Knives, Swords, and everything in between.

[KTalloutdrags]

If you sought lessons at a respectable fencing academy, it would likely impress your parents with your responsible approach, and they would be more likely to sponsor and support you. The academy I am attending is not unique, I think it is part of a global system. Also, often local universities will have associated fencing clubs which take students.

It should go almost without saying that if you are interested in weapons enough to carry them, then you should know exactly how to handle them. Otherwise...one can only imagine.

Very true. I think I may talk to my dad about it and see what he thinks. Seems like it could be quite an experience.

 

[a6m5]

How do you carry your self defense knives?

It's my all-use(including self-defense), but it's clipped inside my right-front pocket.

Benchmade Griptilian

That is a thing of beauty. 👍

 

[Dotini]

Very true. I think I may talk to my dad about it and see what he thinks. Seems like it could be quite an experience.

Fencing was originally developed for the nobility and high born to practice dueling and not get killed during practice.

After church and state banned dueling, fencing stayed around and developed into a sport. Even in the Olympics. But it still attracts the classier sorts of people. If you are lucky enough to become involved, I think you will find it to be a very rewarding experience, socially as well as training wise. It is a discipline that can be practiced enjoyably for a lifetime. Eye/hand coordination, agility, endurance and self-control are all enhanced by fencing.

 

[KTalloutdrags]

Fencing was originally developed for the nobility and high born to practice dueling and not get killed during practice.

After church and state banned dueling, fencing stayed around and developed into a sport. Even in the Olympics. But it still attracts the classier sorts of people. If you are lucky enough to become involved, I think you will find it to be a very rewarding experience, socially as well as training wise. It is a discipline that can be practiced enjoyably for a lifetime. Eye/hand coordination, agility, endurance and self-control are all enhanced by fencing.

alright, thank you very much for the information. ill have to check it out

@a6m5 thank you very much. i love my benchmades lol. both my 67 & 62 always stay with me. my next will hopefully be a 63 or 51 morpho.

 

[Dotini]

Last week I began that next phase of my training in fencing which involves blade-to-blade contact with the instructor or another student.

I can tell you the sound and feel of contact with another man's steel sword blade is a cool trip.

Next weekend I will attend an exhibition at my academy where graduate students are tested in assaults with foil and longsword.

 

[xXKingJoshXx]

I've had these knives for a while, just never thought of posting them here.

Kershaw, got it for Christmas a couple years ago. It's almost a switchblade.

Grandpa's survival knife. He got it in the 70's or 80's.

My mini pocket knife. Quarter placed by it for reference.

My brother's knife who got it from our dad who got it from his dad...so my other grandpa's knife. One of my favorites.

A giant knife I bought at an auction a few years ago for $15. I only bought it because my brother had one just like it but with Marilyn Monroe on it instead of a Nascar. Cell phone placed next to it for reference.

Old Timer that my dad gave me. Another one of my favorites, but it's really hard to open.

A knife that my grandma got me. I don't know if its special or not but it looks awesome and I like it.

Not a knife, but this is my .50 cal bullet. I used to have an old one that a friend got for me from a Pearl Harbor warship, but I don't know where it's at. I have no clue on the history on this bullet.

All knives opened.

All knives closed.

 

[a6m5]

Nice collection...... and the world's smallest phone.

 

[Dotini]

After 4 months of instruction in fencing, I'm now taking two lessons a week, and getting into "the conversation of the blades". I can assure you this is very fun, and truly superior entertainment. 👍

After a few more months of training with the French foil, I may add a new weapon to my repertoire. Perhaps something Italian or Spanish.

 

[Michael88]

Got a Swiss made M1889 bayonet, as the name hints it was made in 1889 for the standard issue rifle back then.

Its ridiculously high-quality, it puts modern several hundred bucks knives to shame without even trying. Its sharp as a razor (double edge) and its got an evil pointy end. Its also very heavy giving the impression of holding a small sword but its still well balanced, even when not mounted on a rifle its a fearsome weapon.

Top is the Swiss M1889, on the bottom my German Mauser M1908B bayonet - from 1908, made by Solingen.

 

[a6m5]

So. Classy. 👍

How much do bayonets like that generally go for? That Swiss one looks amazing!

 

[Michael88]

They run for 70 to 100 bucks, depending on their condition. They're easily worth 4 times as much, I've never seen higher quality blades and better fit & finish. IMO those are must-buy items for any knife and bayonet collectors.

 

[a6m5]

They run for 70 to 100 bucks, depending on their condition. They're easily worth 4 times as much, I've never seen higher quality blades and better fit & finish. IMO those are must-buy items for any knife and bayonet collectors.

Not to mention its historical value. It would make cool addition to any collection indeed. 👍

 

[KTalloutdrags]

Got a Swiss made M1889 bayonet, as the name hints it was made in 1889 for the standard issue rifle back then.

Its ridiculously high-quality, it puts modern several hundred bucks knives to shame without even trying. Its sharp as a razor (double edge) and its got an evil pointy end. Its also very heavy giving the impression of holding a small sword but its still well balanced, even when not mounted on a rifle its a fearsome weapon.

Top is the Swiss M1889, on the bottom my German Mauser M1908B bayonet - from 1908, made by Solingen.

Very nice and clean looking. Love em! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Dotini]

I'm 9 months in to my training in sword fighting. I'm routinely thrusting my weapon into the torso of the instructors and other students. And I'm on the receiving end, too.

Of course, this is made possible by the use of the French foil, which has a folded-over tip covered with a rubber button, and the final 1/3 of the blade flexes dramatically when the button hits the opponent's jacket or plastron.

Classical fencing with the French foil is the basic training for fencing, dueling or fighting with other thrusting or cutting weapons, including historical weapons.

I plan to continue with this training, as it is highly amusing, affordable, and good physical and mental exercise.

 

[cbarbosa]

The pride and joy... Stainless steel hand forged and hand made cable grip:



And my camping knife (all round worker...):

 

[Speedy Samurai]

The pride and joy... Stainless steel hand forged and hand made cable grip:

View attachment 184224 View attachment 184225 View attachment 184226

Stainless steel? Heresy.

Just kidding. Would like to see better pics of the hamon, kissaki, and jihada if you can get them.

 

[cbarbosa]

Stainless steel? Heresy.

Just kidding. Would like to see better pics of the hamon, kissaki, and jihada if you can get them.

These are old photos. The sword is now on my father´s personal collection. I have no access to get new photos...

Sorry...

 

[Dotini]

I've now completed a year's formal training in learning to use a sword. Mainly because of easy local accessibility, I've taken the path of classical fencing classes, using the French foil. The first few months were focused on physically adapting to the demands of fencing, and learning the basic rules, footwork, "en guarde" position, salutes, lunges, and various drills either solo or with other students.

By springtime, I began supplementing my weekly 90 minute class with weekly private lessons with the Provost. By August I was usually making two private lessons a week, of about 35 minutes, in addition to the classwork.

Perhaps after a year I'm gaining some perspective. Basically, I'm still a novice. The Provost says I know about 50% of the fencing actions I will ultimately need to learn, and my execution of the actions of course demands constant improvement, as fencing turns out to be highly technical, and much like music or dancing, demands a search for perfection - or at least competence - on the part of the would-be martial artist.

Thankfully, I managed to stay in a state of ever-improving health and fitness, thanks to pacing myself and supplementary exercises involving light aerobics and surgical tube resistance training.

In summary, fencing is a fantastic way to entertain, and possibly even improve yourself. It all started with reading and watching The Game of Thrones, where I was fascinated with the swordplay of the medieval longswords. After I feel I've gained some competence in the fencing basics, I believe I will participate in the longsword training offered at my Salle.

What a blast!!!

 

[Dotini]

A brief video of classical fencing with the French foil, by a couple of the guys I'm studying with at my academy. A touch is scored to the torso only. Following that is a brief video of fencing with the dueling sabre. A touch may be scored to the arm or wrist, or anywhere on the body (first blood in a duel) - different rules than a touch to the torso only, as required with the French foil.

Italian dueling sabre, c. late-19th century, private collection.

 

[Dotini]

My latest knife is a SOG Spec Elite II. I paid $110 plus shipping. This is not a legal daily carry knife in most states.
It's my understanding these are in service as police officer's back up or sidearms, though I thought I saw one clipped into Detective Bezzarides' back pocket on HBO's True Detective.

PRODUCT TYPE.........FOLDING KNIFE
FINISH....................BEAD BLASTED
BLADE SHAPE...........CLIP POINT
EDGE TYPE...............STRAIGHT
BLADE STEEL TYPE.....VG-10
HARDNESS................RC. 59-60
US STANDARD| METRIC

OVERALL LENGTH........10.75"
CLOSED LENGTH..........5.75"
PRODUCT WEIGHT.........6.80 OZ
BLADE LENGTH.............5"
BLADE THICKNESS........0.16"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



In other news, I'm routinely fencing 3 times a week, and starting to fence with the most senior students. Next spring (2016) I'm planning on competing at the annual tournament at Arcata, CA. Needless to say, I'm having a blast!

 

[Brett]

I forgot about this thread. A Spyderco Sage 1 arrived in my mailbox on Monday.

 

[a6m5]

I forgot about this thread. A Spyderco Sage 1 arrived in my mailbox on Monday.

Not a Spyderco fan, but man, that knife is gorgeous.

Also, I was looking at the SOG Dotini bought:



My god man. I had no idea how large this thing was.

I currently carry this daily:



Mine's with black handle. According to Amazon, I bought this knife for $75, about 3 & 1/2 years ago. While I still love this knife like I just got it yesterday, I can't carry it with me anymore. Something to do with my clothing, how I clip it in the pocket, or the position I drive in, this knife can come open while inside my front pant pocket. In the 3.5 years I've carried it, it's done that 3, 4 times to the best of my recollection. Monday, it finally cut me this time. I will still keep it, I'll find a use for it, but I don't want to carry it in my pocket anymore.

I started shopping for another Benchmade(Oregon company). I've been interested in assisted opening knives, but Benchmade automatic knives are expensive, and they didn't exactly have 100% rave reviews. While I researched it again on the net last night, I've decided to go with this one:



I am partial to Kershaw, because they are also Oregonian company. Owned by a Japanese company, but that's OK in my (Japanese)book. It was just under $100 with priority mail shipping. I hope it serves me for long time, but for the price, it won't break my heart if I end up restarting my search again in a few months.

 

[Brett]

Not a Spyderco fan, but man, that knife is gorgeous.

It is my third Spyderco.

I also bought a knife sharpener very recently because I have quite a few knives that need sharpening. My finger can partially attest to that, as it required two stitches on Tuesday.

 

[a6m5]

I got email from the online knife store today. They can't ship this "automatic" knife without me being active military, or law enforcement due to Federal regulation, so I just emailed them to please cancel the order.

I don't recall seeing any of that on their site before, so I went back onto the page just now, and now when you try to add the knife to the cart, a prompt will come up and ask if you are law enforcement or military. Waste of time, but I guess these things happen.

Much props to the government, too(this is sarcasm). I'm allowed to operate automobiles & own all sorts of firearms, but you will draw the line at push open folding pocket knife..... I can get similar knife at the local department store without background check or ID, but OK, you keep on adding these laws that keeps us safe.

It is my third Spyderco.

I knew the count was up to something like that. I approve. 👍

it required two stitches on Tuesday.

Dude, what did you do!? Glad to hear it wasn't worse!

 

[Brett]

Dude, what did you do!? Glad to hear it wasn't worse!

I was cutting up an onion to cook with my hamburger patties and sliced the side of my left middle finger. It required two stitches. To my credit, I finished cooking and eating dinner prior to going to urgent care.

 

[a6m5]

That is just priceless.

 

[Brett]

I could not let a good meal go to waste. It also helped that at the time, a band aid was enough to stop the bleeding temporarily. Though once I took the thing off to clean the wound up, the bleeding just instantly restarted. I also apologized to the nurse for giving her the bird the whole time while she was cleaning up the blood on my finger.

 

[a6m5]

It's starting to sound like a movie that should be starring Vince Vaughn.....

On my knife search, I still want an automatic knife. I may have to acquire one locally since one can not ship me one across state lines.

 

[Dotini]

It's starting to sound like a movie that should be starring Vince Vaughn.....

On my knife search, I still want an automatic knife. I may have to acquire one locally since one can not ship me one across state lines.

My SOG Spec Elite II was shipped across state lines by Amazon.
Check out the SOG Flash II with half serrated edge for a superior daily carry. Carried for years off-safety and never opened accidentally - not even once.

 

[a6m5]

I ended up going for another Benchmark after all. It certainly isn't the best knife for $108, but "HK" name(I have USP pistol), and made in Oregon thing was tool much for me to pass up.


It's a drop point. I'd take a pic of it open, but I don't want to freak people out in McDonald's. lol