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September 22nd, 2018 3:07 PM

PATTON’S SWORD

Gen Patton did extensive study and competition with swords, and as far as I know his mixture of saber and rapier is the final word on the matter if for no other reason than we don’t chop while riding on horses any longer. I have used foil, rapier, and saber and while one can exert more force with a saber, the rapier, it’s length, and it’s double edge simply mean that opponents are kept at a distance, and you are much, much faster than they are. The basic utility of the Machete, Saxon, Bowie are fantastic, but they are closer ranged weapons than the fast sword. While we all love our longswords they are primarily for use against armor, and gave way to harder metal with faster swords upon the arrival of gunpowder. And the saber was eventually replaced by a second pistol when soldiers could afford it.

Why? Well, I see a lot of knife and machete fights in the world thanks to the ubiquity of smart phones. Apparently no one in the third world has learned to fight with swords.