thank you for this. i have a windlass one that was sharpened for me here in the UK and im so used to using katanas and regular straight longswords that this thing was confusing me and hard to use because it works so differently. all my cuts were either pushing back my hand, bouncing off or very shallow etc. gonna try this out next chance i get and see if i can improve at all. for instance i had no idea about jolting the wrist forewords using the thumb when cutting. i was just swinging into the bottles like you would a longsword by using edge alignment and keeping straight.
I have some training in Katori Shinto Ryu so I can definitely sympathize with the differences between the katana and military saber particularly in the grip.
So have you ever been in the military Because I'd like to say that your swordsmanship is very good Especially the technique that you used to cut that bottle for one simple reason is most the soldiers wood not know how to use that technique because swordsmanship is usually not taught to most military soldiers no matter what branch of the military therein so I was just wondering if you were in the Army
I have served a total of 26 years in the military. 8 years in the US Marines and currently an Army Officer deployed as we speak in Afghanistan. This video was actually filmed at Camp Arifjan Kuwait. I got into HEMA a few years ago as another physical training option and realized that there was hardly anyone practicing historical US military swordsmanship as a martial art. So I started researching on my own and have been doing it ever since. I currently run a historical fencing club at the base gym here in Kabul. As a NATO base I train Soldiers from Germany, Georgia, Portugal, Britain as well as the US that want to learn historical swordsmanship as a martial art. The sources I draw from include George Minniss, Colonel Thomas Stephens, Major Henry Wayne, Captains Berriman’s, and O’Rourke, Generals Kelton and old blood and guts himself George S. Patton who wrote a couple of books on combat swordsmanship and was a master of the sword as a young Lieutenant.
Society of American Military Swordsmanship How does the Cold Steel M1902 compare to the one made by WKC and sold by Marlow White? The WKC sword is made of an unspecified carbon steel and hardened to 48-52 Rockwell, which theoretically makes it functional. I want me an M1902, but Cold Steel discontinued theirs a while back.
Matthew Pham Cold Steel makes functional blades as you can see in the video demonstration. My biggest gripe is that their blades lack proper distal taper and therefore do not handle as well as the originals. The M1902 by Marlow White is as you point out the only service sword still made with carbon steel while all the others went to stainless steel. If there is a quality heat treat it is theoretically functional. The WKC is a very old company based in Solingen Germany and known for their quality. The company does however state a warning that their M1902 is for ceremonial purposes only. The one possible structural weak point that I see with the Marlow White WKC import is that the tang is much thinner than the cold steel version.
@@pgandy1 Thanks for your response. I am into weapons like rapiers and small swords (typically straight-bladed weapons) that usually have an accompanying dagger. I was wondering if sabers had similar partners.
Well, they are in fact essentially dress swords and only used in ceremonies today, not as weapons. Sabers come unsharpened unless you specify otherwise form the maker. They have not really been carried into combat since the Mexican Punitive Expedition of 1916.
There are many who argue that the M1902 was designed purely for ceremonial use however, I have been conducting extensive research into the design history of the M1902 and it was clearly intended for combat. The problem was as Utah Bob points out the use of the saber in combat fell off soon after.
@@S.A.M.S.2017 I have a ceremonial saber, not sure what pattern, that would rattle to pieces if I ever tried to actually use it. Would you say that most modern replicas are poorly constructed or did I find a fluke?
Aaron Axel Depends on the manufacturer. Cold Steel makes functional versions of many American swords. Some are better than others. Windlass also makes some decent functional versions as well. The military swords that US military personnel purchase are mostly ordered from Marlow White. Those are dress swords make using stainless steel which is very brittle and is likely to shatter when struck with enough force. Always check that a blade is made from high carbon carbon steel which Cold Steel and Windlass use. Marlow White’s M1902 is the only US Saber that is still made from carbon steel tempered to a hardness between 47-53 and then nickel plated. The Army never updated the specifications to have them produced with stainless steel blades as the current Marine Corps regulation specifies so the modern M1902s from are pretty much close to the originals and are imported from WKC in Solingen Germany by Marlow White.
Good tip man. I spent about nine years as a red leg in cav units and only just now ordered my first saber.
I'm sorry you were what??
@@davideleuterius6465 Artillery, brah. I was a tanker in the cav for 7 years. I too just bought my first saber. the Cold Steel 1860 Heavy Cav saber.
Wish cold steel still produced these.
thank you for this. i have a windlass one that was sharpened for me here in the UK and im so used to using katanas and regular straight longswords that this thing was confusing me and hard to use because it works so differently. all my cuts were either pushing back my hand, bouncing off or very shallow etc. gonna try this out next chance i get and see if i can improve at all. for instance i had no idea about jolting the wrist forewords using the thumb when cutting. i was just swinging into the bottles like you would a longsword by using edge alignment and keeping straight.
I have some training in Katori Shinto Ryu so I can definitely sympathize with the differences between the katana and military saber particularly in the grip.
I was in the army for three years and never saw a sword outside of a museum. Never saw a blue uniform, either.
1:05 that's an interesting grip
how do you clean the inside of the steel scabbard?
Thats a similar grip to the sabers we use in njrotc when we have our sabers by our side
I can just hear all the enlisted guys standing off camera laughing their asses off and making snide comments the whole time..
So have you ever been in the military Because I'd like to say that your swordsmanship is very good Especially the technique that you used to cut that bottle for one simple reason is most the soldiers wood not know how to use that technique because swordsmanship is usually not taught to most military soldiers no matter what branch of the military therein so I was just wondering if you were in the Army
I have served a total of 26 years in the military. 8 years in the US Marines and currently an Army Officer deployed as we speak in Afghanistan. This video was actually filmed at Camp Arifjan Kuwait. I got into HEMA a few years ago as another physical training option and realized that there was hardly anyone practicing historical US military swordsmanship as a martial art. So I started researching on my own and have been doing it ever since. I currently run a historical fencing club at the base gym here in Kabul. As a NATO base I train Soldiers from Germany, Georgia, Portugal, Britain as well as the US that want to learn historical swordsmanship as a martial art. The sources I draw from include George Minniss, Colonel Thomas Stephens, Major Henry Wayne, Captains Berriman’s, and O’Rourke, Generals Kelton and old blood and guts himself George S. Patton who wrote a couple of books on combat swordsmanship and was a master of the sword as a young Lieutenant.
Society of American Military Swordsmanship
How does the Cold Steel M1902 compare to the one made by WKC and sold by Marlow White? The WKC sword is made of an unspecified carbon steel and hardened to 48-52 Rockwell, which theoretically makes it functional. I want me an M1902, but Cold Steel discontinued theirs a while back.
Matthew Pham Cold Steel makes functional blades as you can see in the video demonstration. My biggest gripe is that their blades lack proper distal taper and therefore do not handle as well as the originals. The M1902 by Marlow White is as you point out the only service sword still made with carbon steel while all the others went to stainless steel. If there is a quality heat treat it is theoretically functional. The WKC is a very old company based in Solingen Germany and known for their quality. The company does however state a warning that their M1902 is for ceremonial purposes only. The one possible structural weak point that I see with the Marlow White WKC import is that the tang is much thinner than the cold steel version.
Society of American Military Swordsmanship
Do you know anyone who has disregarded the warning?
Matthew Pham I plead the fifth. 😉
Does anyone know if the M1902 saber ever had a companion dagger or dirk that went along side it?
No off-hand weapon was authorized to use with the M1902. But arguably the M1911 pistol could be used but unofficially and I know of no such use.
@@pgandy1 Thanks for your response. I am into weapons like rapiers and small swords (typically straight-bladed weapons) that usually have an accompanying dagger. I was wondering if sabers had similar partners.
@@dcfmkyn Traditionally no.
wow... didnt realize these were effective weapons. thought they were just dress swords by this point.
Well, they are in fact essentially dress swords and only used in ceremonies today, not as weapons. Sabers come unsharpened unless you specify otherwise form the maker. They have not really been carried into combat since the Mexican Punitive Expedition of 1916.
Cool. I don't know much about american military sabers.
There are many who argue that the M1902 was designed purely for ceremonial use however, I have been conducting extensive research into the design history of the M1902 and it was clearly intended for combat. The problem was as Utah Bob points out the use of the saber in combat fell off soon after.
@@S.A.M.S.2017 I have a ceremonial saber, not sure what pattern, that would rattle to pieces if I ever tried to actually use it. Would you say that most modern replicas are poorly constructed or did I find a fluke?
Aaron Axel Depends on the manufacturer. Cold Steel makes functional versions of many American swords. Some are better than others. Windlass also makes some decent functional versions as well. The military swords that US military personnel purchase are mostly ordered from Marlow White. Those are dress swords make using stainless steel which is very brittle and is likely to shatter when struck with enough force. Always check that a blade is made from high carbon carbon steel which Cold Steel and Windlass use. Marlow White’s M1902 is the only US Saber that is still made from carbon steel tempered to a hardness between 47-53 and then nickel plated. The Army never updated the specifications to have them produced with stainless steel blades as the current Marine Corps regulation specifies so the modern M1902s from are pretty much close to the originals and are imported from WKC in Solingen Germany by Marlow White.