I've got a dirk and a baselard from Tod. Embarrassingly good value given the lively "real" handmade feel of the things. I'd buy more but the wife would use them on me so I'm biding my time.
I have 2 Bowies at the moment. The knives are wonderful and the staff were way above and exceptional. I am planning on adding a dirk and some others to the collection. I hope to visit the shop next year when I get to visit England.
@@unexpectedparolemadwerewol6565 Wow, what a treat that'll be! The dirk i have is from the cutler line. It's about the most dangerous feeling hand weapon I've held, such a robust spine and a nasty, menacing point. Changed the way I think about daggers, they're serious weapons. And it's rugged as hell, I use it in the woods all the time for work it was never meant for and its still rock-solid. Enjoy your trip!
@@jemdillon3620 My son is stationed at an Air Force Base over there. I need to go visit/meet my new grandson, his mother, and his older half sister. So the trip will be a real treat with a Tod Cutler shop visit as a cherry on top. I just hope I don't have trouble getting the impulse buys through airport security on the return.
I think in a time when the use of ropes and knots would have been far more common in daily life, having a pricker would be incredibly useful for untying knots. Like the modern marlin spike. I use one in my work often. It saves your fingers
Really like this theory. Knots, especially in natural fiber, can be quite hard to pick loose with bare fingers. I've broken my nails several times and other times had to just cut the knot off.
Good theory, especially when rope was way more labour intensive to make compared to modern mass produced rope, you'd want to do everything you can to unpick a knot before resorting to cutting the rope.
I carry a Belgian army clasp knife dated 1951. The marlin spike gets used more than any other tool on the knife. A Hatpin works well for picking at fiddly stuff too. 👍
Ha, brilliant! That's got to be what its for. Reminds of that lindybeige video where he complains about frivolous rope cutting in movies. If you can't afford to replace the rope, it makes sense to carry something for prying knots with. Hope Tod sees your comment Tom.
What I love about Tod and his work is that he takes best of both historical facts and imagination. He's always referring to real historical pieces, but always thinks about how they can be improved. Complete copy can be boring and made up pieces can get over the top, but with Tod it's always the perfect mix: interesting, but believable. You only get that when you are both a craftsmen and an artist. You can feel how dedicated he is and how he loves what he's doing.
@@tods_workshop "I also don't want to keep making exactly the same things as it would get dull" - Somewhere across the gulf of history, some poor blacksmith's apprentice who's been tasked with making several thousand nails for the cathedral the local bishop is building is absolutely SCREAMING in envy xD
I just got the Stiletto - and gawd, it's wonderful. Seeing it on the site or in video (not this one) is one thing - but actually holding it in one's hands, the weight, the craftsmanship, it's awesome! So now, having watched Tod's daggers, I'm lusting after another one ... for showing off .. the Duerer, methinks ... I'll just add that owning one of Tod's pieces makes one want to own another one ... and another one ... Thanks, Tod!
Just for the record: The "k" in "Landsknecht" is not silent and the "s" (or maybe interpreted as "sk") is not pronounced "sh/sch". It's basically two words: "Lands-Knecht" or "Landes-Knecht", loosely translated to "servant of the country (/state/territory...)". Sometimes also called "Lanzknecht", meaning something like "Lance Servant". And because this is the YT comment section: No, I'm not offended/"triggered" or whatever by Tod/anyone mispronouncing a german word. He just seems like a guy who likes to learn and get things right. I'm just trying to help. If he ignores this, that's also fine :)
How could I ignore something so gently and politely put? Thanks, I do try to get things right but sometimes when you don't know there is something to look up then you don't do it, but I will try and get it right in future.
The Latin on the second dagger "DEXTERA DOMINI FECIT VIRTUTEM” translates literally as “The right hand (dextera) of the Lord (domini) made (fecit) excellence/virtue (virtutem).” The word “virtus” is difficult to translate, as it was a culturally important word for the ancient Romans, related to a man’s positive qualities--be they physical (e.g. strength) or mental (e.g. bravery). The English word “virtue” derives from the Latin “virtus”, but that translation distorts the ancient meaning. Lewis and Short’s Latin Dictionary defines “virtus” as “manliness, manhood, i. e. the sum of all the corporeal or mental excellences of man, strength, vigor; bravery, courage; aptness, capacity; worth, excellence, virtue, etc.” It is interesting that the feminine form of “right hand” (dexterea) is used, and not the masculine form “dexter”. Just an observation. Keep making great daggers and great videos, Tod!
Now that is a comprehensive and useful chunk of information. Again I just love the solid gold content of the comments section on my videos, it is a whole research library. Thanks Ross, really appreciated
Chiming in to confirm that "virtus" is a complicated word. Vir is a man, so it's sort of "manliness" but it took on a lot of meanings and connotations. Rather like "gentle" which ultimately comes from"gens" meaning family. It kind of meant the qualities you would expect from someone from a noble family, ranging from splitting people's heads open with a sword to chivalry and good manners until eventually it took on its current meaning.
@@mrkiky Well strictly speaking there's no word "hand" in there. It says "the right of the lord" and you have to fill in "hand" yourself. Like in "the wealth of the wise is their crown". It just says "the wise" and you have to fill in "people" or "men" or whatever yourself. This is a pretty typical construction in Latin. Hand is a weird one. It's "manus" in Latin, which looks totally masculine, but it's actually a feminine noun. This is still true in nearly all the romance languages as far as I know. "La main", "la mano", "a mao". I think it might actually have switched over to feminine in Romanian. We would typically expect to see "dextra" attached to "manus". A masculine form would be a mistake, or maybe an interesting variation or something. There's a few of these weird exceptions to the general rules. There's a collection of masculine (at least in the ancient world) job titles like "nauta"(sailor) which look feminine but are actually masculine. Grammar gets convoluted sometimes.
@@eldricgrubbidge6465 Ok I have no problem understanding that since it works in my language as well, where the fact that you're talking about a hand is implied from the context. But then, if manus is feminine isn't dextera totally correct and wouldn't really expect to see the masculine form?
I honestly don't remember ever clicking on a video with such enjoyment, despite knowing that it is pretty much 25 minutes of commercial. Love the (Tod's) stuff!
My intention was to have this video running in the background while I did some work... I could not look away, as it was so very informative and well delivered. It would be nice to know more about the blade details, but they are probably old hat for you. Diamond blades, reinforced tips, single-edged, double-edged, no-edged, etc. - the hows and whys. So brilliant that you did this as a follow-up to the prior video, where you mentioned a few different styles in passing while carrying an armload of blades!
As someone who makes Eastern European weapons, it's always interesting to see your Western Euro examples. I love the way that craftsmen like yourself & the guys over at Arms & Armor do things. Like myself you all try to recreate the look of authentic examples & it's some of the best stuff out there if not the best. Thanks & cheers!
Have one your lovely bollock daggers. And have been inspired to make my own reenactment safe daggers with guards that aren't so heavy the whole thing spins round on your belt using that gorgeous sandwich method. Beautiful work keep it up.
Thank you Tod. You really inspire me to get back into my books and build. I make armor but have made several small knives and axes. I love your channel and the quality of your content. I pray the Lord continues to bless you.
What is amazing is your skill to photo a sword ,daggar, knife and create a copy of it that takes dedication and skill. I'm glad I bought from you. You can tell you are passionate about what you do and connect with your customers. Love to support businesses like this. Much love from the USA to the UK ❤✌
The 90° angle handle could potentially make it easier for the intended user to make a certain strike into a weak point of plate mail but I don’t really know much about medieval knife fighting to really say for sure
Thanks for the pointer to the First Book of Fashion; it sounds fascinating. 7:29 "... this is a businessman's tool." I bet that businessman makes a real killing. 9:06 That dagger with the weird blade almosts sounds like it should be a McGuffin in a Dan Brown pot-boiler; a strange key disguised as a dagger. Whenever Todd says, "hollow ground", my old ears hear, "hologrammed". 15:08 "This is about as fighty a fighty dagger as you could possibly get." 11/10 Would definitely stab and stab again. Stabby McStabface, Stab Adviser. This is a beautiful collection of daggers.Thank you for sharing them all.
Todd i may be a bit off topic, but i have really interresting idea for you to try. You wanted us to suggest some weird or unusual weapons to make. Suggested, but i was late, so I´m reposting it here. Fast spanning crossbow from codex Löffelholz (1505). It's not by any means weird weapon, but it's rather unusual. And you are excellent crossbowmaking master, i think it would be interresting for you. It's crossbow containing integrated spanning lever. It is probably based on da Vinci's ballestra veloce from 1485, which is really similar and also interresting. Quite similar to your latchet crossbow in basic principle, but in size of regular medieval field crossbows. It allows use of comparable draw weights as goat's foot lever, but with bit faster spanning, since you are not messing with separate spanning device. I have myself made both (Löffelholz and goat's foot) and it is truly faster to reload. Only by bit. But much more comfortable. I have no information about surviving real life examples, but the drawing in codex is detailed enoug that it allowed me to make it myself. I guess it was not much used due to production costs, but as nobleman's toy it would do quite good:-D Even as hunting weapon, although the loading mechanism is bit noisy. Here video of me shooting it: th-cam.com/video/XpgbHJv5L2I/w-d-xo.html And under the video is link containing some photos of it. You would certainly make much better version, so i would like to see, how good this design can get. And also huge thank you to you. You inspired me to make my own crossbows. I am an amateur knifemaker, but this is also real fun. And you showed me how to do so many things. Lashings... bow irons, basics of trigger mechanisms, stringing those things (ugh:-D) and much more... PS: This is my third crossbow (second steel proddes one). I guess 170 m of range with that is quite good, but i still have some work to do. And i only cut my prods out of leaf springs. I ave no means of heat treatment of such large objects. PPS: I Wanted here also photos, but youtube doesn't like external links. PPPS: Really love all your videos.Thanks for the great crossbow info... And also for any other informations, but when iťs about crossbows, you are the best source...
Sometimes I just love the internet. I honestly don't recall how I found the channel, what I searched for, or how it entered into my feeds, but once I Did, I've learnt so much, watching every clip, with no previous interest in the subject matter. This channel has however given me a great interest, so, many thanks Tod, love the channel.
18:25 reminds me of a Karambit. That is a tiny sickle with a loop at the end of the grip that you can either put your pinky or your index finger through, depending on how you hold it. You can't hold the dagger like that, but you can also use the loop to break somebody else's fingers. Completely situational, but it's an effective way to break someone's grip.
Thank you for this video! I’ve been writing a story with a character who is given a dagger. Now I know just what it should look like and BEST OF ALL I know proper terminology! Sweet!!
My personal favorites are the Wallace rondel In ebony, the fine wasp-waisted ebony ballock dagger and the Burgundian ebony rondel. Great work as always Tod! They are all lovely.
I'm from Brazil, and i've always been fascinated by the gaucho knife, so when i discovered HEMA, what really caught my attention was the spanish navaja and the german messer and bauernwehr... That bauernwehr you showed is so amazing. I reaaly wish i could see more of it.
If Switzerland is like Canada, above 30 cm is considered a 'sword' and falls under different regulations than knives. Also in Canada, carrying a knife under 12 cm would not be considered concealed unless it was purposely made to look like something else (e.g. belt buckle or comb).
Just out of curiosity, as a butcher with a lot of interest in the history of the trade I’ve been wanting to collect some replicas or original traditional equipment to display in my shop. I was wondering what sort of blades would have originally been used in the trade and if you have made them?
Im a butcher also and whilst doing my apprenticeship i had to research the history of butchery as a trade and from i gathered from around the roman era to the late 15th, early 16th century most butchering was with clevers and maybe a smaller knife for trimming and occasionally dicing if required. Town and city Rubbish pits that have been unearthed that show that nearly all meat was simply chopped through at the joints as apposed to more refined boning out and simply cutting away chunks as needed as there is also no surviving evidence that muscles were seemed out as we would to today with a top of beef for example. So basically a 'slash and hack' approach to dividing primals. The way that we butcher today only really appeared during the renaissance and by that point the tools of the trade really dont differ much in appearence to ours of today, with the design of the common steak knife being around for a few hundred years. Tod sells 2 designs of clever on his site which would look really nice as a display aswell as some of his eating knives would definately be able to do the task of boning out and trimming
It's really amazing how much longevity the quillon dagger design has had. the fairbairn-sykes fighting knife, which i think is still in use by armed forces all over the world in some capacity, is a quillon dagger. the ka-bar also has a quillon, despite being more of a single edged utility knife (although still good for fighting, just less focused than the F-S). i imagine the design will be with us as long as fighting knives are being made.
Lovely stuff. Merry Christmas to me and you now that my pressie is on it's way. Hopefully the Royal Armouries took that bit of well articulated advice on board. There isn't going to be a rush on crafting these things if they loosen up. It is not like many people still have these skills and if a few more learn all the better.
@Tod'sWorkshop 19:45 Maybe they weaved cordage or leather strips through these holes, to make the grip more comfy? Because that square handle doesn't look very pleasant to grip for me.
Hallo Tod. About the "Bauernwehr" and its eating implements. The prick was indead used for eating. In the middle ages they didn't use forks for eating. It's also useful for other things 😁. Great video 👍
For some reason, I always have been more attracted to Daggers. Something about the Amazing Skill it would take to fight with one plus they are just so freaking cool Always something I imagine a Rogue or assassin using
I like a lot of the dirks on your site. Pricker is a strong needle for sails or leather crafting. So you can beat it with a rock or stick. Like how I use a sgian dubh as bush crafting knife.
I jst saw your work on a vidio. Very impressive..I'm gna have to try and figure out how to get one..it eould be my grail knife.. and to me daggers are my favorite edged weapon.
In my opinion the pricker is a tool for making the holes in letters so they can be "spiral-locked", a common method of securing letters during the 16th and 17th centuries before the envelope was developed.
Glad I didn't get the green scabbard for my rondel from you now, wonder about whether the blue dye is the same, realism-wise, do really love the orange coloured leather.
Just got a Stiletto dagger from your Tod Cutler's line and although the grip looks like it would not provide good retention it is shocking how good it holds especially with a finger around the cross guard, nobody is taking that blade from me unless I let go. Funny how the Stiletto and Quillon style daggers continue to be used to this day because the design just works. Also funny how the people of the past knew how to make a good handle that performed all the fighty things required while also looking great on your belt.
the 'pricker' is a dual purpose tool; is the meat hot inside, and hold the meat for slicing. As well as being one hell of a weapon. Back then though, many things had a good few purposes/
The pricker was used for the exact same thing we would use it for now. Let's face it we all have a need for a long pointy tool at some point in time. Especially when leather was as a much more used every day material than it is now. This sounds more "camp" than intended but you know what I mean.
Got one or your quillon daggers and a rondel dagger. It's funny but however much you see or read about them actually having one of things in your hand is quite an experience. The quillon dagger is about sophistication and skill and the rondel dagger pure, brutal lethality. You've got to hold them to feel the weight and balance to appreciate that fully. They can also make you feel a bit belligerent - or so I'm told.
The hooped pommel and riveted handle blades may have been similarly used like the Chinese Sheng Biao, turning an otherwise close proximity weapon into a crowd control one with a simple lash. Getting jumped whilst out riding was fairly common and quick thinking and good footing could buy you some distance from your attackers.
In its simplist of applications it may have merely been a customisable hand grip for binding with a material to personal specifications, the hooped pommel a means to hurl ropes over walls.
The 90° slab tang dagger makes complete sense when used against armour. The narrow slit at the arm hole would be one of the few access points for a stabbing weapon. You would want the blade to present narrow side on so its taper does not jamb in the narrow slot and stop the penetration. The twisted handle would do this. The wrist movement required for a standard blade to present in this way is difficult.
Absolutely love ring hilts :) They seem to have kept popping up everywhere at different times, but don't get too much attention unless it's on a Chinese sword or dagger. Don't know why that is, but they just look really good.
You do make some awesome, high quality stuff Tod, that's for sure.
I try - thanks Jason and as it happens so do you, well your company....
Collab between the two of you soon? Love both your stuff
I've got a dirk and a baselard from Tod. Embarrassingly good value given the lively "real" handmade feel of the things. I'd buy more but the wife would use them on me so I'm biding my time.
I have 2 Bowies at the moment. The knives are wonderful and the staff were way above and exceptional. I am planning on adding a dirk and some others to the collection. I hope to visit the shop next year when I get to visit England.
@@unexpectedparolemadwerewol6565 Wow, what a treat that'll be! The dirk i have is from the cutler line. It's about the most dangerous feeling hand weapon I've held, such a robust spine and a nasty, menacing point. Changed the way I think about daggers, they're serious weapons. And it's rugged as hell, I use it in the woods all the time for work it was never meant for and its still rock-solid. Enjoy your trip!
@@jemdillon3620 My son is stationed at an Air Force Base over there. I need to go visit/meet my new grandson, his mother, and his older half sister. So the trip will be a real treat with a Tod Cutler shop visit as a cherry on top. I just hope I don't have trouble getting the impulse buys through airport security on the return.
Just get heavier armour
@@nowthenzen hahaha uh oh you're trying to start an arms race in my house fella
I think in a time when the use of ropes and knots would have been far more common in daily life, having a pricker would be incredibly useful for untying knots. Like the modern marlin spike. I use one in my work often. It saves your fingers
Really like this theory. Knots, especially in natural fiber, can be quite hard to pick loose with bare fingers. I've broken my nails several times and other times had to just cut the knot off.
Good theory, especially when rope was way more labour intensive to make compared to modern mass produced rope, you'd want to do everything you can to unpick a knot before resorting to cutting the rope.
I carry a Belgian army clasp knife dated 1951. The marlin spike gets used more than any other tool on the knife.
A Hatpin works well for picking at fiddly stuff too. 👍
I have a smooth bamboo spike I use to untie difficult knots.
Ha, brilliant! That's got to be what its for. Reminds of that lindybeige video where he complains about frivolous rope cutting in movies. If you can't afford to replace the rope, it makes sense to carry something for prying knots with. Hope Tod sees your comment Tom.
What I love about Tod and his work is that he takes best of both historical facts and imagination. He's always referring to real historical pieces, but always thinks about how they can be improved. Complete copy can be boring and made up pieces can get over the top, but with Tod it's always the perfect mix: interesting, but believable. You only get that when you are both a craftsmen and an artist. You can feel how dedicated he is and how he loves what he's doing.
Thanks - appreciated. I also don't want to keep making exactly the same things as it would get dull
@@tods_workshop "I also don't want to keep making exactly the same things as it would get dull" - Somewhere across the gulf of history, some poor blacksmith's apprentice who's been tasked with making several thousand nails for the cathedral the local bishop is building is absolutely SCREAMING in envy xD
I just got the Stiletto - and gawd, it's wonderful. Seeing it on the site or in video (not this one) is one thing - but actually holding it in one's hands, the weight, the craftsmanship, it's awesome!
So now, having watched Tod's daggers, I'm lusting after another one ... for showing off .. the Duerer, methinks ...
I'll just add that owning one of Tod's pieces makes one want to own another one ... and another one ...
Thanks, Tod!
Just for the record: The "k" in "Landsknecht" is not silent and the "s" (or maybe interpreted as "sk") is not pronounced "sh/sch". It's basically two words: "Lands-Knecht" or "Landes-Knecht", loosely translated to "servant of the country (/state/territory...)". Sometimes also called "Lanzknecht", meaning something like "Lance Servant".
And because this is the YT comment section: No, I'm not offended/"triggered" or whatever by Tod/anyone mispronouncing a german word. He just seems like a guy who likes to learn and get things right. I'm just trying to help. If he ignores this, that's also fine :)
Guter Kommentar.
How could I ignore something so gently and politely put? Thanks, I do try to get things right but sometimes when you don't know there is something to look up then you don't do it, but I will try and get it right in future.
The Latin on the second dagger "DEXTERA DOMINI FECIT VIRTUTEM” translates literally as “The right hand (dextera) of the Lord (domini) made (fecit) excellence/virtue (virtutem).” The word “virtus” is difficult to translate, as it was a culturally important word for the ancient Romans, related to a man’s positive qualities--be they physical (e.g. strength) or mental (e.g. bravery). The English word “virtue” derives from the Latin “virtus”, but that translation distorts the ancient meaning.
Lewis and Short’s Latin Dictionary defines “virtus” as “manliness, manhood, i. e. the sum of all the corporeal or mental excellences of man, strength, vigor; bravery, courage; aptness, capacity; worth, excellence, virtue, etc.”
It is interesting that the feminine form of “right hand” (dexterea) is used, and not the masculine form “dexter”. Just an observation.
Keep making great daggers and great videos, Tod!
Now that is a comprehensive and useful chunk of information. Again I just love the solid gold content of the comments section on my videos, it is a whole research library. Thanks Ross, really appreciated
Chiming in to confirm that "virtus" is a complicated word. Vir is a man, so it's sort of "manliness" but it took on a lot of meanings and connotations.
Rather like "gentle" which ultimately comes from"gens" meaning family. It kind of meant the qualities you would expect from someone from a noble family, ranging from splitting people's heads open with a sword to chivalry and good manners until eventually it took on its current meaning.
Wait so there is a feminine and masculine form of the word "hand" ? Is one used for hands of men and the other for hands of women?
@@mrkiky Well strictly speaking there's no word "hand" in there. It says "the right of the lord" and you have to fill in "hand" yourself.
Like in "the wealth of the wise is their crown". It just says "the wise" and you have to fill in "people" or "men" or whatever yourself.
This is a pretty typical construction in Latin.
Hand is a weird one. It's "manus" in Latin, which looks totally masculine, but it's actually a feminine noun. This is still true in nearly all the romance languages as far as I know. "La main", "la mano", "a mao". I think it might actually have switched over to feminine in Romanian. We would typically expect to see "dextra" attached to "manus". A masculine form would be a mistake, or maybe an interesting variation or something.
There's a few of these weird exceptions to the general rules. There's a collection of masculine (at least in the ancient world) job titles like "nauta"(sailor) which look feminine but are actually masculine. Grammar gets convoluted sometimes.
@@eldricgrubbidge6465 Ok I have no problem understanding that since it works in my language as well, where the fact that you're talking about a hand is implied from the context. But then, if manus is feminine isn't dextera totally correct and wouldn't really expect to see the masculine form?
I honestly don't remember ever clicking on a video with such enjoyment, despite knowing that it is pretty much 25 minutes of commercial. Love the (Tod's) stuff!
Thanks and glad you enjoyed it, but really it wasn't meant to be a commercial, just a good bunch of stuff for a chat
@@tods_workshop The chat was great. And the commercial bit on my part was supposed to be just half-serious ;)
My intention was to have this video running in the background while I did some work...
I could not look away, as it was so very informative and well delivered.
It would be nice to know more about the blade details, but they are probably old hat for you. Diamond blades, reinforced tips, single-edged, double-edged, no-edged, etc. - the hows and whys.
So brilliant that you did this as a follow-up to the prior video, where you mentioned a few different styles in passing while carrying an armload of blades!
Glad you enjoyed it and yes I should do one about blades one day
An Armful of Daggers? will your next video be A Few Daggers More?
Followed by The Sharp, the Pointy and the Useless. :D
Well bladerunner is taken already....
@@ComfyDents Not to mention "Once Upon a Time in the Workshop".
9:57 I love that simple looking dagger. It looks like a miniature arming sword.
Every single one if these looks amazing.
As someone who makes Eastern European weapons, it's always interesting to see your Western Euro examples. I love the way that craftsmen like yourself & the guys over at Arms & Armor do things. Like myself you all try to recreate the look of authentic examples & it's some of the best stuff out there if not the best. Thanks & cheers!
Have one your lovely bollock daggers. And have been inspired to make my own reenactment safe daggers with guards that aren't so heavy the whole thing spins round on your belt using that gorgeous sandwich method. Beautiful work keep it up.
This man is absolutely brilliant.
I'm always just stunned because of the fine craftsmanship and all these amazing items on your channel 🙌
Thank you Tod. You really inspire me to get back into my books and build. I make armor but have made several small knives and axes. I love your channel and the quality of your content. I pray the Lord continues to bless you.
I could listen to you talk about knives all day
What a fantastic way to combine art, weaponry, history, entertainment and self-advertising!
I was never bored nor felt put-upon.
Thank you, that's very kind
What is amazing is your skill to photo a sword ,daggar, knife and create a copy of it that takes dedication and skill. I'm glad I bought from you. You can tell you are passionate about what you do and connect with your customers. Love to support businesses like this. Much love from the USA to the UK ❤✌
Thank you for a fantastic vid amazing blades and a great talk.
The 90° angle handle could potentially make it easier for the intended user to make a certain strike into a weak point of plate mail but I don’t really know much about medieval knife fighting to really say for sure
That bauernwehr is lovely. I’m a big fan of the blade profile
“Is become glorious in power” you’re welcome….love your work by the way!
What?😂
Thanks for the pointer to the First Book of Fashion; it sounds fascinating.
7:29 "... this is a businessman's tool." I bet that businessman makes a real killing.
9:06 That dagger with the weird blade almosts sounds like it should be a McGuffin in a Dan Brown pot-boiler; a strange key disguised as a dagger.
Whenever Todd says, "hollow ground", my old ears hear, "hologrammed".
15:08 "This is about as fighty a fighty dagger as you could possibly get." 11/10 Would definitely stab and stab again. Stabby McStabface, Stab Adviser.
This is a beautiful collection of daggers.Thank you for sharing them all.
It is a great book and is so 'human' in it outlook and commentary
Thank you, I couldn't figure out what a Hologram blade was. ;-)
Todd i may be a bit off topic, but i have really interresting idea for you to try. You wanted us to suggest some weird or unusual weapons to make. Suggested, but i was late, so I´m reposting it here.
Fast spanning crossbow from codex Löffelholz (1505). It's not by any means weird weapon, but it's rather unusual. And you are excellent crossbowmaking master, i think it would be interresting for you.
It's crossbow containing integrated spanning lever. It is probably based on da Vinci's ballestra veloce from 1485, which is really similar and also interresting. Quite similar to your latchet crossbow in basic principle, but in size of regular medieval field crossbows. It allows use of comparable draw weights as goat's foot lever, but with bit faster spanning, since you are not messing with separate spanning device. I have myself made both (Löffelholz and goat's foot) and it is truly faster to reload. Only by bit. But much more comfortable. I have no information about surviving real life examples, but the drawing in codex is detailed enoug that it allowed me to make it myself. I guess it was not much used due to production costs, but as nobleman's toy it would do quite good:-D Even as hunting weapon, although the loading mechanism is bit noisy.
Here video of me shooting it: th-cam.com/video/XpgbHJv5L2I/w-d-xo.html And under the video is link containing some photos of it.
You would certainly make much better version, so i would like to see, how good this design can get.
And also huge thank you to you. You inspired me to make my own crossbows. I am an amateur knifemaker, but this is also real fun. And you showed me how to do so many things. Lashings... bow irons, basics of trigger mechanisms, stringing those things (ugh:-D) and much more...
PS: This is my third crossbow (second steel proddes one). I guess 170 m of range with that is quite good, but i still have some work to do. And i only cut my prods out of leaf springs. I ave no means of heat treatment of such large objects.
PPS: I Wanted here also photos, but youtube doesn't like external links.
PPPS: Really love all your videos.Thanks for the great crossbow info... And also for any other informations, but when iťs about crossbows, you are the best source...
Really hope he does see this. I wonder if gunpowder’s increasing presence in warfare buried designs like this. Seems brilliant on paper.
I appreciate this daggardly appeal to a common market.
Bought a dirk. Arrived the day before this video went up. Couldn't be happier with it. Tod does awesome work.
Sometimes I just love the internet. I honestly don't recall how I found the channel, what I searched for, or how it entered into my feeds, but once I Did, I've learnt so much, watching every clip, with no previous interest in the subject matter. This channel has however given me a great interest, so, many thanks Tod, love the channel.
Thanks and glad you are here
18:25 reminds me of a Karambit. That is a tiny sickle with a loop at the end of the grip that you can either put your pinky or your index finger through, depending on how you hold it. You can't hold the dagger like that, but you can also use the loop to break somebody else's fingers. Completely situational, but it's an effective way to break someone's grip.
Thank you for this video! I’ve been writing a story with a character who is given a dagger. Now I know just what it should look like and BEST OF ALL I know proper terminology! Sweet!!
Great work and thank you for your lovely craftsmanship!
My personal favorites are the Wallace rondel In ebony, the fine wasp-waisted ebony ballock dagger and the Burgundian ebony rondel. Great work as always Tod! They are all lovely.
Thanks
A beautiful selection of your handiwork! I could’ve listened for twice as long! I would like to see how they were attached to a period belt.
That ringhilted baselard is gorgeous
Love these! Great insights into the thinking that goes in behind each piece.
I absolutely love the stiletto I purchased from him. Amazing value for a hand made piece😎👌🏻
Thanks and glad you like it
I'm from Brazil, and i've always been fascinated by the gaucho knife, so when i discovered HEMA, what really caught my attention was the spanish navaja and the german messer and bauernwehr... That bauernwehr you showed is so amazing. I reaaly wish i could see more of it.
i love watching these types of videos especially as i like smithing as a hobby
8:10
Germany: Your knife _must be_ shorter than 12cm for you to carry it
Switzerland: Your knife _must be_ longer than 30cm for you to carry it
If Switzerland is like Canada, above 30 cm is considered a 'sword' and falls under different regulations than knives. Also in Canada, carrying a knife under 12 cm would not be considered concealed unless it was purposely made to look like something else (e.g. belt buckle or comb).
Could never be over long Tod
Love your daggers, the quality and craftsmanship is superb, thanks Tod
I just bought the irish scean as a gift for my partner and its gorgeous.
1:49 "I'll try and be faster on the rest"
Don't though I love nerding out on the details
Just out of curiosity, as a butcher with a lot of interest in the history of the trade I’ve been wanting to collect some replicas or original traditional equipment to display in my shop. I was wondering what sort of blades would have originally been used in the trade and if you have made them?
Look up Scappis knives www.sciencephoto.com/media/993241/view/opera-of-bartolomeo-scappi-knives
@@tods_workshop thank you, very much appreciated
Im a butcher also and whilst doing my apprenticeship i had to research the history of butchery as a trade and from i gathered from around the roman era to the late 15th, early 16th century most butchering was with clevers and maybe a smaller knife for trimming and occasionally dicing if required. Town and city Rubbish pits that have been unearthed that show that nearly all meat was simply chopped through at the joints as apposed to more refined boning out and simply cutting away chunks as needed as there is also no surviving evidence that muscles were seemed out as we would to today with a top of beef for example. So basically a 'slash and hack' approach to dividing primals. The way that we butcher today only really appeared during the renaissance and by that point the tools of the trade really dont differ much in appearence to ours of today, with the design of the common steak knife being around for a few hundred years. Tod sells 2 designs of clever on his site which would look really nice as a display aswell as some of his eating knives would definately be able to do the task of boning out and trimming
It's super cool to hear about your process and learn about history as well as see these gorgeous pieces of art.
Love it. Wish our knife laws weren't so backwards in the UK so i could order one of these and wear it daily.
One day I'll get one of those, they're just amazing
Historically accurate educational commercials are the best commercials.
I've never seen anything like that piece with the huge dagger & utensil set all in one. Really cool.
Thank you , Tod .
It's really amazing how much longevity the quillon dagger design has had. the fairbairn-sykes fighting knife, which i think is still in use by armed forces all over the world in some capacity, is a quillon dagger. the ka-bar also has a quillon, despite being more of a single edged utility knife (although still good for fighting, just less focused than the F-S). i imagine the design will be with us as long as fighting knives are being made.
Right off, without watching anymore than the first 30 seconds, YAY!!!! Ramble on bud. Love the information!
Love to see some videos of you making one of those pieces
It looks like the algorithm is back to working. I didn't have to go seek this one out. Thanks Tod for another great one!
Nice collection. I loved the history on them and the reasoning for their designs, or your designs. My favorites were the quilon daggers.
Lovely stuff. Merry Christmas to me and you now that my pressie is on it's way. Hopefully the Royal Armouries took that bit of well articulated advice on board. There isn't going to be a rush on crafting these things if they loosen up. It is not like many people still have these skills and if a few more learn all the better.
Also, an epsiode on household/everyday implements that are not weapons would be interesting.
@Tod'sWorkshop
19:45 Maybe they weaved cordage or leather strips through these holes, to make the grip more comfy? Because that square handle doesn't look very pleasant to grip for me.
When do we get "For a few daggers more" ? Loved the Burgundian one particularly and the blades on all looked gorgeous.
Love all your stuff Tod. I now own two of your Daggers, one Dirk and one Antenna Dagger and three eat knifes.
I really like this video, how you laid out your process and your thoughts on each piece.
I would love to see more in this style.
your passion comes through in your explinations of the pieces. makes me pumped, could have been a 4hr video and I would have loved every minute
Wow, thank you!
Hallo Tod. About the "Bauernwehr" and its eating implements. The prick was indead used for eating. In the middle ages they didn't use forks for eating. It's also useful for other things 😁. Great video 👍
Ordered a 13th-16th century eating knife from Tod on tuesday. Showed up today and it's lovely :) my mates gonna love it. Thanks Tod!
Exellent pieces of cold weapons))
I like the falcata style swords. Been thinking of making an Amentum type throwing spear too. Atlatls don't spin the projectile.
Funny you post this! I was just looking at your daggers in your shop!
Parachuting Spider just made in at the end 😅 Nicely done Sir.
It is always interesting to watch these videos. Thanks for making the daggers and for making the videos.
Wow, one of your most informative and detailed videos ever. Thank you. And some beautiful craftsmanship.
Love each item I've bought from you!!!
Thanks
Awesome video, you should do one on an eared dagger!
C'mon Collections/Museums - let Tod come touch your stuff so he can make your stuff!!!
Lovely work Tod!
For some reason, I always have been more attracted to Daggers. Something about the Amazing Skill it would take to fight with one plus they are just so freaking cool Always something I imagine a Rogue or assassin using
If nonsense about pocket knives has taught me anything, presumably the pricker is for getting stones out of horses hooves
Nope, its to remove boy scouts from horses hooves
Always love these and the videos about prop weapons. Incredible how much thought goes into everything. 👍
I like a lot of the dirks on your site. Pricker is a strong needle for sails or leather crafting. So you can beat it with a rock or stick. Like how I use a sgian dubh as bush crafting knife.
I hold my thumb against the flat of the dirk blade. Like a skinning knife with small handles. I use my pointer finger against back.
I jst saw your work on a vidio. Very impressive..I'm gna have to try and figure out how to get one..it eould be my grail knife.. and to me daggers are my favorite edged weapon.
In my opinion the pricker is a tool for making the holes in letters so they can be "spiral-locked", a common method of securing letters during the 16th and 17th centuries before the envelope was developed.
Thanks for sharing 👍
You should make a parrying dagger! Would love to see that.
Would love to see what Matt Easton could do with a 90° slab tang dagger. As always though, incredible work Todd!
Nice, pity we can't have them a fashion accessories now. I really like the Burgundian Rondel
Glad I didn't get the green scabbard for my rondel from you now, wonder about whether the blue dye is the same, realism-wise, do really love the orange coloured leather.
Tod I’m definitely going to get my hands on one of your amazing daggers some day!
Well I'm going to spend the next half hour or more drooling through your catalogue, again, so I'd call this a successful video!
Just got a Stiletto dagger from your Tod Cutler's line and although the grip looks like it would not provide good retention it is shocking how good it holds especially with a finger around the cross guard, nobody is taking that blade from me unless I let go. Funny how the Stiletto and Quillon style daggers continue to be used to this day because the design just works. Also funny how the people of the past knew how to make a good handle that performed all the fighty things required while also looking great on your belt.
Thanks and yes they dagger style has lasted pretty much 1000 years and not many other things have
Something about reinforced tips just tickles my fancy. They're so perfectly brutally functional.
I also have a thing about them - love them
the 'pricker' is a dual purpose tool; is the meat hot inside, and hold the meat for slicing. As well as being one hell of a weapon.
Back then though, many things had a good few purposes/
Oh cool! Do you have a source for that?
Very enjoyable, i like your product presentations. The story behind them is very intresting to me :)
Very informative thank you.
I recently received one of your studded rondel daggers by fluke of KoA, I prefer it much more than the warhammer I was going to get
Dang man, your making want to graduate up to your Workshop site, I already have two Culters.
The pricker was used for the exact same thing we would use it for now. Let's face it we all have a need for a long pointy tool at some point in time. Especially when leather was as a much more used every day material than it is now. This sounds more "camp" than intended but you know what I mean.
Got one or your quillon daggers and a rondel dagger. It's funny but however much you see or read about them actually having one of things in your hand is quite an experience. The quillon dagger is about sophistication and skill and the rondel dagger pure, brutal lethality. You've got to hold them to feel the weight and balance to appreciate that fully. They can also make you feel a bit belligerent - or so I'm told.
The hooped pommel and riveted handle blades may have been similarly used like the Chinese Sheng Biao, turning an otherwise close proximity weapon into a crowd control one with a simple lash. Getting jumped whilst out riding was fairly common and quick thinking and good footing could buy you some distance from your attackers.
In its simplist of applications it may have merely been a customisable hand grip for binding with a material to personal specifications, the hooped pommel a means to hurl ropes over walls.
I ordered a Tod Cutler Italian Stiletto 17th Century dagger awhile back. Quite nice for the price. I just wish it was hardened steel.
Trying to convince my family they need to buy me one for the holidays
The 90° slab tang dagger makes complete sense when used against armour. The narrow slit at the arm hole would be one of the few access points for a stabbing weapon. You would want the blade to present narrow side on so its taper does not jamb in the narrow slot and stop the penetration. The twisted handle would do this. The wrist movement required for a standard blade to present in this way is difficult.
I disagree; the handle is essentially square, so it would make no difference to how it could be used
Absolutely love ring hilts :) They seem to have kept popping up everywhere at different times, but don't get too much attention unless it's on a Chinese sword or dagger. Don't know why that is, but they just look really good.
I think there's some evidence the Irish were into them for whatever reason.