December 28, 2003, 05:18
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#1
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King
Local Time: 09:16
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: United States of America
Posts: 2,306
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Hmm ... Can You Throw a Sword?
Let's say a swordsman is a huge, honkin' muscular guy. Would he have enough strength to use the sword as a sort of missile, throwing it at a target within 20 feet of his position? Or would the sword simply be too unwieldly even for limited, straight-line flight?
Gatekeeper
P.S. Please hurry with any advice. The guy is chasing me right now.
Oh, fine, then. I was joking about the last part. 
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"I may not agree with what you have to say, but I'll die defending your right to say it." Voltaire
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December 28, 2003, 05:18
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#2
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PolyCast Thread Necromancer
Local Time: 15:16
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: We are all Asher now.
Posts: 1,437
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Re: Hmm ... Can You Throw a Sword?
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Quote:
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Originally posted by Gatekeeper
Oh, fine, then. I was joking about the last part.
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December 28, 2003, 05:21
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#3
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Emperor
Local Time: 16:16
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Location: Howling at the moon
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If it had a straight blade it could probably function as a sort of crude javelin.
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December 28, 2003, 05:25
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#4
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King
Local Time: 09:16
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Oh, good. I'm writing a short story of sorts and don't want to make it too unbelievable.
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"I may not agree with what you have to say, but I'll die defending your right to say it." Voltaire
"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart." Confucius
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December 28, 2003, 05:25
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#5
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King
Local Time: 09:16
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Join Date: Feb 2000
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For a fiction writing contest, not a newspaper article. 
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"I may not agree with what you have to say, but I'll die defending your right to say it." Voltaire
"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart." Confucius
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December 28, 2003, 05:28
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#6
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PolyCast Thread Necromancer
Local Time: 15:16
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: We are all Asher now.
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Are you on something?
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December 28, 2003, 05:55
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#7
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King
Local Time: 09:16
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Nope. 'Twas a serious question ... but I suppose it seemed strange coming from me since I'm usually a straight-laced kind of guy.
Anyway, time for bed. Ah ... seven hours of glorious sleep await!
Gatekeeper
__________________
"I may not agree with what you have to say, but I'll die defending your right to say it." Voltaire
"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart." Confucius
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December 28, 2003, 06:09
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#8
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Local Time: 17:16
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Posts: 6,182
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If you saw the end of Diablo2 expansion, you know it is completely realistic to throw a sword up to ~7 metres or so (well, at least, if you are an angel and your sword is made of light)
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"I have been reading up on the universe and have come to the conclusion that the universe is a good thing." -- Dissident
"I never had the need to have a boner." -- Dissident
"I have never cut off my penis when I was upset over a girl." -- Dis
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December 28, 2003, 07:34
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#9
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Emperor
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I used to a bit of knife and axe throwing as a hobby. You can throw just about any sword or knife so that it turns end over end through the air (not javelin style). The difficult bit is getting it to stick in the target.
Essentially the point of balance needs to be in the middle third of the length. If not it is almost impossible to control the speed of rotation. Also, obviously, the bigger and heavier the weapon the harder it is to control.
For a sword it would be reasonably possible to bring it back over your shoulder to the point is behind you (opposite shoulder to the hand holding the sword), swing forward and let go so the sword describes a half rotation and the point goes into the target. More than a half rotation would be very difficult to control. That should work if the target is around 8-12 feet away.
I'd believe this in a fictional story. Howard used it in several Conan stories.
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Never give an AI an even break.
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December 28, 2003, 09:29
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#10
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Emperor
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More recently (recent=eighties), the knight in LadyHawke had a habit of throwing his greatsword javelin-style, so it's certainly not unheard of in the genre.
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"We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work...After eight years of this Administration, we have just as much unemployment as when we started... And an enormous debt to boot!" Henry Morgenthau, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Treasury secretary, 1941.
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December 28, 2003, 09:37
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#11
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Emperor
Local Time: 01:16
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Depends on the size of the sword.
You might have a scramasax or a two-handed great sword. It is believable to throw a short sword 7 metres as some types weigh as little as 5 kilograms.
Of course if you're trying to throw a great sword I'd be a little skeptial.
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December 28, 2003, 09:43
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#12
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Emperor
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Oh, that movie needed a hefty suspension of skepticism. 
__________________
"We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work...After eight years of this Administration, we have just as much unemployment as when we started... And an enormous debt to boot!" Henry Morgenthau, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Treasury secretary, 1941.
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December 28, 2003, 09:49
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#13
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Deity
Local Time: 11:16
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Lone Wolf threw his sword at the time. Very accurately, too.
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I'm consitently stupid- Japher
I think that opinion in the United States is decidedly different from the rest of the world because we have a free press -- by free, I mean a virgorously presented right wing point of view on the air and available to all.- Ned
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December 28, 2003, 09:52
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#14
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Local Time: 02:16
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I doubt I could throw my swords. But then again, I have obviously never tried. Nor will I.
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I'm building a wagon! On some other part of the internets, obviously (but not that other site).
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December 28, 2003, 11:37
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#15
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Deity
Local Time: 23:16
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Sure you can. The question is, what is it going to do?
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(\__/) 07/07/1937 - Never forget
(='.'=) "Claims demand evidence; extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence." -- Carl Sagan
(")_(") "Starting the fire from within."
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December 28, 2003, 12:01
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#16
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King
Local Time: 08:16
Local Date: November 2, 2010
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They did it in Pirates of the Carribean
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