First off I have used both types of reds, and have respect for the strengths and weaknesses of both. For those of you who know me I enjoy fighting with my mini-glaive. Now I'm by no means the best red fighter out there but I've also had plenty of time using both of the flat and round blades. I prefer Flat blades.

I guess what I want is to see what the Red fighting comunity has to say about the 2 sides. Now I know trash will get talked but lets try to keep it to topic and not about eachother.

this goes out to 5 red fighters in particular. Chadwick, Forkbeard, Bo, Chicken, and Magnus. (the order holds no meaning.) And anyone else who wishes to chime in. if your not on the list dong be offended its nit personal or a diss to your skillz in any way they were the first to come tomind.

Chicken will be the first to tell you, he's not a red fighter. He dabbles in reds, but he's a spear fighter.

Actually I think you were the first to tell him.

I'd also throw Ixous in here. But continue.

Any difference is a difference of degrees. One is flat, the other is round. A flat blade has a more narrow diameter, giving it a minor advantage in slot shots and certain stabs. A battle bat by nature is likely going to be a little bit bulkier, but not necessarily as wide. Flats require edge control, rounds don't, making it easier to use other sides of the weapon. One looks like a *, the other looks like a popsicle.

In the hands of a competent fighter, I don't think the shape makes a difference, it just boils down to personal preference. Sorry if I'm stating the obvious. I don't see the point in trying to min/max equipment up to a certain point.

i can use either, but with my primary function being stabbing people with it, i find that the round stabs safer and lasts longer. i have seen/had more than a few bladed glaives pulse the core through way too much foam for my comfort. so for me it is a function of how long the weapon lasts, and how confident i am that i can make the quack, and they get up after.
the round cant hit slots, but i fight red like a conductor of an orchestra. up ,down, left, right, so it doesnt hurt me very often.

Gotta go round, IMO. Way more options for stroking kills, whether it's planned tech or improvised.

Jimmy- ya but I still value chicken wisdom with polefighting.

Peanut- yes Ixous need to contribute to this as well.

Giggles- While this is a matter of opinion I believe your not giving the flat blades slot shot the credit thats due. I would say it is one of my high percent kill shots on sword and boarders. as for the rounds being easier to use I'm not sold on that one. I believe the round red is easier to learn the more basic concepts of red usesbut when it comes to the more adcanced work I feel its almost a liability.

Bo- you've just raised someething about round reds I had not thought of before. Safety. I know hiow long my mini glaive lasts and how long i can use a green stabby before replacing. but i never realised how much extra force i was putting into people with my flat blade over the round blade.

My biggest delima with round and reds break down to this then.

Flat
hurts a good deal more when stabbing.

it makes a few double leg sweeps a lil tricky-er

also make the Brush and Crush move more difficult becuase of the alteration of the blade to keep from flatting people.(weapon brought up from low up at the sword arm tricep /shoulder over the head of the s+b and onto the shoulder/tricep of the opposite shoulder)

not the safest option for stabbing

Round
you lose slot shots. you just cant make them and if you make it on a s+b they werent that great then becuase of how large of a gap you will need to keep it a good strike and to keep from crushing the side of there face.

I tend to hurt more people with them either becuase they hit harder or becuase i get less careful becuase of how much safer it is.

yes the weight is more as well.

With that being said. I'd like to add some background tohow I fight and with what.

my mini glaive is about 60 inches from pommel to tip. 18in handle, 20 in blade, and 22 in of haft padding. the cor is 3/4 round fiberglass, double layer of pipe insulation for haft padding. the handle is standard rope from menards with wilson wrap, a funoodle pommel FTW, and 3 layers of 2.2 foam for the blade and 1.5 in of marine foam that covers the top 6 inches of the glaive.

I fight with my glaive in a very agressive manner. I really really really enjoy fighting sword and boarders 1v1 1v2 against me. I'm not typically one to run and gun on s+bers but i'm much more like to get in there face and make them regret closing.

anyways hope this helps. (I started this thread becuase of all the animosity to round and flat weapons)

Frosty, I think in trying to be unbiased I sold flat blades short. I'm a lefty and slot shots, drop shots, and pocket stabs are my bread and butter. I'll take a flat blade over a round any day, but that's because it suits my style of fighting. That's what I was getting at. No one weapon is better than another, they're just better at different things. You have to figure out which style suits you best.

I was actually hopeing for Biased replies. I want to know why people prefer one style over the other.

giggles it wazsn't ment to be a shot at you

Flat blade glave=win imo
that is all

Interested in what you mean by the 1.5" of marine foam covering the top 6" of the glaive.

Arrakis- I use a 2in by 6 in strip thats 3/4 in thick and I put it at the tip so that it draps down the blad and a lil onto the flats. and then i just put another layer ontop of that. making it a bit bulky but a bit safer aswell. I hope this makes more since. I wont be able to post any pictures for a few day becuase I'm helping some friends move in up state illinois.

Ahhh, okay. Thought you meant on the striking edge somehow. Groovy.

95% of all my experience when using a glaive has been a flat blade, I had not used a round one before this last Chaos.

Diego gifted me one of his rounds after an unfortunate incident where my core snapped while pitchforking some guy who was flying thru the air.

Anyway, since then all I've had was this round glaive so Ive been test driving it for a bit.

In comparison, I don't like the way it feels. Its hard to explain, but it just feels off. I doubt aerodynamics are really a factor, but the round glaive just feels a bit sloppy and awkward when swung. Ive lost the ability to quickly get a 2nd or 3rd shot off on a shield in rapid succession and most of the fast, spear-like slot stabs are gone too.

I think this might be due to the construction methods of the round striking surface, it seems to weigh a lot more than a properly constructed blade. I know there are probably lighter round construction methods out there, but then safety can become an issue.

By the same token I will give props to the ease of stab tip construction and maintenance on a round. Having a much larger base to attach the thrusting tip to makes it a breeze. However a nice stab tip on a bladed glaive is not that hard, the tip on my last glaive out lived my core. You just have to have some good foamsmithing hours under your belt. Glaives are not for noobs anyway.

In summary, after fighting for many years with a bladed glaive, I will continue to do so. As soon as I get some new foam and a bit of time I will be replacing the round on Deigos gift. Now I just gotta figure out the best way to convert the cover to fit, those flames are too sweet to give up.

You knwo I'm a bladed weapon guy.
Diego also gave me a sweet barrel glaive. So I've tried both.
Honsetly, except for a small percentage of fighters I get to see at large events, I do not like fighting with a glaive. It's too easy to just kill the **** out of everyone. The round glaive only make this worse. With the ability to swing in any direction without thoughtto edge control, I start feeling like I'm just beating up children. This may sound like baravado, but it's the way I feel.
For red swords, I like them to be SWORD shaped. There is just something undenighably satisfying in two handed sword fighting for me. I only make my handles oblong, so they FEEL like a sword handle. I fight very, very agressivly, using intimadation along with wicked ambidexterous skills to overwhelm people.
I don't feel that a red quicktube or even a heavy red tube-sword is a good representation of a real weapon. It is not an axe or mace, nor a hammer. It is a large stick. If it's light it's like fighting with a spear shaft. If it's heavy it like fighting with a pipe or treebranch. Niether, in my opinion, does the type of damage that would brake a shield or crush plate armor. Although these things(pipes and spearshafts) are inarguably "weapons" they are NOT the saem thing as a hammer head on a long handle, or a claymore. I like the feeling that if we were really fighting, I would have just cut you in half from shoulder to groin. Not given you a nice bruise and maybe a broken collar bone.
I know this is a just a sport, but tube weapons just don't feel real enough for me.
FB

Alright kiddos.

For me, it depends on the situation. Round blades, I belive are better for glaives and maces. But I have never seen a Red sword built like a lightsaber. Flat blades should be used for sword like weapons 60 inches or below.

I think that the glaive that I have seen Bo use, with the round blade is how all glaives should be built. You may loose some inhibitions about swinging hard because you know your going to connect with a striking surface. But, if you are getting knocked around by the shield man protecting you, you may not be able to strike someone with a bladed edge every time.

To be honest, with the way that people are punch blocking in the past 2 years, I prefer a flat blade. If they punch block enough to frustrate me, I would rather have a flat blade to inflict more pain. I am not out to hurt people, but they know the dangers fo punch blocking a red.

I have seen Cyric, Galin, and myself use a 50some inch mace before. Those are difficult to use but have round blades. Cyric and Galins blades are round on about 1/3rd of there weapons. Mine is actually square block with a round tip. (Thats what she said).

Summary.

Flat blades, good for swords and shorter glaives.
Round blades, good for top heavy longer reds.

Pnut, thanks for the shout out.

You know you're my favorite Ginja.

Flat red, it cuts through the air quicker leading to a harder redshot. but I can see where a round red would be very useful, you'd no longer have to worry about which way your weapon is "pointed" and you'd end up being able to swing one around wildly and without remorse. Just my two cents.

AND FOR GOOD MEASURE...........RED

I've used a round red more often then a flat red (poles) I know this is a sport but for me its a hobby and while I like to win and melt faces I like the utility of the round blade.
However poles in my unit tend to have a few specific roles which round blades lend strength to.

its funny that I've seen boom in round pole arms since okfest

Ok... I throw my hat in the ring on this one. I like to fight with a red - green stabby club. The first one I had was square... All sorts of bad idea. Since then they've been round for about 3 itterations. The most recent one is 7' and flanged. About 1/2 blade, 1/2 handle, pommel , haft. I fight with it like its a bo staff, so I swing in all directions in rapid succession , so flat would not work well at all for the way I use it. When fighting with a blue you can change angles of the blade relatively quick w/o much hassle. A red how ever you have to change tour whole torso position and usually reset your feet to get a solid shot at a different angle. So for manuverability its round all the way for sure. And if you disagree, you are wrong. Sorry, feel free to disregard that last comment , thee wasn't a lot of passionate debate so I figure I could throw a r ock In the hornet's nest. As you were.