This category is dedicated to exploring the rich history and legacy of edged weapons from around the world. Here you’ll find in-depth stories and articles about traditional blades such as the Nepalese kukri (khukuri), swords, daggers, machetes, bowie knives, and other iconic forged weapons. Learn about their origins, cultural significance, battlefield use, and the evolution of their design over centuries. Whether it’s the legendary role of the Gurkha kukri, the rise of the bowie knife in frontier America, or the global influence of forged swords and machetes, we aim to preserve and share the stories behind these powerful tools of survival, honor, and craftsmanship. At Everest Forge, we not only handcraft these blades in Nepal but also honor the traditions and techniques passed down through generations of blacksmiths. Join us in uncovering the timeless world of hand-forged edged weapons.
17 Sep
0
157
Can a Blade Be Left-Handed?
Yes — but on most blades, the edge itself is not the part that is left- or right-handed. A kukri (khukuri), sword, dagger, knife or machete is usually ground on both sides and cuts the same in either hand. What makes a blade handed is everything around the edge: the sheath or scabbard and the hip it hangs from, the belt fittings and retention strap, the shape of the grip and guard, the side that shows the engraving, and, on a few knives, a single-bevel grind sharpen..
16 Sep
0
93
Sharp Sword vs Blunt Sword: Which Should You Buy?
Buy a sharp sword if you intend to cut things with it — targets, cutting practice, a working blade. Buy a blunt sword if it will ever be swung near another person, carried in public, or handled by people who are not trained. For display, either works, and blunt is the safer choice in a home. The sword can look identical either way; what changes is the edge, the tip and what you can safely do with it.
This guide works through the sharp sword vs..
16 Sep
0
115
Rolled Tip Practice Swords: Why Training Sword Points Are Folded Over
Look closely at the point of a sparring sword and you will often find that it is not a point at all. The end of the blade has been folded back on itself into a small rounded roll. That is not damage and it is not a shortcut. It is a safety feature, and on a sword that will be thrust at another person, it is one of the most important details on the whole blade.
This guide explains what a rolled tip is, why practice swords us..
16 Sep
0
126
Sword Pommel Attachment: Peened, Threaded, Welded and Other Methods Explained
A pommel looks like decoration. It is actually the part that holds the whole hilt together. Guard, grip and pommel are stacked onto the tang, and whatever fixes the pommel at the end decides whether that stack stays tight for decades or starts to rattle after a season. From the outside, most of the methods look much the same.
This guide covers every common way a sword pommel is attached — peened, threaded, nutted, w..
16 Sep
0
135
Sword Tang Types: Full Flat, Through-Tang and Short Tang Shown Without the Grip
Every sword hides its most important part. The tang is the steel inside the grip, and it decides whether the hilt stays on the blade. Take the grip away and three swords that looked identical turn out to be built three different ways. Put the grip back and two of them look the same again, right down to the button on the pommel.
What is the tang of a sword? The tang is the part of the blade that continues past the ..
13 Sep
0
197
Wedding Swords and Daggers: A Guide by Tradition
The bride stands on the groom's left because his right hand had to stay free for his blade. That is the origin, and almost every wedding in the West still arranges itself that way without knowing why. Blades are older in wedding ceremony than most of what we think of as traditional, and several living traditions still put one at the centre of the day.
This guide covers the wedding traditions where a wedding sword or wedding dagger has a real ro..
13 Sep
0
81
When a Sword, Dagger, Kukri, Machete or Knife Is a Meaningful Gift
A blade is a meaningful gift when the person receiving it can keep it, use it or display it, and when it marks something worth marking. It is a poor gift when it is only impressive. That single distinction settles most of the decision, and it is why a modest kukri given for the right reason outlasts an expensive sword given for the wrong one.
This guide is about matching the blade to the person and the occasion — which type su..
12 Sep
0
231
The Oakeshott Typology Explained: How Medieval Swords Are Actually Classified
Names like "longsword" and "arming sword" describe how a sword is held. The Oakeshott typology describes what the blade actually is — its profile taper, its fuller, its cross-section and its point. They are two different axes, and confusing them is why so much sword discussion goes in circles. A Type XV can be an arming sword or a longsword. Saying "a Type XV is a longsword" is not wrong so much as incomplete.
This ..
09 Sep
0
216
Large Swords: How Big Can a Sword Actually Get?
The largest sword anyone ever fought with was about 1.8 metres. The largest real sword ever forged is 3.77 metres, and it was never meant to be lifted. Everything bigger than that is either a monument or a drawing. If you are looking for a large sword — a greatsword, a two-hander, something with genuine presence on a wall — the useful question is not what the record is. It is where the practical ceiling sits, why it sits there, and what changes ..
09 Sep
0
105
Planning a LARP Event: Where Real Steel Belongs
Steel has a real place at a live action role-playing event. It is not in the fight. Every LARP contact system in the world runs on latex and foam, and no hand-forged blade should ever be swung at a player. What steel does at a LARP is everything the foam cannot: the plot object nobody can fake, the oath sworn on a real edge, the camp that looks lived in, the prize that outlasts the weekend.
This is an organiser's guide rather than a player's one..