches the purpose of such features. It also teaches the care and handling of swords and bayonets - even though most swords in western use are purely ceremonial nowadays. As a Midshipman I was taught sword-fighting as well as how to clean, oil, and store weapons.
 
#10 ·
So I've sparred with broadswords, fencing with all three fencing weapons (epee, foil, and saber) and try to learn any weapon I can get my hands on. I enjoy it. I also see it as a way to improve my writing even if it is only in a small way. I recently had a reader email me asking if I fenced due the way I described a sword fight from the eyes of my character. It started an interesting conversation.

There is ALOT of knowledge out there. There is also a lot of misinformation... if you know the details of a duel, the terminology, the reasons for different parts of a sword, I can imagine reading something where an author has no idea what they're writing about and getting annoyed.

My .002, look up something in your area where you can get your hands on these weapons. Even Renaissance festivals/ medieval fairs have some knowledgeable people and you might be surprised what kind of people you meet there. We have a large one in Texas where among other things, there is a guy that makes handmade bows... he explained everything from proper sizing based off your height and draw length to maintenance/care. He even explained how he sources the wood from local trees and what he looks for in a good piece of wood.

Knowledge doesn't hurt. At least not too much.  ;D
 
#11 ·
J.T. Williams said:
Knowledge doesn't hurt. At least not too much. ;D
Bypassing it all is much quicker. ;D
 
#13 ·
J.T. Williams said:
If a character gets too technical I can just kill 'em and justify it later. :p
Yeah. Why fight when you can get your bad guy to monologue, and cut his head off in one swing in mid-sentence.

Or in my case, the sword is supernatural.
 
#14 ·
DarkScribe said:
Hmm. Lots of misinformation, few "facts". The blood channels are NOT to make the sword lighter, they are to prevent suction making the blade difficult to withdraw after a deep thrust. Iron in blood does not create rust, oxygen does. While "chopping" another sword in two is unlikely, it is possible to snap a blade if struck at the right angle with sufficient force.

Not very well researched and clearly written by someone with zero experience.
Almost every writer has zero experience, self included.

I thought it was a good article, and there wasn't that much disinformation. It points out many mistakes that occur in books and movies.

The reason for the fuller is not so cut and dried (pun intended). Sword Smiths in the Dark Ages remain unavailable for comment, which is why historians first came up with the idea of a blood groove. It may make scientific sense now to cut a channel to reduce the chances of suction, but not every sword had them, and it was usually found in heavy 'broadswords', so it's not inconceivable that early sword makers were trying to cut down weight (and save on precious iron).

And chopping at an opponent's sword at the correct angle to snap it could just as easily snap your own instead.

I'm sure there are more expert views on swords, but if so, it would be nice if they could detail and correct the so-called 'lots of misinformation' to inform the rest of us, instead of just implying that the article is worthless. Otherwise we are left with those people who actually take the trouble to write such articles for the rest of us.
 
#15 ·
I don't mess with swords, but there are lots and lots of guns and gunfights in my books.

I get all of my facts wrong on purpose.

Dual wielding high caliber pistols. Diving across furniture while maintaining expert precision. Heads exploding. Limbs ripped off. Entire magazines emptied in to a single body.

John Woo style!

Style over facts!

I do have a girl in my books that exclusively uses a Katana...even when a gun is available. I have zero knowledge about Katana's or the technique when it comes to using one...but she looks like a bad a** when she's killing zombies.

I don't know. Facts get in the way of fun when it comes to action, at least for my purposes.
 
#16 ·
Rob Lopez said:
Almost every writer has zero experience, self included.

I thought it was a good article, and there wasn't that much disinformation. It points out many mistakes that occur in books and movies.

The reason for the fuller is not so cut and dried (pun intended). Sword Smiths in the Dark Ages remain unavailable for comment, which is why historians first came up with the idea of a blood groove. It may make scientific sense now to cut a channel to reduce the chances of suction, but not every sword had them, and it was usually found in heavy 'broadswords', so it's not inconceivable that early sword makers were trying to cut down weight (and save on precious iron).

And chopping at an opponent's sword at the correct angle to snap it could just as easily snap your own instead.

I'm sure there are more expert views on swords, but if so, it would be nice if they could detail and correct the so-called 'lots of misinformation' to inform the rest of us, instead of just implying that the article is worthless. Otherwise we are left with those people who actually take the trouble to write such articles for the rest of us.
Some points were made clear - you choose to argue against them. The "art" of sword making is not lost, and the reason for various features is well documented in European/British, Roman and Asian sword-making history and and usage. You do NOT have to clean a sword immediately after the blade is exposed to blood or body oil etc., you have to clean and lubricate it before storage. Can you imagine a battlefield where every soldier stopped and cleaned his weapon after each skirmish? In a Monty Python skit maybe. The nonsense about blade flex is naive. Look at some of the Youtube demonstrations re blades that have a small degree of flex and those that don't. Difference between a sword shattering or succeeding in cutting a hard object. Some very good swords are still made in both China and Japan using centuries old clay firing and folding techniques. Do some research and learn why they do this.
The article had a number of naive and nonsensical errors, and as such could hardly benefit anyone who relied on it for historical accuracy.
 
#17 ·
DarkScribe said:
historical accuracy.
If you're going for historical accuracy, such an article is useless anyway. Its too vague. You'd have to research the specific location and period to be accurate.

Articles like this give the basics for writers who know nothing. That's all they're useful for.

Re cleaning before sheathing, its only common sense not to coat the inside of the scabbard with blood and guts. Once inside, it would be almost impossible to get out again, and would compromise the blade over time. You wouldn't oil it properly between skirmishes, but clean it off before sheathing it should be automatic. Alas, never happens on tv shows.
 
#18 ·
Fact #6: Chopping another sword in half is highly unlikely

I will just add, not likely but not impossible either.  I was in a community theater production of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged.  There was a dueling scene between Macbeth and MacDuff that I was a part of and, luckily enough, our props master had access to a bunch of (non-sharp) practice swords.  During the final performance, me and the other actor decided to put a little extra into the fight - try to make it look extra cool.  Anyway, I managed to do just that - chop his blade in half.  Looked cool as all hell and the audience loved it.

Pity that I was supposed to be the one who lost the duel.  :D
 
#19 ·
Reminds me of when Mel Gibson was approached about one of his films.

They said, it's inaccurate.

He replied. If you want a documentary. Go watch one. Otherwise this is a movie. Entertainment.

Authors aren't always going to get it exact. Unfortunately there will always be the ones that we pick a part books. Heck they do it in the world of the apocalypse and no one has ever been in an apocalypse so they wouldn't know what they would do in one. lol
 
#20 ·
WIP said:
Reminds me of when Mel Gibson was approached about one of his films.

They said, it's inaccurate.

He replied. If you want a documentary. Go watch one. Otherwise this is a movie. Entertainment.

Authors aren't always going to get it exact. Unfortunately there will always be the ones that we pick a part books. Heck they do it in the world of the apocalypse and no one has ever been in an apocalypse so they wouldn't know what they would do in one. lol
Lol, true story. This article was actually sent to me by a friend who has been involved with medieval reenactments and he thought I would find it interesting.
What I found most interesting is that sword play detail had never been something that I researched as thoroughly as the historical timeline events, so my friend passing it on brought it to my attention. There are days I get stuck on researching things like what material the road would have been made out of at a certain time period, or what things people might eat in a tavern (or if they even called it a tavern or whatever), and I have to admit that I never put much thought into sword play in that much detail. So for the fact that it opened my eyes to a chance to include more detail, it was a good starting point for me.
 
#21 ·
I introduced a sword in my last book. The first thing I said about it was it looked like a Katana, but wasn't. I had to research why it wasn't to get it accurate. In doing so, I made it unique. But I had to know how to make it unique, in case a swordsperson ever read the book and wrote a review saying that sword is all wrong.
 
#22 ·
Semi-related: best - and to my inexperienced eyes, the most realistic - sword fight I've ever seen from Hollywood...

 
#23 ·
I've been following ScholaGladiatoria on YouTube for a while now. There's LOTS more to swords and weapons than this short article indicates.

For example, in combat, you parry with any part of the sword that saves you life, preferably the flat, but not the flat beyond reason. If you ruin your sword, then you go out and buy another sword because you're still alive. Some swords flex more than others depending on their material, their construction, and their purpose. Knowing the why's is far more important that the what's. Breaking a properly made mono-steel sword is crazy-difficult in a combat setting.

I'll also give a shout-out to KnyghtErrant and his wonderful videos on armor.

The term that unites these both is HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts).
 
#25 ·
Rob Lopez said:
So Liam Neeson wasn't always saving his daughter. ;D
lol

Rob Lopez said:
Cool fight.
I love that he's breathing hard and can barely gather the strength to hold the sword upright. When the blade hits the stone floor, you can hear its heft. I've never held a sword like that, but it's gotta be a heavy sucker!
 
G
#26 ·


A much better resource for those interested in writing fight scenes in general, with useful information on weapons. I know Alan and know he is a professional martial artist who actually competes and trains in this stuff, so I'm inclined to listen to him on these things. 8)
 
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