Blood, Sweat, and Steel: My Afternoon with the Ace of Swords. “When I got this sword, it was completely covered in blood rust.” Sword maker Francis Boyd is showing me yet another weapon pulled from yet another safe in the heavily fortified workshop behind his northern California home. “You can tell it’s blood,” he says matter-of-factly, “because ordinary rust turns the grinding water brown. If it’s blood rust it bleeds, it looks like blood in the water. Even 2,000 years old, it bleeds. And it smells like a steak cooking, like cooked meat. I’ve encountered this before with Japanese swords from World War II. If there’s blood on the sword and you start polishing it, the sword bleeds. It comes with the territory.” [Via]
posted by homunculus
on Apr 16, 2013 -
13 comments
Wiktenauer is a catalog of fighting manuals and other primary sources related to historical European martial arts.
posted by zamboni
on Dec 26, 2012 -
11 comments
From the opening frames of this
mesmerizing video: "A crazy idea was born. Early sunday on
Swordfish 2010 we got a crazy idea of duck-tape our GoPro Hero camera on the tip of a sword and do some swings to see how it looked. We started slow just to see if the camera was holding together, then stepping it up. All recording are done in real speed." The
music really makes the video. (
via)
posted by SpacemanStix
on Dec 27, 2010 -
54 comments
Soon there will be a sword for every man, woman, and child in the city. But come on, it's not like they're dangerous. OR ARE THEY? In six episodes of
Cautionary Tales of Swords, Trip Fisk makes the case for the danger of nature's hell sticks and while they'll fucking slice a baby in half.
posted by pokermonk
on Feb 22, 2010 -
38 comments
This year's winners of the Ig Nobel prizes are a bumper crop of wild and crazy SCIENCE!, featuring sword-swallowing, knuckle-cracking,
benefits of cow-naming,
pregnant women NOT tipping over,
a household use for giant panda poop (take that,
Packham),
diamonds made from tequila,
a brassiere that can be used as TWO gas masks,
"Ireland's Worst Driver", Icelandic banks, Zimbabwean currency, and a 'Peace Prize' earned by hitting people over the heads with beer bottles (and comparing the effects of
empty vs. full bottles) (
related inquiry)
posted by wendell
on Oct 2, 2009 -
23 comments
No, seriously, they score by touching the opponent in the Valid Target Area. The touches are monitored electronically via wires coming out of the fencers' backs, similar to the technology used to control Dan Rather.
-from
Dave Barry on Fencing in the
humor section of
Fencing Sucks.
posted by Shane
on Jun 30, 2003 -
30 comments
Swallowing A sword may feel unconfortable and leave "a taste of stomach acids and metal" in your mouth, but it's a hell of a party trick.
posted by h0ney
on Jul 7, 2002 -
6 comments
Eight Sword Myths by Glenn Pettit is a relaxing unobtrustive and straight-forward read for those who like to collect, brandish, or just stare in awe at
c-c-c-cutlery. And who doesn't? This document dispells certain modern misunderstandings but also tips a hat to timeless legend itself.
posted by ZachsMind
on Dec 6, 2000 -
2 comments
