Pathfinder 2E The starknife hurts my brain

[pawsplay]

I struggle to see why any of those would be called a "dagger", unless we're going with the most basic "a thing you can stab with" definition which would include a tonfa as long as it's not too thick. In any case, weapon name discussions are philosophical ones so you're not wrong but I feel it's a weird choice.

A sai is pretty much identical to a main-gauche; a hilted weapon with two side-prongs and a stabbing tip.
If a tonfa is a "dagger" then so is a broomstick. But that's not what I'm saying. A sai is a weapon that has a sharp point you stab into someone's body. It has a hilt. It has a point. It has a guard. It's a dagger.
Similar to these European daggers:

 

[Incenjucar]

Sai do not typically have blades or sharp points.

They are parrying batons.

You can make variations the same way you can sharpen the end of a broom stick.

And I mean the historical sai in museums, not the modern dojo stuff or TMNT.

 

[pawsplay]

Sai do not typically have blades or sharp points.

They are parrying batons.

You can make variations the same way you can sharpen the end of a broom stick.

And I mean the historical sai in museums, not the modern dojo stuff or TMNT.

This, but actually, the opposite of this.
This is a sai.
This is a jitte.
The sai is cylindrical or octagonal dagger. It is not a "parrying baton." The jitte is a parrying baton. There is some convergence in design between the two in some examples, but the sai is generally used to stab, and the jitte to pin or jab. The sai was often carried in threes; a pair to use in melee, and one as a replacement, or as a dagger throw.

Anyway, going back to the original matter, I'm pondering what I would replace the starknife with, either a different weapon with the same feel, or something with the same characteristics but a more sensible design. I kind of like the idea of just opening the side that faces the wielder, although the back-facing blades still seem impractical.

 

[Kichwas]

The starknife makes no sense. At first I thought it was a bit like wind and fire wheels, but you can't actually hold it a plane with your arm because of its ring body.View attachment 352734

At least it's not as bag as a Klingon weapon.

But fantasy and SciFi are full of weapons like that that look cool in art but have obvious flaws with 'lack of force multiplication' or 'bad grip' or things like leverage, holding, stability, weight balance, structural integrity, and so on.

It is essentially a 'bikini weapon'. It's made for posing, but not for using.

 

[pawsplay]

At least it's not as bag as a Klingon weapon.

But fantasy and SciFi are full of weapons like that that look cool in art but have obvious flaws with 'lack of force multiplication' or 'bad grip' or things like leverage, holding, stability, weight balance, structural integrity, and so on.

It is essentially a 'bikini weapon'. It's made for posing, but not for using.

Say what you will about the batleth, at least, it has the combat readiness of a weaponized coffee table.

 

[Staffan]

Say what you will about the batleth, at least, it has the combat readiness of a weaponized coffee table.

I am convinced that Kahless invented the bat'leth to stop Klingons from killing one another.