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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kigmatzomat" data-source="post: 3094053" data-attributes="member: 9254">I've got a few swords of the "beater" class (cheap enough and safe enough to use for combat practice if I want to) as well as a battleaxe.  The last time I moved, I had this big wooden cabinet that I was chucking into the dumpster.  For giggles, I gave it a couple of whacks with the unsharpened battle axe.  A solid, one-handed swing punched more than a half-inch into the thick plywood.  A hatchet of similar heft did a better job, nearly completely punching in, but also bound up quite severely.  I figure a couple good whacks from that "dull" battleaxe would cave in armor or split bones in a thoroughly acceptable form of incapacitation.  I've been tempted to sharpen the last 12" of my 2-handed sword but decided that the momentum at that point would be more than sufficient to incapacitate anyone should I be resorting to medieval self defense.  And it means less chance of damaging my floors if someone drops my sword.  The use of a ricasso, an intentionally blunt section ahead of the cross guard, was common on many of the 2-handed swords.  I've seen at least one re-interpretation of 2-handed sword training that involved using the sword as a multi-point weapon.  E.g. make an overhand attack, if it fails, lift the sword blade down (changing your grip) to catch the top of the opponent's shield with the downward-facing crossguard (blocking counter attacks with the blade), then pulling the shield down and punching the pommel into their foe's face.  2-handed sword-as-spear tactics should also have been common, including setting for a charge.  I suspect that japanese armors might be sundered by the heavy western weaponry but that's just a hunch.  Layered composites can be surprisingly strong.</blockquote>

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