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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2011 0:56:56 GMT
Hi, all. I used to be a member here, drifted away, then drifted back. Anywho, I've noticed on just about every reproduction saber the POB is pretty far down the blade, in the 6 to 8 inch range, and for the life of me I can't see why, unless those blades are a lot thicker than I thought. The 1796 has a broad blade, so that's explained, but even the Windlass Civil War sabers have that blade heavy balance. I would've expected those complex hilts to counterbalance the blades more. I haven't read any stats on historical sabers, so I was wondering if this was just some deficiency in the repros or were the originals balanced like this, too. Anybody know?
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Aug 26, 2011 1:18:17 GMT
From what I've seen, the far POB is pretty much universal on most sabers, which could be pretty easily explained through the fact that most sabers were used as cutting weapons from horseback; a very forward POB would greatly aid a devastating cut, particularly at a full gallop. I'm just speculating here, but I'm guessing recovery wasn't that big of an issue when the horse's momentum would carry you beyond your enemy's range if your strike failed. The exception, of course, is in the few thrusting designs, such as the Patton, wherein the POB is generally more along the lines of 3" or so. At least, that's about what it's been on the few repros of the design I've seen.
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Post by Dave Kelly on Aug 26, 2011 5:20:06 GMT
I've posted a number of articles here and on the old board that compare the historical and current replica sabers. Generally the dynamic balance of repro are not as well defined as their historic counterparts, and tend to be more nose heavy than historical weapons. The Cold Steel 1796 light is 1/2 a pound heavier than the historic saber with way to much foible. Indian manufactured reps have a tendency to downsize hilts for Indian smaller hands. Another reason for canting the balance forward and making it harder to cut with the speed and form of a proper saber. 19th Century Sabers have a range of pob's of about 4.5 to 6 inches from the hilt. The variation is best explained by national tendencies to either support a dominant thrust methodology or a cutting one. The French 1822 Light Cav Saber had a pob of 4.25 inches and a very slim foible. This didn't suit German tastes so the Solingen version of this weapon added six ounces to the nose blade and as often as not shortened the grip, resulting in pobs running 6.5 to 7 inches. The American Ames 1840 is based on the German model and shared the same awkward balance. By 1858 the US Cav downsized the sword to make it more controlable. In this case the Windlass saber is an excellent compare to a very onery saber that earned the "old wristbreakr" sobriquet. ( The French 1822 by comparison is a joy to handle. ) The Solingen 1860 Heavy Dragon blade is a better thought out blade with a 5.5 inch pob. With a properly large hilt it is a superior saber to the ersatz 1822.     |
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Post by william m on Aug 26, 2011 7:43:07 GMT
I have about 8 antique sabres at home, I will try and remember to measure all of their POB and post tonight.
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Post by Anders on Aug 27, 2011 17:11:11 GMT
My Dutch 1852 infantry saber has a 31" blade with a POB of 4.5".
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