British Infantry Officers Battle Swords in the 19th C...and up to 1914

Bryce · 27th October 2025, 02:07 AM

G'day Peter,
I completely agree with your point that there is no one sword design that will suit all purposes. Swords can be specialised for a single purpose, which makes them useless for other situations or they can be designed for "general purpose" where the design is a compromise and they aren't ideal for any one particular purpose. There are examples in history of soldiers carrying two swords, one being a thrusting blade and another being a cutting blade, or in the case of Lancers a lance and a sabre.

I think your example of the Japanese carrying a katana and wakizashi as being better than the British example though is flawed. The katana and wakizashi are basically identical in design, with the wakizashi just being a little shorter. The blade design, apart from length is basically the same. The way the blades are constructed also makes them blade heavy, making them difficult to use one handed, unless the blade is relatively short, so you can't easily use a katana and a pistol at the same time.

It is always about specialise or compromise.
Cheers,
Bryce

27th October 2025, 02:07 AM	#14
Bryce Member Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: North Queensland, Australia Posts: 197	G'day Peter, I completely agree with your point that there is no one sword design that will suit all purposes. Swords can be specialised for a single purpose, which makes them useless for other situations or they can be designed for "general purpose" where the design is a compromise and they aren't ideal for any one particular purpose. There are examples in history of soldiers carrying two swords, one being a thrusting blade and another being a cutting blade, or in the case of Lancers a lance and a sabre. I think your example of the Japanese carrying a katana and wakizashi as being better than the British example though is flawed. The katana and wakizashi are basically identical in design, with the wakizashi just being a little shorter. The blade design, apart from length is basically the same. The way the blades are constructed also makes them blade heavy, making them difficult to use one handed, unless the blade is relatively short, so you can't easily use a katana and a pistol at the same time. It is always about specialise or compromise. Cheers, Bryce