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Hi!
Is this thread the winner in the longest-hiatus competition? 
Have a nice time!
Peter Gustafsson
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Senior Member
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 Originally Posted by Durando  All I remember about my last competition was there were horses, and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident.... OK brick :P
LOL
Ethan
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Curmudgeon Emeritus
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Piste Off and Jeff ( is that like Akbar and Jeff? ), I am temporarily prevented from repping you. But that was bad. Very bad. In fact, both puns stunk like jitte.  Use the Shift key, people! Keyboard manufacturers everywhere are ineffably saddened when you ignore what they made just for you!
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Senior Member
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Originally Posted by Inquartata Piste Off and Jeff ( is that like Akbar and Jeff? ), I am temporarily prevented from repping you. But that was bad. Very bad. In fact, both puns stunk like jitte. I think Jeff has a sharp wit... his pun was very knife.
Rick "Some people are born great fencers, some people achieve fencing greatness, and some people have it thrust upon them."
My pet Monkey on an IBM selectric
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Senior Member
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Oh, tangs very much guys! "In theory, theory and practice are the same, but in practice, theory and practice are different."
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Fencing Expert
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I've had it up to the hilt with all of these bad puns. They're starting to make me want to puukkos.
-B "Oh but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!"
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Curmudgeon Emeritus
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Such cut-ups around here... Use the Shift key, people! Keyboard manufacturers everywhere are ineffably saddened when you ignore what they made just for you!
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Senior Member
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Not at all off topic :P
The fork seems like it would be very unbalanced. It also seems to be quite heavy and wouldn't move fast as a sword could. It wouldn't be as effective as a slashing weapon as it would be for a crushing weapon. A sword would be able to break a wooden handle on them, in a rather short period of time if the tool has been outside for a while and has be hit by weather.
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Fencing Expert
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Originally Posted by Pescados666 A sword would be able to break a wooden handle on them, in a rather short period of time if the tool has been outside for a while and has be hit by weather.
I suspect nearly any weapon is subject to breakage or other vulnerability if you insist upon badly mistreating it prior to use....
-B "Oh but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!"
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Member
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Pros: Reach, fairly light for a polearm, better ballance than other polearms (halabred, Bec-de-Corbin), larger area of damage, good reach.
Cons: Large area of damage means force is distributed across greater surface (less penetration as stated earlier), wooden part highly suceptable to breakage, can only be used on single target versus the slashing capabilites of single bladed weapons.
Verdict: Sticking to my wiffle ball bat "Warm winds i plead, carry this debris; I and the leaves Me and the dust To rundown cities dressed in rust"
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Curmudgeon Emeritus
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Of course, there were military versions, eg the 'military fork', and perhaps the corseque and ranseur. Any good book on polearms will probably include a couple of examples...
Well, who else is as qualified to be the Devil's advocate, I ask you? Use the Shift key, people! Keyboard manufacturers everywhere are ineffably saddened when you ignore what they made just for you!
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Senior Member
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Originally Posted by Pescados666 Not at all off topic :P
The fork seems like it would be very unbalanced. It also seems to be quite heavy and wouldn't move fast as a sword could. It wouldn't be as effective as a slashing weapon as it would be for a crushing weapon. A sword would be able to break a wooden handle on them, in a rather short period of time if the tool has been outside for a while and has be hit by weather. Oddly enough, not all of our European ancestors were idiots. With an untrained peasant levy anything handy, such as a billhook, axe or hey! a hayfork would do the trick. Mostly they would be fighting other poor schmuck peasants, not swordsmen. A fork is a piercing weapon, much like an............epee! I'd rather have a long pointy spike facing someone armed cap a pie. Polearms made as weapons had metal rivited to the shafts to keep the shaft intact. And while a polearm might be heavier than a sword, the keyword is balance. Polearms can be very balanced and swords can be unbalanced, it depends on how well it was made.
Anyway, I prefer a shovel. John Matus
Anchorage Fencing Club
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Curmudgeon Emeritus
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I Spetsnaz on your shovel!  Use the Shift key, people! Keyboard manufacturers everywhere are ineffably saddened when you ignore what they made just for you!
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Senior Member
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First I kill you with my shovel, then I dig your grave! John Matus
Anchorage Fencing Club
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Curmudgeon Emeritus
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Hah, that is only half-smart! I make you dig your OWN grave, THEN I kill you!
This is the Russian way.  Use the Shift key, people! Keyboard manufacturers everywhere are ineffably saddened when you ignore what they made just for you!
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Member
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Chinese Tiger Fork Originally Posted by Pescados666
The fork seems like it would be very unbalanced. It also seems to be quite heavy and wouldn't move fast as a sword could. It wouldn't be as effective as a slashing weapon as it would be for a crushing weapon. A sword would be able to break a wooden handle on them, in a rather short period of time if the tool has been outside for a while and has be hit by weather.
It is primarily a thrusting weapon, but I wouldn't call it unbalanced and even though heavy it can be maneuvered quickly enough. You are correct that it is not intended for slashing attacks but it can definitely inflict serious injury while slashing and thrusting. Often the shafts are shod with iron or brass bands to minimize the effects from deflecting cutting edges.
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Senior Member
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I'm going to guess three things: one, a fork takes two hands to use, which sucks unless your opponent also has something that requires two hands; two, it's not really great for in-fighting; and three, it's not something that gentlemen would like to be seen using or having used on them. Being skewered by a sword or an arrow is one thing, but being stuck with a dung fork might give the peasantry at home bad ideas. Not to mention that you couldn't boast about your scars afterwards
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Hi!
Originally Posted by finnfence I'm going to guess three things: one, a fork takes two hands to use, which sucks unless your opponent also has something that requires two hands; Sword in one hand, shield in the other.
Originally Posted by finnfence two, it's not really great for in-fighting; and three, it's not something that gentlemen would like to be seen using or having used on them. Being skewered by a sword or an arrow is one thing, but being stuck with a dung fork might give the peasantry at home bad ideas. Not to mention that you couldn't boast about your scars afterwards The "Gentlemen" angle was presumably of little importance for the peasants which made up large parts of several armies.
A totally different thing: Could it be so that we have met at the Ystad International?
Have a nice time!
Peter Gustafsson
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Senior Member
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Originally Posted by PeterGustafsson Hi!
Sword in one hand, shield in the other.
The "Gentlemen" angle was presumably of little importance for the peasants which made up large parts of several armies.
A totally different thing: Could it be so that we have met at the Ystad International?
Have a nice time!
Peter Gustafsson That's exactly my point - guy with the sword only has to use one hand for it, allowing him to block or attack with the other hand separately. Guy with the fork has to give all his effort only to the fork, which puts at him at a disadvantage.
The gentleman angle is very important, I think, because it was the gentlemen for whom the wars were being fought and who were making the decisions about how the battles would be conducted, in line with their own preferences and without much care for the comfort and practicality of their orders for the peasants. Or so I have always understood.
Ystad - not yet. Maybe this year, if I practice epee enough for it to make sense to travel to an epee competition
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