GI Swords

[George Hill]

From the big sand box we have had reports of soldiers having at the enemy with bayonets and a switch blade.
Obviously mele and hand to hand combat still happens on the modern battle field.
Cold Steel has a photo in it's catalog (an older one from last year, I don't know about any news ones) a Cutlas carried by a trooper with is rucksack. I know most troops in my old units always carried a nice big blade and a couple smaller ones.
I carried KaBar and a double edged EK and a couple folders... I know the Army issues the M9...

But perhaps it would be a good idea to issue a short sword. Perhaps a gladius or wakasashi maybe? Maybe the good old fashioned Cavalry Saber or Cutlas?

 

[Don Gwinn]

The cutlass wouldn't be a bad one, nor would the Gladius. It would have to be light and short enough to be carried a lot and used never without being thrown away, 'cuz even the average combat infantryman would never have occasion to use it. But it would feel better than a switchblade in your hand, that's for sure!

I know John carried an HI Kukri with him. That's a fantastic big blade, though maybe not as good a weapon as the cutlass or gladius. Just don't tell the Ghurkas I said that.

 

[MrAcheson]

If you are at long blade distances I'd rather have a pistol, which weighs about the same. Likewise a rifle with a nice big bayonet has lower net load and more functionality.

A big kukri or even a gladius might be neat though. Not sure how practical but neat. Can't see humping my longsword through the sandbox though.

 

[Jim March]

A shortsword is a far better idea for those not seriously practiced with big cutlery. Of all the pieces I own, my first choice would be my 21" overall length khukuri of a lighter type (Sirupati-ish). Blade length around 16". Also a good general utility piece, wood-chopper, etc...could be used to batter through a door, even chop through a passenger car roof for rescue purposes in a pinch.

Another melee alternative is a tomahawk/hatchet. Again, it's also a tool for most of the same purposes, although not as flexible as a Khukuri in my opinion.

 

[Jim March]

Oh ya, one more thing: I've long said that a snubby revolver would be a good last-ditch defense weapon for front-line troops...in 9mm if ammo compatibility with existing stores is needed. The Ruger SP101 in 9mm/moons would be perfect...tough as nails, easy to use and practice with, fairly cheap.

 

[George Hill]

Sure a pistol would be great... but they run out of ammo.
In these situations where edged weapons were deployed, the soldiers had run dry. It happens. It can happen no matter what other pistol you pack with you.
A blade can not run out of ammo. It can be blunted and dulled and broken... but you wont run out of ammo with it.
The tomahawk... ah... now that is a good idea.
The Roman Legions carried with them small axes. THey were useful in camp chores and in fighting. Only a few examples exist because they didn't bury them with the dead, but passed them down... they were too prized to bury.
A tomahawk is uniquely American too... Kinda goes with the US Soldier's tradition of shaving the head into a mohawk too... A tradition that we freedom fighters did at the Boston Tea Party, and is still frequent today in some units in the Army and other services.
Good idea, that.

 

[JShirley]

I carried an 18" Chitlangi into the field with me, sometimes. I was a mortarman, so I could (and usually did) successfully argue that a field knife was part of our TOE (it was).

I wrapped the handle and the tip of my scabbard with black grip tape to kill glare. Worked pretty well, both in the field, and around the hunting property, once I ETS'd. Then, one of my fellow moderators got her hands on my Chitlangi.

Fortunately, I have other kukuris!

I was visiting the museum on Stone Mountain, about...oh, hell. It's been awhile, now. Anyway, there were all these huge knives displayed. The proprietor explained that it was common for the Southern Boys to bring along some type of big bowie...it was always the first thing to get pitched when marching.

John

PS- George, I'll show you a pic as soon as I get 'em developed. You'll love my hair!

 

[Soap]

I wouldn't want a sword simply because blades are used for utility far more than fighting. Thus, I would want a tomahawk or a kukri that could pull both duties. More specifically, a 16.5 WWII model from HI or a LaGana from American Tomahawk Co.

 

[JShirley]

Well, the Chitlangi weighed about the same as the WW II, but has a lighter, slightly longer blade style. This worked well, since most of the time, a mortarman needed to cut light brush, with only occasional chopping.

John

 

[armoredman]

Had a short sword - carried it once. Got WAY more comments than the 357 on the other hip!
A modernized gladius might be an excellent idea!

 

[Joe Demko]

I think Rex Applegate's smatchet would be the ticket if you wanted to issue some kind of sword to the troops. Whatever you issue better have a lot of utility beyond close combat, though, or the troops will lose them, discard them, barter them for psychoactive chemicals, etc.

 

[Skofnung]

The Smatchet is a great idea.

Not all troops would go for carrying such things, but it should be an option for those that would.

A cutlass/hanger with a 20" blade would be another ideal choice.

A lighter, more useful tool would be a light 20" machete ala Tramontina or the old Tru Temper blades. Replace the wood with rubber and you have a jam up hackenmeister.

I am quite partial to hawks, and they are good for the job, but using one well can take practice.

 

[Ol' Badger]

A couple of Soldier of Fortunes ago there was an Article on a group of Tankers that has to hold a bridge in a blinding sand storm. One of the Tankers actually had a Cold Steel Tomahawk for hand to hand, while he was picking up AK’s. But in the end, you cant argue with 25mm or 120mm at point blank range now can you.

 

[Soap]

I'm actually on the waiting list to get a "Fair Sword" from EDMF knives, which is similar to a smatchet. I was going to suggest a smatchet, but I've never owned one so I don't feel comfortable with the recommendation. Hopefully I'll get an e-mail from EDMF soon that they're ready to build mine.

 

[RevDisk]

I usually just carry a sharpened Entrenching tool. An E-tool is pretty handy for plenty of activities and it holds an edge decently. Digging, pounding stakes, cutting thick rope, etc With careful practice, you'd be surprised how accurately one could be thrown.

It was kinda needed because we were forbidden from attaching fixed blades to our LBV's. No, I'm not kidding. None of the officers asked me why I always had an E-tool attached to my kit...

 

[hso]

A sharpened e-tool would require far less training (swing batta batta!) and provide more utility than a short sword. From what the guys who have been there have told me and from my experiences hiking and backpacking I doubt that anything that added weight without daily utility would be carried very long.

 

[Daniel]

My choice: I would issue everyone a short sword and a camouflaged cape as standard issue battledress; them Greeks looked quite snazzy back in the day.

Or you could just bring back the 12"-20" sword bayonet and be done with it.

 

[JShirley]

Daniel Flory,

I've purchased 3 knives from Dale. I'm sure you'll love it.

John