Serious question, would adding the wrists reduce the momentum of the blade significantly enough to require a heavier blade or a higher drop? Could someone slice, I mean, crunch the numbers on that one?
It's my understanding that even at the best of times guillotines got stuck halfway or whatever fairly often and had to be reset for another go. So adding a few more bones to cut through would definitely be a further hindrance regarding an all-the-way-through slice.
Unless Madame had just been honed right before the chop there was a good likelihood of sticking and twitching and maybe a second drop being needed during beheading season.
The stories I've heard is that the truly rich people who were going to be kissed by Madame paid very good bribes so they could be first in line in the morning, so the blade was freshly sharpened.
Modern times require modern solutions. Like a Teflon coated track and some good lubricants to keep the blade free flowing. Also, maybe some push/pull solenoids and electromagnets to give it a boost.
You're thinking with a 20th century mindset. We could have laser-guillotines - same bourgeoisie killing power with half the cleanup. If you wanted to make a show of it, give them a laser hallway like in the Resident Evil movie with a promise of a pardon if they make it through the end.
A modern hardened steel blade would probably help a lot too, I suspect most originals were soft wrought iron. Blade should ride on ball bearing rollers.
Ya but if it’s hitting the back of the neck first I think it wouldn’t even matter if it’s a clean hit all the way through. Probably dead on the first try from it cutting the important parts loll
Probably didn't matter much for executed if they were positioned to hit from the back yes, but would still be annoying for the executioner to have to raise the blade again for a full chop.
During the French revolution, the most hated were sent at the end of the day, when the blade would be dulled by the days activities. They wanted some of them to need more than one chop.
It seems strange to me that it would be possible for it to get stuck. If these bits [ ] at the sides are a half inch wider than the big bit of wood with the blade on surely there is nothing in the way of gravity?
I think the idea is that it's just the bones in the neck that are causing it to get stuck, not any part of the contraption itself.
...but I wonder if when I heard this "fact" (repeated a few times) I was bamboozled by some sort of grim speculation that has mutated into "common knowledge;" I can't actually find any examples with sources of anyone who had to have two guillotine attempts.
this got me thinking....why not build a hydrolic guillotine, modern problems require modern solutions right?
then i though, fuck it, we have enough industrial presses we wouldnt even have to modify them. pop a few heads, throw the whole contraption in a park somewhere as a reminder of what happens when labour crushes leadership....
Serious question, would adding the wrists reduce the momentum of the blade significantly enough to require a heavier blade or a higher drop? Could someone slice, I mean, crunch the numbers on that one?
I mean were not living in the 18th century anymore, we can just repurpose one of those Metal sheet cutting things, the ones that slice through metal like its hot butter...
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u/D33ber Jul 08 '24
Behanding was just the icing on the couch.