In the following exposition I will try to explain my understanding of Japanese swords – a subject which first enchanted me about 50 years ago – with common English terms. I will refrain from using Japanese terms when not required.
Understand that Samurai and their weapons were part of Japanese history over several centuries. To say that some item or use never was accepted or it was the one, true item or way a real Samurai would use or act often cannot be pinned down as customs and usage did evolve over time. In this discussion I will mainly be presenting the ultimate condition of the Samurai caste and the swords they carried up to the middle of the 19th century.
The sword was considered the soul of the Samurai. But exactly what was a Samurai?
From the 12th century until 1868 Japanese society was rigidly structured into 4 castes (with numerous other groups outside and socially beneath these castes) placing the Samurai at the top, followed by Farmers, then Artisans, with Merchants at the bottom. At the end of this feudal period Samurai made up only 7% of the Japanese population. The Samurai and royalty were the only Japanese to bear family names.
In the beginning, the primary weapon of the Samurai was the bow and arrow, with the spear being secondary. The sword was a personal weapon and almost always the weapon of last resort. In combat, should the Samurai run out of arrows and lose or break his spear, upon drawing his sword it was not uncommon for him to discard the scabbard signaling that he did not intend to live long enough to need it anymore.
As you would expect for a country with a strict social caste system ruled by warriors Japan never really knew peace for much of its history. However, for most Samurai much of their time was spent in cities and fortresses which made every day carry of a bow or spear impractical. For this reason over time the sword became their primary weapon mostly because it was what he could expect to have immediately available.
Samurai were the only Japanese who could legally carry a pair of swords – the long sword, either Katana or Tachi, and the shorter sword known as Wakizashi. This pair of swords was the badge of their caste. The Katana differs from the Tachi mostly in the format of the scabbard furnishings – the Katana scabbard was thrust through the Obi (waist sash) with the cutting edge upwards while the Tachi had two metal hangers or attachments with a cord which was to be wrapped and tied around the waist, suspending the blade with the cutting edge downwards. As the Katana was easier to remove from one’s body – something one would do often in an urban lifestyle – it became the preferred long blade over the Tachi. For this reason I will be focusing my discussion on the Katana.
The Japanese sword differs from swords of most other cultures in that it was constructed to be easily disassembled. The entire assembly was held together by a single, bamboo pin. The handle was constructed of two halves of wood, glued and often pinned together in a single unit. It had a flat guard and an end cap where the pommel would have been on a European sword.
The handle had a hole bored through it side to side at a point that corresponded to a hole in the tang. The bamboo pin was sized to fit in this hole and hold the sword assembly together with a friction fit that put slight tension on the tang of the sword.
Japanese sword furnishings are a standard pattern for all Japanese blades from short daggers to immense, two handed swords often longer than the men who carried them. While the pattern was a common standard for any fighting blade the nomenclature had some slight variations. In general, one can expect that each of these items will be ornate and even have gilded features or inlaid with precious metals. I will give the most commonly used Japanese name for each item in parenthesis – but use the English equivalent in my explanation.
Here are the components of a standard Katana – Scabbard, blade with Hit-extension, Washer, Guard, and Handle assembly. Like many old blades the one here has more than one hole showing that it has been re-shaped and re-polished three times. Often this is does when the tip has been broken or damaged and requires a new hole to be drilled through the tang.
Hilt-extension (Habaki) – this is a wedge-shaped copper, brass, or bronze tapered block which the blade’s tang passes through. It is fit tightly to the base of the blade and fits snuggly into the mouth of the scabbard. This holds the blade securely in place while in the scabbard.
Hilt-washer (Seppa) – This is a thin washer which the tang passes through after the Hilt-extension and before the Guard. These would be changed with thicker or thinner replacements as the different components of the handle and furnishings became worn or were replaced over time. It is not unusual for a blade to have more than one Hilt-washer – usually on opposite sides of the Guard.
Guard (Tsuba) – This is the handguard which protects the user’s hand from being struck by the opponent’s blade. The tang passes through this before attaching the handle assembly.
Hilt-collar (Fuchi) – This is a metal ferrule on the handle which goes against the inside of the Guard.
Handle (Tsuka) – This is the wooden handle which goes over the tang.
Sharkskin (Samehada) – This is a single sheet of polished shark (or ray) skin which is wrapped around the handle.
Cord wrapping (Tsukamaki) – The Cord wrapping which goes around the Sharkskin. This is a flat silk or cotton woven cord which is folded or twisted in intervals which gives the traditional diamond-pattern seen on most Japanese swords. This pattern also provides a practical grip surface.
Pin covers (Menuki) – These are a pair of flat metal ornaments, one on each side, held in place by the Cord wrapping. These covered the pin holes and would hold the pin in place should it somehow become loose.
Pin (Mekugi) – This is the bamboo pin which holds the Handle on the tang.
Endcap (Kashira) – This is a cap which goes on the end of the Handle opposite the hilt end. The Endcap is held on the Handle by the Cord wrapping which passes through holes in the Endcap.
Scabbard (Saya) – This is the housing for the blade in which the sword is carried. It has its own group of standard furnishings with numerous examples where some items are omitted.
Scabbards were made of wood and generally lacquered or sometimes covered in metal, or ray or shark skin. These were the primary surface treatments although other finishes or coverings may be encountered. The scabbard has a small wooden (sometimes metal) protrusion (Kurigata) on the outside (away from the body) surface at the balance point of the sword and scabbard. This had a hole for attaching a long cord which could be used to secure the scabbard to the Samurai’s sash when the he was expecting to be moving vigorously. Alternatively, this cord could be used to tie back the voluminous Kimono sleeves when a fight was expected. The cord was tied to the scabbard with an elaborate knot which could be instantly unraveled by pulling on the ends of the cord.
There is one major variant of the above handle and scabbard pattern – a plain wood set which is used for storing a blade and not designed for fighting. The only pieces of the standard furnishings which would be used with this set are the pin and the Hilt-extension. It is unusual to see these decorated.
There were two predominant types of rack which were made for Japanese swords – at the time these were basically furniture, somewhere to put one’s swords when not wearing them. In present time I see these used to display swords but it seems few people, even Japanese, understand the correct way to place swords on these. One common rack is made for two swords held horizontally. This is made for a pair of swords, the Katana on top and Wakizashi on the lower position. Both blades should be placed on the rack cutting edge up. If a Tachi is on this type of rack in place of the Katana the Tachi is placed on the rack with the cutting edge down.
The other type of rack you might encounter is made for a single, long blade and holds the sword upright at a slight angle. The sword would be placed on this rack with the handle downward and the cutting edge towards the rack. This orientation may seem unintuitive until you realize that this would be on a Tatami mat next to you while you were seated on the mat. Preparing to leave, before standing you would first reach for your sword in which case is more practical to have the balance point towards the bottom and closer to you.
I would say something about Ninja swords but in the 50 years I have been interested in Japanese blades, having visited dozens of sword shops and museums in Japan, and in the hundreds of books I have seen in both English and Japanese, I have never seen nor even heard of an historic example. The only examples I have seen are fantasy replicas.
Comments
190 responses to “Japanese Swords – Part 1 – The Samurai and Their Swords”
When I learned about the forging by actually seeing Japanese swordsmiths at work, I learned two things – first, they have great skill to compensate for using the shittiest pig-iron-like ‘steel’ on the planet, and second, the short tang (relative to the handle) makes the overall sword tip-heavy.
To elaborate, the ritual brick of iron from which traditional japanese swords are supposed to be made is smelted in the oldest traditional manner, resulting in zero consistancy of composition across the material. The smiths test the malleability of each chip before assigning it a place in the billet (tells them the general carbon content), then forge weld it together. The much vaunted folding is actually there to even out the carbon content to improve consistancy. All their efforts are put into compensating for the traditional, early iron-age grade metallurgy giving them poor materials.
Wouldn’t that make it a more powerful cutting blade?
It would also made it more difficult to control/recover from a swing.
True but I think that could be mostly compensated for by the form you use. Basically have the momentum of one strike flow into another with more circular motions like you would use with an axe in combat.
I admit I have never paid much attention to eastern sword techniques, just the western stuff I fought against when I was in the SCA. Probably why I always got my ass kicked whenever I ran into a guy who fought with a Katana style,
I always got my ass kicked whenever I ran into a guy who fought with a Katana style, – did you not hit him on the head with your mace as his katana did not penetrate your full plate?
I fought Polearm and wore Boiled Leather Scale. I wasn’t some perfumed knight, just a lowly man at arms.
I never had much of a problem against the Sword and shield types, other Pole Arms, or Great Swords, the guys I could never beat were Dual weilders and Katana users because invariably they were small little fast shits who could quickly get inside my attack range causing me to drop into a quarterstaff defensive position but then with just a single 1 inch wide pole between me and them I couldn’t block their attacks quick enough
You mean the arquebusiers to either side of you missed?
Boiled Leather Scale. – putting the A in SCA because I doubts that was a thing
Dual weilders – not many of those either back in the day
There was a whole school of dual-wielding.
doubt they faced polearms in battle
Sure they did. Guard-halberdiers lasted for centuries, standing in front of the palaces these… “gentlemen” would want to attack. Just because they didn’t for serried ranks and march in a field, doesn’t mean they didn’t fight that weapon type.
I am sure the sword breakers helped…
There was still an edge and a point on the weapon. You’re not parrying a polearm with an agility weapon. I mean, if you don’t have the initiative in that fight, you’re a failure at your chosen style.
No in period they would have just stuck to large “plate” of boiled leather. By the time scale mail came around if you were going to invest the time into it you’d be wealthy enough to use metal scales. I cannot say for certain that no one at any point in time made or used boiled leather scale. What is historically accurate and not terribly different would be boiled leather lamellar where smaller, maybe 2 inch square plates of boiled leather would be sewn or riveted either together or over an underlying layer of cloth or lighter leather but unlike in scale armor the plates did not overlap.
The reason why lamellar armor was by far more common is that while scale provides superior protection from overhand strikes it provides nearly none at all from underhanded strikes as the blade would inevitably be directed up under a layer of scales to the thinner covering below
My armor looks quite a bit like this…
https://www.armorvenue.com/leather-scale-armor-set.html?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cse&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&adpos=1o5&scid=scplpleather-scale-armor-set&sc_intid=leather-scale-armor-set&gclid=CjwKCAjwyqTqBRAyEiwA8K_4OxXNljQLrubav5b8vHZAVzD9n8EKwYvEeN1o-OcapiXaxCzPDyAbchoCsToQAvD_BwE
Although I made it myself so there are some differences
As far as Dual Wielders, that was definitely a late period phenomenon but it was pretty common in 1500’s Italy.
My fencing preference is for a center of mass closer to my hand so I can change direction quickly.
(I do admit to not being the world’s greatest swordsman, and that this is a personal preference)
Samurai blades were single edged, heavy blades (likely due to the relatively poor quality steel and the initial development as an emergency weapon on a battlefield with armored opponents). The Japanese style of dueling is very different than the European style, which evolved toward stabbing with pointed swords rather than slicing with the edge. I would love to hear from an expert, but I think the Japanese style is based on their weapon, although its kind of a chicken and egg thing.
There’s not a lot of parrying or back and forth in Japanese duelling – It is more about being first and in the right position. One variety has both combatants kneeling within range, facing each other with their swords scabbarded. The better draw wins, and its highly unlikely the duel will go beyond the initial draw.
The early part of Seven Samurai has some nice exhibitions of Japanese duels.
There’s not a lot of parrying or back and forth in Japanese duelling – well this would ruin the brittle parts of the sword
I tend to think the quality of steel dictated the sword, which dictated the style.
Yup. Great movie, too. Just ask Sergio Leone.
That’s the scene I was thinking of.
but a cut does not go through armor
Japanese armor was often lacquered wood. Again, I’d like to hear from an expert, but I think a good enough stroke might get through.
And every armor has weak points.
Japanese armor was often lacquered wood – early maybe not like 17th century
And every armor has weak points. – yes, but hard to exploit with slashing cuts. Better points and half-swording. Or you know a pick
The chisel tip on a katana and the relatively slight curve make it a perfectly cromulent stabbing weapon; just not its strength. In fact, a chisel tip is better than a needle point for stabbing through any resistance greater than, well, meat and cloth.
See use of yoroi-dōshi below (鎧通し “armor piercer”[1][2] or “mail piercer”, or alternatively as metezashi 馬手差,[7] “horse-hand (i.e. rein-hand, i.e. left-hand) blade”)
I’m on very thin ice here, but from various things I’ve read cavalry swords tended to be tip-heavy, for two reasons: one, you need more steel for reach because there’s a horse in the way, and two, because the kind of fighting you’re doing with a sword on horseback benefits from sort of using the weight of the tip to send the sword out and away, such that the most force is generated about where a footsoldier’s head would be. Samurai started off as horse archers, so presumably there might be some benefit to their using cavalry swords, if you will, when engaged in the other typical cavalry tasks, such as running down routing soldiers, attacking flanks, etc.
Could be. If you’re acting as cavalry, you’ll be long past the position of your target when you’re recovering from the swing for the next. So the advantage in impact would outweigh* the distadvantage in recovery.
*no pun intended.
That’s my understanding. Cavalry was ideally used to shock, break up, and ride down opposing infantry. The swords are mainly for slashing at infantry during the last phase (lances were used during the first phase), so you get a curved, heavy sword blade.
Cavalry on cavalry was mostly to keep other side’s cavalry from getting to your infantry.
Thanks, that was a fun history lesson.
The wooden practices swords are lethal as well, I have a nice scar across my forehead as proof
You’re dead?
Yep,
Classically, the solid wood swords were not used for sparring, but for practicing form. They use split bamboo wrapped in leather for sparring, at least nowadays. They still hurt like hell, though.
And, yeah, can confirm that practicing sword forms in a crowded dojo will lead to some sore heads.
Musashi Miyamoto (Author of The Book of Five Rings) was a legendary Japanese swordsman who fought with two swords – but reportedly most of his duels he fought using wooden swords. So definitely those could be lethal.
Neat article. Something different.
Thanks!
I have a nice matched set of katana and wakizashi. American made, with the traditional clay differential forging – mine wound up with a very nice hamon that I believe is what they call a plum blossom pattern. Mine are not folded steel, because I didn’t have that kind of money when I got them. They have live edges, and there is something about having a two and a half foot razor blade in your hands that is . . . different.
I am fascinated by the furniture on them and how they are assembled – nice article, Tejicano. I’m not a natural collector, but I have been tempted to collect tsubas and menuki.
The menuki are generally three-dimensional relief pieces, that are offset on each side of the handle so each one fits into the hollow of the hand.
Yes, Menuki are generally three-dimensional and flat on one side. You are correct. But of course there are always variations over time and I tried to stay out of the weeds in my descriptions above.
. It had a flat guard and an end cap where the pommel would have been on a European sword. – so no way of ending an opponent rightly?
? You bludgeon your opponants with your sword instead of using the cutting edge?
you unscrew the pommel and throw it
although the murderstroke seems to have been legitimate
My understanding is that pommels were used mostly to provide balance to the blade, which in European style fencing is critical – you need the balance point close to the hand. Sure, you could use it to club an opponent, but I think that was pretty incidental.
That is correct. The correct weight of pommel can do wonders for control of the weapon. The fact that they tended to be metal meant people used them to bludgeon when the opportunity presented itself (and the blade was not in a good spot)
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/end-him-rightly
Given the myriad methods of attaching a pommel, the low impact force of the thrown metal, and the subsequent imbalance of the blade, that makes no sense.
why are you dissecting a frog?
It makes sense. You just have to think about it like a knight would.
I suspect it was a joke.
noooo
I may be mistaken, but I seem to recall seeing plates of European sword techniques were the use of the hilt and heavy pommel to club your opponent was a fairly standard technique. I will try to see if I can find it, but my google-fu is not master level.
murderstroke ?
Yes, after realizing that the counterweight can be used to beat people, it was included in instruction on how to use the weapon. You have to provide all the options and get your students prepared if its used against them.
Here’s one.
Another
You get the idea.
Common theme with the first two – the combatants ended up too close to each other for use of the tip, and are too armored for the edge.
Third one appears to be two techniques for overcoming armor.
Yes – Everyone talks about Japanese weapons but Europeans were much more advanced in armor and weapons. They generally went for stabs to penetrate the plate armor. Sometimes they used the pommel to knock an opponent senseless first.
On a battlefield before gunpowder, they often went with hammers or picks to get through the armor.
A friend is in a club where they try to recreate and learn European combat from the various fechtbuchs and manuals from the Renaissance back into the late middle ages. They work with wooden versions for practice and live steel replicas for reenactment and competitive matches (with protective gear, of course) and stay as true to the source material as they can, which is to say they don’t sort of just make stuff up unless it seems like an obvious compliment to an existing technique. His main focus is the German long sword, and the big thing with that is that they use the whole damn thing. The pommel is primarily for weight, but hammering someone with the pommel in close combat is a common technique, as is turning the sword around and hooking a leg with the crossguard. Another common technique in the German styles is using a “half-sword” grip, with one hand holding the blade itself.
The guys who made Kingdom Come: Deliverance actually did a little documentary on all the HEMA fighting experts they worked with to design the fighting in the game. It’s really interesting. A lot of fascinating martial culture died off in the west when gunpowder and standing professional armies became the dominant force in warfare.
Yeah one thing to note, the way they grabbed the blades showed that unlike eastern weapons medieval western swords were not known for being particularly sharp. It didn’t matter if your blade could slice a tomato without crushing it, the first time it slides off any sort of metal armor or mail the blade won’t be sharp any more. Also since you are wearing mail or thick leather over the inner part of your hand you can just turn the sword over, grab the blade and now the crossguard becomes the striking surface of a quite effective warhammer and the Pommel makes an effective mace head
Except that they were sharp, and were not stored dull until the advent of metal scabbards (when they were ceremonial arms) which would ruin the edge in short order. (what genius decided that was a good idea).
were there scabbard designs that employed sharpening elements?
I could imagine a scabbard that was this steel on one side for strength with a wooden insert for the edge to ride up and a stone of some sort installed need the entrance
I’m not suggesting that the old in and out would do more good that the wear and tear from each brandishing/use, but lots of mediocre ideas have still made it into production
I have not heard of any, but in the few thousand years of blade production, a lot of oddities have been constructed.
They made butcher block knife holders had sharpeners built in for the carving knives.
medieval western swords were not known for being particularly sharp – nonsense. they were sharp
There’s degrees of sharpness. Even assuming you have good metal that can take and hold an edge, there’s no reason to put a razor edge on a lot of weapons and tools. Axes, for example, are ill-served by a fine edge. I keep my machete sharp, but not shaving sharp.
Even kitchen knives, especially the ones used for vegetables, aren’t optimally kept at a razor edge.
I would expect a battlefield weapon, which does a lot of its damage with mass, to be something short of razor-sharp. You want an edge that combines sharp-enough with maximum durability.
there is a long way between razor sharp and not particularly sharp. Medieval swords had decent steel and were quite sharp. At first at least.
Note: I said compared to eastern weapons were not particularly sharp, At no point did I say they were not sharp enough to cut an unarmored man, the point is they were not primarily intended as a slicing weapon but a thrusting weapon.
In fact given the prevalence of metal armor on European battlefields their swords would find the most use first as a thrusting weapon, second as a bashing weapon to break bones with the force of impact, any damage from a slash that you managed to cause would be incidental.
European swords would normally be sharpened and tempered differently along their lengths. Towards the hilt you’d have soft steel that was barely sharpened akin to a woodcutting axe, while the tip would be harder and honed to a much sharper edge. Most blocking and sword on other weapon/shield contact would be towards the back of the blade where you had the most leverage and less damage could be done to your blade, and most strikes to your target would be near the tip where the sword would be sharpest and have the most momentum.
not primarily intended as a slicing weapon but a thrusting weapon. – depends. define medieval. viking/Saxon/Norman swords were intended for both
given the prevalence of metal armor on European battlefields their swords would find the most use first as a thrusting weapon, second as a bashing weapon to break bones with the force of impact, – when are w talking about? after plate i doubt much bashing was going on with swords.
Historians differ as to how sharp swords were in those days. There are some techniques in 14th century manuals that involve half-sword grips, i.e. gripping the blade with your hand, and transition into slicing through the neck, which leads some people to believe that the first third of the blade was left blunt and the rest was sharpened. There are also swords that are found with a section of the middle left blunt specifically for gripping, with the rest sharpened. Also, to add to the confusion, some manuals depict what are traditionally armored sword techniques practiced by people without armor, which some interpret as a way to more clearly illustrate the technique without the confusion or distraction of armor since a lot of this stuff relied on joint work and grappling. That also gets to another issue, which is that there were sort of two separate but related sets of techniques depending on whether or not armor was involved. Unarmored techniques used a lot of cleaving and slicing; armored techniques more bashing and stabbing, and mostly is where you’d find half-sword techniques.
Here’s a pretty interesting article on this stuff:
https://thehemaists.com/2015/05/18/what-are-we-really-seeing-with-the-half-sword-images-of-talhoffer/
sword became their primary weapon – i would say the concept of primary weapon mattered mostly on the battlefield
Early on, samurai could be expected to go to full-on battles not infrequently and the bow was their primary weapon. As that came to an end under the shoguns, as noted they spent their time in crowded settings and used their swords mostly for duels and to keep the lower classes in line.
Thank you tejicano for a very enjoyable distraction. Back to the grindstone.
Oh, no, traditional smiths didn’t use a grindstone, they handed the blade off to a professional polisher who did nothing but slowly hone the blade with progressively smaller grit abrasives.
Well maybe not quite yet
1) yoroi-dōshis should be right up there with helicopter rides
2) the kana is mightier than the katana
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inejiro_Asanuma#Assassination_and_legacy
Thank you for your appreciation.
Here are some quick shots from Kanazawa Castle.
https://glibertarians.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_20161022_105001.jpg
https://glibertarians.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_20161022_104955.jpg
I enjoyed learning the parts of the sword.
彼女は「何の頭かしら?」と言った。
Shiny.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art also has some very nice katana and wakizashi (also tanto) in their arms and armor collection.
The second one is fullered, which I don’t recall seeing much on katanas.
I can’t read the text. But that is the first I’ve seen too.
I hadn’t noticed that!
So, does the card shed any light on that?
Not to me. The thing is wall to wall kanji – so likely maker, region, era etc.
All the characters and low frequency character combinations that are beyond my Japanese literacy.
Some schools of sword smithing made them, I believe the fuller is called a bo-hi, maybe Tejicano can confirm.
“Fullers” on Japanese swords were rare but not unknown. I have seen a few examples which had carved relief images in the fuller. Having forged and finished a few blades myself I cannot imagine the amount of work that went into doing that with hand tools.
Terrific article, Tejicano!
A few questions: how old is the pictured sword? What happened to the swords when the dude died? When you mention Ninja swords at the end, do they differ from other Japanese blades?
Are Ninjas fake news?
Ninjas did not wear black outfits – they dressed like everyone else to blend in. They used standard katanas, the straight “ninja swords” in movies and TV are a Hollywood invention.
Mostly. While ninjas, or shinobi depending on how you want to read the kanji, wouldn’t have used them, the Japanese did have straight swords. They closely resembled, and were almost certainly derived from, Chinese jian and dao swords, and were common in earlier Japanese history. The katana and other curved back swords are a more recent invention. The most famous Japanese straight sword is grass cutter, one of the three pieces of the imperial regalia.
Ninja… yeah, they did exist but the I would say their significance and fighting abilities in current pop culture are overblown.
While there are a few, rare historic examples of small bands of Ninja fighting with small, local groups of Samurai that concept is difficult to imagine given the tightly controlled police state that was feudal Japan.
In general, if a Ninja was caught during a mission in a castle they would use various unconventional methods to evade and escape – tubes of chemical powders blown into an opponent’s face, rudimentary “flash-bang” type fireworks, caltrops, – anything to quickly disable or slow down pursuers. Standing to fight would be suicidal – every minute spent fighting with a guard or two would double or triple the number of opponents. Their biggest assets were stealth and the ability to swim – which Samurai did not train for.
OT: while commenting here I forgot I was boiling a bunch of eggs. the results are not pretty
Ah yes, exploding eggs in the kitchen
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-rewBaRQ_DH5bL4ciHVDSkhmbqVH-_vo
That’s about right, oops!
lol you’re probably a white man.
Back when we knew how to do regime change.
Very cool topic, Tejicano. I really enjoyed it.
Thanks!
Very good article, Tejicano.
Thank you!
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/political-confessional-the-man-who-thinks-the-u-s-is-better-off-as-a-bunch-of-separate-countries/?utm_source=pocket-newtab
I’ve sort of felt this way since George W. Bush. We’re so polarized that the federal government doesn’t really work. If it’s not working, then you might as well break it up before the point where the break is so bad that you end up with, say, a second Civil War So Federalism is working after all ?
black people in the Deep South — they might be worse off, right? Chris: They would be, yes. I so object to this: the South ain’t that bad, but, more importantly, the North ain’t that great.
How about like a bunch of mainly separate political entities banded together only for the purposes of facilitating trade and travel and common protection?
We can call it something like the “States of America That are United”
How about we put together some articles. Maybe for confederation.
I laughed
The federal government doesn’t work because it is trying to exercise plenary authority to micromanage its “citizens’” lives. IOW, to do something it was never designed to do.
We may even find that divisions start healing in our society if the governments decide to keep to their effing lane. People would have less reason to hate one another.
to borrow from Shaw, might be a good thing if anyone ever tried it
black people in the Deep South — they might be worse off, right? Chris: They would be, yes.
Having lived in the Northeast and the South, I can say with absolute confidence that race relations are better in the South.
So, fuck you, Chris, you ignorant, bigoted asshole
Bigotry is cool if against the south or middle america.
Agreed. Hot dish eaters should be shunned from proper society.
Mid-Atlantic checking in, and I gotta say in this area you’re way, way more likely to see black people being racist as shit than in other places, apparently. Also, if racial tension is a metric, it’s real high around the DC area. Dunno about the South, but times I’ve been in the South I’ve never felt like I was getting stared down by young black men, or that I’d be unwelcome to walk into a store or public area as the only white dude. Definitely never been called “whitey” or “snowflake” or had the door of a clearly-open barbershop shut in my face because they closed at 2:30 PM, either.
But those are black people, by definition they can’t be racist
/bigot
I lived in rural Alabama for a time. What I would say is that blacks and whites are more comfortable being around each other down there. I’m not saying they’re all people living in some kind of hippie’s dream of brotherhood and love. There are probably more than a few people who, behind closed doors, say some eye opening things about the other race. However, it doesn’t manifest itself in public life. People go to the same stores, live in the same little towns, go to the same festivals and parks and such, and it’s no big deal. Lots of interracial couples and mixed race kids. Up this way, there just is more of a tense feeling.
That’s pretty much what I mean by race relations being better in the South, and is consistent with my experience.
I like how this is supposed to be an unpopular opinion that he feels cautious about saying.
Fuckin’ federalism, how does it work?
Robert Mitchum was great in “Yakuza.”
Strip club empire pledges to send erotic dancers to Area 51
Can’t argue with facts, people.
Come for the Aliens, stay for the probing.
‘The scariest movie ever made’: Inside the documentary that’s inspiring the militant vegan movement – which is so horrific most can’t even sit through it
Antifa, the Proud Boys, Qanon, militant vegans…my God.
Most people think their food originates from a grocery store.
Like the world needs more militant anything at this point.
Hi, I’m Troy McClure, you may remember from such nature films as…
Watched the clip. Looked like a “factory” (read: high-efficiency) farm to me. Meh.
Not surprised a bunch of vegans, who are emotionally primed to be devastated by something that confirms their biases and beliefs, would react the way they do.
Naturally, compulsory viewing in schools is a bad idea, so I expect the Aussie luvvies to jump right on board.
Wife and Kids in June: Are we going up to grandpa’s farm? Me: No we can’t because you’re in camps.
Wife and Kids in July: Are we going up to grandpa’s farm? Me: No we can’t because you’re in camps.
Me in August: Who wants to go to the farm? Mom: I didn’t want to go anyway. You take the kids by yourself. Dad: *stuffs sock in mouth to not say something he’ll regret*
You know who else put people in camps instead of letting them farm?
The Boy Scouts of America?
I still don’t like serial liability
Again, the proximate cause of purported damages is the actor, the abuser.
And, anyway, BSA doesn’t own the programs: the chartering organizations do.
Lastly, if you follow the rules that have been in place almost half a century, it’s nearly impossible to abuse a kid: one-on-one contact is expressly verboten.
Umm, ok. Not really the point though.
Well, the purpose of the lawsuit isn’t restitution for the victims, its destruction of the BSA.
Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts?
Minor leaguers called up prior to spring training?
Pol Pot?
4H?
FDR?
Awesome article. Thanks T!
Thank you!
Strangely appropriate article. I’m expecting UPS to deliver my new sword in about an hour or two. Cold Steel Hand and a Half
Wow your 4-D avatar is twisting my melon man.
Cold Steel makes good stuff. I have a “Mackinac Hunter” pocket knife as my everyday carry. It has held up quite nice.
Been awhile since I looked at their site. They seem to have found quite a niche in MAA weapons. I’ve always had the impression they sell good stuff. Sadly, no naginata, though.
I’m sorry sir. You post on a suspect board. Due to red flag laws you may not have a weapon of war.
Cold Steel makes some awesome product. I have lost count on how many of their blades I have around. Their Laredo is my go-to home weapon here in Japan.
Great article. The Katana is a beautiful sword with the most legendary and overblown reputation in modern movies and TV. Most of the reputation seems to be the quality of the forging (folding) giving it superior strength and flexibility. As you indicated it was most likely needed due to the poor iron it was made from.
The Katana is a beautiful sword with the most legendary and overblown reputation in modern movies and TV.
Like this?
You mean a katana couldn’t cut a claymore in half with a single stroke!
/remembers far to many of the 80’s ninja movies
Or cut off rifle barrels, split someone in half, etc.
Thank you. In Part Two I will go into forging and heat treatment.
Japanese swords are literally works of art. In contemporary Japan, if you purchase a sword, you have to register it with the local police – it is registered as artwork, not as a weapon.
Band Names:
– Fanny Twat and the Anovaginal Fistulae
– Hypercapnic Crisis
– The Fourth Reich
– Fart in an Elevator
– She Likes Watersports
– Suppurating Gangrene
– Dickcheeseburger
Apropos of what exactly.
Other bands that Dayton prick was a member of?
LOL, didn’t think of that.
Brain toilet.
Should be Wet Fart in an Elevator.
Otherwise I think you did a great job!
Also:
More fun for everyone!
What genre is each band?
Hypercapnic Crisis sounds like it’s gotta be some kind of industrial noise band.
Surf music
– Fanny Twat and the Anovaginal Fistulae/ Bluegrass
– Hypercapnic Crisis / Techno
– The Fourth Reich / Black metal
– Fart in an Elevator / Lo Fi
– She Likes Watersports / K Pop
– Suppurating Gangrene / Reggae
– Dickcheeseburger / Punk
“– She Likes Watersports / K Pop”
LOL
Steve Albini’s first band was named Small Irregular Pieces of Aluminum.
OT: Don’t know if this has been posted yet.
Toni Morrison dead at 88.
https://www.apnews.com/11910324b8c848af823a4b19a3e1bc7e
She used to be beloved, now she’s bedead.
That was bemean.
I don’t get a benarrowed gaze?
OT: Charming.
https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1158571946272931840
What’s the Japanese word for Katana?
Ken – 剣
(Tongue in cheek – (1) sword (originally esp. a doubled-edged sword), sabre, saber, blade, (2) bayonet, (3) swordsmanship, (4) stinger, ovipositor, dart)
Katanasan
OT: Peter Strzok files lawsuit alleging unlawful dismissal:
https://dailycaller.com/2019/08/06/peter-strzok-lawsuit-doj-fbi
He’s a cheeky monkey, I’ll give him that. It seems like he’d keep his head down.
He knows that he still has a lot of support in the Swamp.
He certainly does have a lot of support along with a lot of powerful enemies.
I suspect his civil suit won’t survive his criminal indictment. He’s just the sort of low-level drone who makes an ideal sacrifice in a scandal.
He’s just the sort of low-level drone who makes an ideal sacrifice in a scandal.
I think exactly this. His affair makes him an unsympathetic target coming out of the gate. He’s sort of damaged goods. He can’t play the “squeaky clean FBI foil” to a corrupt administration.
Gratuitous
I wonder what the name of the demon who possessed him is.
Trump.
Somebody call a priest, that guy needs an exorcism.
OT: Long video but worth it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsWndfzuOc4
There can only be one. I’m looking into getting a fully functional bastard or arming sword for shits and giggles.
As mentioned above – check out Cold Steel. They have some really nice historic and fully functional products.
Having used a slashing/cutting blade all of my life (machete) one thing I noticed about Japanese style blades: they suck. The steel in the old ones are soft crap and they are too thick. With a machete made of good steel and sharpened enough to shave I can easily cut through 4″ saplings. With a katana this is nearly impossible.
*I once had an armadillo wander up to me while I stood still. One whack with a razor sharp machete cut him in two clean as a whistle. Shell, bone, muscle and skin parted like butter. He looked like a mounted anatomy model. It gives me the creeps thinking about what kind of damage that could do to a person.*
There is a good reason the European swords evolved towards this: https://www.atlantacutlery.com/small-sword
A deep puncture is far more debilitating than the ordinary slash.
From the few historic examples I have heard about, the epee (similar to a foil but slightly heavier) was a better dueling weapon than a Katana. There were a few documented duels between Europeans and visiting Japanese during the 19th century and as I understand it the visitors always ended up poked and cut to ribbons.
This was interesting, thanks!
Thank you!
This is awesome, Tejicano! I’ve done both styles of fighting – Japanese/Eastern (kendo) and Western (medieval Armored Combat) swordfighting. In fact, if you want a laugh, check out the tv show “Knight Fight” on Amazon. It was an 8 episode show on History Channel (and yes, I’m on there. I won’t out myself, but I fight in one of the episodes).
Can confirm: even in western martial arts the cavalry swords are heavier tipped and they kinda suck for ground dueling. Really suck. I owned several sets of katanas over my life (a couple I bought in Japan when I was stationed in Okinawa). They’re beautiful weapons, but they simply do not stand up to western metallurgy of the same area.
It also turns out that stabbing is king in single combat, which makes sense if you give it some thought and have some experience with it. It’s why the history of warfare involves formations of pikes and spears and projectiles (arrows) that also operate on the same principle. Slashing from horseback works, but you simply can’t generate enough force with a slash to beat armor with sufficient regularity to justify it as a technique. The fact that Hollyweird has glorified it ought to be all one needs to judge its practicality in the real world.
Fighting another human being at close quarters with hand weapons is just savagery. The only one-handed or two-handed weapon that I use is the good ol’ axe. Even a one-handed hatchet can find holes in armor and generate enough force to really ‘dig in’. The two-handed version can generate enough force to concuss even through armor/helms. All armor has holes; in order to be able to move, certain areas simply can’t be armored, like the back of the legs and the buttocks. It also turns out that no gauntlet will protect your hands from getting smashed by a two handed weapon; it feels like getting a hand caught in a closing door, even if you get to keep the fingers.