A Gladius Thread

[Cosmoline]

I'm getting into the Roman blades this year. I figured some basic training was in order before I start chopping my fingers off, so I picked up this training gladius:



I shopped around a bit, and this was the only one made from hardwood for use in actual training.

http://www.woodenswords.com/

http://www.woodenswords.com/WMA/gladius.htm

They have a batch of them marked "Victori" that some customer never picked up, so they're selling them for a discount. You can order them with whatever you want engraved. It's an inch of solid hickory so I don't think the engraving makes it weaker.

I've been beating an old mattress with it, doing basic gut thrusts and ankle slashes. The balance is great, though perhaps a bit heavier than a real sword. Even without steel it's a real weapon. It would make a fine salmon club. I can see how that big funny-looking pommel might be used to knock some heads as well. It's a FAST design, and I'm impressed by its accuracy. The short length allows you to keep total control.

Here's an interesting page on Roman drills:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/3296/archive/drill.htm

For the real thing, I'm leaning towards the Generation2 versions sold by Imperial Weapons.

 

[Boats]

A wooden gladius is called a rudius. Just for reference.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

Anyone know a good place to order a real Gladius?

 

[carpediem]

I'm curious - why the gladius?

 

[MatthewVanitas]

Whoa, that would be a far better Hail-and-Farewell gift than some engraved plaque!

That site will sell a wooden gladius with the engraving of your choice for $50, that's pretty competitive. If I were still on active duty, I'd be pushing to use the plaque fund to buy at least one for an outbound member.

Thanks for the link.

-MV

 

[armoredman]

Incredibly effective short sword of the iron age, but tactics, armor, and discipline made the Roman army.
Neat wooden sword, very cool! Wouldn't mind picking one of those up for a fun club.

 

[lawson]

the gladius has great balance and can produce some impressive cutting power. it was the roman's backup weapon, if i recall my history lessons correctly, to a type of javelin.

kind of like carrying a fighting knife to back up your handgun. deploys easily when needed, small enough to stay out of the way when it's not.

 

[Cosmoline]

A wooden gladius is called a rudius. Just for reference

I thought the rudis (not rudius) was an honorary sword not intended for use in practice. The wooden sword site where I bought mine ALSO has a Rudis for sale, but it's for use as a wall hanger or trophy.

I've looked into it and it appears the Latin term Rudis (f) is used to designate both the practice sword and the honorary sword given to a slave at their manumission.

I'm curious - why the gladius?

As pointed out, it's an incredibly important part of military history and in one form or another was the dominant sword of the west for a thousand years. It doesn't get as much love these days because slashing swords such as the Katana are so much more cinematic, but as tactics go stabbing will do more for you than hacking. A slashing blade grows dull and useless quickly, while a good stabbing blade can go on for a long battle. It also requires far less energy to deploy, and exposes far less of your body to counterattack. Like the bullet it uses its sectional density. I'm fascinated by the difference in cutting styles, and how the focus shifted from slashing to stabbing and back again as military styles changed.

A good gladius seems to be an excellent short range stabber and a fair slasher. The Maintz type included a waist and a better hacking balance, but I think the hacking was mostly restricted to quick slashes at the legs and key joints. For the kill strike it was stabbing all the way.

Anyone know a good place to order a real Gladius?

I'm also wondering about that. The Generation2 blades and the Albion (?) blades seem to get good press.

Here's a test of one of the Gen2's, unfortunately quite brief:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7X2KhsmASM

 

[Cosmoline]

Whoa, that would be a far better Hail-and-Farewell gift than some engraved plaque!

That's what I was thinking. They're very cheap, and the ceremonial rudis they sell looks like it would be ideal to give as a retirement or graduation gift. Just make sure you get the Latin right

 

[steeltiger]

Hey I have one of the wooden rudis's,I thought it was a toy the company that makes them uses a cnc mill mine is exactly the one pictured, never played around with it though

 

[Cosmoline]

The real thing finally got here after months on backorder. It's a Gen2 Maintz style battle ready model. Balance is good, if a wee on the heavy side. It came greased and quite sharp, though it could be much sharper. The blade steel is nice high carbon. It will be a working blade, and I intend to use it on the trail. No gladius should sit on a shelf.

http://www.gothicfantasy.com/Gen2/ip-023.html

 

[The Canuck]

Next pass you might want to scope out Albion Swords.

 

[Cosmoline]

Yeah, those are impressive, but cost about three times as much. I plan on abusing this gladius quite a bit, so the high end ones were out.

 

[SaMx]

There's a gladius at kris cutlery
http://kriscutlery.com/medieval/roman.html

here's some more stuff.
http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/ancient-roman-swords.html

 

[Fosbery]

Mm, knife idea brewing here:

23" full tang blade
VG10
Double edged
Recurved on both edges
Gladius-style point
Hollow ground
Katana-style round hilt, brass
Canvas micarta scales (the blade is completely full tang with a bulge at the end, the scales cover both sides of this, becoming deeper at this point forming a pommel
No fuller, or a very shallow one, to compensate for the heavier handle

Ultimate home defence sword

 

[CWL]

Nice blade. I hope you get a lot of hard use out of your new gladius. The gladius was probably as much an entrenching/woodsman tool as weapon (not to detract from it's total effectiveness as a close-in weapon) since the Legionaries built and disassembled a fortified camp every day on campaign.

Let's see some photos of it in use.

 

[Kaylee]

pretty...

so that's what ya got in case the bears are a little too aggressive, eh?

 

[armoredman]

Nice gladius! Someday, when I'm rich, I'll get one.

 

[Cosmoline]

I just had it sharpened by the local knife shop. The fellow there is something of a sword guy and was pretty impressed with the balance on this G2. He's given it a very nice double hollow edge that's "Kill Bill" sharp. Mind, it was sharp enough before to go through soft pine like cardboard. Now I believe it would cut a moose half in two.

 

[carebear]

Where on the bike will it go?

That looks great Cos. What'd it turn out to cost with S&H if you don't mind my asking?

 

[WeedWhacker]

Cosmoline, how has the gladius held up thus far? I've been looking around for a solid sword, but was creeped out by that HSN video of the guy getting stabbed by the tip of a sword he broke off by lightly banging it on a table...

What sort of abuses has your gladius been put through and what's your personal assessment thus far?

 

[RLsnow]

heh, the roman army and legionaries is one of my greatest passions!!

i envy you man...

 

[Cosmoline]

Cosmoline, how has the gladius held up thus far? I've been looking around for a solid sword, but was creeped out by that HSN video of the guy getting stabbed by the tip of a sword he broke off by lightly banging it on a table...

Gladius meus est non divisa in partes tres. Not yet anyway. No need for emergecy surgery so far, in the studio or otherwise. I ran it through some abusive paces and managed to bend the tip, but the local knife shop was able to put it back in place. The steel is good quality and keeps a keen edge while remaining flexible. The grip is a little hard to get used to. I'm not sure how the Romans used these so much without getting hand pain. Maybe they just sucked up the pain, or maybe they were fifteen years younger than me when they were using them. But a more advanced grip system might be nice.

For the money it seems like a fine choice for a working gladius. There are fancier ones, to be sure, and nicer ones. But you wouldn't want to treat those like the Roman soldiers treated theirs. Next year if I can finally get around to it I'm going to get some more fencing practice and possibly incorporate a rudus. The swordplay in "Rome" on HBO has gotten me interested in their system, though I understand the whole subject of how they actually fought is still hotly contested.

Their cuisine is also fascinating. Groats and doormice. The only other people I know with such a keen love for mice are Yupik eskimos. But the Romans still had one foot in the hunter-gatherer lifestyle I suppose. And Europe was still a wild country.

i envy you man...

It's just a sharp piece of metal. Can't you get these in Norway?

 

[cnorman18]

here's another

Here's another source:

http://www.museumreplicas.com/museumreplicas/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=46

I've owned some of their swords, though never a Gladius.. They were quality products, properly spring-tempered and well-balanced.

If you want a pilum, a pugio, or Roman armor, they have those too.

 

[armoredman]

Cosmoline, check out The Centurions books series by Damion Hunter, will definately get you in the mood. Good Roman historical fiction.