Specifications
Overall length: 432mm
Blade length: 312mm
Blade: Full tang, CPMS30V steel, single bladed, I-beam cross-section
Handle composition: Screw-fastened, matte finished kraton polyamide
Guard: Open figure-8
Weight: 860grams
Abstract
The Lycos is a 17 inch, full tang, steel-bladed machete-like close-combat weapon issued to combatant personnel of the Protectorate of Lyras.
Background and conceptualisation
Given the vast array of highly lethal and long-ranged weaponry that abounds on the battlefields of the 21st century, it would not be unthinkable for a layman to suggest that the days of hand-to-hand combat were over.
While it can certainly, almost undeniably, be argued that the days of hand-to-hand combat being the decisive factor in large-scale conventional wars was over, experiences throughout the early years of the 3rd millennium have clearly showed that melee fighting is still a very real consideration for militaries and -more particularly- for individual combatant personnel. From the British bayonet-point clearing of the sewers of Basra, Iraq, to the savage hand-to-hand fighting between Lyran marines and communist insurgents in Konigshaven, Verenberg, melee range remains in the spectrum of force continuity.
With this in mind, the Protectorate Research and Development Commission began an extensive and in-depth study of the close-combat techniques and experiences of militaries and armed groups (legal and otherwise) around the world. The conclusions were interesting and revealing and, with this research at hand, the PR&DC commenced development a new close-combat weapon for use by Lyras, and also with an eye to the export markets, both military and civil.
Attempting to minimise carried weight for combat personnel, the PR&DC began its well-known practice of over-engineering and evolutionary development of existing hardware, and began to design the weapon around the already in-service (and standard issue) machete that had served Lyran forces for decades. In many ways, the conceptualisation of the Lycos was not dissimilar to the famous “Smatchet” of WW2 OSS fame. His ideas regarding the development and utility of the Smatchet can equally be applied to the Lycos, given the heavy influence of the former on the latter. In the book 'Get tough!', the author and designer of the Smatchet, Major W.E. Fairbairn, said
"The psychological reaction of any man, when he first takes the smatchet in his hand is full justification for its recommendation as a fighting weapon. He will immediately register all the essential qualities of good soldier - confidence, determination, and aggressiveness. Its balance, weight and killing power, with the point, edge or pommel, combined with the extremely simple training necessary to become efficient in its use, make it the ideal personal weapon for all those not armed with a rifle and bayonet."
The Lycos combines the positive elements of the smatchet with ability to be used in conjunction with a rifle as a bayonet.
The original machete's total overall length was left unchanged, but the shape and composition of the blade were dramatically altered over the design process. At the conclusion of the Commission's work, the 'Lycos', while still a machete (save in the most technical use of the phrase), was a radically different beast from its predecessors, optimised to serve Lyran personnel as a close-combat weapon foremost, functioning also as a rifle-bayonet if required, and a useful tool second. This ongoing (and cultural) emphasis on combat and combatant effectiveness has begun to reap rewards, as a host of small advantages in training and equipment have built upon each other, resulting in far greater total combat potential than might otherwise be expected.
Blade composition and shape
As with all machetes, the 'Lycos' has a blade that gets wider as it gets further from the hilt and guard, with the blade's second half wider than the first, displaying a distinct rounded profile. From here, however, the similarity to conventional machetes declines markedly. Lycos' laser-cut, 312mm blade comes to a strengthened stabbing-point, allowing it to both cut and thrust to good effect. The blade's dorsal edge is sharpened to two-thirds of the way down its length, with the remainder serrated for use as a wood or bone saw.
A blood-groove runs up the blade for two-thirds of the length, which, contrary to popular belief, is not to cause further damage, but is to allow ingress of air into a wound channel, facilitating the weapon's removal and continued use. It is unlikely, however, that any given thrust would travel that far through the target's body, but if it does, any assistance in the removal of the weapon will be appreciated by the user.
The blade, developed as it was from a machete, is still very able to cut and hack through vegetation and, being of a high-durability, thickened design, can be used for a host of other tasks.
The steel is CPM S30V, which is a form of hardened crystalline (martensitic) stainless steel, selected for use in the Lycos due to its highly wear- and corrosion-resistant properties. Its chemical composition allows for a more extensive and regulated formation and distribution of vanadium carbides, which are harder, more effective at cutting, and maintain a sharp edge longer than the more conventional chromium carbides used in regular high-carbon steel. Composition of non-ferrous elements is as follows:
Carbon: 1.45%
Chromium: 14%
Vanadium: 4%
Molybdenum: 2%.
Handle and guard
The Lycos handle is an ergonomic, ambidextrous kraton polyamide. The kraton, a synthetic substitute for rubber, features notably higher grip, chemical-, heat- and corrosion-resistance and ease of manufacture, when compared to rubber, plastic, wood or leather. Kraton is elastometric, allowing the handle to return to shape after being subjected to deformative force. The handle assembly is screwed into the full tang blade, and can (using an allen key and considerable effort) be removed in case of damage or wear (or desire to change to a different, more terrain-coloured handle).
At the base of the handle is a glass-breaker, which also doubles as a lanyard loop. On either side of the lanyard loop, a couple of centimetres up, is a bayonet locking lug, which forms on of the two bayonet securing points. Directly above the handle is a steel modified figure-of-eight handguard, which also serves as the second of the bayonet securing points. The Lycos can, by means of both the handguard and locking lug, be fitted to most rifles as a bayonet, albeit in the slightly unusual side-mounted position.
Sheath and sundries
The treated leather ventilated sheath for the Lycos is turnable, and includes an adaptor to allow it to be mounted onto the load bearing systems common to armour-wearing militaries. The provision of plasticised straps and velcro adaptors allows the pouches on the outside of the sheath to be mounted on either side, to cater for individual combat styles.
The Lycos sheath comes, as standard, with a leatherman tool and whetstone, each contained in one of the two pouches external to the sheath.
Export
Upon purchase of a Lycos, the purchaser will receive;
1 x Lycos combatant machete (in a finish of choice)
1 x sheath
2 x external pouches
1 x leatherman tool
1 x whetstone
Each Lycos combatant machete is available from Lyran Arms at a total cost of NS$100
DPRs can be purchased at NS$600m
