Is my sword too long?

[Prawn]

Hey, I fight with a 37" blue (nice weight, kitespar)
It has a 17" blade, 12 inches of haft padding (tried to be minimalist) a 6 inch handle and a 2 inch pommel.

I am 5'11 and weigh around 160-170. so pretty average build.
I was reading around and I was kinda getting a feeling that my sword is too big. Should I shorten it? Also would a shorter blade help me learn (help me learn to have better maneuverability etc. instead of just depending on winning by a longer sword)

Also should I make my sword more swordlike (eliminate the haft padding and have a longer blade)? What advantages/Disadvantages would they have.

[Thorondor]

Our builds are very similar. I'm 6' 150# and I was fighting with a 40" sword (was the only one I had down here). 8" handle, 2" pommel and 30" blade. I found that it was really slow and lacking in the range of shots that I could throw.

I just finished cutting off 8" from the blade (24/8/2 now). I haven't been out to fight with it yet, but it feels much better in my hand. I'm able to throw a few shots easier and it will also let me be more in your face.

I would shorten it down to 30-32" overall. It depends on how much you like being up in people's face. I'm really aggressive with my shield, so having a shorter sword is nice, but I wanted to keep it long enough to be able to fight with some distance as well. 30" just seemed a little too short to me for right now. That extra 2" makes a big difference when I'm hanging back or in a line/formation.

Yea, I would make your sword more sword like.
Advantages: more striking surface lets you be at more ranges when swinging.
Disadvantages: striking surface weighs more than haft padding, so it will be a heavier sword overall.
Depends on your fighting style: you get to be up in people's faces

[No'Vak]

I've used a 36" oal sword for the majority of my fighting career.

Like 6" handle, 2" pommel (or whatever the edhellen ones are, idr same size), and rest blade.

[Dane]

Proper sword length depends on the range you want to fight at and the shots you want to throw. If you find what you have isn't working for you, seek out paragons of your style, or change your style.

For what it's worth, I'm 6'2", 200 lbs, and fight grind range. To do so, I prefer a 32-33" sword. At your height and with that sword length, you're probably in the longer midrange. Against similar-sized fighters, you have a reach advantage, but against someone around my height with my gear, your "effective" range is still in my "effective" range, and the closer I get, the worse it would get for you. A shorter sword would help you avoid the disadvantages that come with someone with better reach and a shorter stick getting in your bubble, but you'd lose the long game against similar-sized fighters.

In short, "too long" or "too short" depends on how you want to fight/how you fight effectively.

[NessiePop]

Hehe. Paragons. Dragon Age.

[Arrakis]

6'1", 200#. I like 34". I fight mid-close range.

[Titan G]

i fight in all ranges except no zone or close range. however im 6'4, like dane said it depends on how you want to fight. the newer you are the more you should try outs several different builds. make the equipment fit you not the other way around

[Tiercel]

If you're concerned that your weapon gives you too great an advantage, and would like to learn with a shorter one, consider trading back and forth with a buddy's weapon so that you both get a more varied experience.

[Dane]

If you're concerned that your weapon gives you too great an advantage,

I really don't believe in "advantages" in weapon length unless the weapons in question are ubershort or uberlong, in which case they're a severe disadvantage.

[Sir_Mel]

6'5" 290 and Dane and I use pretty much the same length of sword. Unless you've been playing kungfu tennis for years or have a monster sized forearms, I would suggest you shrink that beast down a bit and see what it does for you.

[Slagar]

Psh. Nobody in our game has ever played kungfu tennis. I have it on good authority from some guys in the KoN.

But yeah, what those guys said.

[Kasada]

I'm 6' 6" 195#, and when it comes to blue I have a 30", a 33", and I'm about to make a 36.5" or 37" on .524 kite. Not an aggressive fighter at all usually, and I never make a blue sword that isn't also green.

I'd like to know, how legit is the "hold your sword with the tip pointed straight down with knees slightly bent, and the tip should be about half an inch from the ground" way to find ideal measurements? With a 28.5" blade, that's exactly what the new sword will fit.

[Dane]

36.5" or 37" on .524 kite

That's going to break pretty quickly unless you swing like a small child.

[Tiercel]

The first sword I ever had that was mine, and not a loaner, was a 38-inch kitespar blue given to me by Angel. I think Edhellen made it, but it's not marked or anything except for the price. It has a 29.5" striking surface, and wasn't unwieldy at all.

[Arrakis]

36.5" or 37" on .524 kite

That's going to break pretty quickly unless you swing like a small child.

Nope. Dagganoth hasn't broken either of the cores of the two 38s I made him on .524 from Goodwinds and you know how he hits people.

[Dane]

I actually don't remember the last time Dagganoth hit me.

Whenever we go that long with .524, it breaks. Difference in experiences, I guess.

[Arrakis]

Did you see the sticks I was using at Geddon? They were 34.5s on .524 and they were 18oz and solid as hell.

[Big King Jimmy]

Dane, are you sure you're not thinking of .505?

[Slagar]

No. We use .602. .524 above 28" or 30" just doesn't last long enough to be worth the money, by a long shot. The one or two kitespar sticks I own are all .602 for exactly that reason. Spent too much time watching Soth, Xiao, Dane, and Peter all pop .524 sticks like toys.

[Todo]

Ain't no blue too long but a red.

[Isk]

So Slagar, the .602" stand up better for you at the same length?. I'd actually expect the .602" to be more prone to snap since they have essentially the same wall thickness as a .524", but have a wider diameter and are therefore stiffer. I would have expected the little bit more flex in the .524 and the higher wall thickness to diameter ratio to make those last longer as blues than the .602".

Does anybody know if Warlord uses .602" for any of their cores?

[Slagar]

You know, you're not the first person to say that. Short answer is, yeah. .602 lasts way longer for me. To get into why that's the case, given the physics involved, is over my head. But yes, I've had better luck with .602. I still use fiberglass almost always, though.

It's an option they have, yeah. I own a WLS stick with a .602 core. None of their typical options use it, but they will make 'em that way.

[Isk]

Interesting, I'll have to try .602" blues now.