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111 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
The other 1.5-odd-percent are triples, quads, and 5+.
You've probably see that graph I post once in a while.
Folk will be gathering all over the place, standing in line, waiting to be stabbed. Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound.
I've seen some funny posts here, but that takes the cake. 
as I do agree with your comment that, "Guns overall are just potentially much more lethal."
I do realize that the videos were designed to sell Cold Steel knives. I think the rather fat fellow is the president of the company and he just loves to make his videos as to him it's a lot of fun. I hope he has a barbeque for his employees afterward using the meat he cut.
I posted the videos merely to show the potential of a bladed weapon. Most people obtain most of their knowledge about weapons by watching movies and TV. I don't waste a lot of my time watching modern action films as they are basically unrealistic Superman fantasies. I do like historical films which often contain sword fights. I discovered the Cold Steel videos when I was researching just how deadly medieval swords were.
I owned a British military machete when I was a teenager and I could easily cut right through one or sometimes two inch diameter branches or saplings with one slice. This weapon was not really all that sharp as I didn't know anything about sharpening blades at that time and it had a fairly heavy blade. I lived on 20 acres of what was once a farm but when I lived there was mainly weeds and trees. My dad would send me out to clear out brush and sumac trees and I used the machete a lot. Consequently I had some knowledge of just how deadly a large bladed weapon could be but I had never owned an actual sword then.
I believe from my research that swords were far more deadly than most people realize from watching films.
How deadly are samurai swords?
Samurai swords are reputed to be among the best ever produced, a fact attested to by the practice of testing the swords on human cadavers, usually those of condemned criminals. My question is, just how sharp were these blades? I've read accounts declaring certain swords could cut through the hip bones of three grown men set side by side. In my opinion, that's sharp -- maybe too sharp to believe. Where human-cleaving blades are concerned, did any other culture come close technologically (Toledo and Damascus come to mind), or were the Japanese truly at the head of the field?
-- --Mr. Slick
So, first things first. Could historical swords cut clear through somebody? We're fairly sure at least some samurai swords -- katana, they're called -- were tested on the bodies of convicted criminals as part of the practice of tameshigiri, or test cutting. One Japanese sword made in 1662 is inscribed "Two persons completely cut into two pieces (one stroke)," a scholarly article informs us, and reportedly blades bearing five-body ratings can be found in Japanese museums. I'm skeptical -- honestly now, five? -- but in any case, remember we're talking about stationary, unarmored targets. Remains found at old Japanese battle sites don't suggest that combatants were routinely cut in two. Furthermore, while we lack adequate comparative data on how many human bodies a good modern sword can slice through, a perusal of the photos in trauma journals indicates a common knife can make surprisingly deep cuts. So don't get an exaggerated idea of the intrinsic lethality of Japanese swords.
For more we turn to the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts, which goes the extra mile in testing modern-day swords. These guys have a section on their website where you can watch footage of folks cutting through bamboo poles, pieces of armor, and hunks of dead animal. We contacted ARMA Director John Clements, who told us the group has experimented with "accurate replicas of medieval and Renaissance European war swords on freshly culled deer carcasses and pig carcasses and seen first hand that these weapons easily shear and cleave through flesh and bone with basic cutting blows." He said historical swords used in combat weren't necessarily as sharp as many assume. "There are videos on our website of fairly blunt blades achieving the same effects as notoriously sharp samurai katana. So, edge sharpness [alone] is not nearly as important as a hard and well-honed edge hitting forcefully with the correct geometry and energy."
Now to your other question: Did smiths in other locales produce swords as technologically advanced as the celebrated Japanese blades? Comparisons are tough. For one thing, different swords were made for different purposes. The light, wieldy katana was effective against the lacquered leather armor commonly worn in Japan, but would have been less so against European plate-steel armor, which demanded a heavier blade. In addition, we're still not certain how some historical swords were made. The technology behind the katana is reasonably well-understood and, no question, involved some cunning metalwork. One trick was repeatedly folding over and hammering out the hot blade, producing steel with thousands of layers in which the all-important carbon alloy was uniformly distributed; another was fusing a cutting edge of hardened steel to a softer spine. Result: a blade of exceptional strength, flexibility, and sharpness.
http://cltampa.com/tampa/how-deadly-are-samurai-swords/Content?oid=2033078
Therefore I can understand why we had Knights in "shining amour" during the medieval times. However the development of the crossbow and the more powerful arbalest put an end to those days. These weapons were replaced with firearms but early firearms were slow to reload and consequently soldiers had bayonets to attach to their rifles or simply used for close quarter combat. Bayonets are still sometimes used today even though the assault rifle which can be reloaded quickly has largely made them irrelevant.
Bayonet
***snip***
In a modern context, bayonets are still used for controlling prisoners and as a "last resort" weapon for close quarters combat e.g. situations where a soldier has run out of ammunition, or if his weapon has jammed or is damaged. In general, bayonets are not fitted to modern weapons except when they are to be used as a primary weapon. This is because the weight of bayonet affixed to a rifle barrel affects the barrel's harmonic vibration or whip, often changing the bullet's point of impact, particularly at longer ranges.
Aside from its use in massed charges, the bayonet remains useful as a substitute utility knife, and some authorities continue to insist that the bayonet serves as a useful training aid in building a soldier's morale. Training in the use of the bayonet has been given precedence long after the combat role of the bayonet declined as it is thought to increase desired aggressiveness in troops.[38] Despite the limitations of the bayonet, many modern assault rifles retain a bayonet lug and the weapon is still issued in many armies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayonet
If you are at all interested this video will give you a feel of the potential of a sword. (This video is one reason for my comment that I hope the President of Cold Steel held a barbecue for his employees afterward.)
&playnext=1&list=PLD05C1DAE4416BEEB&feature=results_main
Perhaps I should point out that while I have been shooting handguns for over 40 years and have a small collection of these weapons,I have a small collection of knives and swords.
I also attended a jujitsu course mainly years ago which was largely oriented to self defense tactics and disarming a individual armed with a gun or a knife. The course combined elements of Judo, Karate, and Aikido and was taught by one of the best instructors in the country who has twice won awards from the Black Belt Hall of Fame.
We spend a lot of time learning to disarm an armed opponent at close range. I learned that if someone is foolish enough to come within arm's length with a firearm and has not shot me, I can try to disarm him with a fair chance of succeeding. I also have a fair chance of disarming an inexperienced person armed with a knife but an experienced knife fighter is another thing entirely. Against such an opponent it is best to have something like as a club or a chair to fend him off. Irregardless you can expect to get cut, perhaps seriously.
Once I was practicing with a black belt in judo and he successfully disarmed me of my knife and had me on the mat. I glanced to my right and found my rubber knife was close enough that I could recover it. Consequently I did and stabbed him in the back several times. The look on his face was priceless when he realized what had happened. He had worked as a bounty hunter with his father when he had been younger and at the time we practiced had a job as a bouncer in a strip club in Tampa. He not only practiced in a dojo but he used the skills he learned in real life.
We also practiced disarming an individual with a gun who was out of our reach. We were taught to use a Judo roll out to get within arm's length and use the same techniques that we would use at close range to disarm him. My instructor said the chances of success using this tactic were less than 50%.
At that time concealed carry was only granted to a few privileged people in Florida as "shall issue" concealed carry had not yet passed. I found that my instructor who was a 7th degree red and white belt in judo and held black belts in Karate said that he might hold a high level belt in judo but a man with a .45 auto was effectively an 8th degree black belt.
When "Shall Issue" concealed carry passed in Florida I didn't immediately decide to get a license. A few years later I did. Another individual who had a carry permit convinced me. He knew that I tended to have a lead foot while driving and also that I carried a handgun in my car which is legal in Florida. He said, "If you are pulled over for speeding on your way to work and the police find you have a gun in your car, you will find you might have far less problems if you have a concealed weapons permit.
Over the years my skills in self defense have decreased because I don't practice them anymore and I am a candidate for a hip replacement and also suffer from degenerative disc disease and consequently sciatica. I am now legally considered handicapped as I have a sticker for my car.
I am not excessively paranoid and fearful but I do often carry a 5 shot S&W Airweight snub nosed revolver in my pants pocket as this weapon is extremely light and easy to carry. This weapon is considered by many experts to be on the low end of effective self defense firearms and some call it a "mouse gun." However I doubt, and hope, that I will never find myself in a situation where I might actually have to use it. It could compensate for the skills that I have lost as I have have aged if truly necessary and it is far easier to carry in the Florida summer months than a much larger, heavier but far more effective handgun such as a .45 auto. I tried carrying such a weapon but I often decided to leave it at home in my safe when I was merely shopping locally.
My self defense instructor was a very wise man and said, "The eyes are the mirror of the soul. If someone approaches you armed with a knife or a gun look into their eyes. If you believe that all they want is your money just give them your wallet. You can always replace your money, your ID and your credit cards. You can't always replace your health if you are seriously injured or if you end up dead it's final as you will end up six feet under. If you believe that they intend to seriously injure or kill you than you have little to lose and use the techniques I will teach you."
His advice applies to either armed or unarmed self defense.
See what I did there. 
can you imagine how many people he'd have taken out with an assault weapon? I'm guessing a few dozen at the very least. Does anyone know how many gun deaths China had last year? Probably less per capita than Mississippi.
Speaking of which, it's really interesting looking at where the states rank in gun deaths per capita. I'd recommend doing it. Guns are an abomination in most civilized countries, and where they aren't, they tend to thin the very herd that worships them, and, unfortunately, those that don't as well. 
I should add that I'm not happy about this - it's just the way it is.
We have a winner.
Clearly, the answer is banning human nature.
