/greatswords/
Images are sometimes not shown due to bandwidth/network limitations. Refreshing the page usually helps.
You are currently reading a thread in /k/ - Weapons
You are currently reading a thread in /k/ - Weapons
someone tell me about greatswords. what makes them so great? what does a well designed one look like? also post some cool ones.
>Greatswords are weapons
Well if you're in heavy ass plate and mail, you want a sword with reach to make up for your slow speed. Pikes were great weapons for armored troops, and they could still have an arming sword.
In general, one handed arming swords were best because you could have a free hand to have a shield and they were easier to move around quickly and go for weak points in the enemies armor.
My opinion is maces, hammers, etc were the best melee weapon to use against heavily armored troops aside from raining down bolts and arrows and using terrain to your advantage. Soldiers in heavy armor had serious strains on their stamina, Agincourt proves their weakness.
>>29534623
but what if i wanted to cut many peasants in one swing?
I approve of this thread
>>29534579
it's just hype, they aren't that great. I would call them okayishswords
>>29534579
You can hack niggas up with them shits
>2 hands on the hilt
>you can slice a niggas arm off or some shit
Actually I don't know shit about swords but I think long swords are generally used for cleaving and hacking rather than stabbing and all that
Whats the point of that second cross-guard looking thing? In skyrim it was wrapped in leather. Was it a place to put your hand to brace it when defending or something?
>>29534713
For two handing your sword, I guess.
>>29534713
Nobody knows for sure. Altough it is suspected that is is basically a second set of crossguard for when you "halfsword" - ie literally grab a sword in half for more precise stabbing. Y'know, historical greatswords with this feature could be used much like a spear with this. Still, there are more types than that. Also speculated is that it could be used to "hook" a blade between the first and second set of crossguards and break it, perhaps.
>>29534713
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5l4gZj9kno&nohtml5=False
![On7skaH[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/9pjvJ0P.jpg "On7skaH[1].jpg")
>>29534579
>>29534713
its for protecting your hand when halfswording
it has the length of a spear and the versatility of a sword. it was pretty effective when used right. it was also probably pertty fucking cool to see duels with it in.
they are not heavy at all actually. 2-3 kg. the biggest were 3.5 kg i think
>>29534579
Because polearms are better than swords, and a greatsword/zweihander/montante/spadone is basically a polearm shaped like a sword.
Now follows the huge discussion about whether polearms are actually better than swords. The short answer is "almost always yes," though.
>>29534713
More leverage in a swing, or more grip behind half-swording and stabbing a faggot. Also the spikes were also used for deflecting blows.
t. HEMA faggot
Oh, and they are called "horns", IIRC. Also, few points about greatswords
> Can't be quickdrawn - carried inside a scabbard on the back instead of the hip
> When not in use, it was held on one's shoulder, like a halberd
> Speaking of halberds, it kinda falls into the "polearm" category of weapons. Ie. it is heavy (7,5lbs tops, tho), long, effective and cannot be worn
>Historical sources suggest that when 1v1 fighting, the "horned" type was used more like a spear, when fighting groups (holding a doorway, bridge, etc) it was recommended to keep swinging in circular motions, not stopping - keeping momentum.
>>29534780
I would agree with you if group combat is the goal, otherwise for things like 1v1 other weapons are much more versatile. Spear duels are dank as fuck though.
t. HEMA faggot
>>29534780
I think the indoors/confined spaces is the "almost" here.
>>29534803
Even in a 1v1 I think the reach advantage a spear gives you is enough to make it "better." Everyone likes to see blade on blade but 95% of good fencing is distance and timing.
-also a hema fag
Greatswords (montante/spadone/zweihander) were mostly used in armour because if you are wearing a lot of armour, you don't need the protection of a shield. Greatswords are good because they can be used like both a polearm and a sword. They were useful for defending yourself or another person against multiple opponents. The lugs or horns on the blade are to provide additional protection for the hands both when half-swording and when holding it like a regular longsword (keeps a blade sliding down yours, angled away from your hands and wrists.
Source : am historical fencer/Hema practitioner
>>29534883
Yeah, spear beats almost anything and everything except plate.
There's a good reason why it was the most commonly used weapon in all of human warfare until the invention of gunpowder.
>>29534909
I think cost and training played an extremely big part in that
>>29534931
pick up a broom and pretent youre a badass spartan for 5 minutes
bam, you are now an effective spear user if deployed alongside thousands of other spear users
>>29534676
Actually, slashing, cutting, and stabbing were the typical uses. Swords often lacked the heft for cleaving limbs.
>>29534931
>>29534971
thats my point. the spear in itself doesnt beat anything, but its application does.
If you could afford it, there were better things to equip your army with
>>29534579
The one pictured is closest to a zweihander, best used against cavalry. They were also efficient for parting enemy lines for the polearms.
>>29535710
The spear in itself is great, though. Look up HEMA guys sparring where one of them has a spear. It's a HUGE advantage.
>>29535710
>the spear in itself doesnt beat anything
This is a myth.
Yeah, if you're some chump in a levy who has no martial training, you are going to get your clocks cleaned by a swordsman who has in a 1v1.
At the same time, if you are a man-at-arms or professional mercenary who has trained with and used spears extensively and you end up in a 1v1 against an opponent of similar training and experience with an arming sword and heater shield, you are actually the one with an advantage due to the greater reach of your weapon. Since your opponent will usually need to take one-and-a-half to two more steps than you before he's even within range to potentially strike you, you have much greater control over the flow of the duel and an easier time both attacking and defending.
To make a modern analogy, spearman vs. swordsman (non-greatsword) is not unlike a guy with a rifle having a shootout with a guy with a pistol.
>>29534623
>slow speed
I wish this meme would die, men can do cartwheels in armour
>>29534632
this anon gets it
