Tag Along – Discovering the Hanger Sword
Tag Along – Discovering the Hanger Sword
Join me as I research hanging swords in an effort to increase my writing ability
Regardless of how you feel about weapons, you have to admit—they do a fantastic job spicing up life. Think about it: even the most mundane situations become exciting when a weapon enters the scene. Getting a check at the bank? Boring. Getting a check at the bank while holding a hanger sword? Boom. Interesting.
Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not advocating for violence here. I’m simply making a point. Like it or not, weapons have been, are, and will always be part of human life. They represent protection, danger, hope, and fear—and as a writer, I find that incredibly fascinating.
Even wilder is the fact that weapons have existed since before recorded history. The oldest known examples date somewhere between 120,000 and 400,000 years ago. That’s a long legacy of sharp ideas.
Why I’m Studying Swords
As I’ve gotten more serious about my writing, I’ve realized that one of my weaker points is how I describe and use weapons. Across the two novels I’ve written so far, I’ve included swords, daggers, a few guns, and even a futuristic phaser blaster—not bad, but not amazing either.
I’m not saying I’m a bad writer, but I am saying I’m bad at writing weapons. And that’s a problem. One of a writer’s main jobs is to observe, capture detail, and artistically recreate what we’ve seen.
So, when I notice an area that needs work, I dive in headfirst.
One evening, unsure where to start, I scanned my bookshelf until I spotted a hefty book my brother-in-law gave me for Christmas: The Illustrated World Encyclopedia of Knives, Swords, Spears & Daggers. Perfect. I flipped to a random page—and landed on something unfamiliar: hunting swords and hangers.
What Exactly Is a Hanger Sword?
I’m no expert on weapons—especially not swords. Up to this point, my knowledge was limited to: some are long, some are curved, and all of them can do serious damage. So when I saw the word “hanger,” I figured it was as good a place as any to start.
According to my encyclopedia, a hunting sword (also known as a hanger sword) is a short-bladed weapon used for utility and protection during hunts from the late medieval period onward.
A website called SevenSwords notes that these swords earned their name because they “hung” at the user’s side. Originally civilian weapons, they grew popular enough that militaries eventually adopted them as standard sidearms. They remained common until the 1800s, when muskets with bayonets took over.
Seems straightforward, right? Maybe not.
Sword Classification Isn’t So Simple
According to Gabriele—the sword historian behind the YouTube channel Rapiers Delight—sword classification can be both precise and vague. While some swords were built for very specific purposes, many blur the lines between categories.
Historians, it turns out, often disagree on how to label them. As one academic paper explains, “typologies are not meant to pigeonhole a sword into a particular group, but rather to provide a descriptive framework for generalized groups of swords.”
In other words, even a “simple” hanger sword may overlap with several other sword types depending on its length, hilt design, or intended use.
As a writer, I love that kind of complexity. It reminds me that weapons aren’t just neatly sorted tools—they’re living artifacts of culture, craftsmanship, and history.
From Research to Writing Craft
Jumping haphazardly into this topic by opening a random page in a book didn’t just teach me about hanger swords—it broadened my entire view of weaponry. But learning about swords and writing them well are two very different skills.
That’s where I found a fantastic article from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA). The author, professional swordsman Guy Windsor, offers three simple but powerful tips for improving your sword writing:
- Do your research.
- Avoid jargon.
- Run through the fights in the real world.
Simple, right? But applying them changes everything.
I started by researching a weapon that might fit one of my characters—a chakram, a circular throwing blade with sharp edges. Following Windsor’s advice, I simplified the term to blade disks—not because I dislike the word chakram, but because it fits my world better.
Next, I searched for fighting styles that might pair well with this new weapon. I landed on Irish stick fighting, and suddenly, I had something new—a hybrid fighting style where warriors hold the blade disks side by side to block and then unlock them for quick dual attacks.
Whether I use this idea or not, the exercise gave me something valuable: a new creative lens.
What I’ve Learned from the Hanger Sword
Researching the hanger sword taught me more than historical trivia—it reminded me how to think like a writer.
Weapons aren’t just props; they’re storytelling tools. They reveal who a character is, where they come from, and how they survive. A hanger sword might symbolize practicality. A massive broadsword might show pride. A sleek blade disk could hint at precision or rebellion.
By looking closer at the tools of conflict, we learn more about the people who wield them—and, in turn, about the worlds we’re building.
Your Turn
What’s a weapon you’ve always found fascinating—real or fictional—and how might it reveal something about the character who wields it? Let me know in the comments below.
And if you enjoyed this post, sign up for my author blog to tag along on my next research adventure. I explore history, mythology, and science to improve my fantasy and sci-fi writing—and share everything I learn along the way.
