Blade Damage – Differences In Blade Damage

I receive more questions about blades than anything. The inquiries are varied but more often than not come down to constructing a fight scene. With any fight, movements are determined by the intended damage. Even if that damage isn’t inflicted, the intention tells how the aggressor is moving as well as the defender.

Because that damage is so important, we need to understand it. Over the next few weeks, we are going to examine damage caused by blades. Specifically:

In case you’re wondering, yes, the wound appearance one will include photos. You’ve been warned or pleasantly informed however you want to think of it.

First off, let’s consider damage by different blades. There’s an idea that certain blades are more damaging than others. But, in truth, a wound two inches wide and four inches deep has the same consequences regardless of what caused it. So, in that respect, a sword is no more deadly than a knife.

I can hear what you’re thinking, a sword is deadlier because it can go way deeper. Well, yes, it can. But remember, the advantage of a sword over a knife is reach. To drive a sword deep you will have to get closer to your opponent. And, though stabbed, that opponent can absolutely retain their ability to strike back for several minutes. We’ll look at that more closely in a few weeks. For now, know a deep plunge isn’t necessarily the wisest move. Also, the deeper the stick, the harder the hold the body will have on the inserted blade. The body has an internal vacuum. It wants to pull in whatever compromises that.

Also, as important as the wound dimensions is the location. One can be stabbed with a pen knife in the chest many times and survive. I knew a young lady that was stabbed at least sixteen times with a small knife in her chest and back and survived, praise God. Had wounds of the same dimension been created on her neck, that wouldn’t have been the case. Here’s a video on differences in damage caused by different blades. It also addresses why some blade shapes are more suitable for stabbing and touches on the physics of it. If you’ve read the post on size disparity, you’ll remember the importance of mass x acceleration.

Until the next round and FightWrite.net, get blood on your pages.

JUST KIDDING! I think we all knew by the post thumbnail that there would be a link to this most epic fight. Writers, we can learn a lot from the Black Knight. We are, all too often, piñatas with pens. We take our share of hits from agents, editors and publishers. “Readers” leave one star reviews. I put that in quotation marks because you know good and well some of those people never read the book. Never mind all the folks who don’t take what we do seriously.

We have to find the strength to stand tall, if we can stand at all, and proclaim, “‘Tis but a scratch!”

NOW…until the next round at FightWrite.net, my steadfast, stalwart, readers, get blood on your pages.