Let us show ancient swords and discuss their properties.

[somsak]

Siamese swords.



Lets talk about ancient swards and their properties. Eg. shapes, sharpness, strength,
or usage or its ranks in ancient feudal social hierachy.

 

[Aepsilons]

View attachment 73914

Siamese swords.



Lets talk about ancient swards and their properties. Eg. shapes, sharpness, strength,
or usage or its ranks in ancient feudal social hierachy.

Can you provide more info on the Siamese swords? How long are they?

 

[Cossack25A1]

Kampilan

The kampilan is a type of single-edged long sword, traditionally used by various ethnic groups in the Philippine archipelago and is the longest sword as most swords in the Philippines are shorter, one example is the Kalis which is similar to the Malay sword, Keris/Kris.

The kampilan is single edged and about 34 to 40 inches long. The hilt is quite long to counterbalance the weight and length of the blade. Most hilts are in hardwood, invariably with the same shape: a cross guard (sampak) and a pommel shaped in an animal's wide open mouth, crocodile or bakonawa, with okir carvings. Some kampilan have goat hair tassels sticking out of the hilt's backside. The blade is thick and narrow at its base while it gets thinner and wider to the truncated point. Some blades have a spike to the point. Original kampilan have a laminated blade with a central layer of steel; some older examples show a pamor specific to the Moro pattern-welding process.

Basically, it is still seen in the southern Philippines, specifically in the Muslim south but the sword is said to have bene used throughout the archipelago before the Spanish subjugation and colonization as it has a Kampampangan name which is "Talibong" and appeared in Ilocano stories, both are in the north and non-Muslim. Also, Lapu-Lapu, the Muslim chieftain of Mactan which is now part of Cebu province in Visayas, is said to have struck down Magellan used this sword.

 

[Mugwop]

Katana sword

This is a Japanese sword and one of the best swords ever made.They were mostly used by Samurai.In like the 15th century katana blades tended to have lengths between 70 to 73 cm.

 

[drunken-monke]

"Katana Nihonto" is refered as best amongst its ranks... A combination of lethalness, strength and art makes katana a master of all swords...

It is a single edge and made of hard and soft steel... Hard steel holds the edge and soft steel gives flexibility.. The water quenching gives it a distinctive curvature.. There are many waterstones in Japan... They give extreamly razer sharp edge and mirror finish to Katana... The use of clay while making sword gives mountain pattern over the blade.. Katana was called the soul of Samurai.. Today this sword is a more of antique art form... But you can't forget the deadly blow it can inflict... One cut.. One kill... A Katana can be purchased from Japan ranging from 1000 US $ t0 5000 US $...

Indian Khanda....

Its origin is since 300-400 bc.. Its a single edge sword... He added a back spine on the blade to add more strength. He also made the blade wider and flatter, making it a formidable cutting weapon. The new design proved very effective against the leather inlaid chain mail armour of Muslim invaders. It also gave a good advantage to infantry over light cavalry enemy armies. This sword was basically used by Rajputs...

 

[drunken-monke]

Chinese Jian sword..

Chinese jian sword is double edge sword.. If I am correct it is from Wushu art of fighting originated from Wudang.. Its a very light sword meant for quick moverments and penetration.. It also shows craftman ship and art from China... Can anybody forget beautiful sword of Li Mu Bai from Crouching tiger hidden dragon???

Dao Sword China....

This is a single-edged Chinese sword primarily used for slashing and choppin..Dao blades are moderately curved and single-edged, though often with few inches of the back edge sharpened as well; the moderate curve allows them to be reasonably effective in the thrust. Hilts are sometimes canted, curving in the opposite direction as the blade which improves handling in some forms of cuts and thrusts. Cord is usually wrapped over the wood of the handle. Hilts may also be pierced like those of jian.. This sword is still can be seen in many wushu competitions...Thedadao was used by some Chinese militia units against Japanese invaders in the Second Sino-Japanese War, as was the

miaodao, a descendant of the changdao. These were used during planned ambushes on Japanese troops because the Chinese military and patriotic resistance groups often had a shortage of firearms.Most Chinese martial arts schools still train extensively with the dao, seeing it as a powerful conditioning tool and a versatile weapon, with self-defense techniques transferable to similarly sized objects more commonly found in the modern world,

 

[TejasMk3]

Not a traditional sword but,it's cool! :
Urumi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The urumi (Malayalam: ഉറുമി urumi; Tamil: சுருள் பட்டாக்கத்தி surul pattai, lit. curling blade; Sinhalese: එතුණු කඩුව ethunu kaduwa; Hindi: aara)

 

[srshkmr]

Not a traditional sword but,it's cool! :

I heard that out of the two forms of karlari only one exists is it true bro ? i am living near Kerela 10mins drive but didnt had a chance to learn kalari :\

 

[TejasMk3]

I heard that out of the two forms of karlari only one exists is it true bro ? i am living near Kerela 10mins drive but didnt had a chance to learn kalari :\

Thats what Wiki seems to say, there seems to some confusion about what it was even, also people seem to incorrectly classify varma kalai and adi murai as a form of kalari, that isnt true. But one thing for sure is that during the british rule all of them were banned (including varma kalai, silambattam, kalari etc) as they were used to assasinate briturd officials and had to go underground, or live in exile in SEA .
I really hope govt supports martial arts....and it needs to be revived. A problem with it is that the gurukkals/aasaans are very closed off. Would be nice to see it come back up as a competitor sport like taek wan do/wushu etc.

 

[srshkmr]

varma kalai is now dead i guess .. I used to see people training on that but nowadays

 

[Cossack25A1]

Kalis

Another Filipino sword is the kalis. A kalis is a type of double-edged Filipino sword, often with a "wavy" section, similar to a kris. Unlike the Kris, the Kalis's double-edged blade can be used for both cutting and thrusting. It is believed that the Kalis first appeared in the 13th century. Its original location is the island of Java which is situated in the Indonesian archipelago. From there Kalis migrated to its today's location -- the Philippines. Countries in which the Kalis is considered to be one of the main weapons include Malaysia and some other countries in Southeast Asia.

The kalis is available in different shapes and sizes. Usually, the Kalis has a special blade that is straight at the top and has a wavy shape at the handle. All the Filipino types of Kalis swords are both larger and heavier than those from Indonesia. Although it is considered to be a slashing weapon, Kalis has a special thrusting power which is very dynamic.

Like the kampilan, you can see the kalis in the southern Philippines, specifically the Muslim regions but unlike the kampilan, the Kalis is mostly used by Moro people as there are no folktales that describe the kalis compared to the kampilan and the latter being used by pre-Spanish Filipinos living north of Mindanao aside from the Moro people.

 

[TejasMk3]

Edit : I see it has been posted above

A cool looking Sword(and dagger) from SEA, known by various names like Kris/Kalis
Kris - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The curves is said to make it more deadly by rupturing bloodvessels when someone is stabbed, the wave patterns themselves depend on the maker/area of origin. Sometimes the blades are poisoned to make them even more deadly.

varma kalai is now dead i guess .. I used to see people training on that but nowadays

I think it's at a low...I remember seeing a program on Vijay tv (I think you wouldve seen it too), where one master was showing off his school (and showed of noku varmam) he was on ndtv also.

 

[srshkmr]

I think it's at a low...I remember seeing a program on Vijay tv (I think you wouldve seen it too), where one master was showing off his school (and showed of noku varmam) he was on ndtv also.

yeah just now saw it I was like Whaaaat .. then realized it was real

 

[Ayan81]

The PANABAS is a chopping weapon favored by the Moro tribes of Mindanao, which soon gained its place as a weapon of war similar to the western battle axe and with just as deadly results! This interesting 19th century Moro sword is an unusual and very hard to find weapon these days. The Panabas is not only used as a weapon but It is also believed that the Panabas has traditionally been used as an agricultural tool as well. The Panabas can range in size from 2 to 4 feet; this particular one is 34 inches long. This single-edged sword, which takes on the appearance looking like a long handled Kukri, can deliver a dreadfully deep meat cleaver like cut. Due to its clean cutting capabilities it was also sometimes used as an execution weapon. It is said that the warriors wielding the Panabas would follow the main group of warriors up front and would immediately without discussion or attention to formalities, go in mopping up any survivors of the first wave of attack. It can be used by holding it with one hand or two hands. Either way, in combat this particular sword can cut anything it comes in contact with right in half!

The Panabas hilts were often wrapped in rattan bindings or had metal collars. The one in the picture below is decorated in both wrappings so it is one solid sword from the tip right to the end of the handle.

 

[abjktu]

I heard that out of the two forms of karlari only one exists is it true bro ? i am living near Kerela 10mins drive but didnt had a chance to learn kalari :\

U mean Vadakkan Mura(Northern style) and Thekkan mura(Southern style)????..Thekkan mura is almost extinct now...