[Sca-cooks] re enactment

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Hrolf Douglasson wrote:
>
> Yes some groups do use 'real' weapons..blunt as opposed to sharps but the
> same weight as the original..Regia Anglorum does, The weapons are made from
> steel and are very heavy. Don't you use metal weapons then?
> VAra

We (in the SCA) use weapons made primarily from staves of rattan, a
fairly light, flexible cane/wood that will leave a distinctly noticable
bruise, but which is unlikely to break bones, and which can be made to
resemble steel swords and such with regard to weight and balance.

Most medieval European weapons tend to be not quite as heavy as some
people think, with the upper range for single-handed weapons being
somewhere around 3-4 pounds, I would guess. On the other hand, I have a
three-pound sledge hammer with a short handle, and it's not something
I'd like to swing all day. Primarily it is a balance issue, though. My
rattan gladius is just barely legal by SCA weapon-weight standards
(legal max for a single-handed weapon is five pounds, I think), but it
is heavily counterbalanced by a lead pommel, so it moves like a foil.

Adamantius
--
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com