Fun but interesting the ultimate zombie survival gun.

[Timelord]

In relation to fending off hoards of Zombies, then "half swording" is not an ideal solution. You will not be looking to deflect opponents weapon blows, more a case of hacking at the Zombie's vital kill zones. We are not talking the art of technical skill swordsmanship here on a medieval European battlefield with guys wearing armour of some degree, we are talking heavy & brutal close in chopping & thrusts, to the point of still being able to wield the sword while being physically hemmed in. Look what happened to the Celts at the Battle of Watling Street in about AD68. The Celts were pressed together and could not use their longer swords or their superior 1 on 1 battle prowess. the Romans simply gutted and chopped them from their shield line as they methodically advanced forwards. this same tactic could feasibly be employed to decontaminate a severe infestation of Zombies.

Also as for actual use by the European warrior class on medieval battlefields, the single handed and hand & a half sword were regarded as a side-arm and are not the primary battlefield weapon that was employed. That would be like walking onto a 2ndWW battlefield using just a Browning handgun. The knights or Man at Arms primary weapon was his lance or possibly poll weapon if on foot or occasionally a large 2 handed sword. The hand & a half was a secondary side arm that also could double up as an off battlefield weapon. There are manuscripts depicting the use of hand & a half swords on battlefields and of course they were used as such as a battle progressed - so it was important to have tuition in this art. Also the ritualization of war and the personal 1 on 1 practice of this, often meant that knights could end up facing off using these side arms or using it very effectively as a defensive action in a "closing" melee. If a later stage of battle found hand & a half swords being used in the general melee, it would usually be found that friendly troops in the immediate vicinity would tend to be using a mixed range of weapons. this would support the use of what is effectively a shorter range weapon. Battles were not started with ranks of guys on foot holding hand & a half swords - no matter how often this is seen in modern re-enactments.
The hand & a half sword is an exemplary weapon - in the right hands, but is not the ideal for fighting Zombies who charge you down or press inwards onto you - it is likewise disadvantaged in buildings or other confined environments. That is why I do not regard it as a wise Zombie defeating sword choice. That is after all just my own opinion.

I agree the Gladius would be an excellent choice, combined with some type of blocking device in the off hand to allow more time for the uninterrupted progress of the blade. How sweet. lol

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Anyway, I have just re-read the thread title and it is about an interesting Zombie Gun. Sorry..:-) TL