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Swords at the Renaissance Festival

FreedomJoyAdventure

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Jan 14, 2008
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Austin, Texas, USA
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So weekend before last my wife and I went to the Texas Renaissance Festival - good times!

Most of the sword vendors there obviously get their stuff out of the Museum Replicas catalog, but I was intrigued by an armory that had some unique swords.

Turns out that the owner is a metallurgist and master swordsman - he has invented a new proprietary process for hardening steel, and holds the world's record for slicing the most straw mats (they hold competitions in Japan where they slice through straw mats with katanas) in one stroke! (that's what he says, anyway)

So he was telling me all this in hopes of selling me a $2,000 sword, and I said, "So what you're basically telling me is that you're building weapons of mats destruction?" :celebrate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxcKXWwIwTg
 

Nelson_Muntz

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Jan 5, 2008
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Manassas, Virginia, USA
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:lol:



I enjoyed the TRF when I was down there briefly. Up here, I've visited the Maryland RF. Never could figure why my sidearm was not acceptable to carry with all the swords, daggers, maces, etc. they sell there...
 
G

Gentleman Ranker

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:lol:

An alternative to mats destruction must be found! We should pool our noodles and find an alternative!

regards,

GR
 

Prophet

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Jizzle wrote:
i'm curious if its a competition for swordsmithing or for the individuals?

Think of the competition less like a shooting contest and more like a bomb building contest.

In the shooting competition man and weapon must work in harmony together to precisely hit a target. Much as the need for precision cuts need both a skilled swordsmen wielding a finely tuned and balanced sword. The bomb building contest deals almost entirely with the creation of the weapon and the actual deployment of the weapon is a simple button push. The greater bomb is decided in the making and the result and not in the skill in which the bomber needs to press the button for little is needed at all. The same is said for the mat challge. All the swordsmen are doing is making one cut where the skill required is relatively negligible so that the real challenge is in the creation of the sword and the amount of damage it can do when the variable of the swordsmen is negated.

Now, the cutting would be more like a shooting competition if the swordsmen had to make three cuts in opposite directions, dissecting the mats to relatively equal parts. That would require both a skilled swordsmen and an exquisitly forged sword.
 

FogRider

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Centennial, Colorado, USA
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Nelson_Muntz wrote:
...Never could figure why my sidearm was not acceptable to carry with all the swords, daggers, maces, etc. they sell there...
You need to leave the 1911 at home and carry something a little more historically accurate :p
 

Prophet

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FogRider wrote:
Nelson_Muntz wrote:
...Never could figure why my sidearm was not acceptable to carry with all the swords, daggers, maces, etc. they sell there...
You need to leave the 1911 at home and carry something a little more historically accurate :p
Wrist mounted crossbow...the 1911 of its day. :celebrate
 

FreedomJoyAdventure

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Austin, Texas, USA
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Prophet wrote:
Jizzle wrote:
i'm curious if its a competition for swordsmithing or for the individuals?  

Think of the competition less like a shooting contest and more like a bomb building contest.

In the shooting competition man and weapon must work in harmony together to precisely hit a target.  Much as the need for precision cuts need both a skilled swordsmen wielding a finely tuned and balanced sword.  The bomb building contest deals almost entirely with the creation of the weapon and the actual deployment of the weapon is a simple button push.  The greater bomb is decided in the making and the result and not in the skill in which the bomber needs to press the button for little is needed at all.  The same is said for the mat challge.  All the swordsmen are doing is making one cut where the skill required is relatively negligible so that the real challenge is in the creation of the sword and the amount of damage it can do when the variable of the swordsmen is negated.

Now, the cutting would be more like a shooting competition if the swordsmen had to make three cuts in opposite directions, dissecting the mats to relatively equal parts.  That would require both a skilled swordsmen and an exquisitly forged sword.

If it was as easy as as having the best sword, more people would be able to do this. Have you done any mat cutting? How about board breaking? It requires a lot of focus and resolve, and some strength or technique as well.

But since you brought up bomb-making, I guess it's fair to say that most bomb-makers (and bomb disposal experts) only make two mistakes in their entire career.

Edit: I went back and re-read your post. To be fair, it is more about power or technique than accuracy. So I do get what you're saying. It's just that the bomb analogy blew me away.
 
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