Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

fearn · 19th December 2008, 10:47 PM

I'm not entirely sure, but another reason for a long sheath is balance. Basically, when the dao is in the sheath, it's got a heavy weight (the hilt) sitting out front, which tends to pull the sheath down and forward when it's carried horizontally. This is bad, as the dao will then fall forward and out. I found this out the hard way when I tried to make a "dha" out of a rehilted machete, and the sheath dumped the blade first time I picked it up.

One thing I've noticed is that there are two ways of balancing a sword, both in the hilt and the sheath. One is to stick a weight on the end, and the other is to increase its length. Many swords have weighted pommels on the end of the pommel and a chape on the end of the chape. In south east Asia, with the dhas and daos, there is the tendency to lengthen handles (and probably sheaths) to balance the sword properly.

My 0.0002 cents,

F

19th December 2008, 10:47 PM	#3
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	I'm not entirely sure, but another reason for a long sheath is balance. Basically, when the dao is in the sheath, it's got a heavy weight (the hilt) sitting out front, which tends to pull the sheath down and forward when it's carried horizontally. This is bad, as the dao will then fall forward and out. I found this out the hard way when I tried to make a "dha" out of a rehilted machete, and the sheath dumped the blade first time I picked it up. One thing I've noticed is that there are two ways of balancing a sword, both in the hilt and the sheath. One is to stick a weight on the end, and the other is to increase its length. Many swords have weighted pommels on the end of the pommel and a chape on the end of the chape. In south east Asia, with the dhas and daos, there is the tendency to lengthen handles (and probably sheaths) to balance the sword properly. My 0.0002 cents, F Last edited by fearn; 20th December 2008 at 03:44 AM.