Patton's sword & belaying pin, was Re: [TML] What if the cutlass is not a cutlass? Phil Pugliese (01 May 2017 19:36 UTC)
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Re: Patton's sword & belaying pin, was Re: [TML] What if the cutlass is not a cutlass?
Fred Kiesche
(01 May 2017 21:23 UTC)
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Re: Patton's sword & belaying pin, was Re: [TML] What if the cutlass is not a cutlass?
Bruce Johnson
(01 May 2017 21:54 UTC)
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Re: Patton's sword & belaying pin, was Re: [TML] What if the cutlass is not a cutlass?
Fred Kiesche
(01 May 2017 22:02 UTC)
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Re: Patton's sword & belaying pin, was Re: [TML] What if the cutlass is not a cutlass?
Fred Kiesche
(01 May 2017 21:51 UTC)
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Patton's sword & belaying pin, was Re: [TML] What if the cutlass is not a cutlass? Phil Pugliese 01 May 2017 19:31 UTC
-------------------------------------------- On Mon, 5/1/17, Bruce Johnson <xxxxxx@Pharmacy.Arizona.EDU> wrote: Subject: Re: [TML] What if the cutlass is not a cutlass? To: "xxxxxx@simplelists.com" <xxxxxx@simplelists.com> Date: Monday, May 1, 2017, 9:50 AM [Lot's of good stuff snipped] Swords designed to be used from horseback, for example, tend to all look alike: curved blades designed for slashing in an arc without the tip hanging up to dislodge the rider, long enough to reach a foot soldier alongside a horse, short enough to be easy to wield from the saddle one handed. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I recall reading somewhere that Patton, while still a jr officer & after he competed in the Olympics, managed to get himself assigned to the project to design a new cavalry sword for the US Army. I also recall it was before WWI. Anyway, I remember the new sword was described as "a straight sword intended for chopping instead of slashing"<sic> which surprised me as I was accustomed to the sort of saber seen on most old westerns. Now that I'm thinking about it, I also recall reading an article about the army that Gustavus Adolphus brought into the Thirty-Years War. As I remember his cavalry was distinguished by using a straight 'chopping' sword. ------------------------- [More snipping] -------------------------- Famously the cutlass was designed to be used by inexperienced sailors in close quarters; in truth, hatchets and short axes were used almost as frequently, as those were very common tools aboard a wooden ship (thus multiple use devices), and are as easy to wield (probably easier, since they get used a lot, so there’s muscle memory.) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Heck even the good ol' belaying pin would come in handy during a boarding melee" As my (retired vet) Dad used to say; "hit'em on top of his head so hard he'll have three tongues in his shoes!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There isn’t ‘one true sword design’. Frankly the imperial 'cutlass’ probably looks as much like this <http://www.leevalley.com/us/garden/page.aspx?p=65248&cat=2,45794> as anything else. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Hey! You've just discovered the KTLSS (commonly referred to as a 'cutlass'). The standard boarding weapon of the Imperial Marines. =====================================================================