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Post by WilhelmVonTotenburg on Nov 29, 2011 14:52:23 GMT
Good morning, all! I am really quite new to sword collecting in general, and this forum in particular. I just bought a H/T Norman Sharp (Not quite...but that's another matter), which I believe I got a very good deal on ($95, including shipping) A friend who is a professional sword-master taught me how to properly handle swords, so I am eager to start doing some cutting! Besides the old standby, milk jugs, are there any other reasonably common items which make good cutting targets?
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Post by Neil G. on Nov 29, 2011 15:32:30 GMT
I think most of the common light to medium density targets are - milk jugs, water bottles, green bamboo (the dry stuff can be harder to cut and rougher on your blade), beach mat/rolls and pool noodles. Other good targets in my experience are pumpkins, squash and watermelons... you just gotta make sure and clean the blade ASAP since the acids in some of those can do nasty things to a sword and fruit/veggie juice is a pain in the rear to clean once it cakes on.
Forgot to mention, some people also like to soak newspaper, roll it up and use it as a target - just be sure to remove any staples you MIGHT have in there. Some people also cut cardboard rolls you find in the center of rolled up rugs, stretch wrap and shipping tubes, but some of those cross over into "hard targets" and from what I understand cutting paper can leave nasty scratches on a blade.
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Post by Elheru Aran on Nov 30, 2011 19:08:35 GMT
I should say that $95 for a H/T Norman is an *awesome* price... they're quite underrated swords and I very much like mine.
Targets... Neil covered most of them. I will note that various bottles and plastic containers run the gamut of targets. Milk bottles are quite easy to cut-- they're very thin and soft plastic-- but, for example, Pepsi two-liter bottles are made of tougher stuff, so you have to hit 'em quite well and strong to get a successful cut. Gatorade bottles, your sword better be SHARP, or that sucker's going to fly across your yard!
Cardboard tubes are fun, but they're quite strong and tough, so your technique needs to be good. Also, if it's much longer than 6 feet, be prepared to step out of the way of the top section. I have a video somewhere which shows me awkwardly hopping out of the way of 6' of carpet tubing coming down on my head... In my experience they don't actually scratch the blade as much as they'll just dirt it up, though.
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Post by WilhelmVonTotenburg on Dec 2, 2011 12:48:32 GMT
Thanks for the responses! I took the sword out for some milk jug cutting, and I am more than pleased with it. It really handles better than any other in it's price range (that I've handled at least). Now...time to find some 2 liter bottles... ( I don't drink soda, so that might take some time.)
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