Sword behaviour : Vibrations and Harmonics, importance of exact geometry and Material

What are the properties of a well 'balanced' sword?

How important are the vibrations on a sword's endurance and breaking?

Say we have the exact sword design of different steels. To what extend are vibrations a good thing?

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Feb 21, 2018
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Some of this is covered already here
by: Paul

Some of this is covered already on our site here

But to further clarify, well balanced is a bit subjective. Some people prefer a sword balanced towards the tip, others towards the hilt and some completely neutral.

Vibrations are critically important - if the nodes are in the wrong place, shockwaves go into the hilt and can break it or hurt your hand when it contacts something solid. Vibrations also determine where the optimal striking point is (center of percussion).

Assuming all things equal (steel and tempering) the way it vibrates is make or break (literally) for a sword. If you watch any slow mo footage of a sword cutting, especially European or Chinese ones, there is a HUGE amount of flex and vibration going on. Japanese swords have much thicker spines and aren't really designed to flex all that much - so they are a different kettle of fish.

But yes, have a look at the article first and then see what you find on the various forums. There are volumes written on the subject.

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