Weapon Materials

Killer Cyborg · Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:59 pm

I have a katana that's made of 440 Stainless Steel.
I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
It sounds good, but a comment in the Knight Vs. Samurai thread made me wonder.

For that matter, we have all sorts of alloys and materials now that we didn't have back when swords were actually used.
Would a titanium sword be any good? Or maybe for an axe or mace?
Or a depleted Uranium mace?
Or a plastic or fibreglass staff, cudgel, or maul?

Guest · Unread post by **Guest** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:37 am

Ironically, a while back I came across some articles that specifically addresses this:
http://swordforum.com/metallurgy/titanium.html
http://swordforum.com/swords/decorative ... dreal.html

The conclusion is interesting, it seems Titanium and 440 stainless steel are nice looking, but not very effective.

Depleted Uranium, while certainly denser than steel, and having more weight would be workable from just that standpoint, but don't forget that there is still slight radioactivity even with depleted Uranium.

As far as plastics and fiberglasses for blunt weapons, they would still work, but the lighter weight would tend to make them less effective.

Library Ogre · Unread post by **Library Ogre** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:36 am

About what I was going to say. Most western, medieval, weapons rely on the weight of the weapon as much as the sharpness of the blade to do their damage. "Light but really sharp" might work for fencing weapons.

Guest · Unread post by **Guest** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:57 am

MrNexx wrote:About what I was going to say. Most western, medieval, weapons rely on the weight of the weapon as much as the sharpness of the blade to do their damage. "Light but really sharp" might work for fencing weapons.

Which brings up an interesting point about the myth of "blood grooves." I find it ironic that many proponents of this myth claim the reason for fullers is to prevent some sort of "vacuum suction" that would occur if the sword was thrust into the body. Yet it's ironic that fullers are found on swords designed for cutting, rather than swords designed for thrusting. It seems that the proponents have no explanation for why this is.

Jefffar · Unread post by **Jefffar** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:03 am

I'd think a depeleted uranum core inside a titanium or steel axe or mace (or even a long sward) would add incredibly to te impact of these weapons.

Guest · Unread post by **Guest** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:35 am

Jefffar wrote:I'd think a depeleted uranum core inside a titanium or steel axe or mace (or even a long sward) would add incredibly to te impact of these weapons.

True enough, and easily factored into game mechanics.

Nekira Sudacne · Thu Sep 07, 2006 12:59 pm

Kuseru Satsujin wrote:
Jefffar wrote:I'd think a depeleted uranum core inside a titanium or steel axe or mace (or even a long sward) would add incredibly to te impact of these weapons.
True enough, and easily factored into game mechanics.

"easily" by what standards? my head hurts just thinking about trying that.

Library Ogre · Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:07 pm

Nekira Sudacne wrote:
Kuseru Satsujin wrote:
Jefffar wrote:I'd think a depeleted uranum core inside a titanium or steel axe or mace (or even a long sward) would add incredibly to te impact of these weapons.
True enough, and easily factored into game mechanics.

"easily" by what standards? my head hurts just thinking about trying that.

+2 to damage, +20 to SDC.

Easy. ;-)

Guest · Unread post by **Guest** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 8:28 am

MrNexx wrote:
Nekira Sudacne wrote:
Kuseru Satsujin wrote:
Jefffar wrote:I'd think a depeleted uranum core inside a titanium or steel axe or mace (or even a long sward) would add incredibly to te impact of these weapons.
True enough, and easily factored into game mechanics.

"easily" by what standards? my head hurts just thinking about trying that.

+2 to damage, +20 to SDC.

Easy.

Ironically, pretty much what I was thinking as well.

Library Ogre · Sat Sep 09, 2006 12:32 am

Kuseru Satsujin wrote:
MrNexx wrote:
Nekira Sudacne wrote:
Kuseru Satsujin wrote:
Jefffar wrote:I'd think a depeleted uranum core inside a titanium or steel axe or mace (or even a long sward) would add incredibly to te impact of these weapons.
True enough, and easily factored into game mechanics.

"easily" by what standards? my head hurts just thinking about trying that.

+2 to damage, +20 to SDC.

Easy.
Ironically, pretty much what I was thinking as well.

Great minds run in similar channels...

Jefffar · Unread post by **Jefffar** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 3:01 am

Hopefully not the gutter

Guest · Unread post by **Guest** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 7:37 am

Jefffar wrote:Hopefully not the gutter

No, if my mind gets that high, I might get a nosebleed.

Library Ogre · Sat Sep 09, 2006 10:40 am

Jefffar wrote:Hopefully not the gutter

My mind is so deep, it has to go through the gutter to get to where it's going.

drewkitty ~..~ · Sat Sep 09, 2006 2:22 pm

We now know what those HUGE anime swords are made of. :lol:

Library Ogre · Unread post by **Library Ogre** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 8:52 pm

drewkitty wrote:We now know what those HUGE anime swords are made of.

Right. They're made of pure overcompensation.

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 3:17 am

I have a carbon steel katana that was forged. It is not the damascus steel, but it does have some seriously wonderful balance to it. It flows with your arm movement as you swing it.