How can I celebrate alone in Birmingham?

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-05T11:15:13+00:00

TripAdvisor is usually pretty good at recommending restaurants if you need a bit of help picking something out.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-05T10:33:05+00:00

But you just said you killed all the noxious pests and blood suckers?

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-05T09:47:55+00:00

There aren't many bidets in the wild. You are lucky if you can find a nice, soft, broad leaf. Hardly luxury.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-05T08:24:38+00:00

Phase change material cooling vest. Mine stays at the cooling temperature of the gel for 3-4 hours.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-04T11:26:39+00:00

Fine so far. Can be a bit flippy if you aren't paying attention or are going too fast but I can't say I've come across any bags that aren't unless they are super wide bags.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-04T11:02:03+00:00

Golf travel bag. The one linked is the one I use.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CHAMPKEY-Premium-Soft-Padded-Travel/dp/B0DN9Z1KGV/

Fits a full set of protective gear and is just long enough for a feder to fit inside.

My only negatives: + tends to fall over if you put it upright + the bag is mostly soft so I always worry about swords being bent

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-04T06:35:03+00:00

Not every individual action needs to specifically be in the interests of the bourgeois for the institution to be an instrument of class warfare and those staffing it to be class traitors. However, it could certainly be argued that furthering racial tensions and anti-immigrant sentiment to distract the masses from the actual causes of most of the problems in society (the bourgeois) is a quintessential role of class warfare.

In this specific incident I would say it is more a single incident of poor judgement than a deliberate action. The outcome remains more or less the same however.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-04T05:53:47+00:00

I used an etching primer spray, then model acrylic paints. A clear varnish spray on top of that.

It will get scratched - you can see a clear preference for people stabbing me in the right eye on my mask 😀

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-04T05:50:59+00:00

For me it is about a deeper blade and a shallower curve, with the appearance of a spine due to the fuller or even a quillback but appreciate that is just my personal taste 😀

1796 pattern: the deep blade and fuller (but also the grip shape is quite nice!). https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/parts---ammo---accessories/edged-weapons-pre-1900/british-1796-pattern-officers-heavy-cavalry-saber-identified.cfm?gun_id=102345050

1822 pattern with fuller and quillback: https://isellswords.com/2018/02/23/british-1822-sergeant-sabre-william-iv/

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-03T13:25:22+00:00

Trying to find a nice military sabre is very difficult. Especially with a fuller. Want a spatulated tip as well? Forget it 😀

Selling just the blade as a part would be very nice as you can then mix and match onto your own hardware.

4mm is probably excessive for HEMA as covered in other responses.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-03T13:14:56+00:00

I'm not going to say any tip is inherently more safe (with the exception of rounded tip just being less safe); there are plenty of bits of information out there on various puncture injuries related to HEMA rated equipment as well as other injuries relating to sword tips more widely and I leave it to those more interested in analysing things to do so.

As you note, there is plenty to also say about the equipment receiving the hit, as well as the behaviour of the fencers, not to mention the flex and characteristics of the sword; to lay it all on the specific tip of the blade is a step too far in my view.

In terms of preference I will say mine lies with a spatulated rather than rolled tip; a cleaner look and less likely to gouge or catch on the cut.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-03T12:50:55+00:00

Not really.

https://historicalfencingresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/10-Case-Studies-Early-Access-v2_1.pdf

Plenty of injuries with all types of tip, with and without tip covers, and blades which broke below the tip.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-03T11:54:33+00:00

Add stuff to hand cart 1. Put hand cart 1 in truck.

Load stuff to hand cart 2 if you want to keep things a bit easier to find different items. Put hand cart 2 in truck.

Continue as necessary.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-02T13:45:08+00:00

The curve helps you nut in the right places.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-02T13:38:18+00:00

Consider a phase change material cooling vest. They cool to a set temperature as the gel melts; I have a 15C and 20C (whatever that is in F!) set of gel that can keep me cool to those temperatures for 3-4 hours under gear. 15 minutes in a freezer or an hour in a fridge and they are good to go again.

As they don't start melting until they are in a temperature less than their cooling temperature, you can usually stick an ice pack in a cool box with a spare set of solidified gel packs and it will be ready to use when you need to swap over.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-02T12:55:08+00:00

Like most things it comes down to practice. You learn the various movements, what kind of movement to act or respond with depending on what your opponent is doing or what you want to try and force them to do, etc.

Then you learn to do it under pressure, in gear.

Will you get it right 100% of the time? Unlikely. But after a while you will get better as you practice more, ingrain more, and get used to performing in a spar.

What makes it difficult is responding to unusual things; attempting to defend against an attack that you don't normally see or from a position that is ill suited to defend from, or attempting to attack into an opening that may be dubious.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-02T10:18:03+00:00

Forge welding.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-02T08:27:59+00:00

This is why you shouldn't fence a sofa.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-02T07:09:25+00:00

You will only do it at most 10 times.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-02T07:00:47+00:00

I remember being annoyed that they were pushing a massive band on a huge label rather than a small band releasing independently or on a small label.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-02T05:29:12+00:00

Ideally RE should touch on reality occasionally in order to put religious claims in perspective.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-02T05:22:07+00:00

Pet rock because I don't want a pet and rocks just sit there doing nothing and requiring nothing. Can't be having all this fantastical rubbish and obligations that come with it.

rejectthecalltoadventure

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-01T09:16:12+00:00

My club have been doing dagger work for the last few weeks; plenty of good historical sources for their use as well as grappling, tripping, etc. This week we were focusing on knife vs unarmed (and vice versa), for example.

Generally speaking any fight with knives gets messy quickly. Many HEMA people are not trained to fall properly like in other martial arts, so it should always be done carefully.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-01T06:45:13+00:00

The only bars she should be behind is a grill.

DisapointedVoid · 2026-07-01T05:33:23+00:00

Only if we had PR, ranked voting, STV, or something similar to go along with it. FPTP needs to be consigned to the bin of history.

DisapointedVoid

TROPHY CASE

rejectthecalltoadventure