Aikidoka
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Monstrous monk in training...
Posts: 1,451
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Post by Aikidoka on Dec 4, 2017 0:53:00 GMT
Today, I did my initial test cutting with a modified ATrim River Yare Falchion that Angus Trim sent me for testing and evaluation. It cut used Japanese and "checkerboard tatami with ease and didn't have any trouble with double Mugen Dachi tatami targets. And, once I did my part right, it cut cleanly through a triple Mugen Dachi target as well!
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Post by 28shadow on Dec 4, 2017 1:51:09 GMT
"Left to right structure is stronger..."
I knew it! I knew there was a reason a left to right diagonal cut always worked better and easier with the single handed swords I've cut with.
Good cutting, and that's quite the ringer.
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Zen_Hydra
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Born with a heart full of neutrality
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Dec 4, 2017 17:15:07 GMT
AikidokaHow would you rate the cutting prowess (in comparison to each other) of the swords you have personal experience with? What do you think is the best one-hander and best two-hander when it comes to tameshigiri?
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Aikidoka
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Monstrous monk in training...
Posts: 1,451
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Post by Aikidoka on Dec 4, 2017 19:24:47 GMT
This falchion has the greatest cutting capacity of any single hand cutting sword that I have used. It cut that double thickness target like it was a single mat. I don't know if you can tell in the video, but that horizontal cut on the double mat shocked me. It went through incredibly easily and that is a tough cut! My Hanwei Oxtail Dao would probably come in second. The other ATrim falchion that I cut with, French Medieval Falchion, would probably do well also, but I haven't cut a double mat with it, so I can't say for sure. Most of my two handers have only cut single mats, either by themselves or a series of 2 or 3 single mats. Cutting double or triple thickness targets is significantly more challenging. Of the two hand swords that I have tried against double and triple thickness mats, the one that cut the best was the Feilong Iwa Shobu katana that Cottontail Customs sent me to test. I have others that I think would probably do as well, I just haven't tried them on double thick targets. I'll set aside a weekend some time in the near future to test that theory.
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Post by skane on Dec 4, 2017 19:26:17 GMT
Very impressive single hand cutting on some challenging tough targets!
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Post by Richard Arias on Dec 6, 2017 6:06:00 GMT
On your second attempt it wasn't just the strength of direction. Your angle of entry was much better from that side. Also I noticed your hesitation on that triple mat. From the used stuff I have cut from Nihonzashi I find them twice as hard to cut as the mugen dachi stuff. And fhe checkerboard is even beyond that. What happened to you is what happens to everyone you had the "oh man that's a big mat" and it altered your game. But really you already cut the checkerboard mat that is almost the same difficulty, but the triple mat needs more fallow through being larger circumference.
People neglect the fact that a lot of cutting ability is affected by confidence. It happened to me recently training for a Competition. I had two decent cutting sessions with used Japanese Tatami. Then the 3rd my Sensei filmed it and I did horrible and the same for the one after. Honestly my cutting has been crappy ever since. I used to not think and just cut. Now I just can't seem to clear the mechanism.
I'm glad your cutting competition Grade mats. Many of the HEMA guys I have met locally cut wara and beach mats not believing me when I tell them that it would take roughly 8 Beach mats to equal a checkerboard Tatami. Those used mats are super tough when rolled tightly it's like you forgot how to cut compared to the Mugen Dachi stuff :)
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Aikidoka
Member
Monstrous monk in training...
Posts: 1,451
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Post by Aikidoka on Dec 6, 2017 6:40:28 GMT
Cutting thick tatami targets with a single hand sword is different than with two hands. Cutting from the left, the cut has much stronger structure because of the simple fact that the arm is attached at the shoulder on the opposite side. When the hip moves, the arms goes. Cutting from the right side, you have to form the necessary structure or the arm will lose power. And of course, at some point, if you keep cutting thicker and thicker mats, you'll reach the limit of what you can do with the sword. Once that happens, the blade will want to turn down and stay in the mat. I have experienced this many times over the years, sometimes on double or triple thick targets or sometimes on single targets if the blade/edge geometry of the sword is not what it needs to be. The other sword that I cut with that day was doing the same in a double mat, because its blade profile was not quite what it needed to be to cut thick mats.
Are you training in Phoenix now, Richard? If so, we should get together and cut sometime.
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Post by Richard Arias on Dec 6, 2017 7:09:07 GMT
Cutting thick tatami targets with a single hand sword is different than with two hands. Cutting from the left, the cut has much stronger structure because of the simple fact that the arm is attached at the shoulder on the opposite side. When the hip moves, the arms goes. Cutting from the right side, you have to form the necessary structure or the arm will lose power. And of course, at some point, if you keep cutting thicker and thicker mats, you'll reach the limit of what you can do with the sword. Once that happens, the blade will want to turn down and stay in the mat. I have experienced this many times over the years, sometimes on double or triple thick targets or sometimes on single targets if the blade/edge geometry of the sword is not what it needs to be. The other sword that I cut with that day was doing the same in a double mat, because its blade profile was not quite what it needed to be to cut thick mats. Are you training in Phoenix now, Richard? If so, we should get together and cut sometime. Yeah I moved to Phoenix in June. The tournament in my profile pic was in Tucson. I was looking for HEMA guys to work with so I could attend the Local club. But could not find a Carpool. If you want to get together I am waiting to train for a Competition in February and could use the help :) Scott is out here to he trains with my friend and Sensei.
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