A fictional axe: is it real-world based?

fearn · 2nd September 2005, 09:17 PM

Hi Raffaele,

I'm glad that helps. So far as I know, having a weapon forged of a single piece of steel would probably not be a good thing, if we assume that the author knew something about Medieval Japan. The reason it's not a good thing is that it only works if the steel is of exceptional quality and carefully (and differentially) heat treated. Folding, on the other hand, performs two functions: it allows the smith to join two (or more) bars of steel with differing properties, and it allows him to control the size of impurities such as silica crystals that would weaken the blade. In the first case, it would be common to join a hard but brittle edge to a more flexible back, creating a sword that would not shatter on impact, but which would be hard enough to cut. In the second case, careful folding would allow the smith to use more inferior metal (i.e. one contaminated with silica, etc) to make a superior blade.

Making the *BIG* assumption that the Manga author knows this (which I doubt), this weapon would be inferior. However, it sounds cool and unique, which probably matters more in the context of the Manga.

Finally, I have to ask a dumb question: is this weapon an axe (ono) or a sickle (kama/gama)? The reason I'm asking is that the samurai carried a variety of "kama" as rank insignia, and some of them looked more than a bit like this weapon. If it is a kama, then it fits very nicely as a slightly exotic side weapon for a samurai type. Otherwise, its user is basically being weird.

This all assumes that it didn't just come out of the author's imagination. Fun to speculate, though.

F

lordraphael · 2nd September 2005, 10:13 PM

Thank you very much for your help.

The weapon is specifically called an "ono" (axe) in Japanese, and it's specifically a non-Japanese weapon.
The author states it "may come from somewhere around Nepal"... a statement people on this board don't support.

Anyway, it was the author's purpose to make it a weird weapon fit to a weird user. That guy's the leader of a rogue "fighting school/style" strongly contending against the formalism of (peace-time) Tokugawa Japan martial arts, on the ground that "exploiting any effective mean to win is the only true martial art".
Somewhere else in the series, he says something on the lines of:
"This cumbersome axe is not as sharp as a Japanese sword, I agree. However, you don't need to use strength to block it [meaning, I think, that he just lets it fall, then controls it by dexterity alone]. That's a crucial advantage to me, with my skinny arms and slight build."
Pure fancy?

R.

fearn · 2nd September 2005, 11:04 PM

Hi R,

Thanks. I suspected as much, but I thought there's a certain amount of irony in the situation. A lot of samurai favored the kusarigama, or various flavors of kama. By favoring a kama-like weapon, this character is a bit more tradition bound than his creator might have thought.

Actually, however you interpret the response, this "axe" that sounds like a kora, and I think most forumites would agree. While I've never swung a kora, you do hit point-down with the beak, and they are front-weighted like axes. In that sense the character is right. The part that's a little goofy is that you need decent muscles to recover after the swing, so presumably, he makes his first shot count each time?
F

2nd September 2005, 09:17 PM	#1
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Hi Raffaele, I'm glad that helps. So far as I know, having a weapon forged of a single piece of steel would probably not be a good thing, if we assume that the author knew something about Medieval Japan. The reason it's not a good thing is that it only works if the steel is of exceptional quality and carefully (and differentially) heat treated. Folding, on the other hand, performs two functions: it allows the smith to join two (or more) bars of steel with differing properties, and it allows him to control the size of impurities such as silica crystals that would weaken the blade. In the first case, it would be common to join a hard but brittle edge to a more flexible back, creating a sword that would not shatter on impact, but which would be hard enough to cut. In the second case, careful folding would allow the smith to use more inferior metal (i.e. one contaminated with silica, etc) to make a superior blade. Making the BIG assumption that the Manga author knows this (which I doubt), this weapon would be inferior. However, it sounds cool and unique, which probably matters more in the context of the Manga. Finally, I have to ask a dumb question: is this weapon an axe (ono) or a sickle (kama/gama)? The reason I'm asking is that the samurai carried a variety of "kama" as rank insignia, and some of them looked more than a bit like this weapon. If it is a kama, then it fits very nicely as a slightly exotic side weapon for a samurai type. Otherwise, its user is basically being weird. This all assumes that it didn't just come out of the author's imagination. Fun to speculate, though. F

2nd September 2005, 10:13 PM	#2
lordraphael Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Italy Posts: 7	Thank you very much for your help. The weapon is specifically called an "ono" (axe) in Japanese, and it's specifically a non-Japanese weapon. The author states it "may come from somewhere around Nepal"... a statement people on this board don't support. Anyway, it was the author's purpose to make it a weird weapon fit to a weird user. That guy's the leader of a rogue "fighting school/style" strongly contending against the formalism of (peace-time) Tokugawa Japan martial arts, on the ground that "exploiting any effective mean to win is the only true martial art". Somewhere else in the series, he says something on the lines of: "This cumbersome axe is not as sharp as a Japanese sword, I agree. However, you don't need to use strength to block it [meaning, I think, that he just lets it fall, then controls it by dexterity alone]. That's a crucial advantage to me, with my skinny arms and slight build." Pure fancy? R.

2nd September 2005, 11:04 PM	#3
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Hi R, Thanks. I suspected as much, but I thought there's a certain amount of irony in the situation. A lot of samurai favored the kusarigama, or various flavors of kama. By favoring a kama-like weapon, this character is a bit more tradition bound than his creator might have thought. Actually, however you interpret the response, this "axe" that sounds like a kora, and I think most forumites would agree. While I've never swung a kora, you do hit point-down with the beak, and they are front-weighted like axes. In that sense the character is right. The part that's a little goofy is that you need decent muscles to recover after the swing, so presumably, he makes his first shot count each time? F