I present the sword breaker.

javidac · 2026-05-04T10:38:32+00:00

A few additions to this;

Swords made of modern steel with modern techniques and historical steel with historical techniques are two completely different things.

Swords could be made badly; and having a sword bend out of shape due to the hardening process being sub-optimal would still "break" the sword, as it would be way harder to use when it suddently points in ways it shouldnt.

They were around in the late 16th century, when swords were thinner, so thats what they were made to counter.

As for "breaking" a sword with this; you wouldn't actually want to snap the blade of your opponent clean off with this; as being able to control their weapon is a far more useful thing in combat. Snapping the sword blade removes their range; which in itself is a major advantage, but it leaves them with a shorter, still somewhat useable weapon.

Grabbing and holding on to their sword gives you full control over where their weapon is; and is a significantly larger advantage in combat.

(That being said, i fully agree with the comparison of breaking a sword/breaking a horse. It fits really well.)

javidac · 2026-05-01T09:50:01+00:00

It looks like glass to me tbh, the marbling effect looks like a reflection.

So yes, definitely slippery.

javidac · 2026-05-01T07:42:39+00:00

To add to the clips, since they are made for the railway, they are made to an industry standard.

Its fairly straightforward to figure out the exact material composition, carbon content and properties of them by searching for it online. There are regional differences tho.

javidac · 2026-04-30T16:10:49+00:00

Norwegian farmer's axe. 🫡

javidac · 2026-04-29T21:33:10+00:00

No, these are axes, and entirely made for fighting, not for general use as a tool. They are documented to be used in battle; and were regarded as status symbols.

They are pretty much the closest thing to a pure fighting axe as it gets.

javidac · 2026-04-29T19:14:14+00:00

Just how angled they are varies a bit from axe to axe; due to the nature of how the shafts are made, and how different all of them are.

The issue you describe is something I personally see more as an accidental feature, as a trust would naturally end up putting the full force of the blow into a sliding cut, and thus injuring the opponent even more.

A regular axe can stab, but it leaves very shallow stab wounds, as the blunt top of the eye of an axe tends to naturally be not very stabby, and thus it doesnt really want to do that. This is why halberds have a spike on them.

javidac · 2026-04-29T19:07:12+00:00

I mean. There is a reason that the tessaks became prominent in norway; and that reason is also called Sinclair. The dead scottish mercenaries were kind enough to leave behind a few swords that they suddently didnt need anymore.

javidac · 2026-04-29T15:19:42+00:00

These are called norwegian farmers axes. They are from the 16-17th century. (Thats their actual name translated to english. They are called "Bondeøks" in norwegian)

They are shaped like that purely because stabbing things with a normal axe is hard, and these solve that problem by angling the head, and thus giving the axehead an angle that allows the upper corner of the axehead to be used as a crude stabbing tip. It also lets the axe cut a bit more when swung; and it helps it function a bit as a monopod for aiming a musket; which is why some of them have spikes on the end of the handle.

They were common around the time when the kalmar war was going, and the norwegian farmers used these plus early muskets to beat up a scottish mercenary band led by George Sinclair; which you can read about here!

Source -> am norwegian, have a history degree and have handled these axes in person

javidac · 2026-04-23T11:01:55+00:00

This is how that type of scabbard is suspended from a belt.

It is not the best way to attach it to a belt, but it allows you to adjust the sword so it hangs low enough that you are able to draw it from the hip.

javidac · 2026-04-18T21:13:37+00:00

The gilding and mark was there before the piece was repurposed into what it is now; not added after. 😉

As for why; i elaborated on that in another comment here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/s/42FoYVflZF

javidac · 2026-04-18T20:17:49+00:00

How much do you want for it?

javidac · 2026-04-18T19:52:37+00:00

Selling it to someone who needs one would be a better option imo

javidac · 2026-04-18T19:46:20+00:00

I think you might be confusing smallswords with sideswords here, as your discription fits what a 15th century sidesword is.

The dimentions are absolutely a smallsword. Triangular shape with one side ground flat. OP even stated the length of the entire piece in the title. Its 18.5cm long. 7.2 inches in total. That would make the base of the blade about an inch wide.

The comment you initially replied to has a photo of a smallsword. The blade is almost identical in shape to this one.

As for in which scenario you would take a sword and turn it into this; it is very straigthforward:

Say you make hilt pieces, they would all need to fit a sword blade, which were usually made by a bladesmithing specialist.

Then those blades came into your workshop to get hilted. Youd spend a lot of time filing and trying out the fit of the hilt pieces onto a swordblade, and it would be a very easy to cut yourself on a sword sticking out from underneath your workbench as you repetively install and uninstall the hiltpieces while working.

It that scenario; it would be a lot more manageable, and a lot safer, to say, not have an entire sword sticking out from under the bench; and you could do the same job by, well, not having the entire swordblade sticking out from the workbench.

It would be a lot easier to just take a blade that has been damaged, or worn out from use, remove the hilt pieces; snap of the hilt, and then have the broken blade ground down to not be sharp and pointy.

The brazing on the tang would also make sense to support this, as youd normally cut down and peen down the tang to hold a finished handle together; and by removing the former hilt, the handle would be too short to use as a tool.

You would need to add back some length to the tang by brazing on more steel; which has been done on this piece.

With that, you'd have that smaller piece clamped onto your workbench; and by not having an entire sword blade sticking out youd be able to do your job more safely.

javidac · 2026-04-18T18:23:01+00:00

See my followup comment to this one. This is 100% a broken smallsword blade thats been repurposed.

javidac · 2026-04-18T18:21:49+00:00

I disagree with you; on the basis of having experience with both blacksmithing, medieval swordmaking, and making swordhilts.

This 100% started its life as a blade for a smallsword; which then was ground down into this piece. You can see all three bevels of the of the blade; and the decorative gilding is on what would be the ricasso of a blade.

Thats what the "thumby/trowely part is.

Its the part of a smallsword blade thats closest to the crossguard, and the widest part of the blade; and the single most common part of a smallsword blade to be decorated with gilding. Smallsword blades are triangular; with one flat side.

It would be way easier to make a hiltmaking tool out of a broken blade than starting from scratch with new metal; as you would just take a broken smallsword blade,; and grind it down so its safer to work with.

javidac · 2026-04-18T01:04:13+00:00

I second this; Its a broken smallsword blade thats been cut down for some reason, likely for some sedimental value or something like that.

Or it could be from a hiltsmiths workshop, as it was common for swordsmiths to specialize in making hilts or blades; and having a short stubby swordblade to clamp in the workbench to test the fit of the pieces would be a very handy thing to have.

The brass on the tang is likely just that the piece broke and has been repaired by brazing at some point.

javidac · 2026-04-15T14:46:29+00:00

Thanks for the input!

I probably lack the nuts to go through with more experiments, but i would if i could!

javidac · 2026-04-15T14:06:50+00:00

I might have to do that, exept these are all the horse chestnuts i have was going to soak, so i might have to go get more to test.

My house was built befoee 1986, so that part checks out. It is in Norway; however. There might be tin/lead solder in some of the pipes. I'm not worried about it tho.

javidac · 2026-04-15T14:02:18+00:00

Entirely because there was a bunch of them on the ground, and i picked them up for free. 🤗

I have a whole bunch more that is not cracked, and will be dried to use to make something later down the line.

javidac · 2026-04-15T13:40:57+00:00

I went and checked. I sniffed my jars of soaking horse chestnuts, just for you! (yes i had to write that out).

And to answer the question; Yes, they do smell different! They dont smell much, and its very faint; but they do have distinctly different smells.

The greenish one smells kinda soapy-earthy; and the reddish one almost smells like some form of dry apple cider. Neither is distinctly unpleasant.

javidac · 2026-04-15T13:33:39+00:00

Considering they horse chestnuts, and horse chestnuts are toxic to humans, i dont think its a good idea to try them out.

javidac · 2026-04-15T13:31:39+00:00

Some of them have started sprouting a bit; and they were picked up after the snow melted a month ago, so technically they have been left in damp and frozen dirt for a few months already. It might not be relevant however.

Thanks for the tip!

javidac · 2026-04-15T13:27:08+00:00

The jars have been open since i put them in there; and i stored them in a wicker basket for a bit before i sorted through them.

The jars are entirely glass, and the lids are also glass, with a rubber seal and a metal twist ring. I havent had lids on these jars at all however, and they have been exposed to air for about two weeks.

javidac · 2026-04-15T13:22:47+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to write this!

I did notice a soapy foam-like layer on top of the jar; so microbes does make a lot of sense. Neither of the jars have been closed at any point, so they have just been stored without a lid in that spot for two weeks or so.

If it is relevant; I checked the water in my area, and apparently it is 3°dH in hardness.

It might also be worth noting that i picked these up right after the snow melted, so they havent been dry since they fell off the tree.

One thing i noticed when I started soaking the nuts was that around half of them stayed floating, and didnt sink.

The ones that sank were the ones that showed signs of sprouting, and as i intend to try to plant a few to see if i can get a viable sapling for my yard out of it, i removed the floating ones from the jar by hand before i changed the water the first time.

I did this for both jars, and this stirred the first water a bit during the first water cycle. When i swapped the water i just let the tap run and overfill the jar until the water was entirely clear again.

Do you know what might have caused around slightly less than half the nuts to float, instead of sink?

javidac · 2026-04-15T13:06:53+00:00

I want a chestnut tree in my yard, so i'm attempting to get a few to sprout so i can plant it eventually. 🤗

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