The Realm of the Dark Blade

Ok, So I will readily admit that the title of todays post was highly influenced by thoughts of thanksgiving turkey…Light meat or dark meat… It’s all good… But I digress.

You may recall a few posts I’ve done in the past on weapons made of wood. Some of them have been about reproduction, prop or cosplay weapons, weapons you could give to your little rascals, or for cosplay (costume play), designed primarily to be a safe alternative to the real thing.

Macahuitl

However, I’ve also posted about weapon designs that, while made primarily of wood, were still quite lethal as edged weapons. The Macahuitl was one such weapon, using flint or obsidian blades, embedded in a wood frame shaped like a club, or a large broadsword. And then there was the Leiomano, which accomplished the same thing, using shark teeth, but packaged in a small axe form factor.

Leiomano

But I recently ran across an even more beautiful design, yet another based on the small axe form factor, but without any kind of hard blade material whatsoever… Just wood. Really hard wood… Have a gander at this:

Samoan War Axe

Now chances are, the edge would be nowhere as keen as that of a macahuitl, so this would be more likely used freehand as a club, or to break or dislocate bones than an actual cleaving device,  (unless you had a hard surface to chop against and were willing to keep whacking away until the job was done :/ )  However,  it is just a beautiful piece of work.

I just love this thing. Between the smooth and highly polished finish on the weapon, the Samoan patterns on the blade, and the absolutely evil lines on this axe, I just love it to death. Ok, maybe not to death, since I kind of like being alive, but you get the point.

The points on this thing are amazing. The deep bevel of the edge is accentuated by the light colored patterning of the blade area, making it look almost like a thick slab of dark steel. The patterning runs all the way down the shaft, stopping just short of the light colored jute or twine wrapped grip. The combination is just sweet.

Truth be told, I think this wooden axe looks more both more beautiful  and sinister than most of the other evil steel axes I’ve posted on this site so far…

And that’s no small feat for a weapon made entirely of wood.

Samoan War Axe – [My Armory]

Now I could have sworn I had already put together a post for this blade, however my (admittedly hasty) searches seems to turn up nothing. So I thought I’d go ahead and post about this interesting little knife, duplicate post or not!!! Allow me to introduce the Widow Queen.

Widow Queen

It should be fairly obvious where the name of this blade came from, but for the entomological neophytes among you, the spider whose front legs are oh, so possessively surrounding the hilt of this dagger is, in fact, meant to be a female Black Widow Spider, most easily identified by the red hourglass shape on it’s abdomen.

The Black Widows is a highly venomous spider, and envenomation by female black widows has been known to kill humans. I’d be willing to bet that whoever designed this knife probably had a rather personal experience with one… Now in in real life, of course, black widows tend to be black in color, however in this case, I think we can afford to make an exception. Especially since this particular variety of black widow would probably be a heckuvalot lot more deadly in the right hands.

Either way, I certainly like the black widow motif of this blade, even though I think it goes too far in several ways. For instance, do we really need to have a full double sided hand guard (the widows front legs) and a cross guard on the same blade? I would rather have just had the cross guard, and even that is a little overly ornate for my taste.

The same goes for the pommel. You have the little spider limb thing going on, *and* a spike. What’s up with that? In fact, now that i look at it, this dagger would have been just fine entirely without the spider. A simple spiked pommel, the cool black ridged grip, a simpler, not so spikey cross guard, and that absolutly beautiful blade…

Yes… The blade on this thing is the main reason why I really like it. Now don’t get me wrong, the Black Widow was excellently done, and i could see them making replicas of that all by itself, sans the dagger. But for me, the blade is where it’s at on this knife. The swell of the ricasso, the smooth sweep into that almost straight blade, narrowing smoothly down into an absolutely evil point… I just love that profile.

Sometimes I wonder whether the people who design things like this actually realize how beautiful the blades are, all by themselves. No need for themes, motifs, spiders scorpions and whatnot, even though they can sometimes be cool. Because even if this had been a simple dagger, just this blade, a simple cross guard, black smooth grip, maybe with a simpler point on the pommel, it would still have ended up on this page.

Or maybe marketing has no clue… Who knows.

Either way, it’s a real pity…

Widow Queen – [The Collectors Edge]

A while back, there was an interesting discussion on the Exotic Automatic Forums (http://exoticautomatic.com) about a rather cool weapon, or set of weapons, called Emeici or Emei Piercers (aka Emei Daggers). they are basically a set of steel rods, with sharp broadhead-like points on each end and a finger ring on a pivot attached at the center. Looky here:

Emei Piercers

Emeici are a traditional Chinese martial arts weapon, most notably practiced in Wu-Shu. The primary purpose of these weapons is obviously to speedily inflict deep puncture wounds, and in that regard, they are excellently designed.  The rods are of an extremely efficient design, in my opinion, very strong, but still extremely light and quick. I cannot fault that aspects of the design.

I’ve known of these weapons for a long time, and between the mechanical aspects of it’s design, and the rather visually impressive techniques typically used when wielding them, I cannot, argue they aren’t really, really cool. However in typical DarkBlader fashion, I cannot help but ask myself… What percentage of this kind of this “second kind” of cool is actually useful?

I have a lot of respect of traditional martial arts, the vast majority of my experience has been in TMAs, and so I see value in many of the traditional ways of doing things. *However* I have always found TMAs to have a rather unfortunate tendency towards the retention of outdated techniques and ideologies, and this weapon seems to be no exception.

Besides the obvious snafu of having an overenthusiastic martial artist pretty much admitting, on a nationally syndicated television series, that he is prone to the colloquial *bloodrage*,   my point of contention is this: Does allowing the weapon to spin actually add any useful value to the use of the weapon besides the cool or intimidation factor? Or is it just for show?

If you ask a TMA what the practical benefits of being able to spin emeici around are, they will tell you it is helpful for confusing your opponent. They will argue that it allows quick switch ups, changes in direction, etc. And to some degree, this is true of most knives. The grip, the position of the edge or edges, the orientation of the point, etc. tell you things about how and where your opponent might strike.

But while the quick change-up explanation has merit, there are really only two grips that you can use with a set of emeici, between which you can perform any strike, to any target. So while this all sounds good in theory, I wouldn’t be looking predominantly at the position of the weapon to try and figure out where the next attack was going.

For spinning, double-ended stabbing weapons, since the spinning, by itself, does not really change any of those factors, methinks it would not matter so much. I don’t think I would be any more confused by the spinning than if it were being held still. I have yet to spar an Emeici wielding opponent, so my analysis may turn out to be entirely wrong, but…

What do you think? Anyone feel like weighing in on this one? Spinning Emeici: Mostly Show? Or Absolutely Go?

Emeici – [Chinatown Shop]

I like boot knives. I think they’re cool. They are small, fast, fairly sturdy (usually)  and best of all, easier to carry than most others. All great reasons to love boot knives. Especially if you actually wear boots. Though it is by no means a showstopper if you don’t. Lots of different leg, arm, chest, small of back, and belt carry solutions for these cool little knives.

But here’s something I don’t like; gimmicks. Like unnecessarily compromising a perfectly good blade for the sake of making it look “cool”. Dunno what I’m talking about? Here, let me show you:

Double Edged Combat Boot Knife

Yes, this, ladies and germs is a so called “double edged” combat boot knife. I dunno. Lots of boot knives are double edged. This is more like double pointed. Double the pain? I doubt it. More like double the amount of effort to use this as a thrusting weapon. Ok, so that is a gross exaggeration, but when it comes to dagger points, two are generally *not* better than one.

And then there’s the issue of mechanical strength. Two smaller points, imho, are just two weaker points that will break faster than one larger, thicker point. But that could just be my tenuous understanding of physics/metallurgy at work. Who knows. All I’m sayin’ is, one mans cool is another mans DOH!

Me personally, I thought the design would have looked great without that split point. The all metal grip looks good, and the blade, had it been a single blade, would have had some awesome lines to it. The fork just kinda messes it all up for me.

But then again I don’t design knives for aesthetics over function…

Double Edged Combat Boot knife – [True Swords]

When I was but a wee little balrog, I remember seeing a rather unique little multi-tool folding knife. This one wasn’t like any other multi-tool i had ever seen before because it had… a SPOON! *gasp*… Yep. It had a fork too… And a can opener and a corkscrew… a rather interesting little tool. Looked a little like this:

Hobo style folding knife with fork, knife, spoon, can opener

Except the one I saw had antler scales and a leather sheath… At the time I could remember thinking… “You know, that is an interesting idea… I can use a knife like a fork, but I’d be hard pressed to use a blade like a spoon…” But it never ceases to amaze me how people manage to come up with little ways to ease outdoor living.

But there is, in this balrogs humble opinion, such a thing as going too far with this. And it all starts innocuously enough…

Sportsman's Blade Trader

This is the Sportsmans Blade Trader, by Kershaw knives. As you can probably tell, this is no ordinary knife. You might be looking at the pic going… “Well what the heck is going on? Them blades don’t got no handles on ‘em!!” And you’d be right. They don’t. Because they all share a single handle. That black one on the left.

Do you see what they did there? They got all smart on us. See, they put a keyed socket in the base of each blade, and in the handle there is a little key block attached to the tang, that you attach the blade to, and then there’s a cover that sorta folds tightly over the whole thing to keep it all in place.

As ideas go, this isn’t necessarily a bad one.  I’ve played with knives like these a bit, and the lock up is pretty solid. They don’t budge, and are surprisingly strong… At first. over time, however, the blades tend to wear a little bit, there’s a little play, the sleeve doesn’t close all that tightly any more, and well… It’s all down hill from there.

However their choice of blades here is good. A good straight blade, for light cutting, and a saw blade for wood cutting. Personally, this thing seems a little small to be a good general purpose saw, but then again, that isn’t what this was designed for. It’s more of a convenience tool, intended to allow you to do two things with one tool. Not too bad, as things go… But they can get much, much worse…

Allow me to present “Worse”:

Camp Tool Trader

This here is the Camp Tool Trader. Also by Kershaw. Yeah… Same idea as before, with the blade swapping switcheroo dealio and whatnot, except taken to a whole new level… It’s the Pampered Chef… For the outdoors!! With this here kit, you can fry yourself some eggs, over easy, with some bacon on the side. Or cook a gourmet 5 course steak and potatoes dinner…

OK so I’m exaggerating a bit. This isn’t that bad. It’s just not really an “outdoors-man” kit. This is for those of you who like the occasional weekend RV getaway, and don’t want to bring a full complement of barbecue utensils. Clearly, if you were one a weekend hike, you might choose something a little less… Big.

But that’s just my opinion. If space is not an issue, and you aren’t looking for long term daily use out of things like this, they are pretty good. But me personally, I’d just throw a full size spatula, tongs and barbecue fork,  along with the brats, burgers and  the side of beef I plan to barbecue, into my trunk…

Camp Tool Trader by Kershaw Knives – [eBladeStore]

Sportsman’s Blade Trader by Kershaw Knives – [eBladeStore]

Hobo Style Folding knife, with fork spoon and can opener – [Advanced Mart]

Today I thought I’d talk a little about one of my favorite topics. Knife design. Specifically, knife designs for CQC purposes. In an earlier post, I spoke about one of my favorite classic fighting knife designs, the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife. The Fairbairn-Sykes knife is, in my opinion, one of the most versatile fighting knife designs ever developed.

The double edge allows for a very wide variety of grips and many more ways of cutting. The sharp, narrow point also makes it an excellent thrusting weapon, and the narrow 6 inch blade made it capable of deep organ strikes by a skilled combatant. However, as with everything, there are compromises and trade offs, and the FS fighting knife was no exception. The FS knife was made for one thing, and one thing only. Close quarters fighting.

In contrast to the vast majority of combat blades issued at the time, the FS knife was not a combat or survival knife. Compared to most other designs, it was much thinner, much lighter, and as a result much weaker. It’s point was more than enough for thrusting attacks during fights, but would never hold up to the abuse that a “combat” knife like a Ka-Bar, or a bowie, could handle.

And while the vase shaped, tapering, grip of the FS knife, with it’s circular cross section, was lighter, easier to control, and faster than other designs, it did not provide as much grip, and no real feedback about the position of the edges of the blade with respect to the grip. Certainly not show stoppers, since general purpose combat was not really what the FS knife was designed for, BUT… What if?

What if you could forge an FS style blade into something that could be taken into combat? What if you could change the design so that it was just a little more durable, maybe make it a little more suitable for general combat use, without losing all of the great things that makes it an excellent fighting blade? Well, in my humble opinion, I think you’d end up with this knife right here:

Ranger Stealth Kill - Shiva Ki Knives

This is the Ranger Stealth Kill, by Shiva Ki knives. As you can see, this design has a lot in common with the traditional FS fighting knife. It is double edged, has a small but effective guard, has a vase shaped handle, and a sharp point. But that is where the similarities end.

This knife incorporates some changes to the design that, in my opinion, makes it a good compromise for a combat blade, as opposed to being simply a fighting blade. Lets start with the grip. In contrast to the FS design, the kraton grip on this knife is removable, wider, and flatter, and incorporates grooves, as well as a rounded flat pommel.

These simple design change allow for better control under hard use, and the wider, flattened grip provides much better feedback about what the knife is doing in your hand at any given point. The removable grip allows it to be cleaned or replaced quickly and easily in the field, and the flat pommel allows the knife to be used for hammering. These are all areas in which the original design was relatively deficient. But the changes don’t stop there.

The blade is also larger, at 8.75″ wider, and heavier, though perhaps not as heavy as it looks, since it also appears to be hollow ground, which would allow it to hold a rather wicked edge. And rather than the fairly sharp needle like point on the traditional FS design, this knife sports a spear point, which is considerably stronger, without giving up all that much in penetration power.

The resulting larger, heavier blade, while slower than the original, would be much more flexible as a general combat blade, and it’s added weight and size would make it capable of being used in a number of other roles, hammering, digging, punching through hard objects, light chopping duties etc. that would probably kill most of the knives that follow the original FS knife formula.

And of course, there’s one more thing. I think this knife is sexy. Perhaps not as sexy as some of the others I’ve posted about, but it certainly has a kind of rugged, no nonsense charm that I find intriguing. Now I’ll admit that for pure CQC purposes, a faster, smaller knife would be better. Thinner, lighter, blades are faster, more agile, and easier to control, while heavy knives tend to work against you.

However for a knife that you need to be a between a capable fighter, but not entirely useless as a general purpose combat knife, I think the Ranger stealth Kill is a very, very attractive design compromise. One of these days I will have to make one…

Ranger Stealth Kill – [Shiva Ki Knives]

Double the Dragons! Double the fun!! Or so people would have you believe. Though, to be honest, I think it does depend *greatly* on the disposition of the dragons in question. But that’s just my opinion. Take it or leave it.   Back to the topic at hand.

Twin Dragons!

Draco Twin Daggers

An interesting set of dragon daggers aren’t they? Though they are both a bit busy for my personal taste, I like some of the design aspects of these knives, though I will admit to being biased, as Draco is one of my favorite Dragons of all time.

We have a set of two daggers, one large and one small, both of which reside in separate pockets of the same sheath. Pretty nifty. They are essentially identical apart from the size, so I’ll just run through the design of the larger one. The hilt isn’t half bad, with a small cast polished metal pommel, with what looks like talons curving inwards at the base.

The ridged jet black grip looks equally cool, though I get the feeling it wouldn’t be too comfortable. The guard is quite the interesting bit, featuring a simple straight rear talon/spike, with the beginnings of the same spike on the front, terminating in a large, upward pointing  winglike extension. I actually liked that design feature.

The rest is a little… too much maybe. Above the guard is an extension of the cast metal hilt covering the bottom of the blade to form a short ornate ricasso with a rearwards and downwards pointing spike. Still a bit busy, though I liked the spike. The blade, however, tops the cake in terms of interesting flaws. At least in my humble opinion.

The blade has a large curving void just above the ricasso, which, as I have argued on many occasions, is generally not a good idea from a strength perspective. Above that, and compounding the problem, are a set of rearward facing spikes cut into the spine of the blade. Opposite the void on the front are a set of small divots. More unnecessary cuts. Above all of this, the blade is etched with an interesting tribal design.

To top it all off, the blade has a rather unusual contour. It appears to be double edged, but actually curves inwards. This design is unusual, though not unheard of, but is generally reserved for garden implements and specialized tools, like Karambits. The reason is that cuts using such a blade will tend to push the knife back towards the hand, or out of the hand, (depending on the direction of the cut) and this generally does not play well to the general ergonomics of knife use.

The Karambit is a general exception to this rule, as it usually incorporates a ring that makes positive retention possible, regardless of the grip. But that is a subject that deserves it’s own post. The point is, on this knife, it is just another in a long line of bad design ideas.

At least they look cool, have black grips, and are named after a cool dragon.

That’s got to count for something right?

Draco Twin Daggers – [True Swords]

Today we have our first entry into the “What on Earth…?” pantheon of inexplicable weapons. Entries into this hall of fame are weapons whose design seems ill suited to serve their most obvious purpose, but seem to be more likely to be a product of some ADD stricken designers flight of narcotic induced fantasy. First up:

Triangle of Darkness

OK, all I can do is tell you what it appears to be, and let you take the next subjective step of determining aesthetics and functionality. It appears to be three fairly nice “tactical” (lol.. I said “tactical”… LOL) knives similar in design to the Fairbairn Sykes fighting knife, except that they are hinged together via some sort of double-legged display stand contraption thingamajig. The center knife appears longer than the two peripheral knives that it is connected to. And that’s all I got.

Now could someone please tell me what in tarnation this is supposed to be? The blades themselves don’t appear to be anything special, (apart from having a fairly proven tactical design, and being black, for which it gets it’s due props) so why would anyone feel the need to display a set of 3 fairly similar and unassuming combat knives? Somehow it just doesn’t feel right. This is the sort of thing I always have a hard time understanding. I think these would look much better on a ninjas belt, or in a nylon web sheath, on a British commandos belt, than on a display. But that could just be just me.

Triangle of Darkness – [True Swords]

Welcome to another edition of Phyreblades Beleive It Or Not!! A Black Widow Spider. Born with steel knives for legs!! You don’t ever want to be caught in this spiders stainless steel and super glue web!!

OK, ok, so it’s not a real spider. But it does have knife legs. Today we have an interesting example of something that simply makes no sense… unless it is purely intended to be a conversation piece, which (I’m guessing) it is. While perusing my usual blade haunts I came across this dark arachnoid beauty.

Black Widow

Now this is a weird piece because I could see no real reason to substitute blades for leg segments. It would make for a difficult weapon to wield, unless used as a last resort, but only because it would be still be better than nothing. But it seems to be excellently suited as a conversation starter, as it is indeed a well crafted and beautiful piece, and the leg blades do look very menacing.

Now if this were an autonomous combat robot, this design would make perfect sense, as it would have it’s quite formidable weapons ready at all times. I’d also sharpen it’s mandibles. Or have it secrete venom. Or climb walls. Or swing from the rafters like spidey! OK, that’s just wishful thinking. I suppose it would have the weakness that you could hear it coming from miles away on hard surfaces. And it would certainly leave some nasty divots in your mom’s hardwood floors. But it still looks good as a faux lethal ornament…

The Black Widow – [True Swords]