[LT] Sheaths for melee weapons

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by safisher

You rather make point, Ze. Nonetheless, it's clearly a one-handed sword and 1" hardly disqualifies it from being a GURPS Broadsword (note the "typically"). And while the original is in fact below 3 lbs., it's closer to 3 than 2.5 lbs. Which was my point. And if you look at the reproductions you'll note they are broad category marginally heavier than 3 lbs. None of this indicates that a 3 lb. broadsword is verbotten -- or as Dan likes to say "wrong." Simply that the range of this broad category is, well, quite broad.

Except that the first of those swords was specifically used as a ceremonial blade, a coronation piece, and the second blade was never used, indicating its status as likely that of a large wall hanger.

The fact that the reproductions are heavier than the originals is simply a symptom of the amateur decorative status of much current sword manufacturing.

All that being said, it's really an issue of CoB, when you're extending blade length that far you need the extra weight in the hilt/pommel to counterbalance it, the extra weight isn't at the end of an unbalanced stick, it's right in your hand balancing that stick and it's another reason for the basket hilts for rapiers.

When you don't balance that extra weight the fighting style invariable requires that the wielder use two hands in certain recoveries and moves, which means that at that point we're talking about hand-and-a-half techniques and not simply one-handed styles.

CoB is why something like a katana is not a one-handed weapon.