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"I think a lot of kids whose mental growth outruns their maturity gravitate to science fiction."
- Dan Simmons
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| Belt Sword | ||
| A piece of very thin material sewn between the two leather sides of a belt. |
This item is given a very short mention in the book. I wonder if there is a material that is like this, or whether this is purely the imagination of the author. In the US, we tend to think that concealed weapon means a handgun; more exotic possibilities don't occur to us.
| Stepping closer to the window, he touches his belt. Stitched between two layers of black calf is concealed a ribbon of a very particular, very expensive material. Under certain circumstances, it ceases to behave as though it were some loosely woven, tissue-thin fabric, something a child might accidentally pull to pieces, and becomes instead thirty inches of something limber, double-edged and very sharp. It's texture, in that state, has reminded him of fresh cuttlebone. |
| Technovelgy from All Tomorrow's Parties,
by William Gibson. Published by Putnam in 1999 Additional resources -
|
Of course, you have a basic problem with such a weapon; what if you whip it out and your pants fall down? This character is not mentioned as wearing suspenders.
My daughter showed me a product that is really very similar to a belt sword. It is a combination of a bracelet and a hair scrunchie; it consists of a piece of thin metal with a u-shaped cross-section sewn inside a brightly colored piece of fabric. Ordinarily, the item is in a "straight" configuration; but, if you bend it in the middle (pressing it against your wrist, for example) it snaps into a tightly curled configuration, hugging your wrist.
Hopefully, it is not possible to remove the metal part and use it as a dagger...
I'm told that there is also a double-edged steel weapon from India called a "whip sword" documented in Way of the Warrior: The paradox of the Martial Arts. (Thanks to Yoon Ha Lee.)
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'...small electric motors at the principal joints worked the prosthetic framework by means of steel cables...'
'Living protoplasm incorporated into the Ampek F-a2 recording system...'
'Twoflower's Luggage, which was currently ambling along on its little legs...'
'He came to as the ship went into free flight, arching in a high parabola over the plains...'
'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'
'The overworked leg motor would have to cool down before he could work on it...'
‘Where to, sport?’ the starter at cab relay asked.
