LiamBoyle
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Fechtmeister the Clueless of H.A.S.C.
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Post by LiamBoyle on Jan 17, 2015 13:44:27 GMT
Ok, the club is interested in starting to practice a bit of military saber while we're breaking from longsword training. The manual mentioned above is the primary source material we have and I was wanting recommendations on appropriate training weapons to use with it.
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Post by Dave Kelly on Jan 17, 2015 14:05:11 GMT
Cheap way to go if you are more interested in technique is to round up some sport sabres. Ebay probably can get you a few cheapest. HEMA has a number of sabre opitons but they all bounce up to 250.00 range and you will need more protection using them as the blades are 2-3x heavier then the sport blade.
1872 the US abandoned the french M1822 officer sabre in favor of a light German artillery styled non-weapon sissy sword. Cav troopers retained the M1860 saber.
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LiamBoyle
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Fechtmeister the Clueless of H.A.S.C.
Posts: 478
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Post by LiamBoyle on Jan 17, 2015 14:30:48 GMT
Thanks, since this is putting me even further out of my comfort zone the having to the club's primary longsword "instructor" (I use the term very loosely) I'll take all the advice I can get.
If I was to go the weighted dowel (oak) bit again lacking sport sabers what would you recommend for hilting them?
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Post by Dave Kelly on Jan 17, 2015 15:19:47 GMT
Sympathize with your dilema, but I'm the wrong person to ask, as I'm not an artisan who's handy with crafts. Can't give you a no cost solution. Used sport sabers was the cheapest approach I can think of. Wood dowls is heading down the single stick road. guards were made of a boiled wax impregnated leather. Purple heart armory deals in these, but that's money again.
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LiamBoyle
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Fechtmeister the Clueless of H.A.S.C.
Posts: 478
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Post by LiamBoyle on Jan 17, 2015 16:38:11 GMT
I was looking at some sport sabers at fencing.net and new non-electric were pretty reasonable.
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LiamBoyle
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Fechtmeister the Clueless of H.A.S.C.
Posts: 478
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Post by LiamBoyle on Jan 17, 2015 22:00:33 GMT
Actually, reading the manual further O'Rourke himself solves my dilemma:
Actually sounds easy enough to make since he's going the singlestick route. I just need the dowels and leather.
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Post by aronk on Jan 28, 2015 8:08:21 GMT
I know this is a bit of an old thread, but you might also want to look into Burton, Waite and Hutton in terms of military sabre. I've attached the Hutton source material to this post (PM me for the Waite material, it won't attach). In terms of practice weapons, sport sabres are going to be a bit off for Waite's sabre style, so I would recommend this as a beginner weapon, even though it isn't strictly sabre-esque, it is a better approximation than a modern sport sabre in my opinion. If you decide to become more serious about sabre and are okay with more protective gear, I heartily recommend the Easton practice sabre (I have one and will post a review at some point) which was designed by Matt Easton at Schola Gladiatoria over in the UK. Military sabre is great fun, and though I do not practice longsword in any form, it would seem reasonable that some of the technique would translate well. One of the difficult aspects of the longsword to sabre transition is breaking the passing footwork habit. In any case, have fun, and good luck!
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LiamBoyle
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Fechtmeister the Clueless of H.A.S.C.
Posts: 478
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Post by LiamBoyle on Jan 28, 2015 13:37:14 GMT
Thanks, Aaron. As for practice sabers, I'm either going the singlestick route or with the Blackfencer synthetics depending on budget and if my hickory guy comes through. I had a conversation over on the HEMA Alliance forums with a guy named Hotlzman shop.swordplaybooks.com/product.sc?productId=12&categoryId=1 About using Hutton as a source. Both he and Mr. Easton, himself, recommended that if I'm drawing from the American sources I should avoid Hutton and concentrate on O'Rourke, Berriman, and the existing cavalry regulations as material.
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Post by aronk on Jan 28, 2015 15:00:04 GMT
They're probably correct. O'Rourke is a bit off in comparison to the British sources. Suppose that comes with being a colonial! I have little experience with American military sabre, but from a first impression, it looks distinctly French.
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LiamBoyle
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Fechtmeister the Clueless of H.A.S.C.
Posts: 478
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Post by LiamBoyle on Jan 28, 2015 17:17:50 GMT
Yeah, I figured if you get an email from Matt Easton about how to do military saber it would be very advisable to take his advice.
I'm very much liking O'Rourke because it is targeted towards people with no experience whatsoever.
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Post by Dave Kelly on Jan 28, 2015 23:07:28 GMT
US military practice is basically french thru the civil war, as regulars and militia were routinely allowed to study in the French academies. While the M1840 and 60 cavalry sabres were nose heavy germanized versions of the M1822, officer versions were lighter and shorter. The militia was still using the americanized version of the British M1822 pipeback. The field artillery used the french M1829 sabre, Infantry officers were armed with M1845/55 French subalterne sabers.
Point being you don't have to maintain a cavalry mindset to study military swordsmanship.
Have fun.
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Post by aronk on Jan 29, 2015 3:09:43 GMT
Dave: You're quite correct. Most of what I study comes from Le Marchant and Waite, so I have a bit of a bias toward that particular lineage.
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