i was curious about this thought when i was running through my comic brainstorm ideas. given the archer has a back ground on strength, say he was a body builder/ blacksmith. or had/has any occupation that has imbued him with strength. would it be possible to use a bow (customized, made of steel of some sort) to fire or launch a sword, long sword, as a projectile? 0_o
2007-12-27 00:31:41 · 10 answers · asked by franz L 2 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Comics & Animation
In real life, no. The reason being that even assuming that the bowstring was strong enough, and the mass of the sword was low enough, there is no way for the hilt to pass the handle of the bow. The hilt of a sword doesn't lay flat against the blade (especially on a longsword).
The next issue is flight.. assuming you launched the sword, the weight is balanced incorrectly, it would try to tumble end-over-end. On a longsword, the weight is set to be about 8 -11 inches about the hilt (on the blade). That's not at the tip, where it would need to be for "arrowlike" flight.
There's also no stabilizer fins. I don't know the full effect of not having those, but I would assume it would affect the accuracy of the flight. In theory, the weight is in the arrowhead, and the balance is in the tail. Some are designed to spin (like a football in flight) to stop the wind from just blowing it off-target.
Also, the thinness of an arrow is because you want the centerline of the arrow to travel as close to the bowhandle as possible. A bow would need to have an offset bowstring, which would make it even harder to draw without twisting the bow in your hands.
In fantasy? well, if I read that in a book, I'd wonder about things like the metal blade not cutting the metal bow.. In reality, it might not, but in fantasy, it suggests that the blade isn't sharp enough.
In fantasy, you might be able to use a bow designed more like a slingshot, where the body of the bow wouldn't be in the way, and essentially use "magical" strength, or a compound bow to get the draw strength you'd need to launch an 8-9 pound sword.
I'd suggest using a specially designed "sword dart" to help it make sense to the reader and seem more realistic. You could explain what they are "minimally" to avoid making them seem too unrealistic.
Plus, if you strapped 10 of those longswords to your back, you'd be carrying 80 pounds of excess weight, and assuming you felt that it was worth carrying that much weight in-order to shoot longswords, with their size and harness requirements.. they might look kinda' silly.
If you wanted to stick with longswords, I'd suggest having him throw them, perhaps like you'd throw a javelin.. Holding them just in-front of the hilt. I've done that.. just to see what happens, and it's not a BAD flight, but not "useful" in Real life.
2007-12-27 01:02:07 · answer #1 · answered by Deadguy71 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A sword would be much too heavy to effectivly launch from a bow. Your question reminds me of the longbow, from the middle ages. Imagine a bow 6' long shooting a 4' arrow at the enemy in war. Hundreds of longbowman would lay on their backs and hold the bow with their feet and pull the string with both hands. On command they would launch and could kill a horse at 400 yards. A nasty weapon!!
2007-12-27 00:55:52 · answer #2 · answered by Hirise bill 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Possible? Yes. Practical? No.
A long sword would make a poor projectile since it isn't designed to be one. If this long sword was some sort of ballista bolt sword hybrid thing then you may be on to something but a long sword as it is would fly too erratically to be any sort of threat. This is of course the world of comics, just say it's magic or something ; )
2007-12-27 00:36:02 · answer #3 · answered by Flavor Vortex 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is of course possible, but it'd be about as accurate as a boomerang in the hands of a chimpanzee. A bladed weapon such as a sword would not fly true - and would be as likely to fly off course up to ninety degrees or more - making the whole idea a foolish exercise in fantasy.
2007-12-27 00:37:11 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO NEVER
an arrow is very special,the specialty of this is the tail and the head
the head is to make it heavy in the tip so that it will be thrown
the tail is like wings in a airplane to hold it up in the air
2007-12-27 00:42:49 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, the sword will just be too heavy and it would no even be able to fly for a short distance. It does not have the characteristics of an arrow to fly. You might even hurt yourself.
2007-12-27 00:37:50 · answer #6 · answered by Bladelock 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hard to say... I've heard that an octogenarian with a tinfoil sword can often be quite lethal -- especially if they can keep the coonskin off their eyes. .
2016-04-11 02:50:04 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, long bows are strong -- but swords weigh more than a ax.
2007-12-27 00:35:29 · answer #8 · answered by ★Greed★ 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
that would be too heavy.
you can make a light one though lol.
2007-12-27 00:34:37 · answer #9 · answered by call4ljw 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes because that is in 1 of the games i have (marrowind)
2007-12-27 00:34:52 · answer #10 · answered by Josh C 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋