if you watched the video in my last post aztec weaponry VS spanish weaponry notice the damage that Maquahuitl took to the spanish sword i was thinking of improving the Maquahuitl by replacing the multiple obsidian blades with steel ones that i will forge myself. i know its taking from the weapons originality for all you traditionalists out there im one myself but i also have a thing for whatever i make has to be useable and effective. like look at the damage that Maquahuitl did to that huge piece of meat in the video think what it could do with razor-sharp steel blades. well let me know what you think and i will try to make one and post the results with (if i can get a camera) some pictures

yes that may be true Masiakasaurus i am very aware of obsidians exreme sharpness, i even read an account of a spanish conquistador who saw a horse beheaded in battle by a Maquahuitl, but i am also aware of its extreme brittleness and if you watched the video which i posted you would have seen that the Maquahuitl's edge was destroyed by the sword, like it almost knocked out the whole row of obsidian blades and i am willing to sacrifice the Maquahuitl's razor sharp edge for a more sturdy edge that would last longer in a battle. hopefully within a few weeks i will start this new project, my friend said i could borrow his camera so i will post pictures of the finished product and see how you like it

I guess you could always glue single edge razor blades into the handle, that'd be pretty sharp but it'd still not hold up very well to steel on steel.

The "Spanish" sword used in the video was clearly designed to thrust, and macahuitls are designed for hacking and slashing. I highly doubt that the two would be smacked together as demonstrated in the video. Even when you overlook that, Any edge would be decimated when it makes direct contact with another blade's edge. That's a lot of force that you are applying to such a thin and unfortified area, after all. So instead of blocking or parrying an incoming attack with the macahuitl itself, it's a lot more efficient to deflect with the shield and follow up with the sword to attack.

What I'm saying is, that saying steel is better than obsidian isn't exactly right. When you consider that the two sword styles, designs, and materials the two make use of both have their strengths and weaknesses.


tl; dr version:
In my opinion, since the macahuitl isn't optimally designed to smack anything other than bare flesh, the benefits of obsidian's sharpness is a better choice than steel's resiliency. (Not that I'm saying that you shouldn't play around with different materials and designs, mind you.)

If you intend to cut with the edge of a blade then you will certainly not be parrying edge on. At least in the forms of european swordsmanship and Japanese Koryu I know of all blocking and parrying is done with the flat of the blade. In that case a dense heavy wood (or hard plastic) would need to be swapped for the period acurate wood, but not metal for obsidian. Steel will work, but I just don't see any advantage.

got the plans drawn for it today soon i will go to the junk yard to see if i can find some suitable steel for forging the blades

you know how to forge? or your parents even let you forge? lucky man.

i'd think maybe you could have a small tooth coming out of it to stick into the wood.

thank you and how did ya do that im more of a traditional person then a technology person i find computers rather frusterating