Re: [HoE] Mini-Chainsaws

[Matthew DeForrest <mmdeforrest@worldnet.att.net>]

Templar Simon wrote:

> You can use a machete to clear brush and they don't need a power source
> other than you.  I don't think that mini-chainsaws would get enough
> leverage one handed to make them practical for collecting anything but
> the thinnest branches for firewood.

You can also use a saw or axe to cut down a tree.  I don't say this to be
obnoxious but to clarify the motivation for getting one of these.  There are
small, lightweight chainsaws on the market designed for use on branches and
the like.  They are especially useful to people who have to climb a tree to
cut something down.  While I have never used one, I have seen them.  A trip
to Sears, Home Depot (or the like) might give you a chance to see one.

I have to agree that they are pretty bad ideas for weapons.  The risk of the
chain breaking is too great (especially since the chain will come back at
the face of the weilder).  Of course, this is a real world reaction.  If you
aren't big on "realism," it isn't a problem.

One quick thing on the Battle Axe as a parrying weapon:  HOW would you do
this?  Granted, I have only used a handful of swords (in bouts only) and
only swung an axe once, it did not seem like a weapon to parry with.  Then
again, most sword schools stressed the use of a
shield/buckler/cloak/dagger/anything to parry with as opposed to the sword
as well (as well as the technique of the void -- a dodge).  This, btw, is an
honest question.

Matt
--
Matthew M. DeForrest, Ph.D.         Adjunct Professor of Communications and
Adjunct Professor of English           Adjunct Professor of English
UNC Charlotte                               Wingate University
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001              Wingate, NC 28174-0157

"Let him be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not
powerless.  Dead - I say?  There is no death.  Only a change of worlds."
Chief Seattle, "Our Poeple are Ebbing Away like a Receding Tide," 1855.