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Domain: museumreplicas.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to museumreplicas.com.

Comments · 8

  1. And my axe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on Gov't Report: Laser Pointers Produce Too Much Energy, Pose Risk For the Careless

    And my axe!

  2. Re:It's made of magic by thoromyr · · Score: 1 · on Terry Pratchett's Self-Made Meteorite Sword

    You are apparently unaware of the ridiculous lengths involved.

    Are you perhaps aware that there is a physical limitation to blade length of a weapon sheathed at the hip which will be drawn from there? It is a function of arm length. Some scabbards are made to extend this by effectively having a slit from the opening down along the bottom edge, but I'm not aware of any rapier scabbards made this way. A little experimentation will determine the maximum blade length you can draw.

    Then consider the fact that the longer the blade the farther out the balance point will move. Yes, you can compensate by embellishing the hilt and using a larger pommel, but doing so increases the overall weight of the blade. A "normal" ~34" blade rapier weighs about three pounds. A "normal" ~33" blade sword weighs about three pounds.

    You make the rapier a foot longer and you necessarily increase the weight, or to retain the balance point, increase the weight even more. Either way you are increasing the effort required to wield the blade. Arm-chair "weapon masters" rarely realize how tiring it is to wield a 3 pounds sword, and how much more tiring it is to wield one that weighs four pounds. Many RPGs vastly overstate the weight of weapons which compounds the problem.

    The length of a rapier became a point of status and was not an issue of defense (or offense -- reach is actually more important for offense) leading to sumptuary laws in England.

    A quick way to find *real* weights and lengths for various historical weapons without leaving your chair is to peruse catalogs of replicas, such as http://www.museumreplicas.com/

  3. Re:Ren Faires by Seraphim_72 · · Score: 1 · on Ancient Swords Made of Carbon Nanotubes
    The Arms and Armor swords are painstakingly researched. The head smith at A&A is actually allowed to take the originals out of the case and measure and mold off of them. He has standing invites from the Tower of London Museum, the Wallace Museum, and others. They then recreate them in every detail. The weapons at A&A are not just look-a-likes they are as close historically accurate as you can get, steel, bindings, the whole nine yards. If you want to have a weapon in your hand that would have been in the hand of a 9th century warrior - this is where you want to be. Museum Replicas started out that way - but they have gone far off their mission. Here is an example This mess is just that, there were no Damascus viking blades, and even calling them pattern welded is at best a bad move. There are talented people that used to be part of Museum Replicas, but bad management has cheapened their product. Here ah yes the historical dark elf blade. No thanks, I prefer my smiths to have an ounce of street cred. When the Globe Shakespeare company wanted 100% authentic weapons for their set, A&A was the company they went to. You can buy fantasy blades all over the place. But, if you want a real weapon, historically accurate, like was really used - you buy A&A. And no, for all my fawnage, I don't actually work there, but I do know a heck of alot about how they work.

    Sera

  4. Re:Ren Faires by Seraphim_72 · · Score: 1 · on Ancient Swords Made of Carbon Nanotubes
    The Arms and Armor swords are painstakingly researched. The head smith at A&A is actually allowed to take the originals out of the case and measure and mold off of them. He has standing invites from the Tower of London Museum, the Wallace Museum, and others. They then recreate them in every detail. The weapons at A&A are not just look-a-likes they are as close historically accurate as you can get, steel, bindings, the whole nine yards. If you want to have a weapon in your hand that would have been in the hand of a 9th century warrior - this is where you want to be. Museum Replicas started out that way - but they have gone far off their mission. Here is an example This mess is just that, there were no Damascus viking blades, and even calling them pattern welded is at best a bad move. There are talented people that used to be part of Museum Replicas, but bad management has cheapened their product. Here ah yes the historical dark elf blade. No thanks, I prefer my smiths to have an ounce of street cred. When the Globe Shakespeare company wanted 100% authentic weapons for their set, A&A was the company they went to. You can buy fantasy blades all over the place. But, if you want a real weapon, historically accurate, like was really used - you buy A&A. And no, for all my fawnage, I don't actually work there, but I do know a heck of alot about how they work.

    Sera

  5. Re:Ren Faires by djp928 · · Score: 1 · on Ancient Swords Made of Carbon Nanotubes

    So how do swords from that site differ from swords from a place like Museum Replicas?

  6. Re:inertia by Minna+Kirai · · Score: 1 · on Responses To Nintendo's Revolution Controller

    However with only the inertia of a few ounces of plastic weighted entirely in your hand instead of a few pounds of steel weighted out a few feet, it can only be -so- realistic.

    1. Buy yourself a nice Scottish Claymore
    2. Tape Revolution controller to the hilt.
    3. Realism!
    4. Strenuous upper-body workout.
    5. Impale your TV fighting Gannon.

  7. Re:Weight? by krenshala · · Score: 1 · on Project Dragonslayer: Forging Old Tech With New
    I didn't see this in the article, but I wonder if they are planning on making it weigh 40 - 50 lbs the way a traditional broadsword would, or plan on using the technology available to cut the weight down to 5-10lbs or even less.

    Uh, one handed or hand-and-a-half swords normaly weigh between 2.5 and 5 pounds (this is for blades from 2.5 to 4 feet in length). Even two-handed swords at 4.5 to 7 feet only weigh in at something like 8 to 15 pounds.

    Checking the Museum Replicas Limited website, I find they list a 16th century Broad Sword w/Double Ring Guard that is "Overall-46 inches * Blade-36 inches long, 1 inches wide * Wt.-3 lbs. 6 oz."

    krenshala

  8. Re:Weight? by krenshala · · Score: 1 · on Project Dragonslayer: Forging Old Tech With New
    I didn't see this in the article, but I wonder if they are planning on making it weigh 40 - 50 lbs the way a traditional broadsword would, or plan on using the technology available to cut the weight down to 5-10lbs or even less.

    Uh, one handed or hand-and-a-half swords normaly weigh between 2.5 and 5 pounds (this is for blades from 2.5 to 4 feet in length). Even two-handed swords at 4.5 to 7 feet only weigh in at something like 8 to 15 pounds.

    Checking the Museum Replicas Limited website, I find they list a 16th century Broad Sword w/Double Ring Guard that is "Overall-46 inches * Blade-36 inches long, 1 inches wide * Wt.-3 lbs. 6 oz."

    krenshala