Some musings on longswords and rangering.
Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 1:41 pm
Longswords tend to be a headache for some on the forum and I believe there to be a good deal of misinformation about the concept of woodland sword carry floating around. In this discussion I will be addressing several topics that tie into carrying a sword in the woods. This will include, length and weight, usage, and tips for getting used to wearing and carrying your blade. Im going to start with the length and weight issue. Now, as a ranger who prefers a longsword/warsword Ive been kind of put out at the wealth of misleading info on the forum. The popular concept is that they are awkward in the woods, that they tangle and bang about, that they are heavy and awkward, and that they are not accessible for defense in tight places. On every point this is true, but only because the people carrying them arent properly trained, havent worn them enough, and havent pursued the proper educational material. On the point of tangling and banging about. What this tells me is that the ranger hasn't worn a longsword that often in the woods and hasnt spent much time practicing proper navigation through the woods. A longsword is no more in the way than a bow or longrifle, the trick is picking your path well and not just crashing through the undergrowth. A ranger should always move over country quietly, and leave no sign. In fact, when suspended properly swords are well out of the way and catch on things far less than many rangers packs, cloaks, quivers, and slung bows. At this point in my life I think I've worn a sword every way possible. Ive used back slings, baldrics, a variety of frogs that hold it vertical and at various angles, used mulitple belts that wrap around the body and so on. The best overall suspension in my opinion is one that lets the sword be worn at an angle and be removed from the belt easily via buckles or a frog of some variety. To get used to wearing a longer blade and to keep up on it myself I encourage wearing it as much as you are able. It isnt uncommon for me to wear my sword around the house whilst doing house work, or around my shop while working. Trust me if you can cook and clean in a small kitchen as I do without banging you scabbard about you can do it in the woods.
The next one I see the most is the issue of weight and length. Longswords and swords of war are heavy right? Wrong. Now if we take the advice of the fencing masters of old we can sort this mess out quite easily. Many master of defense give us tips for choosing the length of a longsword. The most common is that the length ought go from the floor with the pommel being level with your navel. I wouldnt be suprised to find that many rangers who carry longswords do not carry ones that are properly sized and weighted. For the issue of weight we must again turn to history. Most longswords and swords of war weigh between 2.5 to and 5ish lbs. This depends heavily on the swords build and function. My personal sword for example is a sword of war, epee de guerre, or if you prefer Oakshotts typology is in the type XIII family and weighs in at 4 3/4 lbs. Its style and shape fits well in Middle Earth. One vital point is that these types of early longsword are still able to be used with a shield. I train regularly with my warsword and a round shield. Many could not use a sword this size and weight with a shield, but this sword was tailored to my large size and height. This is one reason I imagine Anduril so as Aragorn and I are of a similar height and build. A sword that is 50 inches and 4 3/4 lbs to me is the rough equivilant to an average heighted person wielding something around 42-45 inches and 2 1/2 to 3 or so lbs. The ideal road for choosing a sword is to save up and go custom. This allows you to tailor a weapon to your size and weight requirements. This was the main reason I went down that road and it was two years of saving and two more of waiting. I realize for many this is not an option. The best runner up is to secure a blade blank with historical specs and have it properly hilted.
Moving on Im going to discuss the usage of a larger sword in the wild. The reason I prefer a longsword in the wild is the versatility. A rangers gear including their weapons should be able to multitask. The reason I do not carry an arming sword is focused on one main problem and it is this. As far as combatives goes with an arming sword of the type that fits in Middle Earth, it is only at its full capacity when used with either a shield or a buckler. A dagger in the off hand will get you through single combat just fine, but if its more than one opponent or a small skirmish you are going to be more much more disadvantaged. There are of course sources for the use of an arming sword alone but the swords are historically sized and weighted to be used with a round dark age type shield in a shield wall. So to my way of thinking, why carry a blade that I have to carry additonal objects to bring it to its full capacity and adds bulk and size to my pack? A rangers gear should multi task while streamlining your gear. The longsword is the shield and its training gives me the ablity to use elements of polearms via half-swording, the longer guard gives me elements of a warhammer to punch with and to bind with and the heavier pommel gives me elements of a mace. Half-swording allows me to tuck in and use it tactically in tight spaces. One of many arguments Ive heard is that a longsword cant be used in tight places. This is true for the most part. As previously said I can half-sword in tight places if pressed but my combative mentality is to not draw my sword at all in tight places but my dirk and use a combination of that and to hand combat. Prior to all that though is that I would never choose ground to fight on that was overly dense to begin with and if I was somehow ambushed then I have failed in my trade as a tracker and ranger as a whole. In short, dense, tangled woodlands and enlosed places arent for swords of any variety, one has to choose ground suitable for sword combat. The likely hood of being ambushed on dense ground is small as it gives the enemy no room to move either. So anywhere that it comes to a fight via ambush will likely be favorable to sword combat.
Now to climb down off my soapbox I want to say this. Swords to the warrior breed are very personal. The thoughts above are only a very small musing on my prefernce for one style of blade. In the end a ranger should carry what sword makes them comfortable. I love swords as a whole, and own nearly one of every type. I plan to write more on other types that apply to the ranger and why I would prefer them if it were my main style with the same fervor I feel for longswords. For those that prefer longswords and those that dont I hope this proved helpful and educational.
The next one I see the most is the issue of weight and length. Longswords and swords of war are heavy right? Wrong. Now if we take the advice of the fencing masters of old we can sort this mess out quite easily. Many master of defense give us tips for choosing the length of a longsword. The most common is that the length ought go from the floor with the pommel being level with your navel. I wouldnt be suprised to find that many rangers who carry longswords do not carry ones that are properly sized and weighted. For the issue of weight we must again turn to history. Most longswords and swords of war weigh between 2.5 to and 5ish lbs. This depends heavily on the swords build and function. My personal sword for example is a sword of war, epee de guerre, or if you prefer Oakshotts typology is in the type XIII family and weighs in at 4 3/4 lbs. Its style and shape fits well in Middle Earth. One vital point is that these types of early longsword are still able to be used with a shield. I train regularly with my warsword and a round shield. Many could not use a sword this size and weight with a shield, but this sword was tailored to my large size and height. This is one reason I imagine Anduril so as Aragorn and I are of a similar height and build. A sword that is 50 inches and 4 3/4 lbs to me is the rough equivilant to an average heighted person wielding something around 42-45 inches and 2 1/2 to 3 or so lbs. The ideal road for choosing a sword is to save up and go custom. This allows you to tailor a weapon to your size and weight requirements. This was the main reason I went down that road and it was two years of saving and two more of waiting. I realize for many this is not an option. The best runner up is to secure a blade blank with historical specs and have it properly hilted.
Moving on Im going to discuss the usage of a larger sword in the wild. The reason I prefer a longsword in the wild is the versatility. A rangers gear including their weapons should be able to multitask. The reason I do not carry an arming sword is focused on one main problem and it is this. As far as combatives goes with an arming sword of the type that fits in Middle Earth, it is only at its full capacity when used with either a shield or a buckler. A dagger in the off hand will get you through single combat just fine, but if its more than one opponent or a small skirmish you are going to be more much more disadvantaged. There are of course sources for the use of an arming sword alone but the swords are historically sized and weighted to be used with a round dark age type shield in a shield wall. So to my way of thinking, why carry a blade that I have to carry additonal objects to bring it to its full capacity and adds bulk and size to my pack? A rangers gear should multi task while streamlining your gear. The longsword is the shield and its training gives me the ablity to use elements of polearms via half-swording, the longer guard gives me elements of a warhammer to punch with and to bind with and the heavier pommel gives me elements of a mace. Half-swording allows me to tuck in and use it tactically in tight spaces. One of many arguments Ive heard is that a longsword cant be used in tight places. This is true for the most part. As previously said I can half-sword in tight places if pressed but my combative mentality is to not draw my sword at all in tight places but my dirk and use a combination of that and to hand combat. Prior to all that though is that I would never choose ground to fight on that was overly dense to begin with and if I was somehow ambushed then I have failed in my trade as a tracker and ranger as a whole. In short, dense, tangled woodlands and enlosed places arent for swords of any variety, one has to choose ground suitable for sword combat. The likely hood of being ambushed on dense ground is small as it gives the enemy no room to move either. So anywhere that it comes to a fight via ambush will likely be favorable to sword combat.
Now to climb down off my soapbox I want to say this. Swords to the warrior breed are very personal. The thoughts above are only a very small musing on my prefernce for one style of blade. In the end a ranger should carry what sword makes them comfortable. I love swords as a whole, and own nearly one of every type. I plan to write more on other types that apply to the ranger and why I would prefer them if it were my main style with the same fervor I feel for longswords. For those that prefer longswords and those that dont I hope this proved helpful and educational.