Posted 25 May 2011 - 02:53 PM
Hello Ironhand,
Yep, most of mine are "real", fully tempered, hardened steel. But if you look at the rack the top three are wallhangers, cheap flea market junk. Some people like those fantasy swords, I don't. While razer sharp, they are still made of cheap crap and coulnd not hold up in real combat. But they were gifts, so....!
A friend has MRL's "Shrewsbury Sword", a simple or typical one handed medieval sword with like a 32-3 inch blade. In one of the Conan stories, that sword is in my mind just what Conan was carrying. It might have been the one where he was wearing red silk pants and whit shirt running from the law down a pier or dock after killing a judge or lawyer in court. He then jumped aboard ship and took off. Forgot the rest.
Or in other words, when REH describes Conan as toting a two or one handed straight sword, I picture typical medieval swords, not those monstrosities on the movies! Personally, I still prefer a light curved sword like a shamshir, a sabre, etc..
FB
What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie?
I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky.
The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing;
Rush in and die dogs--I was a man before I was a king!
---From The Road of Kings