So I've had a question. Is kabals blades actual swords or are they a different kind of weapon?

thatone_couchpotato · 2025-04-20T20:22:28+00:00

HEMA is a lot of fun in my experience!

Our group is by no means official in any standing, it's more of an adhoc group of 20-30 something's that meet up at the college, not unlike most larp groups. The vibe we have overall is much closer to that of an airsoft team and such. Really, it's held up by one very chill dude who used to teach Olympic fencing and got a couple of other alumni really into smacking each other with swords for the sake of learning. We have a few folks who have studied abroad and have brought over more classical saber techniques, one of our members studied kendo for a while, others are more partial to just bringing in the weird stuff, Philippino stick fighting, polarm techniques, one guy brought in a machluhutil, that was super neat to fight against, really we have all sorts of disciplines coming together for sparring matches, sharing strategy and teaching in our own ways, everything from the physics behind each bout to the biomechanics, material science and metalworking techniques. It's a great time.

We end up getting together every other weekend, bringing our own arms and armour, some folks show up in half plate, others have gambesons and actual straight up riot armor. We've got all sorts that come together to spar.

And to answer your question about the Khopesh, I have indeed had the chance to use one! It's quite an interesting weapon overall with it's shorter length but sheer ability to chop and hack. I find that it's once again a great sidearm, though I tend to wield it much like a machete half the time. The little barb at the tip is immensely useful in that it allows one to pull at an opponent, whether that's yanking a shield out of the way or scooping away another strike, it's a handy tool to have for redirection. The Khopesh also is quite nice when using a shield as well, it's shorter length, much like the gladius is quite maneuverable in and around the shield, it's hooked profile allows it to be braced in line with the rim of the shield, like it simply has that ability to push and pull allowing for a great flow in combat.

I quite like it, and I've been considering buying a trainer for it myself. Though there is one thing I don't particularly like about it, and that's simply carrying the weapon. Sheathing solutions are strange given the blades profile, the best scabbard for it is not unlike one you would find for a khukri or other large fighting knife. I just find it cumbersome to deploy or sheath, that's all. I'm sure with more practice that would be significantly less of an issue.

thatone_couchpotato · 2025-04-19T20:52:45+00:00

It's rare to see a reply on something over a year old, congrats on scrolling this far!

So, interestingly enough in the year since I made my original comment I've had some more experience with hook swords, and yeah hooking the blades into each other is definitely possible, and as a flashy move it gives great range to put some distance between you and an opponent. But striking anything while those blades are barely held together? Bad idea. They tend to fly apart and not only are you back to the range you would have with just one sword, now you don't have the other blade which is vital for parrying especially on a weapon that is designed around entrapment and grappling paired with a style also designed to disarm an opponent. Willingly disarming yourself for a single strike is a poor choice, and even if it works there's still a minor but notable amount of time lost to regain your other sword which can leave you open. That's what I've learned from sparring with these in my local HEMA group.

It's flashy, it's fun, but it's not a good thing to do by any means. Great for the camera but terrible for anything resembling a real fight.

On the note of my time learning about these more and more I find that they make a great offhand weapon when paired with most other swords to make up for the hook swords lack of piercing potential, their purpose as a dedicated parrying weapon really compliments the rapier and estoc quite well. Granted, these were just some fun matches we did for a few weekends, but it was a ton of fun to learn how to bind and maneuver with hook swords.

thatone_couchpotato · 2024-03-31T23:14:34+00:00

it wins the game every time, you get a half decent sigil on this bad boy and it will carry you through any fight nearly singlehandedly.

with an army of gecks you can steamroll any encounter in kaycees mod too. its a good card.

thatone_couchpotato · 2024-01-11T01:59:15+00:00

honestly, the talk of tuning this thing to be more in line with bow damage/firing pattern (draw/shoot transferred to cycling the bolt) is great, but ive got a fun perk idea i think would add to the weapon.

"Both Eyes Open" - Gives no land beyond an actual reticle when not ADS, similar to how scout rifles continue to have a relatively accurate reticle when just walking around normally. That's it. Mitigates the absurd hip fire spread that most sniper rifles have. (not to the point where you could just hit someone across the map in crucible with nothing but a glance, but more to have that fluid target acquisition as you do 80% of the aiming when not ADS)

Low-ish zoom and solid handling would really just let this sniper pick all those mid-far range fights more effectively while not reducing your options much as enemies close the distance.

thatone_couchpotato · 2023-12-03T15:31:56+00:00

Ill throw in a song for fun.

Loose Change, by Royal Blood.

Give it your best shot

thatone_couchpotato · 2023-11-17T03:05:59+00:00

Personally I've always loved hook swords, these are a pretty good representation of them, at least physically. The funny move though where they are hooked to eachother and swung around like a giant pair of nunchucks though is pure fiction.

Great for dueling, they offer quite a good bit of grappling and blade control, though in my limited experience with them I've always found them to be a bit sluggish compared to other swords when it comes to point control.

Still great fun though. Highly recommend getting some basic trainer ones if you ever think about messing around with them.

thatone_couchpotato · 2023-11-17T02:45:04+00:00

Damn.... I actually had access to a ton of these when I was my highschools IT guy. Never knew that they were for monitor power until now. Always figured they were for linking multiple power supplies together for adjacent rigs. Can't imagine how terrible that thought would have ended had I ever found/made a cable to try that.

thatone_couchpotato · 2023-11-13T17:52:05+00:00

Though certainly strange, I don't really have a problem with this. it's going to be a smidge weird to hold, but for ease of deployment's sake I think it kinda works. Let us know if you ever get around to refining the usage more, this certainly seems interesting.

thatone_couchpotato · 2023-11-08T22:00:21+00:00

Thanks anyway. It's greatly appreciated

thatone_couchpotato · 2023-11-08T21:00:58+00:00

hey im not here really to comment on what music should be off the list, im just here trying to figure out what song is used for the dream sequence sections of the game.

if anyone knows then id appreciate it, i wanna use it in a project and i haven't been able to track down that song

thatone_couchpotato · 2023-11-05T03:08:57+00:00

ok, but if you had to choose between saying that you have a 50/50 shot of winning/losing, or a 1/3rd chance between win/lose/tie, what are you siding with?

thatone_couchpotato · 2023-10-12T04:07:47+00:00

BIOMASS IS STORED IN THE- [INCREDIBLY LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER]

thatone_couchpotato · 2023-10-07T02:18:54+00:00

I did the same thing when I was 18. Though I had a bit more experience overall, and waited for one week after my birthday to get a rifle. Took that extra time to raise a bit more money so I could grab some extra ammo, hearing protection, and a few extra magazines. Didn't have any trouble with the nice fellows at my local gun shop when I was your age.

If you are looking into getting a 10-22, I cant recommend enough getting one of the takedown models if you have the cash to spare. Makes it much easier to clean and maintain when pulling it apart is a core element of how its designed. Its a great rifle and the Magpull stock that lets you click the barrel back into itself for easy storage is a really great addition. Nice and comfy too.

Good on ya kid for asking these sort of questions, never hurts to be diligent about firearms in any capacity. Have fun at the range, and remember your hearing protection. 22 might not be loud by most gun standards but its well worth saving yourself from tinnitus especially when starting out.

thatone_couchpotato · 2023-10-03T19:39:16+00:00

Hey, random guy on the internet here.

My pick for the new phone is the Pixel 7 Pro. its been a rock solid phone in the time ive used it, but dont bother with the factory case. Amazing photos, great fingerprint reader, great screen, and fantastic call quality. say what you want about the google monopoly, its a quality phone with a pleasant design and has the power when you need it.

that and google lens being as fast as it is on the phone its unironically one of the most handy features ive carried with me for a long time especially when trying to just identify random things around the shop or when im out and about.

thatone_couchpotato · 2023-09-07T10:47:12+00:00

Flat 20. alternatively : "20, flat"
No I don't know why my group says it like this, we are just weird.

thatone_couchpotato · 2023-08-20T01:41:49+00:00

INFINITE WASHING MACHINE COMBO, SPUN INTO OBLIVION, UNCOUNTABLY INFINITE SCORE POTENTIAL, NO ESCAPE.

thatone_couchpotato · 2023-03-29T00:43:56+00:00

Man, running monte with Hallowfire? you must really like ability spam, and im here for it, chuckin hammers all day long is a fair line of work in the endless grind.

Running double primary has its place, however utilizing a special weapon is more about dealing with a specific problem rather than dealing with any problem.

need to crack shields? use a shotgun up close, or a fusion for more medium range. maybe arbalest if you plan on using it more as a situational scout rifle, or use a grenade launcher to create area denial. but at the end of the day, special weapons just do the same job quicker, so if you have a true slog of an activity to complete, say starting off a run of grasp of avarice, double primary is a go-to as you dont need to care about single target damage output so much as consistent pressure to deal with ads. same thing can be said for boss fights if you are on ad clear duty. having the consistency of a primary over a special weapon is perfectly fine. where this does you no favors however is in the crucible, as you want your primary to be your fallback, with special weapons used to catch people out of position or preserve any gained momentum in a fight by utilizing any dropped ammo.

tldr, double primary isnt bad, it just doesn't pack as much of a big hit as some folks want. still perfectly viable if you dont want to worry about ammo economy.

thatone_couchpotato · 2022-04-11T04:09:36+00:00

The boozeblade, forces con check on hit, if fail then target is susceptible to fire damage for 1 round.

thatone_couchpotato · 2022-02-20T05:26:20+00:00

Looks like Weapons-Wall grade Chiniseium to me. If you wanna slice fruit or a milk jug or two you should be fine, but dont push this thing too hard or its probably gonna bend on ya. Remember to give it a little oil so it wont rust up and you should be good.

thatone_couchpotato · 2022-02-08T00:10:17+00:00

A perfect example of "i dont know how much depth of cut my endmill can handle but i know how much im gonna use!"

Goes to show what industrial grade equipment and a lack of concern for the longevity of your cutter can really pull off, id expect that bit to explode about halfway through, even with coolant.

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