Questions about Mr. Khorasani's lecture

ariel · 6th October 2006, 05:25 PM

If slashing is so ineffective, Persian Shamshir would be the ultimate example of a useless weapon. The weapon most similar to the Roman Gladius (Caucasian Kindjal) was used mainly for slashing.
Also, whether Roman legionnaires occasionally used Gladius for slashing is not relevant: in the heat of the battle they probably smashed their enemies with sword handles

The point is that Gladius was constructed as a a double-edged sword. Thus, the slashing function was "built in" from the outset. With that in mind , any argument in favor of it's purely-stabbing function is plain silly.
Smallsword is a pure stabber, Omani Kattara (with a rounded point) is a pure slasher. Gladius was designed to do both.

6th October 2006, 05:25 PM	#11
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	If slashing is so ineffective, Persian Shamshir would be the ultimate example of a useless weapon. The weapon most similar to the Roman Gladius (Caucasian Kindjal) was used mainly for slashing. Also, whether Roman legionnaires occasionally used Gladius for slashing is not relevant: in the heat of the battle they probably smashed their enemies with sword handles The point is that Gladius was constructed as a a double-edged sword. Thus, the slashing function was "built in" from the outset. With that in mind , any argument in favor of it's purely-stabbing function is plain silly. Smallsword is a pure stabber, Omani Kattara (with a rounded point) is a pure slasher. Gladius was designed to do both.