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Kalephrex In reply to Random223 [2016-07-07 00:09:50 +0000 UTC]

Ah, good sir, fear not for your comment is not in harm's way.  And seeing as how you've displayed your knowledge wisdom on swords so brilliantly I have no choice but to respond in kind.  

Firstly, good sir, you mistake my intent.  If I were to design a sword that would be completely practical in the real world, I would read a textbook and directly copy an image of any medieval weapon.  But my intent is not to make a sword that would be practical in this world.  If it were, I would become a blacksmith rather than a 3d modeler.

Secondly, this design is not versatile if versatility is your game.  A traditional longsword is versatile, in that it can slash, thrust, parry, or block with relative ease and is easy to handle either with one hand or two.  But the reason why it HAD to be versatile was because it was to be put into the hands of millions of knights and warriors for centuries.  If you were a special person who favored slashing over thrusting and all else, then obviously you would favor a specialized design.  And if you factor in fantastical and sci-fi abilities with peculiar personalities, then it only makes sense to have a weapon to reflect fantasy and peculiarity.  This design was not made to be a sword for the masses or for either you or me.  It was made with a single character in mind.  This character can utilize functions on the blade that I can't even illustrate well enough yet.  But when my animation gets to that level, I'll be sure to demonstrate the merits of the "mushrooms" and the "jagged" edge.  
I like to remember that a jack of all trades is a master of none.

Thirdly, good sir, is my final point of argument, which is my purpose in designing anything less than historical and practical.  When I see images of Excalibur or Masamune, the swords of legend that saved and/or destroyed entire countries in their respective mythos and cultures, I see a longsword and a katana.  The key aspect of Excalibur and Masamune was not the sword itself, it was the reputation.  In reality, they were slabs of steel refined by a smith.  But in word, they were godly in might and magical in nature.  That's bogus.  Any sword could be Excalibur if it were given that name and reputation.  Any katana could be mistaken for Masamune if looks like every other well-made sword.  The shapes and designs were irrelevant and that annoyed me.  In combat, both of those swords would act EXACTLY like every other longsword or katana, respectively.  There is no functional difference.  
And so I set out to redefine the sword.  There have been several cases where I would have made one of my swords my profile icon, only to realize that nobody would recognize it as a "sword".  That's because the key component of a sword is the blade and that is what I wish to change the most.  Designing practical swords is not a challenge, it's a matter of sticking to an old formula and conforming to ancient designs.  Designing a pretty "sword" by most media standards is not a creative challenge either, that's a matter of taking a traditional sword that is completely generic and applying a floral pattern to it.  Neither a "practical" sword nor a "pretty sword" change the purpose of the blade as a unique weapon.  

So my mission is to challenge design and reinvent the sword and weapons as we know them. 

What if we attached a chakram to a spear? kalephrex.deviantart.com/art/S…
What if a throwing knife had finger holes? kalephrex.deviantart.com/art/S…
What if a massive halberd turned into a sword? kalephrex.deviantart.com/art/H…

My goal is not to make weapons that "would worK", that's called engineering.  My goal is to create weapons that you WISH would work.  Because otherwise we're not moving on from the designs that are over 3000 years old.  Otherwise, we're not dreaming. 

"If you understand what you're doing, you're not learning anything"
"If you're the smartest person in the room, then you're in the wrong room"
"If you've never made any mistakes, you've never tried anything new"

I thank you, good sir, for your dedication to the preservation of the traditional sword.  However, I fashion and fancy my blades to be...

A CUT above the rest.

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Random223 In reply to Kalephrex [2016-07-07 10:05:48 +0000 UTC]

That is why I split my commnet in 2. First part admiring how you succeded in your goal. The other is nitpicking, function.


These are the fun moments we live for. When we don't care. 

What if a sword can turn into a chain? random223.deviantart.com/art/W…
This... is no function but looks. random223.deviantart.com/art/U…
Can you tell me what this thing is? random223.deviantart.com/art/C…

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Kalephrex In reply to Random223 [2016-07-07 20:51:05 +0000 UTC]

That thing looks like a close combat shocker

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CheesyWaffle In reply to Random223 [2016-07-06 02:53:55 +0000 UTC]

That's relatively similar (but significantly longer and more accurate) to what I said.

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