Rhomphaia 2

[Dan Z]

Thanks!

If you use the good old stock removal method then the short straight rhomphaia are the easiest. I made mine before I got my angle grinder so all I had were a hacksaw and a file! :lol: With an angle grinder - and the proper safety equipment of course - it would be even easier to make one.

Stock removal on the long straight rhomphaia would be a bit more of a challenge because the blades are flanged. Making a long bent rhomphaia was a real bear of a task and required me spending a whole lot of quality time with a saber saw to cut the blade to basic shape before grinding at it.

The result is so very cool though. 8)

Between these and the pelta, I am pretty much committed to showing up at events as a Thracian. :lol: I don't mind though, because Thracians are so cool. 8)

[brennivs - tony drake]

Dan thanks for the info ?: could the one with the ring,may have been put on the end of a special pole to turn it into a long spear ,the two back notches helping to lock it to the pole hence the blade has has a rib down the back to stop it bending :!: or coud I be thinking silly thoughts :lol:
Regards Brennivs

[Dan Z]

Sorry to take so long to reply Tony. While I suppose you could tie a rhomphaia to a longer shaft in the manner you described, I think it would be more complex than it was worth. I think my photos might be misleading you. After I made the long rhomphaia and had a chance to play around with it…and had a chance to let others play around with it…I determined that the weapon would be much more comfortable to hold if I made the rear portion of the hilt more like a falcata. I need to make two small hilt plates with projections that cover the metal projections of the tang.

Those projections allow you to maintain a very firm grip on the rhomphaia which is key to the weapon’s use. Just in case anyone is interested I have drawn up a series of diagrams illustrating what I like to call the mechanics of rhomphaia use. This only covers attacking a target with a more or less horizontal swing from left to right, but it is where most of the rhomphaia’s engineering comes into play.

First let us consider just the left hand (assuming one is using the left hand at the forward position on the hilt). As the rhomphaia is swung through an arc, the left hand more or less pushes the blade along with a certain amount of force indicated in Figure 1 with a blue arrow. The weapon in this case acts more or less like a beam and the force applied by the left hand is transferred to the point of impact, also indicated by a blue arrow. On my rhomphaia the center of percussion – the sweet spot where you maximize your energy transfer - is right where the blade deflects. You can hit someone while they are further away, but it is better if you hit them at the sweet spot. At any rate, the force of the swing is transferred to the target, as indicated by the green arrow, and the target will begin to be accelerated in the direction of the swing. The rhomphaia blade is T-shaped, remember, so while it will cut into a target, it won’t cut through it at this point.

Now let’s consider the right hand. In order to swing the rhomphaia through its arc the right hand is doing two things: pulling down on the blade and pulling back on the blade as indicated by the two blue arrows in Figure 2. Because the right hand is pulling back, the left hand acts like a fulcrum (the red triangle) and the whole weapon becomes a lever. A lever is nothing more than a simple tool used to transfer force from one end of the lever to the other by means of a fulcrum. The backward force of the right hand then is transferred by the fulcrum to the point of impact and adds more force to the blow. This has the added benefit of helping the target accelerate a bit more in the direction of the swing. This would be nifty all by itself – but there’s more!

By pulling down on the blade you have added a new element to the forces being applied to the target. Basically as a point on a lever moves further from the fulcrum its radial velocity increases so by pulling down on the blade you are accelerating your target along the length of the blade. In other words the further toward the tip the target slides the faster the target moves in the direction of the swing as shown in Figure 3. On a straight rhomphaia the target keeps accelerating until it reaches the tip – more on the later. On a bent rhomphaia we have to take into account the effect the deflection of the blade has on the energies involved – I won’t bore everyone with the trigonometry but basically what happens is the “pull downâ€

[brennivs - tony drake]

Thanks for that Dan D lol: :lol: :oops: I see your points about the hand grip and how the force of the blow can react on the body I LIKE IT :twisted: thanks again Dan
Regards Brennivs

[Robert]

Hi Dan,

As I am into first century Roman axilliary Batavians, the rhomphaia is well out of my realm. I was however struck by the beauty of your reconstructions and the depth of knowledge, so I have happilly awarded you a laude for excellent work. The mechanics of the leverage are very similar to Japanese samoria swords by the way, using the pivot action to gain greater momentum in the cutting edge!

[Dan Z]

Thanks to you both for the kind words. I have been fascinated by (I am sure some of my freinds might say "obsessed with" :lol: ) rhomphaia ever since I first laid eyes on those archeological drawings of them and I am more than happy to share. These are quite the wicked little weapon. :twisted:

[Danny Grigg]

Thanks to you both for the kind words. I have been fascinated by (I am sure some of my freinds might say "obsessed with" :lol: ) rhomphaia ever since I first laid eyes on those archeological drawings of them and I am more than happy to share. These are quite the wicked little weapon. :twisted:

Dan, what the dimensions of your two Rhomphaia, overall length, blade / hilt length etc?

Thanks

Danny

[Ironhand]

Very cool, You've definately created an interest in the Rhomphaia for me.

[Ironhand]

Last Message edited. What the hell was I drinking that day?