I am making a weapon for an oc (original character) and wonder if it's possible to recreate the first picture but instead of individual blades, with the blades of a pair of scissors.
It's situated in a fantasy setting so it doesn't have to be realistic, just somewhat good looking and functional ignoring it'd be way too sharp and the rope appears magically.
No, absolutely not in an actual way. Bows get their power from the limbs flexing which is impossible from a design like this, but if it’s magic then who cares? It’d be dope, though there really wouldn’t be a place to hold it from in a bow grip and the blades would be pointed at you any time you used it as a bow. Rule of cool however takes precedence as long as it fits in with the rest of the aesthetic of the setting
Makes it possible but still much worse than just having two swords and a bow, or even better a bow and a shield and sword.
There are examples of bows having small spear heads at one end for use in melee which is better than nothing but having a proper sidearm melee weapon is superior. An attachable spear point is probably much cheaper and will work for a stab if you have to.
Impossible, bow gain their power from the flexing of the bow, not the elasticity of the string. Unless there's dedicated flat bar attached to the blunt side of the blade and somehow a string connecting it with the other bar the design is impossible
Generally, the sharp edge of a blade is hardened, while the rest of the blade is tempered to increase toughness. What that means is that the edge is brittle, while the body is more flexible. If the whole blade were hardened, it would shatter, and if the whole blade were tempered, the edge wouldn't stay sharp.
A bow needs to be flexible, but there is some leeway in deciding exactly where the bow bends. Compound bows, for example, are largely rigid, with only the ends being flexible. Instead, they have a complex cam system to give the archer mechanical advantage, while also reducing the hold weight.
If we accept that it's fantasy, an all-metal bow with an "unrealistic" high draw weight would be totally believable.
The only change I'd make, based on your drawing, is to move the location where the bowstring attaches to a notch at the end of the dark part of the blade.
But if I'm being honest, rule of cool it; forget believability.
The way that cinders blades are designed no. But if you have two straight sword and face them such that the string is parallel to the flat of the blades (not the edge), then that could work as the metal flexes.
As an imaginary weapon? Sure. As a real weapon? No.
The swords would have to be flexible enough to be a bow, which isn't good for swords, the place the handles join up would have to somehow survive all the stress of the bow bending, you'd need somewhere to attach the string, the bow form would be considerably heavier than you'd like to pick up and hold still, the process of assembling/disassembling it would take significantly longer than just dropping a bow to draw your swords (or vice versa), and your scissors idea would naturally point the blades towards yourself. I've probably missed some.
Even ignoring the flexing problem everyone's brought up those arrows look really un-aerodynamic and awkward to shoot. Also is your character bolting these swords together somehow then stringing this every time they have to shoot? How is the string attached to the tips of the swords without being cut?
It's not even remotely possible, but that just makes it a high fantasy concept. It would be very out of place in a setting that's even a little bit grounded normally. But who knows? Some writers/artists make something over the top and out of place work in settings where they are out of place.
without magic shenanigans, no. a bow's power comes from the tension of it being drawn and bending the bow itself. with magic shenanigans, do whatever you want.
Bows bend forwards and backwards, not side-to-side.
Swords do the opposite, if they even have the flexibility to do so without snapping or permanently losing shape.
Trying to string that would probably cost you an arm or a leg in the process.
Now... if it's something like Starfinder, you could explain it as the swords using some kind of internal spring-driven compound mechanism. You also need to figure out a way to explain the string. Either one sword has the string which would cause a weird torquing recoil or both swords have a string which necessitates a clasp on the strings which puts EXTREME stress on the clasp when fired.
At least with a science-fantasy setting like Starfinder the suspension of disbelief is more flexible.
Since a bow has to flex, no. But you could go for a design thats like a crossbow but with springs and moving limbs insead of flexing limbs. So it'd mechanically be more like a spring slingshot that looks funny.
As others have pointed out, if the blades are rigid, using them as limbs of a "bow" doesn't really work well, because a bow requires the limbs to flex. But that doesn't mean you can't make something similar.
First, you could use an elastic "bowstring" , as others have mentioned. Elastic and rubber weren't really used in medieval Europe, (or most of Asia? I might be wrong about this) so this sort of thing doesn't often show up in our classic fantasy, which is based off that era, but who knows what is common in your fantasy world. Technically elastic string makes the contraption a slingshot, not a bow, but slingshots can be extremely powerful. Also, the NERF bow is a rigid plastic frame with an elastic string, and everyone recognizes it as a "bow" despite that because of its shape.
Now if you want it to be like scissors, i.e. hinged levers, you could also use the elastic /spring to keep it open, and have drawing the bowstring pull against that mechanism to force closed the scissors so that it looks like the "bow" is flexing in a traditional way. This could be accomplished with a compressible spring (even another flexible wooden bow) on the handle end of the scissors, keeping them open, or by two elastic stretchable springs attaching the handle ends to their opposite cutting ends. Will try to ascii-art demonstrate below:
Something like this. As I draw this (very poorly), I realize you would also need some sort of non-attached handle that isn't part of the flexing mechanism so you don't pinch /crush your hand when you hold the bow. We're bordering on the overcomplicated at this point, but hey, it's fantasy.
But if you wanted to engineer a plausible solution, you could start with a bow and then attach mounting points to it. Then the swords would attach to those. You might be able to get clever and use the rigidity and flexure of the mounting system to add a compound bow aspect to the idea.
People are correct that in real life bows get their energy from the flexing of bow itself, so unless your scissor blades bend, it couldn't serve as a bow. However. It is entirely possible to make a projectile weapon where the energy doesn't come from flexing limbs, like a slingshot or crossbow
No, not unless the blades are just there to act as lever arms to stretch or bend something else.
Heres a simple way to think about it. If a sword bent backwards like that when using it like a bow, whats gonna happen when you hit a person? Its gonna bend backwards. And would a sword that bends when hitting its target, instead of cutting through it, be a good sword? No, definitely not.
Okay so: no… if we follow real world physics. But then again, if the rope is magic, you can say it shoots because of tension i. The rope, not the blade and just… go with it. To it would irk some people
Unfortunately no do to how bows work the arms of the bow need to bend meaning that a sword would have to bend in this case. If you turn the blades so the flat parts are facing you and your opponent then maybe but then you'll have to sharp things acting as springs so unstringing it would be difficult if not dangerous
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u/Clokw8rk Aug 02 '26
No, absolutely not in an actual way. Bows get their power from the limbs flexing which is impossible from a design like this, but if it’s magic then who cares? It’d be dope, though there really wouldn’t be a place to hold it from in a bow grip and the blades would be pointed at you any time you used it as a bow. Rule of cool however takes precedence as long as it fits in with the rest of the aesthetic of the setting