The Realm of the Dark Blade

Today we are going to be taking a look at another interesting sword. Interesting both because of what it was called on the site I found it on, and also because of it’s overall design. I give you:

Secret Agent Sword

OK, I will admit that this is a very cool looking sword. Just look at it. It has everything a secret agent might need. It is has a stealthy black finish, two different edge types, a serrated edge for sawing action, and a straight edge for cutting soft targets, it’s got a wickedly sharp point, and a saw tooth section on the spine for who knows what. It has a slot in the cord wrapped handle for a lanyard, and it’s even got futuristic cut outs in the middle. It certainly looks the part of a secret agents weapon. I’d buy one.

Only one problem. No disrespect to any secret agent who also happens to be a ninja, but if you are a secret agent who would carry something like this around, you are probably not playing with a full deck. What kind of secret agent would be able to keep their cover while lugging this monstrosity around? A cosplay convention spy? I don’t think they’d even let you in with it! An assassin or hit man, maybe, but I’m sure even they would prefer a rifle from a distance or a hand gun at close range over this. But for a secret agent, carrying this thing around would be kind of an anathema to the whole secrecy thing don’tcha think?

Nonetheless, silly marketing high induced naming aside, this sword certainly looks like it means business, and I’d certainly not hesitate to make space for it on my wall…

The Secret Agent Sword – [True Swords]

Well by know you know I’m always on the lookout for blades with lots of edges, sweeping curves, and wicked points. And I believe I’ve found another one : ) ! We have today an offering from the creative wellspring that is custom knife designer Kit Rae’s mind:

Mithrodin Sword Of The Ancients - Damascus

Well this sword is just cool. But I do have some little nits to pick, as usual. I believe in simplicity of design. I’m all for adding creative flair, but I believe that form must follow function first, before flair. And i say this because I noticed two things that always raise concerns. Like the little metal trim in the middle of the handle. Now I imagine it could be some sort of grip device to help maintain a firm grip on the handle, but in my mind I’m thinking “why bother?” why not use a high traction handle material or checker the grip, and leave it uniform from hilt to pommel? That way you are not limited in the different ways that the sword could be wielded. You could choke up, down, reverse grip, etc without worrying about that little metal band getting in the way.

My second nit is in the way the blade appears to have been attached to the handle. There appear to be three supplementary bands that cross over the bottom part of the blade. These seem superfluous to me for two reasons. First, in a properly designed sword, they would not be necessary. A full-tang design, coupled with proper bracing by the hilt of the sword, would make for a very strong sword. And second, placing a strap over a section of the blade is just a colossal waste of blade area, and makes it harder to sharpen and clean.

But nitpicks aside, this sword has a lot of things to admire. First it is all curves. Both the handle and the blade are curved, the blade is actually curved in two directions, and the curve of the handle accentuates that in a very complementary way. Then the additional points on the spine of the blade are interesting. Not sure what purpose they would serve, (probably form following flare again) but it looks cool, so I’ll go with it. Then you have the interesting bat wing style pommel. Again, very cool touch. All in all, an elegant kind of sword, almost elven in nature, and another example, imho of one of Kit Rae’s better pieces.

Mithrodin – Sword of the Ancients – Damascus Steel – [BudK]