Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?

Titanium is very light and strong, but it can't be hardened enough to
hold a decent edge -- steel is much better in that regard. A blade where
titanium is the main element with an inlaid/bonded steel edge would be
awesome.

wrote:

Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?

wrote in message
oups.com...
Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?


Not if the other guy has titanium bullets and gun to shoot them out of!
BSEG

Bernd wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?



Not if the other guy has titanium bullets and gun to shoot them out of!
BSEG


I've seen a web article on a titanium gun recently, but I think the
bullets are still lead (and the barrel is still steel, but hey...).

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

In article ,
Tim Killian wrote:

wrote:

Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?

Titanium is very light and strong, but it can't be hardened enough to
hold a decent edge -- steel is much better in that regard. A blade where
titanium is the main element with an inlaid/bonded steel edge would be
awesome.

I'm not so sure about that. The mass of the weapon increases
the chance of the edge cutting through armor and clothing to actually
damage the opponent. The only time when the Titanium would be a benefit
(as I see it) would be if the sword were being wielded by someone too
small (or too far out of training) for the job. Probably the only place
where the mass does not contribute much is in a thrust.

Of course -- different styles of swords require different styles
of attacks. It might work well for an edgeless (but pointed) weapon.

It would be too light for a broadsword type of weapon under
normal circumstances.

It might be more useful as armor -- other than having less mass
to resist the transmission of energy to form bruises.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On 4 Jan 2005 15:52:35 -0800, wrote:

Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?

It would be a lousy weapon.

Too light, too soft and not able to be sharpened worth a damn. Better
than "duraluminum" chuckle..but not much.

Ive had some experience with the SEAL titanium knives and while they
are definately anti-magnetic (for mine clearing and so forth), and
they can be heat treated to some rigidity..they dont sharpen well, or
stay sharp.

Gunner


It's not unwise to remember that Mother Nature is essentially a
murderous, sneakly, promiscuous bitch who has been trying to kill you
since your conception.

Eventually she will succeed, perhaps with the help of your fellow man.

Life consists in putting off the inevitable as long as possible and
taking what good and joy you can before her success.

Whether you attribute that situation to evolutionary forces, a fallen
nature after Adam and Eve screwed the pooch, or whatever, it's no less true.

Be friendly, pleasant, unaggressive, and honest toward all and be
prepared to ignore, avoid, or even kill anyone who is otherwise toward
you. Being ready doesn't mean eager, just ready. What true friends are
found in life will undestand and accept that fundamental rule of human
interaction." John Husvar

On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:37:15 GMT, Gunner wrote:



Ive had some experience with the SEAL titanium knives and while they
are definately anti-magnetic (for mine clearing and so forth), and
they can be heat treated to some rigidity..they dont sharpen well, or
stay sharp.

Gunner



I thought heat treating affected hardness, not rigidity (modulus of
elasticity)????
--
Skuke
Reverse the domain name to send email

In article .com,
wrote:

Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?


There are only a few titanium alloys that can hold a knife edge.
The most common is being used for comabt knives for the US Navy Seal
teams.

The downside of titanium for swords is weight.
Part of what makes a sword cut is the mass of the blade behind the edge.

It may be suitable for a fencing foil where speed and flexibilty are
more important, or a rapier for similar reasons, but a steel
broadsword made of simple 5160 spring steel would be a better weapon
against armor.

"skuke" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:37:15 GMT, Gunner wrote:



Ive had some experience with the SEAL titanium knives and while they
are definately anti-magnetic (for mine clearing and so forth), and
they can be heat treated to some rigidity..they dont sharpen well, or
stay sharp.

Gunner



I thought heat treating affected hardness, not rigidity (modulus of
elasticity)????
--
Skuke
Reverse the domain name to send email


Congrats Skuke, don't see many people who know about hardness not affecting
ridgidity, including my college machine shop teacher.
Dixon

"Hugh Prescott" wrote in message
...
| Way too light.
|
| Would not have enough mass to hit hard enough to do damage on armor.
|
| The mass and balance point are very inportant for tourment or battle
| conditions. One that is too light requires you to swing harder to achieve
a
| good blow and one that is not balanced right will wear your arm and
shoulder
| down quickly trying to control it. A good swoard blow starts at the
| fighters feet and works it way to the wrist.
|
| I know, I fight sword and shield weekly, even a pratice with rattan
weapons
| requires weight and balance simular to real metal swords.
|
| Hugh

I recall in high school being surprised to learn that iron swords in the
middle ages weren't very sharp either. Too heavy to bother with being
sharp.. Folks just pounded each other until one was too tired from swinging
a 30+ pound sword. Folks died from internal injuries rather than being cut
up. Being a knight in armor must have been a job!. Wearing 100+ pounds of
soft iron and mail, full of dents, sweating your fanny off, and having to
swing this overweight beam of iron around must have been hell.

"carl mciver" writes:

"Hugh Prescott" wrote in message
...

I recall in high school being surprised to learn that iron swords in the
middle ages weren't very sharp either. Too heavy to bother with being
sharp.. Folks just pounded each other until one was too tired from swinging
a 30+ pound sword. Folks died from internal injuries rather than being cut
up. Being a knight in armor must have been a job!. Wearing 100+ pounds of
soft iron and mail, full of dents, sweating your fanny off, and having to
swing this overweight beam of iron around must have been hell.

Probably a better deal than being a peasant though.

Gregm

On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 03:36:46 GMT, "carl mciver"
wrote:


I recall in high school being surprised to learn that iron swords in the
middle ages weren't very sharp either. Too heavy to bother with being
sharp.. Folks just pounded each other until one was too tired from swinging
a 30+ pound sword. Folks died from internal injuries rather than being cut
up. Being a knight in armor must have been a job!. Wearing 100+ pounds of
soft iron and mail, full of dents, sweating your fanny off, and having to
swing this overweight beam of iron around must have been hell.

Chuckle...not all swords were designed to be used against armor. In
fact, Id have to say that the vast majority of them were designed to
be used against flesh. The iron plate age was rather short. Even the
mail age was not all that long.

Think rapiers, gladius, cutlass, foils, epee, etc etc. And of course
those of the middle east were reputed to be able to slice a falling
silk scarf.

Gunner


It's not unwise to remember that Mother Nature is essentially a
murderous, sneakly, promiscuous bitch who has been trying to kill you
since your conception.

Eventually she will succeed, perhaps with the help of your fellow man.

Life consists in putting off the inevitable as long as possible and
taking what good and joy you can before her success.

Whether you attribute that situation to evolutionary forces, a fallen
nature after Adam and Eve screwed the pooch, or whatever, it's no less true.

Be friendly, pleasant, unaggressive, and honest toward all and be
prepared to ignore, avoid, or even kill anyone who is otherwise toward
you. Being ready doesn't mean eager, just ready. What true friends are
found in life will undestand and accept that fundamental rule of human
interaction." John Husvar

Way too light.

Would not have enough mass to hit hard enough to do damage on armor.

The mass and balance point are very inportant for tourment or battle
conditions. One that is too light requires you to swing harder to achieve a
good blow and one that is not balanced right will wear your arm and shoulder
down quickly trying to control it. A good swoard blow starts at the
fighters feet and works it way to the wrist.

I know, I fight sword and shield weekly, even a pratice with rattan weapons
requires weight and balance simular to real metal swords.

Hugh



wrote in message
oups.com...
Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?

I bet it would make a good foil (fencing blade), since they need to be light
and slightly flexible, but I doublt it would make a good broadsword or
2-hand, since they use the weight of the sword to drive the edge of blade
into the target. A lot of people, especially the heavy weapons fighters, in
the SCA do a lot of weapons research, even though the SCA doesn't allow
metal swords to be used in their heavy-weapons "lists". You might try
getting opinions from some of the fighters within that group, since they
have most of the "hands-on" experience.

~WEC

wrote in message
oups.com...
Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?

On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 03:02:21 GMT, Dixon wrote:

"skuke" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:37:15 GMT, Gunner wrote:



Ive had some experience with the SEAL titanium knives and while they
are definately anti-magnetic (for mine clearing and so forth), and
they can be heat treated to some rigidity..they dont sharpen well, or
stay sharp.

Gunner



I thought heat treating affected hardness, not rigidity (modulus of
elasticity)????
--
Skuke
Reverse the domain name to send email


Congrats Skuke, don't see many people who know about hardness not affecting
ridgidity, including my college machine shop teacher.
Dixon


Thanks. I, the machinist, have had to explain this to more than a few
mechanical engineers at work :-(


I do have a question regarding all the comments about the Ti sword being too
light to be effective. Where is my error in the following?

Let's say Barry Bonds picks up a 30 pound steel sword to swing at the ump
who mis-called a strike. He swings it at 10m/sec. Using the formula: .5 x
30lb x 10^2 = 1500 joules.

I'm sure he swings much faster, but the numbers make for easy math. Anyhow,
if instead he picked up a 20lb Ti sword (roughly 1/3 lighter weight than the
steel one) and swung at *only* 2.25m/sec faster (12.25m/sec), he'd have
about the same amount of kinetic energy releases. So, any amount he could
swing faster than 12.25m/sec would yield more energy and greater damage.
Right??? Is my error that it is impossible to increase the speed by 20%

I figure this is the reason why cheaters cork their bats rather than lead
their bats. Of course, I'm not implying that Barry uses a corked (or
steroid laden) bat. ...Or would ever attempt to hit the ump...
--
Skuke
Reverse the domain name to send email

"skuke" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 03:02:21 GMT, Dixon wrote:

"skuke" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:37:15 GMT, Gunner wrote:



Ive had some experience with the SEAL titanium knives and while they
are definately anti-magnetic (for mine clearing and so forth), and
they can be heat treated to some rigidity..they dont sharpen well, or
stay sharp.

Gunner



I thought heat treating affected hardness, not rigidity (modulus of
elasticity)????
--
Skuke
Reverse the domain name to send email


Congrats Skuke, don't see many people who know about hardness not
affecting
ridgidity, including my college machine shop teacher.
Dixon


Thanks. I, the machinist, have had to explain this to more than a few
mechanical engineers at work :-(


I do have a question regarding all the comments about the Ti sword being
too
light to be effective. Where is my error in the following?

Let's say Barry Bonds picks up a 30 pound steel sword to swing at the ump
who mis-called a strike. He swings it at 10m/sec. Using the formula: .5
x
30lb x 10^2 = 1500 joules.

I'm sure he swings much faster, but the numbers make for easy math.
Anyhow,
if instead he picked up a 20lb Ti sword (roughly 1/3 lighter weight than
the
steel one) and swung at *only* 2.25m/sec faster (12.25m/sec), he'd have
about the same amount of kinetic energy releases. So, any amount he could
swing faster than 12.25m/sec would yield more energy and greater damage.
Right??? Is my error that it is impossible to increase the speed by 20%

I figure this is the reason why cheaters cork their bats rather than lead
their bats. Of course, I'm not implying that Barry uses a corked (or
steroid laden) bat. ...Or would ever attempt to hit the ump...
--
Skuke
Reverse the domain name to send email

First, you're dead right, there are engineers I've known who aren't aware --
or more likely forgot -- that the stiffness of any piece of steel (of
regular steel alloys that is, not including stainless) is essentially the
same. Hardness and strength have no significant relationship to it.

As for your baseball problem, you may be dealing with momentum rather than
energy. Maybe. That relationship always gives me trouble. People who deal
with firearms ballistics, such as Gunner, have a better handle on it.

--
Ed Huntress

Tim Killian wrote:

Titanium is very light and strong, but it can't be hardened enough to
hold a decent edge -- steel is much better in that regard. A blade where
titanium is the main element with an inlaid/bonded steel edge would be
awesome.

wrote:

Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?


Another issue is Titanium flexes and moves. It is not a 'hard' metal.
This is one of the reasons it is used in airplane wings - flex with strength.

Martin

--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

Tim Wescott wrote:

Bernd wrote:

wrote in message
oups.com...

Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?



Not if the other guy has titanium bullets and gun to shoot them out
of! BSEG

I've seen a web article on a titanium gun recently, but I think the
bullets are still lead (and the barrel is still steel, but hey...).

The explosion would bulge the barrel if made from Titanium.

That was tried already.
Someday a super metal will be found. Today we have good and great metals.
[ Yes transparent Al is already here. It is a ceramic material. ]
Martin
--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

Gunner wrote:

On 4 Jan 2005 15:52:35 -0800, wrote:


Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?


It would be a lousy weapon.

Too light, too soft and not able to be sharpened worth a damn. Better
than "duraluminum" chuckle..but not much.

Ive had some experience with the SEAL titanium knives and while they
are definately anti-magnetic (for mine clearing and so forth), and
they can be heat treated to some rigidity..they dont sharpen well, or
stay sharp.

Gunner


From Key of Metals web site :
Having looked at some Ti specs - Ti isn't normally used pure. There are
several mixtures that have all sorts of other metals. Cobalt is one.
One allow TI-6%AL-4%V : (by weight) Al - 5.5 -6.75% Then Vanadium 3.5-4.5%, Fe 0.3
and the rest is Ti. More and more this is medical type Ti.


Martin


It's not unwise to remember that Mother Nature is essentially a
murderous, sneakly, promiscuous bitch who has been trying to kill you
since your conception.

Eventually she will succeed, perhaps with the help of your fellow man.

Life consists in putting off the inevitable as long as possible and
taking what good and joy you can before her success.

Whether you attribute that situation to evolutionary forces, a fallen
nature after Adam and Eve screwed the pooch, or whatever, it's no less true.

Be friendly, pleasant, unaggressive, and honest toward all and be
prepared to ignore, avoid, or even kill anyone who is otherwise toward
you. Being ready doesn't mean eager, just ready. What true friends are
found in life will undestand and accept that fundamental rule of human
interaction." John Husvar


--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

More data specs - Knowledge Article from www.Key-to-Metals.com

The most widely used titanium alloy is the Ti-6Al-4V alpha-beta alloy.
This alloy is well understood and is also very tolerant on variations in
fabrication operations, despite its relatively poor room-temperature
shaping and forming characteristics compared to steel and aluminum.
Alloy Ti-6Al-4V, which has limited section size hardenability, is most
commonly used in the annealed condition.

Other titanium alloys are designed for particular application areas. For example:
Alloys Ti-5Al-2Sn-2Zr-4Mo-4Cr (commonly called Ti-17) and Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo for high
strength in heavy sections at elevated temperatures.
Alloys Ti-6242S, IMI 829, and Ti-6242 (Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo) for creep resistance
Alloys Ti-6Al-2Nb-ITa-Imo and Ti-6Al-4V-ELI are designed both to resist stress corrosion in
aqueous salt solutions and for high fracture toughness
Alloy Ti-5Al-2,5Sn is designed for weldability, and the ELI grade is used extensively for
cryogenic applications
Alloys Ti-6Al-6V-2Sn, Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al for high strength at low-to-moderate
temperatures.
Martin

Gunner wrote:

On 4 Jan 2005 15:52:35 -0800, wrote:


Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?


It would be a lousy weapon.

Too light, too soft and not able to be sharpened worth a damn. Better
than "duraluminum" chuckle..but not much.

Ive had some experience with the SEAL titanium knives and while they
are definately anti-magnetic (for mine clearing and so forth), and
they can be heat treated to some rigidity..they dont sharpen well, or
stay sharp.

Gunner


It's not unwise to remember that Mother Nature is essentially a
murderous, sneakly, promiscuous bitch who has been trying to kill you
since your conception.

Eventually she will succeed, perhaps with the help of your fellow man.

Life consists in putting off the inevitable as long as possible and
taking what good and joy you can before her success.

Whether you attribute that situation to evolutionary forces, a fallen
nature after Adam and Eve screwed the pooch, or whatever, it's no less true.

Be friendly, pleasant, unaggressive, and honest toward all and be
prepared to ignore, avoid, or even kill anyone who is otherwise toward
you. Being ready doesn't mean eager, just ready. What true friends are
found in life will undestand and accept that fundamental rule of human
interaction." John Husvar


--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 07:17:56 GMT, "Martin H. Eastburn"
wrote:

Gunner wrote:

On 4 Jan 2005 15:52:35 -0800, wrote:


Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?


It would be a lousy weapon.

Too light, too soft and not able to be sharpened worth a damn. Better
than "duraluminum" chuckle..but not much.

Ive had some experience with the SEAL titanium knives and while they
are definately anti-magnetic (for mine clearing and so forth), and
they can be heat treated to some rigidity..they dont sharpen well, or
stay sharp.

Gunner


From Key of Metals web site :
Having looked at some Ti specs - Ti isn't normally used pure. There are
several mixtures that have all sorts of other metals. Cobalt is one.
One allow TI-6%AL-4%V : (by weight) Al - 5.5 -6.75% Then Vanadium 3.5-4.5%, Fe 0.3
and the rest is Ti. More and more this is medical type Ti.


Martin


Ok. One of my customers made the original prototype run of the ti SEAL
knives. I got the opportunity to play with some of the blades that
were out of dimension. Scrap in other words. I put them in vises, I
smacked them over things and I tried to sharpen them. While a
passible prybar after heat treatment (and not so go prior to whatever
magic the heat did) and good for sticking people, they didnt sharpen
easily, tending to roll the edges, and they didnt keep their sharpness
after wacking some 2x4s lengthwise and hacking them up a bit.

Shrug. But they sure wouldnt trip a magnetic mine.

Gunner


It's not unwise to remember that Mother Nature is essentially a
murderous, sneakly, promiscuous bitch who has been trying to kill you
since your conception.

Eventually she will succeed, perhaps with the help of your fellow man.

Life consists in putting off the inevitable as long as possible and
taking what good and joy you can before her success.

Whether you attribute that situation to evolutionary forces, a fallen
nature after Adam and Eve screwed the pooch, or whatever, it's no less true.

Be friendly, pleasant, unaggressive, and honest toward all and be
prepared to ignore, avoid, or even kill anyone who is otherwise toward
you. Being ready doesn't mean eager, just ready. What true friends are
found in life will undestand and accept that fundamental rule of human
interaction." John Husvar


It's not unwise to remember that Mother Nature is essentially a
murderous, sneakly, promiscuous bitch who has been trying to kill you
since your conception.

Eventually she will succeed, perhaps with the help of your fellow man.

Life consists in putting off the inevitable as long as possible and
taking what good and joy you can before her success.

Whether you attribute that situation to evolutionary forces, a fallen
nature after Adam and Eve screwed the pooch, or whatever, it's no less true.

Be friendly, pleasant, unaggressive, and honest toward all and be
prepared to ignore, avoid, or even kill anyone who is otherwise toward
you. Being ready doesn't mean eager, just ready. What true friends are
found in life will undestand and accept that fundamental rule of human
interaction." John Husvar

Not against a gun!


wrote in message
oups.com...
Does any one know if a titanium sword would be a good weapon?

Martin H. Eastburn wrote:
(snip)
Someday a super metal will be found. Today we have good and great metals.
[ Yes transparent Al is already here. It is a ceramic material. ]
Martin
--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

Actually, that is alumina, not aluminum.

Sorry, only Conan swings a 30 pound sword!

SCA members research indicates single hand swords probable ranged from 2 to
6 pounds with great swords (2 handed) up to abt 8 - 10 pounds.

A 1 hour long battle will leave a SCA fighter dripping wet with sweat soaked
armor, border line dehydrated and near heatstroke with arms almost unable to
lift or control a weapon.

Same thing shooting archery in a battle for an hour (~250 arrows from a 50
pound draw bow)

Great fun though!

Hugh

"carl mciver" wrote in message
k.net...

"Hugh Prescott" wrote in message
...
| Way too light.
|
| Would not have enough mass to hit hard enough to do damage on armor.
|
| The mass and balance point are very inportant for tourment or battle
| conditions. One that is too light requires you to swing harder to
achieve
a
| good blow and one that is not balanced right will wear your arm and
shoulder
| down quickly trying to control it. A good swoard blow starts at the
| fighters feet and works it way to the wrist.
|
| I know, I fight sword and shield weekly, even a pratice with rattan
weapons
| requires weight and balance simular to real metal swords.
|
| Hugh

I recall in high school being surprised to learn that iron swords in
the
middle ages weren't very sharp either. Too heavy to bother with being
sharp.. Folks just pounded each other until one was too tired from
swinging
a 30+ pound sword. Folks died from internal injuries rather than being
cut
up. Being a knight in armor must have been a job!. Wearing 100+ pounds
of
soft iron and mail, full of dents, sweating your fanny off, and having to
swing this overweight beam of iron around must have been hell.

"Martin H. Eastburn" wrote in message
. ..
snip--------
Someday a super metal will be found. Today we have good and great metals.
[ Yes transparent Al is already here. It is a ceramic material. ]
Martin

Someday may already be here. Are you familiar with Vasco-Max 350?
Dreadfully good stuff.

Harold

Todd Rich wrote:

Martin H. Eastburn wrote:
(snip)

Someday a super metal will be found. Today we have good and great metals.
[ Yes transparent Al is already here. It is a ceramic material. ]
Martin
--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder


Actually, that is alumina, not aluminum.
Alumina is the basic ore. I'm speaking of far more exotic material
that was manufactured and designed by Sandia Labs. Throw a switch and it
the large sheet is now clear as glass - throw it in reverse and it is opaque.
Not Alumina:

Any of several forms of aluminum oxide, Al2O3, occurring naturally as corundum,
in a hydrated form in bauxite, and with various impurities as ruby, sapphire,
and emery, used in aluminum production and in abrasives, refractories,
ceramics, and electrical insulation. Also called aluminum oxide.


Martin
--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

Howdy!

In article t,
carl mciver wrote:

"Hugh Prescott" wrote in message
...
| Way too light.
|
| Would not have enough mass to hit hard enough to do damage on armor.
|
| The mass and balance point are very inportant for tourment or battle
| conditions. One that is too light requires you to swing harder to achieve
a
| good blow and one that is not balanced right will wear your arm and
shoulder
| down quickly trying to control it. A good swoard blow starts at the
| fighters feet and works it way to the wrist.
|
| I know, I fight sword and shield weekly, even a pratice with rattan
weapons
| requires weight and balance simular to real metal swords.
|
| Hugh

I recall in high school being surprised to learn that iron swords in the
middle ages weren't very sharp either. Too heavy to bother with being
sharp.. Folks just pounded each other until one was too tired from swinging
a 30+ pound sword. Folks died from internal injuries rather than being cut
up. Being a knight in armor must have been a job!. Wearing 100+ pounds of
soft iron and mail, full of dents, sweating your fanny off, and having to
swing this overweight beam of iron around must have been hell.

You were dreadfully misinformed then. Swords didn't weigh anything like
30 pounds. No hand-held weapons that I know of weighed anything like
30 pounds. Armor didn't come in at 100 pounds; a full suit of plate, in
fact, weighed far less, was often of tempered steel, and provided
splendid protection to cuts and bashes. Swords were usually sharpened.

I'm not sure about the "internal injuries" part, but the rest of that
discourse is utter nonsense.

yours,
Michael
--
Michael and MJ Houghton | Herveus d'Ormonde and Megan O'Donnelly
| White Wolf and the Phoenix
Bowie, MD, USA | Tablet and Inkle bands, and other stuff
| http://www.radix.net/~herveus/wwap/