pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Aug 11, 2018 14:27:47 GMT
I had not posted but while newly manufactured was based on an antique is Windlass’ Poignard Dagger although it’s now out of production. MRL did find a few more of these a few days ago and they were snatched up immediately.
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Post by demonskull on Aug 11, 2018 15:05:48 GMT
My choice would be a Medieval cruciform dagger with a blade length of 7-9" . Any larger and it becomes pretty useless for every day usage.
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Post by legacyofthesword on Aug 12, 2018 3:05:03 GMT
I always loved the look of the Swiss dagger. Someday I should get myself one.
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Zen_Hydra
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Aug 12, 2018 4:58:21 GMT
I enjoy many styles of dagger and fighting knife. My preference is for ones long enough to reach the heart from under the ribcage (around the diaphragm and xiphoid process).
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Ifrit
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More edgy than a double edge sword
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Post by Ifrit on Aug 12, 2018 5:29:33 GMT
I enjoy many styles of dagger and fighting knife. My preference is for ones long enough to reach the heart from under the ribcage (around the diaphragm and xiphoid process). Yea same here. I usually prefer at least a 6" blade
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Post by Jordan Williams on Aug 17, 2018 15:57:39 GMT
I enjoy many styles of dagger and fighting knife. My preference is for ones long enough to reach the heart from under the ribcage (around the diaphragm and xiphoid process). Ditto.
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Post by howler on Aug 18, 2018 2:49:16 GMT
I enjoy many styles of dagger and fighting knife. My preference is for ones long enough to reach the heart from under the ribcage (around the diaphragm and xiphoid process). Isn't there a rock band named Xiphoid Process?
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Post by wlewisiii on Aug 18, 2018 14:33:02 GMT
I tend to like straight double edged daggers, generally called a Toothpick in the US. Historically that name and that of the clipped point Bowie get conflated so much it's almost impossible to tell what is actually being talked about in the sources without much study and care. This Devil's Edge one is my current favorite but with a 10" blade it's impractical as anything but as a fighting knife. I have this one from CRKT as my EDC knife instead (3 1/2" blade):
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Post by bebut on Aug 18, 2018 18:35:01 GMT
I really like qamas and kindjal style daggers. Third place would go to some kind of off-hand dagger with a side-ring on the guard, it's an elegant style I've always fancied Like this www.google.com.ni/search?tbm=isch&q=qama+dagger&chips=q:qama+dagger,online_chips:kindjal+dagger&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjE5_KYnvfcAhWQylkKHRNrCdAQ4lYIJygB&biw=1242&bih=574&dpr=1.1
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JakeH
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[k4r]
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Post by JakeH on Aug 19, 2018 23:50:41 GMT
A couple people have made comments about daggers/knives over a certain length being too long for every day use and it has me wondering. What's a dagger anyway?
Where do we distinguish between a 'knife' a 'dagger' and a 'sword' ?
My understanding was that daggers were, first and foremost, weapons and that they were specifically fairly long. Certainly longer than everyday utility/tool knives, though there was probably nothing in the rules that said you couldn't use your dagger to cut a piece of rope or chicken. Is a 4inch long, double edged knife still a 'dagger'?
Some daggers are awfully long... edging near to gladius (which is generally viewed as a sword) size. Since many daggers were made quite similarly to the sword to which they were a companion, we can't necessarily count construction (like the sword/messer distinction).
What makes a dagger long enough to become a 'sword'?
What's the accepted view on the knife/dagger/sword divide? Even better if you can document and contextualize your definition rather than just blueskying what you 'feel' is the answer.
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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 Aug 20, 2018 1:26:32 GMT
A couple people have made comments about daggers/knives over a certain length being too long for every day use and it has me wondering. What's a dagger anyway? Where do we distinguish between a 'knife' a 'dagger' and a 'sword' ? My understanding was that daggers were, first and foremost, weapons and that they were specifically fairly long. Certainly longer than everyday utility/tool knives, though there was probably nothing in the rules that said you couldn't use your dagger to cut a piece of rope or chicken. Is a 4inch long, double edged knife still a 'dagger'? Some daggers are awfully long... edging near to gladius (which is generally viewed as a sword) size. Since many daggers were made quite similarly to the sword to which they were a companion, we can't necessarily count construction (like the sword/messer distinction). What makes a dagger long enough to become a 'sword'? What's the accepted view on the knife/dagger/sword divide? Even better if you can document and contextualize your definition rather than just blueskying what you 'feel' is the answer. I think the best definition of a dagger is a thrust-centric knife designed primarily for use in combat.
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Post by wlewisiii on Aug 20, 2018 2:20:19 GMT
My Windlass Cobra Steel Kindjal is 24" over all, 16" of blade. It is, undoubtably, a sword. A short sword to be sure but a sword. I can use it with a buckler like a much longer arming sword. As opposed to the dagger up above. I do not feel I could use it with a buckler against someone armed with a sword as successfully. It would make an excellent left hand weapon to one of my sabers or the kindjal. So that says to me that the dividing line is somewhere in between those two end points. Another data point: Sting of LOTR/Hobbit fame is supposed to be an Elvish dagger that the small hobbit could use as a sword. It has a blade 15~16" long IIRC. So for me, 1 foot of steel is a dagger, 1.5 feet of steel and up is a sword, all the better to skewer your enemy with. If it can be used as a defacto butcher knife while hunting then a) it's a dagger and b) BONUS!
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Aug 20, 2018 2:42:00 GMT
but with a 10" blade it's impractical as anything but as a fighting knife. I have a 12 ¾” bowie laying on the dinning table that is used daily for everything from coring my morning fruit if needed to opening packages, not to mention pruning. It is much used and appreciated. Tonight I used it to remove a paper seal over the mouth of a condensed milk bag and cutting an aluminium wrapper on a candy bar.
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Post by bebut on Aug 20, 2018 2:43:49 GMT
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/daggerIn common use it is a knife designed primarily for stabbing, usually double edged and symmetrical, but some historical examples have a 3 sided blade to aid in penetrating mail. Length is not part of the definition, but if it is used for stabbing it would have to be sufficiently long to reach vital organs, whether for combat or hunting. Most medieval daggers I have seen described have blades in the 9 to 12 inch range. Modern ones may be shorter like the Fairbairn -Sykes at 7 inches. There is no fixed length to be a sword, much depends on what the manufacturer names it. Historically, 17 inches (qama) to 22 inches (gladius) is the bottom range for being a short sword, but the Spartan Lakonia at 14 inches is also considered a short sword. With all the knives and swords that have been made over the years, there are always a few betwixt and between like some Confederate bowies that have the bowie shape but a very long blade. Boot knives have the dagger shape, but are small enough to rate their own name.
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Post by bebut on Aug 20, 2018 3:07:21 GMT
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Post by MOK on Aug 20, 2018 8:08:13 GMT
To me, a knife is a shortish blade designed primarily for cutting, a dagger primarily for stabbing. Guy Windsor draws the line between knives/daggers and swords at the point where it becomes useful to distinguish a forte and a foible in use, which is at least simple and elegant though not quite perfect; I do feel the ideal definition would have to be something quite closely along those lines, something similarly based on the dynamics and handling.
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Post by randomnobody on Aug 22, 2018 20:49:55 GMT
I like when threads like this fall into the trap of trying to draw a line between "knife" and "sword" by any one or other attribute.
I like to show off this old photo:
From left to right, sword, knife, knife, sword, sword, knife, dagger, dirk, dagger, knife, knife, dagger, knife, knife. Or is it sword, sword, sword, sword, sword, knife, knife, knife, knife, uh...knife...knife...knife?...knife? You know, the word "knife" looks really weird when you type it a lot.
Either way, first is as described in most sources; second would have been in common practice.
As for my favorites, well, I'm recently partial to the Afghan choora, but I've long had a soft spot for the Fairbairn-Sykes. Do bayonets count?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2018 23:36:54 GMT
The Randall #2 is my favorite historical dagger. Timeless.
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Post by hoovesandswords on Sept 16, 2018 16:20:46 GMT
I've always really been fascinated by khanjar daggers. Ceremonial, yes, but so detailed and beautiful to look at. I hesitate to call them my favorite, however. Now if tanto were to be counted as daggers in this instance, I'd say they were my favorite, but it seems to be sort of a toss-up whether they're counted as daggers, knives, or short swords.
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 16, 2018 16:29:31 GMT
Tanto are an odd lot. Most I would classify as daggers, though even the definition of "dagger" is up for debate. Combine that with the varying sugata of the Japanese sword, tanto included, and one could argue that a yoroi-doshi is very much a dagger, but there are others that may be more slash-focused.
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