which would rather be your weapon of choice, a longsword or a scimitar?

scimitar pros: fast, durable, light
scimitar cons: dosn't hit hard, brittle
longsword pros: hits harder
longsword cons: slow, heavy.

which would you choose as a weapon?

Scimitar. I just love the way it feels, it's speed and the looks and whatnot. I jsut love it.

ROFL!!!

It's kinda right. If treated right, a scimitar is far more durable than a longsword, but it is brittle if you go on hammering with it on iron.

then enlighten me o wise one, why is scimitar more durable then longsword if it is more brittle?

I don't think I would have caught that, but I would still prefer the Scimitar. Quickness can beat str.

A diamond is the hardest, most durable natural object in existence. Yet it is brittle. Think about it.

"Diamond is brittle"... LOLOLOLOL. This is *the* funniest statemnt I heard on these forums for quite some time.

Use your brain a little friend. Do you know what brittle means?

Brittle]
Yes, diamonds are likely to break. It scores 10 on the Mohs Mineral Hardness scale because another diamond is the only mineral that can cut it or scratch it. But all it's hardness does nothing to it when it is subject to a counter-axial force along one of it's planes of breaking. You can break a stick-shaped diamond with your fingers, that's why they don't sell it like a stick. The form it is sold in as jewelry is cut. The cuts are all along planes of breaking. So next time, try and use your brain before telling people to use theirs.

Have you seen industrial diamonds?

[ 07-10-2005, 05:12 PM: Message edited by: ZFR ]

Yes. Are they big? No. And most of the force being exerted on them are on the table, or equally spread on all the side and pavilion facets. Of You exert force to two opposide girdle sides, the diamond breaks into thousands little rightlyformed pieces.

[ 07-10-2005, 05:17 PM: Message edited by: Bozos of Bones ]

OK, diamonds aside,
and assuming scimitar is brittle [EDIT: of this I'm not convinced either. Scimitars break easily? :rolleyes: but I dont claim excessive knowledge in medieval weapons],
why do you claim it is more durable than longsword? shouldnt a sword be more durable if scimitars are brittle?

[ 07-10-2005, 05:28 PM: Message edited by: ZFR ]

Scimitars are wider along it's slashing side, meaning when it hits a material face on, it has a good backing to withstand the blow and not break or bend. But when hit on the side by something heavy or strong, it can break on occasion.
If you just leave them somewhere to rust out, a longsword will become unservicable(if old and rustable) whereas a scimitar can still be used to cut a few people before it breaks. New weapons aside, as new longswords don't rust and new scimitars will bend rather than break. In new conditions, a cutting side of the scimitar against a cutting side of a longsword, the scimitar has a better chance of not breaking because it is wider at the end of the blade.

The scimitar is very durable, as a matter of fact, cos it is light and fast and it is not very likely to hit metal objects. The only way a warrior with a scimitar to win a battle is to kill his oponent as quickly as possible and therefore his scimitar will not suffer any damage. However, if you use a scimitar to defend yourself and it takes direct hits by a stronger weapon (assuming a longsword), it will break easily. I don't know why I'm even posting this, cos Bozos of Bones already said most of it, but let's hope this will help somebody understand it better.

Scimitar.

I just can't stop liking it... :D
Although, if I have a choice I would choose a warhammer or mace or a morningstar...
What can I say I'm a beating sort of guy.. :D

Scimitar, mainly because I dont have the arm strength to wield a longsword to its best capacity. Generally I would prefer a faster slashing weapon over a slower chopping weapon.

From those two a scimitar, but I'd take a rapier over both anyday. If I need to defeat someone heavily armoured I'll lose regardless of my chosen weapon.

Bozos, I am nearly stunned by the owerflowing and bottomless well that is your knowledge.

ZFR, I am shocked, appalled, dismayed, and offended by your misuse of the expression "LOLOLOLOL". Never do that again lest the acronym beast devour you.

Why thank you Iron Greasel [img]smile.gif[/img]
I make it a hobby to know trivia and all kinds of stuff. Never know when aliens might attack the planet and I just happen to be the only man who can save th earth by combining a diamond to a piece of wood and a rubber spring to create an ion cannon that will destroy the alien mothership and send them back from where they came from [img]tongue.gif[/img]

But first you must grow a mullet that would make even MacGyver proud.

Especially in the same post that said, "Use your brain a little"...

Okay, I'll throw a curveball here. Longsword.

Who said they were slow or heavy? If we are talking about the same longsword here, the weapon is held in two hands and weighs 2-3 pounds. Believe me, I've held one. Since you use two hands, you can swing it reasonably fast, and still very powerfully. There was no "greatsword", since a giant 100 pound 8 foot blade would be useless in combat.

Longswords RULE.

Alrighty then, but I have one question, which may just be an oversight on your part, oh master of obscure, and wonderful wisdom. If you blow up the mother ship, how are they gonna get back where they came from? [img]tongue.gif[/img]
Marty 4, I've seen great swords, up close and personal, held one in both my hands, and while it is heavy, it's not one hundred pounds. I do, however, agree that longswords are not all that heavy. Fuctional ones weigh a bit more than two pounds, but they aren't all that heavy, maybe eight to ten pounds all told.

I'll take what Indiana Jones used against the guy with the sword any day. :D

[ 07-12-2005, 02:21 AM: Message edited by: machinehead ]

Alrighty then, but I have one question, which may just be an oversight on your part, oh master of obscure, and wonderful wisdom. If you blow up the mother ship, how are they gonna get back where they came from? [img]tongue.gif[/img]
Marty 4, I've seen great swords, up close and personal, held one in both my hands, and while it is heavy, it's not one hundred pounds. I do, however, agree that longswords are not all that heavy. Fuctional ones weigh a bit more than two pounds, but they aren't all that heavy, maybe eight to ten pounds all told. </font>[/QUOTE]Well, erm... as the erm... mothership gets a large hole blown up inside it... it uh.. opens warp gates for the.. err.. other alien ships to escape through... and then blows up... Err.. yeah that's about it [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Depends wat the other guy is using/circumstances. Its like asking do you want a sniper rifle or a shotgun and not specifying whether you're stand a meter or a mile away.

I don't think that greatswords were actually used during medieval times. Was the one you held a collectors item?

As for the weight, I may be confused with katanas, which may have been 2 pounds. Still, eight to ten pounds with two hands shouldnt be that bad, unless you are using it for an extended period of time (and if so, you would definitely have trained with it and be physically strong enough to wave around five pounds of weight in each hand).

just thought i'd bring this up..
When in combat, you don't use two hands, mainly if i recall, also a large metal shield would be used. Plate mail will be worn and so will chain mail. scimitars, being light, will be easier to swing wearing these fairly heavy objects, but a longsword you need to take a swing, bring it over your shoulder (4 seconds there) and take another swing. Battle axes make more damage but are far more worse for speed.

And i'd like to get a scimitar and slash on those aliens that would like to take over [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I thought scimtars were designed to be used from the saddle, IIRC the mongols often used them.

Longswords and greatswords are different. Longsords could either be used with two hands or one hand and a shield, whereas greatswords could only be used by two hands.

[ 07-19-2005, 10:41 AM: Message edited by: Aragorn1 ]

Indeed, Aragorn1. The scimitar thing is not entirely correct, but I wouldn't say it's wrong either, as you could use them from horse back. The same could be said for sabers as well, mounted calvalry used them. Lots of weapons of the period would be considered good from a horse, but for actual combat from a horse, you may prefer the lighter slashing weapons. It would be a speed factor thing.
As to Marty4's question, I'd say it was pretty old, but I don't have exact details. Great swords were used to break pike formations, in preparation for calvalry charges, or even infantry ones. As to the long sword useage, yes, it's hilt is big enough to be used as a two handed weapon, but weight and balance wise, it was designed to be used one handed, preferrably, at least by me, with a shield.

BOOMSTICK!

Ok, not what I was taught, but I could be wrong.

I doubt we are talking about the same longsword, actually - historically, iirc, there was no weapon called the longsword. The D&D longsword is roughly equivalent to a historical arming sword (with the weight you gave, as opposed to the weight D&D gives for the longsword). Two-handed swords tended to be closer to 5 lbs, I seem to recall.

In any case, though, you're correct that neither type of weapon was esceptionally slow or heavy. Personally, I'd also go with the longsword - I much prefer the aesthetic aspects, and I doubt it'd make much difference which I used given that I'm not familiar with either type.

[ 07-19-2005, 11:07 PM: Message edited by: Encard ]

Katana.


...Failing that a "longsword" (though as previously pointed out, they don't "technically" exist..)

erm.. katana is basicaly a very sharp weapon, but it wouldn't rip through tough steel or iron armour. it was designed to ct through wood as that was their only source of good armour around. besides, i wanted to change the usual "longsword and katana" thread to a scimitar one.

Rapier.

The French had the right idea [img]tongue.gif[/img]

so? I'm pretty sure a katana would pierce someone's throat, armour or no. Regardless, that's my weapon of choice. It's prettier than the other swords. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I agree that it depends on the situation and what you are up against. A scimitar is a hacking and slashing kind of sword, it does have speed on it's side however. A longsword can be used for hacking, slashing AND piercing/stabbing. I personally own a replica longsword (for lack of a better description) and it weighs about 8 pounds and I can easily handle it in one hand (but I do practise my swordplay from time to time). Then theres that fact that these weapons may be of different alloys. I myself would choose the longsword.

so? I'm pretty sure a katana would pierce someone's throat, armour or no. Regardless, that's my weapon of choice. It's prettier than the other swords. [img]tongue.gif[/img] </font>[/QUOTE]The Katana was the sword of the Samurai. It was the strongest and sharpest blade known to the world at its time, bettering even the blades of the saracens, who also used the advanced metal working techniques. The unique strength of the blade was acheived by folding the metal many times and cooling it correctly, when at the right temperature, which removed the impurities that were seen in western swords of the time. This not only gave it the worlds best cutting edge but helped to prevent it being as brittle as other thin swords.

I think 'Longword' was a general term for a sword longer than the swords used by the general man-at-arms, the longsword was the sword of the nobility, but it is a general term rather than a fixed class. Generally though they are intended for use with a shield.

[ 07-20-2005, 09:28 AM: Message edited by: Aragorn1 ]

You do relise that, katanas aren't very popular. you may have seen many movies with the "longsword" but not too many with a katana. And how can they be pretty? they all have blood on them lol.

Originaly this was posted about scims and longs, but now it's gone back to katana and longs.. rofl, that's prety crazy aye lol.

[ 07-20-2005, 10:20 AM: Message edited by: burnzey boi ]