Very interesting series of photos and a good topic to continue with more photos of future cutting parties. As well others posting some picts and more comments of their cutting observations might be interesting. The comments so far are
interesting.

I haven't tried any cutting except just a sheet of paper to see if I have a good edge on a knife or sword, so I can't contribute any personal experiences of full swings at solid targets.

As to the bending of the blade it might take some slow motion videocam to show what is actually happening: The usual 30 frames per second just shows a couple of frames of a fast moving sword as a blur.

One guess I am making, just to ask if it might be an explanation, would be: After the cut has almost completely cut of a piece, would the weight of that piece be supported by the blade or lifted by upward pressure of the hand thus bending the blade more than just gravity bending the blade, as it usually does to a small degree. ( Long heavy and thin blades bending a bit when on their side. )

Good point about the slo-mo video, Jean. My digital camera has a video mode that I think allows for frame-to-frame. We'll have to check it out next time we cut.

I remember an article that appeared about 10 years ago in the magazine "Military Illustrated" (I think). The article showed a frame by frame account of the British 1796 Light Cavalry sword in action (from horseback). The target was some type of melon, and the frames captured the extreme bending of the blade during the cut. I'll see if I can find that article, and post anything in it that might be relevant to this discussion.

Hey Patrick, I finally had the opportunity to handle the Albion Reeve this past Sunday up at the Bristol Renaissance Faire in WI. Thanks to Chris Last who has the Reeve and was kind enough to let me play with it a little. Wow, what a nice feel this sword has to it, especially with that Brazil Nut pommel and the ease in which it revolves in the hand grip.
Yep! The Albion Reeve is a real beauty and now I understand your obsession with this very fine sword. And a special thanks to Chris for letting me handle it!

Sincerely,

Bob

Hi Bob,

Yes, it's quite the handy sword isn't it? Cuts like a razor too. The only downside to mine is that my son has taken quite a liking to it. I may have to surrender it too him eventually. :D