Dulling a portion of your sword's edge allows you to employ half-swording techniques.
Designing your own sword, whether for free training or for live-action role playing, is a rewarding experience that allows you to express yourself and customize a sword to your own dimensions and tailor it to your fighting style. When you redesign a sword blade, you should take into account your reach, height and muscular strength in order to create a well-balanced sword that you can easily wield.
Instructions
1. Measure the length of your fully-extended arm from shoulder to fingertips with the tape measure. Record the measurement. Avoid making the blade longer than your arm, because it will make it difficult to draw quickly from the sheath.
2. Measure the width of your palm to get the length of a one-handed sword's tang--the portion of the blade embedded in the hilt. Both palms and two fingers' width will give you an approximation of a two-handed sword tang length. A two-handed tang measurement can also be applied to a katana, which is a Japanese backsword.
3. Determine the width and geometry of your blade; for example, a straight, narrow blade with a sharp point such as the rapier is suited for a thrusting-focused fighting style. According to Hank Reinhart, senior advisor for the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts, altering the shape of the sword blade has drastic effects on its speed and balance. A triangular sword with a wide base slowly tapering to a point is much faster than a rectangular sword with a more acute point.
4. Determine your edge configuration. A double-edged sword allows twice as many lines of attack as a single-edged sword, as well as additional thrusting techniques. Traditional European long swords often left a portion of the edge dull near the hand guard to allow the use of a technique known as half-swording: according to Jeffrey Hull of ARMA, this involved grasping the sword by the dull part of the blade with the off-hand and the hilt with the other, allowing the sword to function as a staff.
