quality of european sabers

by Jaasien Goedertier
(Lier)

QUESTION: What's with them? I consider myself sort of a connaiseur when it comes to handling a sword, and every one of those gendarmerie-sabers I've held is just terrible when it comes to handling.

Generally they're a chunk of metal, with a handle that only allows one-handed wielding, for which the blade is far too long. You could probably do some serious damage on a standing target, but how about a moving one?

ANSWER: Hi Jaasien,

Well - most sabers were used from hourseback - so they weren't really for finesse work - just cutting off limbs and heads and the like at high speed...!

As such, they had to be very strong and have enough weight behind them to deliver a powerful cut.

I recall reading somewhere that, when faced off against a rapier - a saber would miss to mark around 95% of the time, but when it DID hit, that was the end of the fight.

The rapier on the other hand would slow down an opponent, though of course - many would die of their wounds down the track.

Hope this puts it in perspective.

- Paul