How Long Until A Knife Becomes A Short Sword

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You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. how long until a knife becomes a short sword

• Thread starter Thread starter Romeo Sellspear
• Start date Start date Jul 3, 2019

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Romeo Sellspear

Joined Jul 1, 2019 Messages 9 I have always wondered how long a knife can be before it is considered a short sword. I was also curious about how long a bowie knife should be. I had heard it should be as long as the owners forearm. Because if that's the case I could use some help finding one that's 21 inches long. Thanks for the help H

Houlahound

Joined Aug 2, 2017 Messages 3,121 I think it is based on intention as much as length. Every sword has but one purpose. Knives in general have many purposes. Some swords are considered big knives and were usually what poorer soldiers used. Usually minimal or no hand protection and resemble farm tools in shape. Small swords usually have developed and intricate hand protection and generally wouldn't be that useful as a farm tool. So yah length alone is an insufficient criteria. G

gadgetgeek

Joined May 19, 2007 Messages 7,745 Its what you call it. Call it "Captain McStabbypants" and it might well be a sword, call it "Bringer of Vine-Doom" and its a machete. Go with what feels right, someone may argue the point, but in all likely-hood, most people will understand at least what you were getting at. There are some swords that are not terribly long, they certainly won't do well at bushcraft, so they cannot be knives. See BF rules 109.5.6.

Steely_Gunz

Got the Khukuri fevah

Moderator Joined May 9, 2002 Messages 12,867 I think it has to do with purpose. I look at something like the Japanese Tanto with a 12" blade as a short sword. A Tramontina with a 12" blade is a machete. A khukuri with a 12" blade is a chopping knife. The Tanto has been designed as a super short sword designed to offer defensive capabilities in tight quarters. It can cut and slash and most likely would not be something you would choose to do manual labor with given its build. I also don't see it as a dagger as it isn't designed for mostly thrusting. A Tram is obviously a machete. Designed for brush and to be wanged into all manner of jungle material. Even with a 24" blade it wouldn't be a sword. A 12" blade khuk is still a chopping knife. Even one made thin and sleek for more martial use still is at its root a chopping knife. I guess its all semantics, though. I wouldn't argue with what you call it if you hit me with any of them.

BenchCo Spydermade

Joined Feb 10, 2014 Messages 4,120 Id say design matters as much as length. A machete is long enough to be a short sword, but the flat thin blade designed for cutting brush out groups it from swords to me.

FortyTwoBlades

Baryonyx walkeri

Dealer / Materials Provider Joined Mar 8, 2008 Messages 26,264 Context is what determines it. But generally, short swords start at about the 20", sometimes as short as 18". Anything shorter than that is typically considered a big knife at best. Even bronze swords were of that length or greater. D

DrHenley

Joined May 31, 2019 Messages 277 D Guard Bowies were used as knives, swords, machetes, and also digging implements in the American Civil War. Many were as large as cutlasses, some just large knives. It was a continuous spectrum. Last edited: Jul 3, 2019

Henry Beige

Gold Member Joined Jun 1, 2015 Messages 3,770 Amo say about 10” blade length. I would not want anybody to think of my Skrama, with its 9” blade, as a sword. R

Romeo Sellspear

Joined Jul 1, 2019 Messages 9 So I did a little bit of research and found a German sword called the Grosse Messer which translate to "big knife". After finding this out I about died laughing because I had just posted something on the topic.

HappyDaddy

Joined Dec 21, 2013 Messages 1,987 15 minutes?

stabman

Joined Sep 17, 2007 Messages 21,367

DrHenley said: D Guard Bowies were used as knives, swords, machetes, and also digging implements in the American Civil War. Many were as large as cutlasses, some just large knives. It was a continuous spectrum. Click to expand...

I like how this proves that "Knife Selfies" are not a new phenomenon.

b00n

Joined Dec 15, 2016 Messages 3,308

Romeo Sellspear said: So I did a little bit of research and found a German sword called the Grosse Messer which translate to "big knife". After finding this out I about died laughing because I had just posted something on the topic. Click to expand...

There was a "Langes Messer" (Long Knife) and a "Großes Messer" (Big Knife), the term Messer was most likely in relation to the person making it, since Knifemakers were different from Swordmakers. Comparable to say somebody today working as a Gunsmith vs somebody in the Self Defense Market. Certain people being allowed to work in certain fields/catering to a certain market and using the term knife vs sword allowed more people to get into that market. I

insta9ves

Joined Apr 3, 2007 Messages 2,060 German has the messer...

Velitrius

Joined Mar 3, 2000 Messages 4,798 "How long until a knife becomes a short sword?" Probably two election cycles. Some politician is going to argue how we don't need this BM 940 "Short Sword" anymore, and introduces a bill. That's how long I give it, anyhoo.

AntDog

Basic Member Joined Apr 3, 2001 Messages 27,738 21” forearms? Do your knuckles drag on the ground? Wow. As for what you’re asking, it has mostly to do with the design. I’ve seen some pretty short blades I’d call short swords simply due to the design.

not2sharp

Platinum Member Joined Jun 29, 1999 Messages 20,706 I recall asking this very question on this site 20 years ago. While in general we can say that knives are not swords, there is no specific agreed upon characteristic, such as length, that would classify an item as one or the other. Historically and culturally, terms like short sword or long knife have been used to describe either. Whether something is the one or the other comes down to the common conventional usage of the language. Hence a khukuri or Khyber is a "knife", even when it is sword length, while a tanto is a sword irrespective of length. When we say that something is sword-like, we mean that it's appearance and dimensions would fall into what most people generally think of as a sword, but it shouldn't be taken any more seriously than that. n2s

DocJD

Basic Member Joined Jan 29, 2016 Messages 12,331 I'm going WAY out on the limb here and suggest that there is NO consensus on the issue ! Most of these distinctions between tool and weapon are fairly arbitrary and must be understood in context . Let alone exact length specs . The lowly machete has historically been used many times as a weapon of the working poor , non-military or aristocratic classes . So wasn't it being used as a sword ? Whereas , purpose build swords have been pressed into use as machetes many times, of survival necessity . My favorite weedwacking "machete" is actually a katana ! It works great .

The Zieg

Gold Member Joined Jan 31, 2002 Messages 5,088 Culture and context, the great dividers of consensus. My WWII Kyo Gunto is as short as some machetes and bayonets but comparable to many 17h and 18h century smallswords. The Kyo Gunto is a sword, for sure. So are the smallswords. But the bayonets that size just don't feel like swords. Culture and context. Zieg G

gadunz

Joined Dec 4, 2012 Messages 1,865 SMLE 1907 17" bayonet. Too long for a knife, too short for a sword. A

Alberta Ed

Joined Jun 29, 1999 Messages 10,089 In olden days, circa 1600-1800s, a "hanger" was considered a short sword or a long hunting knife. Check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classification_of_swords

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