Swords

October 21, 2010

Eastern swords against western swords, there are a multitude of key differences. In the east, the most noted swords are used for their slashing and chopping ability. One could stab with them, but the nature of the blade would make it difficult. This is due either to a rather large size, or a very key curve. Stabbing weapons are mostly spears, and if you need to slash something, you need to slash it good.

Western swords, on the other hand, like to be stabbed. This can either be prominent, as with the rapier, or subtle, with the longsword. Enemies often like to wear armor, which can be forged of plate or mail, both of which cannot be sliced through. To deal with such pesky defenses, one was forced to push through. In terms of the short sword, which was oft' used with a shield, one would stab through and break the rungs of the opponent's mail. In terms of the longsword, used more against plate armor, one was avoiding the armor all together and stabbing it into the uncovered joints. If you needed to hack or slash in the west, axes were far cheaper, and rather abundant. The sword was meant to do what other weapons wouldn't.

Image via Wikipedia

And then there's the rapier. This sword wasn't fit for combat. If you took such a blade onto a battle field, it would probably break. The real usage of this sword was in single unarmored combat, where both combatants had only a single weapon. Here, the rapier was king. It could strike anywhere whenever the wielder so wished, and could do it with such 

speed that blocking with a common variety of sword would be foolish.