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@That Works , Great lecture, Ilya! Thank you very much for it. I really enjoyed your great presentation of a very complicated topic. Please bring us more illuminating deep theory videos like this, monthly at least. A fan
Worst possible sponsor, i've tried this game and it's bad and not "free" i mean i understand the need for money but, that's a company that decides each exact word for their add and lies in it.
I was a Professorial Blacksmith, I have made knives, swords & armour and a shed load of rams head pokers! Bladesmithing is just a specialist area of Blacksmithing, you would need to learn Blacksmithing (or a large amount of smithing skills before just going all out on blades). Blacksmithing for the most part is moving thick/thick-ish mental into a shape, so say you want a spanner, you forge a spanner shape, file the spanner mouth/jaws to wanted size, hard and temper, you want a knife, you forge a knife shape, file/grind to finish size (learning bench skills with files will help lots), semi finish surface, harden & temper, finish the surface to level of finish wanted, make and fit handle and/or guard if wanted/needed, repeat on big scale for a sword, which is just a big knife at the end of the day, most of this is all skilled hammer work, making armour is (for the most part) working the mental cold, so again it is mostly all skilled hammer work, learning sheet mental work & car body repair work (if they still teacher such) would be also help for making armour, not just for hammer work moving cold steel, but also for making templates etc. Being able to make all your tools for your work also helps a lot being a Blacksmith. Getting the level of finish on your work is a scale only you know what you want, top end, learn jewelry skills. But for the most part, Blacksmithing skills would cover most of all skills you asked about, it just depends on what level you want to take your skill/s level to! More you put in, more you get out. Being able to see a piece of work in your head, transplanting that idea on to paper by way of a pencil will save you time, money and a lot of hart-ach, not much, but some! Last tip, if you got soft hands, piss on them, work with piss wet hands until they are dry, repeat when needed, there is no thing better for hardening skill up fast, just remember to wash hands before shaking hands with a customer, picking your nose, or eating your bate! Don't worry if you forget, your will remember pretty fast and or be told! And Nit-bond/comfrey oil for burns, just make sure you got all the scale out, or the skin will grow over it, for any cuts or removed skin use iodine, when dry, then comfrey oil. Lastly, be warned, if you like Blacksmithing, once you have tried it, She will get under your skin and be like a drug and you will be addicted for life! And not being able to do smithing, either because of no where to do it, or no money, or your body is to knackered, will just mess with your head! And be under know illusion, not many make any money at it! So like most craftsmen, you will died physically fucked up and in adjective poverty! But for the most part.....Happy in the knowledge that you have the skills and have done a trade that few others have and have done! But is not needed in this brave new world of ours....................................................... Good Luck.
Let's just say with enough patience as a hobbyist I can make a well fitted helmet or a pauldron. I can also make an axe or a spearhead. I still can't for shit make a good blade longer than 30something cm xD
FUCKING HELL! I honestly think you guys might have THE best historical weapon/smithing-based channel on TH-cam. The amount of care and dedication you guys have shown in attempting to understanding and educate people about weapons and armour within their historical and cultural context is unparalleled.
I’d love to see the things that YOU enjoy making. I remember Ilya saying he likes architectural builds and it can be informative for us and more fun for y’all
I second this. I'm pretty sure most of us like to learn a bit and really like his insights. And the other part is skill and enjoyment. I really like watching Ilya and Kayle Royer creating. Their dedication to their work is just inspiring.
Never thought I'd be sitting through nearly an hour of somebody talking about medieval steel and sword qualities and production but here I am, completely enjoying it.
Its more enjoyable to hear multiple avenues to the truth rather than a historian just using what's already been written, There have always been half truths when it comes to history as people usually make assumptions on a bias of something they really know very little about, In this case Ilya Slam dunked Shad because he used a bit of History, Science, and his forging experience. A sword is a complicated piece of engineering, each sword by time period or area of creation had specific engineering goals with the types of combat that occurred that was in their best efforts to create a weapon that reflected the style of combat and represented religion and society for the times and areas they were created in. Many historians get lost without seeing the wide vision and focus on the narrow tunnel.
This is one beautiful video to watch, its informative, well shot, and passionately narrated. As a person that never before had a great interest in the subject i absolutely enjoyed it.
He said it good and also people were very illiterate in those times, but as for the Cain and Abel no theory... in part yes, but ultimately not over all like that when we seen blacksmiths.., and as for them being illiterate yes that is fact like all over the world, but not so illiterate that they cannot write their name or understand it's symbols, also people did not need to be literate in those days as much as we clearly need to today. We tend to have a great bias against the past, or what works for us and that is our modern flaw. Modern "secular" education tends to teach this of our past so we do not value our past and instead just pay more tax and adopt whatever they want us to learn rather than what we need to learn.
I get why ppl wouldn't be able to continually reproduce the same product without literacy, but then I also thought wootz was thermo cycled and consolidated into a more heat treatable metal but it's hard to find sources
i felt as sleep when my professor gave a more-than-20mins of explanation but i coulld keep up with a 50mins long of a guy talking about steel. Great presentation Ilya!!
Ilya, you have been such an inspiration to me. You gave me the drive to build my own forge, and start my own Bladesmithing group. i love your work and your videos have taught me so very much. Thank you!
I have read Sagas which include time-outs where duelists stomp and beat their swords back into shape after both of them got bent. Sounds very much in line with what you're saying.
Excellent historical reference! I had previously only heard of one instance of that happening and that was mostly a word of mouth rumor (and you can't always trust those), but it's fascinating to hear that it was FAR more common than we might think. I would love to read the treatises or sagas you are referring to (as would any history nerd).
@Jake Folk Yes, yes. The fact that overall quality was lower and the technology was inferior means we aren't being fair. Got it. Anything to preserve the myth of EVROPAN superiority in all things. And I note that the superior metallurgy of artifacts from the Subcontinent and Persia gets quietly ignored.
@Jake Folk I am not saying the katana is a "better sword". It, like all others, was designed for a particular set of conditions. What I am saying is that Japanese and Indo-Persian blade metallurgy were simply more advanced. And that is pretty incontrovertible.
Agreed, history major girl here and I love it. I find myself confused as to how Professor Ilya is somehow even a little sexier than Smith Ilya? Should I even say that? I shouldn't even say that. I said it.
I love how much of the nuanced stuff he always explains before every step. It's never just "do this like that", there's always reason to everything. I've learned some stuff here that I didn't find in my books
@@Sk0lzky Hey! Great to meet you, and heck yeah Ilya always had the game down when he wants to share information or show it, he's doing it with a sincere and clear passion. I'm not convinced that I agree with his particular interpretation on bloom steel (He's actually worked it so I know he knows more about it than I do, and I'm not a mythological Indus-Valley critter...)... mostly because I don't understand how Viking smiths using BOG steel were able to make spectacular swords from bloom ingots. I mean yeah they knew they were doing, but the Ulfbehrts and Ingleris were .... forgive me, "cutting edge," how did the smiths know how to work that metal "correctly?" I love you guys your channel and everybody into this, so again, great to meet you Sk0lzkiy!
Well, he got a lot right, especially in the steel making process, but maybe not so accurate about sword making [edit: the soft core is not a product of a different steel, but a product of different quenching rate]. My understanding is that the harder and more brittle steel of katanas is inserted into the "U" shape formed of the softer and more ductile steel that forms the outer surfaces and the spine. The idea is obvious, that the harder steel makes for a sharper edge to the weapon, and a martial artist will instruct a katana student to block with the spine where the steel is softer and will not chip. The softer steel acts as a shock absorber (and is not sharpened). Today, Henckels makes a high end kitchen knife with a "core" - the cutting edge - of their brand "Cryodur hardened" M66, 66 on the Rockwell Hardness Scale (HRC). Presumably, that is a special hardness wrapped in a protective layer of comparatively softer steel. Give me a choice between believing Henckels and several videos on katanas, or the guy here in this video, and I'll go with Henckels and the katana makers and the logic. Why the heck would you make an edge of softer steel and a shell of harder more expensive and more brittle steel? The guy here should review his material on making swords. To me, the real super-art form of the katana comes in with the quenching that gives the blade its distinctive curve. I've watched videos of modern day hand-made single-shop sword makers, and it is apparently no easy trick at all to keep that blade from warping to the side when quenching. And that isn't even trying for the distinctive curve of the katana. Now the guy here may have explained that in talking about how folding is essential to getting a homogeneous steel. So I think he knows a lot more about the metallurgy than he does about the sword making. I would guess that for the katana, it is critical to get the hard core exactly in the center of the surrounding layers, to prevent a sideways curving, hammering equally on both sides. Two arts there, the steel and the sword. Henckels uses powdered steel, I'm guessing to achieve homogeneity. But they do not put the harder steel on the outside, they put it in the core of the blade. Edit added: Checking what I wrote, I watched a video debunking myths about katanas, and comparing them to European swords. The guy said that the edge is the hardest part (martensite), surrounded by more ductile steel (perlite), and notably, he said that the inner core, back from the edge, is the softest part, closer to ferrite. But there are not three types of steel in a katana process, only the outer "U" shape, and the harder insert (I guess higher carbon content). Thinking about it, and the clay that forms the hamon of wavy "bevel" at the edge, the idea is to cover all but the edge in clay, before heating and quenching, The clay, I guess, acts as an insulator to the cooling. And the katana is thicker than the typical European sword of the time. Since hardening is a function of cooling, the inner parts of the katana should cool more gradually than the outer parts, thus leaving the core as the softest part of the whole.
Great video! It's nice to see a complex breakdown of all the factors regarding swords. Even when I was younger, I was kind of confused by how obstinate people would get about swords and which was better and "sword superiority" or whatever. I always felt really odd, especially considering most people have little to no knowledge of blacksmithing or sword arts. I really enjoy that you took your time to explain things and cited sources and gave examples. Great job!
not really, no. He said that the indo swords were "less likely to break in combat" aka "tougher" . Never he says anything about being "far better" . After the "katana is the ultimate sword, can cut through a tank" is this now the age of "the katana is shit lol" ?
@@MrDarto Yes, that is how science is done: one singular researcher agrees with your opinion, you are free to dismiss the one in the video (ilya is an expert blacksmith and researcher of his trade), the ones mentioned in the video, and you don't need to do any other reading or research, just point to the one that said one thing you like. And of course, let's not forget to talk though online as if you were in any way shape or form capable of being an arbiter of knowledge. Yes, that is how science works indeed.
Love this video! Started bladesmithing over a year ago and was waiting for someone to do more history based videos of steel,used in different cultures. Love you work by the way. You make absolute works of art. Love from ohio here buddy.
Thanks for a fantastic video. I would go as far as to say that I think this is one of the best videos on TH-cam about historical swords and the context that produced them. Keep up the great work looking forward into the next video that was alluded to.
You guys are just flat out talented, some of the most intelligent men when it comes to metallurgy. Been a huge fan since awe. I'd like to see you guys come together and make a design that pushes you both to the brink, something that you've been dreaming of for years but just haven't had the confidence to do. Every square in fit and finished perfectly. What that is, I dont know but I'd love to see your minds at work. Peace, love, and prosperity my friends.
I don’t know if this has to do with them being skilled or not? But that’s not a rumor that’s just truth back in the day they were made by less skilled craftsmen I mean it’s always going to vary from person to person, and in comparison to a katana yes, it is completely in superior, but that’s just facts. The katana is extremely popular for a reason.
Great video. Almost the level of a great TED talk. I do want to bring up that it is my personal belief that percentages of material specs mean very little, as it’s position and layout as a molecular structure can change everything. For example, carbon nanotubes and buckyballs have very different specifications than a pile of coal dust, even though they may have the same carbon content.
Verhoeven and other scientists don't think wootz has nanotubes or nanowires; "Steel expert John Verhoeven, of Iowa State University in Ames, suggests Paufler is seeing something else. Cementite can itself exist as rods, he notes, so there might not be any carbon nanotubes in the rod-like structure. Another potential problem is that TEM equipment sometimes contains nanotubes, says physicist Alex Zettl of the University of California, Berkeley. Paufler admits it is difficult to exclude the problem but says that, having studied the swords with a range of different equipment, he is convinced that the tubes he sees are from the swords." For context, Verhoeven et al discovered the role of carbide formers in making pattern forming crucible steel
I mean it only makes sense, even Shad pointed out the stupidity of a warrior dragging a sword along the ground or stabbing it in the ground was quite a stupid Hollywood trope, If you were relying on a weapon to help your survival in battle you wouldn't mistreat it, and after Ilya's breakdown I would almost say Swords were probably treated incredibly well as the expense of buying or creating one and the dependency on winning a battle would be down to how they fought, so with that being said you would just go haphazardly clanging them together or against armour recklessly, I do like the idea of a sword being slightly curved, for the same reason a flail might have been valued as you could take the sword and place it on top the opposing shield spine side down and use the curve to get an angle of stab behind the shield in a possible fatal spot, I think strikes against an opponent were probably incredibly calculated and you wouldn't just try battering a shield apart unless you had a weapon made specifically for that, But this may give new context to battles where a valid attack against the opponent was to not strike the person but instead attack the weapon, as once the sword is broken the opponent is all but dead.
@@douganderson7002 I think it's more appropriate to say that it's an attempt to revive a dead tradition. The problem with that is you can have all the manuals, tapestries, and historical accounts you want, but the amount of nuance and context lost means it will forever be an imitation and not quite "the real thing". I'm sure years into the future there will probably some kinda Nokia brick phone cult too, with no idea why people slipped paper under the battery covers, or debate over why people had phone straps. A lot simply won't be passed on to this new generation because it's treated as "common sense", when in fact it's simply the limitations of our time.
@blueboywhitie That is not what they are for, Maces were made to crush metal plate armor, same with warhammers and warpicks style weapons made to punch holes or just plain crush. Maces can be quite heavy and slow in battle so by the time you try to wind up against a shield and sword all the person needs to do is step in using the shield to block the mace and force it to the side and thrust with the sword, partially that is why shield sword armor was made, Axes well they are cheap and easy to make, Vikings used them quite effectively but using axes against a viking shield wall is kind of pointless, the bullet cap on the shield was used as a means to attacking and well destroying weapons used against you, plus if the axe gets lodged in the shield you are screwed. Now a Poleaxe or duckbill well they were cheap and great on battlefields because they had a pick, curved part for ripping armor off, and the axe blade portion, that still doesn't mean though you didn't have to be careful.
Regarding the HEMA part: I recall Matt Easton mentioning in a video that weapons breaking was an accepted part of life. Depending on how often they used their swords I assume that people of higher status and wealth, like the kind that involved themselves with manuals, treated them in a more expendable manner and replaced them if necessary
Yeah unless it breaks on you IN battle. It's not about keeping the sword after the battle to save money. It's about not DYING because your sword broke.
The potential for breakage depends on quality and mileage, sometimes you can see that a sword is on its last legs and could potentially break on its next battle. I think it's more appropriate to say swords are treasured, but those who have more money are very careful about taking potentially damaged swords into battle, and would replace them (or relegate it to training) if possible.
@@Tremulousnut Also if a sword is that worn you can take it to the blacksmith. Forge welding a crack might keep the blade usable for a few more years. or just trade it for a new blade and let the smith melt it as scrap iron. It's the reason why armories were a thing. you'd have a weapon master who'd carefully inspect things to ensure they were still usable and send them off to the smith if they needed repair.
@@marhawkman303 That sounds impractical, how would they know what kind of steel it was even made out of, they might repair superficial or appearances, but I doubt they could repair it to 'new' conditions.
@@Orinslayer How would the smith know what kind of steel? well if it was their own work they'd just remember. Also, in medieval era there was less variety in metals used.
Yes! Ilya's warning about judging genuine swords from history based on the versions of those works we have today]-and thus seeing them as "bad"- is an idea known as "presentism", in which we criticize past events through a present-day lens. We must remember that everything we have today has had to evolve (through innovation and discovery) to what it is now. Space Age steel did not exist before the Space Age, and just the same humanity went thousands of years believing the Earth was the center of the Universe. While today's steel is objectively better than earlier steels we must keep in mind that in the period it was created and used that steel was the best quality produced with the methods used. Things are constantly refined and innovated, even more so today than a hundred years ago. The crazy, amazing, cutting-edge technology we have today will be archaic to our great-grandchildren. There's nothing wrong or bad about comparing what we have today to the marvels of the past, but we must also value that technology within the context it existed within. Those swords are perfect for the environment they were used in, and the swords we make today are just as perfect for the 21st Century.
I loved Ilya's discussion of armors in the last one of these, and I'm super down to get another video in roughly that style. He's such a fascinating creature. Slavic memes and Ahegao hoodies juxtaposed with expert craftsmanship and a deep understanding and knowledge of the history surrounding his trade
"Those items exist in a cultural historical context." EXACTLY. I wait for these historical discussions. Thanks, Ilya! (To understand how these weapons worked, you just have to watch modern cavalry troops 'pegging', i.e., picking up tent pegs with lances and cavalry sabres). Nicely done. Can't wait for more!
Wow Thank you for this Ilya. I've learned a ton because you have taken the time to share your knowledge with us. You need one of those Master Class seminars that TH-cam is always pushing. Thanks again and I cant wait to learn more.
Skallagrim made a great video on how Europeans would have fought in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and he concluded that it wasn't the level of master swordsman, but they weren't bashing each other. Some swordsmen were no doubt masters of the Art, but I feel that your average soldier, knight, or man-at-arms probably fought much more direct, with no flourishes as Hans Dobringer tells us. Johannes Liechtenauer is known for putting false plays in his poem of the longsword, so it figures our interpretation of Liechtenauer and his lineage of fencing is somewhat skewed. Personally, I find that what Talhoffer and Fiore show is more direct and sensible, making more use of the point, grappling, and with cuts, the cuts are VERY direct and fast, with no extraneous movement. At least when it comes to the longsword. For sword and buckler, MS I.33 is kinda similar, making use of the buckler to bash or grapple to bring the edge of the sword and point to bear against the enemy. I say this as someone that does practice HEMA, specifically Fiore. With manuals written several hundred years ago in languages that have evolved a lot since the time, there's always going to be interpretation. Great video Ilya! Fantastic work! Really helps bring out the context of the manuals we study and hopefully improve our interpretations.
@@jordanlarson8310 yeah, the sword play would be a tiny part of who wins the battle, man management and proper formations and flanking etc would've played a bigger part. We like to look at the Roman's as the best examples of this but seem to forget that they conquered most of Europe before the medieval period. It wouldn't have devolved after their conquest into the unruly skirmishes that modern day pop culture portrays. And you quite rightly point out that a spear would've been the go too weapon, along with archers and cavalry. As for when the sword is actually used, I can see some of the more extravagant styles shown to be more for demonstration and show, 1 on 1 duels at the most. In a battlefield scenario I can't see anyone standing with one arm behind their back like you see people doing today, that arm is a vital weapon and balance aid so why remove it? What's with the swish and flicks like you're casting a Harry Potter spell? Stick em with the pointy end, quick cuts and grabs.
@@J1mston people tend to forget that the sword was a side arm during the "middle ages" kind of the equivalent of the pistol a soldier wears these days, a sort of last resort kind of weapon.
i agree that your average solider or man-at-arms would fight more direct, but the knights were filthy rich nobility. they had so much money that everything they needed was taken care of, they had all the time in the world to master the art of war and combat, and they did. the knight and the samurai are really no different from each other. im not saying that you are saying what im about to state, but people do tend to assume that a knight was more of a rugged less trained fighter where a samurai was more of a disciplined master. the fact of the matter is that both knights and samurai were disciplined masters. i think this image says a lot: qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-625388899a1750a2b9d267cc0c9ea3b7
@@lurchiesmith8752 yes exactly. you wouldnt want to use a sword when fighting on a battlefield in large formations of troops. knights used halbards and pollaxes, samurai used yari and naginata. swords dont do too much against fully armored opponents, even the long swords meant for thrusting between gaps in armor would of been a side arm. your best bet against combating steel armor is blunt force trauma. in a 1v1 duel between two knights in full plate it would be far more logical to go to the duel with a longsword. battlefield situations are far different than 1v1 duels though, and in large formations, pole weapons are the primary weapon
EXCELLENT!! This is by far, the best talk on different swords I’ve seen, I’ve seen more arguments about which is better European or Japanese swords, to the point of insults and stupidity that I’m so glad someone finally took something else into account besides a personal opinion. You’ve taken into account things other “sword guys” haven’t even thought of and have drawn a larger picture of a history of swords, you didn’t nitpick small points, which many many other guys tend to do, you weren’t trying to say “I’m right and your wrong” which many guys also tend to do, it was very well done. I do have to say, expect a lot of those “nitpicking” comments about one small thing or the other, “you missed this trivial fact” or “you said this but there is this one sword found somewhere that blah blah blah so your whole argument is wrong”, don’t pay them any mind, seriously this was fantastic, also besides being a great talk, I learned quite a bit that no one else talks about. Thank you. P.S. I’ve just read some of the comments and it’s already starting “you misunderstood blah blah blah” I wonder why humans can’t just take information and count themselves potentially smarter because of it? Why does everyone hold onto their opinions to the point of stupidity? I don’t know, I guess we’ll probably never learn as a species. Wish people would realize there is no way you can know everything about anything, and yet they never do.
This was a masterclass, really great video, you surely must've spent a lot of time on that research. I never thought about how the social status of the blacksmith could impact the way the blacksmithing practices and technology evolved differently in various locations. Anyway, congrats ond the video, I'm excited to see what you're going to teach us next, you're a great teacher.
I started watching this channel because you videoed forging and finishing a sword. I will continue to watch it. Because you are a well read and studied craftsman who can communicate in an organized manner. Thank you for your work.
+thatworks in regards to Meyer, there are illustrations and plays which involve using the flex of the weapon to slap your opponent in the side of the head, as well as deliberately striking with the flat to store energy to use on a second cut. Mind you, Meyer was mid 16th C and is there is also artwork from the 15th C depicting feders high degrees of flex - including one of a man flexing the sword over his own head.
I gave an actual cheer when you got to the "form must follow function" part near the end. I have long held that physics dictates that martial arts be CONvergent, rather than DIvergent. Even with the differences in steel you discuss, weapons are their uses are far more similar than different in all parts of the world. If you see two wildly different styles, there is a great likelihood that at least one of them is wrong- and possibly both. An entire fighting style would not develop, that relied on an exotic weapon. Exactly the opposite, the generally accepted practices would be functional with whatever weapons were normally available. If your interpretation of a fighting style only works with a weapon that would have been mostly unavailable in its day, then your interpretation is wrong. ...and that goes equally true on both sides.
Quite insightful response. And I entirely agree. And laughed out loud when you mentioned seeing a DIvergent style probably being wrong, as well as interpretations of ancient martial combat using modern weapons makes just about no sense at all. And to your point, form without function is--well...not functional. Always been one of my pet peeves about over/under-engineered weapon systems, and methods of their use. I'll use some more modern examples, but the point is the same. One is far too complex for reality (Tiger tank for instance, expensive yet scary....when they worked), and the other is totally useless in reality (TBD Devastator and Mark 13 torpedo), and if your method doesn't match your weapon (Devastator again, because torpedoes actually work in theory...well, theirs didn't work at all, no matter what aircraft they were paired with...but that lumbering plane delivering them at near stall speed at a rather convenient height for enemy gunnery? Not so much), so basically too complex, too simple, or too imprecise (which is really a method aspect in and of itself), or unable to perform the task assigned, all pretty much useless in the end. If your weapon of choice works great then breaks when you sneeze, or it just never was going to work because you are using it wrong, you might want to rethink your approach to the whole combat thing. EDIT: I originally accidentally mentioned the TBF Avenger instead of the Devastator, so correction made.
Yeah, humans biomechanically are the same no matter where in the world you’re from, so it makes sense that techniques and design will generally be fairly similar with just a few differences based on culture, doctrine, etc.
Yup. I'd expand that a fighting style begins to develop with the simplest and most readily available tool. That's probably a simple stick in most cultures. From there, the weapon development and style evolution will follow each other. Stick becomes stone spear, and the style begins to emphasize thrusts. Stone spear becomes metal spear and cuts are introduced. Spear tip grows stronger and larger, facilitates complex styles and associated techniques in fighting. The complex head (polearm) is the last in the chain, so logically the associated fighting styles would be derivative of those suited to the previous weapons. The same basic evolution would follow most weapons and techniques. Very few would be so revolutionary that they arrive without the past trailing behind them.
Hell, you even see that with guns, which all have fairly similar form no matter where in the world they’re from. And even a lot of ergonomic concepts like a handle and trigger came from crossbows.
Also, if you ever plan on doing a shamshir, I just did a detailed breakdown and schematic image of the measurements of mine. Distal taper, profile taper, curve, length, POB. The whole lot.
Ilya, If you get this question I’d sincerely welcome your thoughts and guidance here. In these modern times, there are zero battle-hardened swordsman that still exist who would be able to tell us “unequivocally” that a modern made blade would be a worthy instrument upon the battlefield. I’ve watched your videos and witnessed the incredible artistic creations your combined skill and modern-forge have created for the public to review. However, as beautiful as these works are, how do I know (or anyone for that matter) that your creation (or the creation of any modern blacksmith) won’t bend, snap, shatter, or just keep a decent edge after the first strike? Please know I’ve watched several of the other shows in which master craftsmen compete, and then a blade expert tests the blade by striking a pig carcass (among several other tests). Surprisingly, in the majority of cases (far more than I ever would have expected) the weapons fail in some dramatic manner or other. I truly believed that with modern day equipment and modern metallurgical alloys, that anything made today would be magical to those living in earlier periods. Was I wrong in believing this? I also fully understand why you personally cannot risk damaging the blades you forge, by testing them against a hardened shield or a block of wood (or even a carcass, or acidic fruit). I watched your other video (the heretic blade?) where you explained specifically why you can’t, and I both agree and understand. I guess, my core question is how, in ancient times, did a blacksmith test a newly forged blade, when forging a blade for a King, or rich nobleman (that also had detailed artwork etc). Wouldn’t the King, or nobleman, need to test his new blade, or even practice and spar with it, to ensure it is a credible battle-blade? In point of fact, his very life may be dependent on it holding-up in actual combat, and I doubt they’d want to find out at the next real-world battle event, whether it’s going to get the job done or not. I would welcome your thoughts on all of this. I sincerely need the education. God bless, and thank you.
Just re-watched this amazin lecture, I still remeber it quite well after 3 years when I watched it on relise and its still pretty much best lecture on topic (by far comapare to what I saw on other channels)
I think that works is one of my favorite channels at the moment the video are not as polished as the man at arm's videos but I feel like the videos on this channel have much more soul. I love seeing two freaks (in a good way not as insult) make the Best videos they can on subject they care about. I especially love the educational videos it seems like they are based on a lot of knowledge and I think it is awesome that you explain it in a way that Evan a normie like me can follow without any problems. Keep up the work (pun intended) you guys are awesome.
Always enjoyed how Ilya goes into details and actually explains the science behind what he's doing on man at arms show. This one is even better. Привет, Илья! Спасибо за понятные, информативные видео без воды.
Ilya, this was amazing. The build videos are stunning, but you dropped some knowledge on us. There's nothing more important than truth. Except maybe coffee.
That was awesome. I enjoyed the history and found it a refreshingly honest and precise analysis of historical swords. Can't wait to see what you post next!
You know it's actually pretty amazing how two groups of humans who couldn't have much to any contact solved the same issues with a tool and materials in roughly the same way with some design specialties for how the tool was used.
Makes you wonder is more information was shared than we give them credit for of if it’s pure coincidence. The world wide pyramid building for instance just amazing that by chance every major civilization decided to do it randomly at a at the rough same time period
@@larrypostma2866 There isn't a lot of time period overlap with pyramid building civilizations, at least not much more time period overlap than we have with the Roman republic. When it comes to metallurgy there definitely was some cultural exchange between the different cultures in the old world although the transfer of knowledge was pretty slow.
@@SRaburrido if it were building structure alone I would agree for sure. But when you add in creation stories and disaster stories or similar imagery of their creator/teachers coming from the literal or figuratively heavens and those coincidences are global at a time we are taught global trade in even small scale didn’t exist it becomes far more likely that it isn’t coincidental. At least in my opinion which granted doesn’t mean much in this platform lol. Happy we got to exchange outlooks on it though. I do appreciate other peoples takes on the subject immensely.
@@larrypostma2866 Well, if the Book is correct, and I think it is, basic metal working was a skill Humans developed BEFORE spreading out around the world.
Thank You, Ilya!. It's about time someone addressed many of these topics you talk about in the video. It really bugs me when people talk about how great one type of sword is or another, while what they have knowledge of are modern blades, made with both modern steel and means of manufacture.
I'm getting the message, but some of your comparisons are scewed (I'm not talking about the metallurgy, but your arguments about literacy and how you compare Europe and Japan here). For instance the Edo-Period you are referring to when stating literacy rates is not Middle-Ages. Its 1650 to 1850, which is modern times in Europe, not even Renaissance anymore (which end at the start of the 17th century). You refer to 80% of people in cities know how to read and write (which is a selective group, general literacy rate in Japan at the End of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1870 was 40%!). In Saxony at 1800 80% of all males (not only those in cities) knew how to read and write (but only 40% of women). When comparing medieval Europe, you have to specify which time-frame, as "medieval" can mean anything between the 5th and the 15th century, but certanly not the 18th or 19th century where most of the Edo period falls into. For Japan before the Edo period, it is hard to find any literacy rates at all. I only found some data referring to one District of Nagasaki from 1650, suggesting literacy rates between 80-90% for homeowners, and 20-50% for Tenants (all male, no literacy for women as they all signed with thumb-prints or stamps). I found literacy rates for england for 1650, suggesting a literacy rate of 50% for men for the whole population, and around 10 for women. For Germany the general literacy rate I found for 1650 is 30%, which sounds about the same as in England as those combine the male and female rates. All this literacy rates again say nothing about the proposed literacy rates of blacksmiths in particular. I think your theory that literacy was the drastic difference between Japan and Europe is not supported by the actual literacy rates. At least not, if you are taking the same time period, and not just compare 1750 Japan to 1200 Germany. When comparing the Edo-period, you have to compare to late Renaissance or Modern times.
I recalled that the The Ulfberht swords including the faked ones were signed, but again maybe the smith making making the letters was simply copying them. Some germanic peoples did know ruins. But there is likely a point in that Japan being somewhat insular and not succesfully invaded written records of weapons making were kept. Anywhere most craftsmen including black smiths had their secrets and only their apprentices learned them.
@@loquat44-40 There is actually evidence that literacy may have been high in Germanic cultures during the Viking era, though exact rates are not, nor can they ever be, known. However we see the names of objects like "comb" engraved on to actual comb's and such in the remains of c. 8-900's c.e. Nordic villages. The prevailing theory is that this was done to teach reading and writing. There are enough such items scattered about the Scandinavian world to suggest that literacy may have been at least somewhat common.
and the fact that Smiths were in guilds related to shrine and temples and supposed to participate in religious affairs and cérémonies, maybe a little more educated than the usual due to their surroundings.
Where Japanese swords made in as large quantities as europeans? I have the impression that the comparison is between swords used by elites (samurai) and average soldiers (european armies).
There were early typologies, reviews and buyer's guides back then. There may have been exaggerations on performance (how many bodies it could cut through), but people knew what they wanted out of their swords, and smiths were happy to experiment and provide. There are many unsigned swords (for various reasons), but the sheer number of signed swords with matching oxidation/rust patterns suggest that they should have some degree of literacy, enough to put down their own name or school (lineage) of blacksmithing. @@Annou7la Not all katana were for samurai. In fact commoners (especially merchants) could own katana, often with even fancier fittings than samurai. What was regulated was the length and number allowed, and later even regulations on fittings.
Hi Ilya, it was an incredible video!! I have some questions regarding to wootz ingots and the problem of P and S in the blade's brittelness: in an article from John Verhoeven where it talks about wootz making, he says that it was difficult to work with the steel because it was too brittle, mainly caused from the high % of P presented in the blade as you said. For making it more suitable to work with, the smith Alfred Pendray devised an "oxidation trick" that also ancient Indian smiths used for making their swords. My question is, even by using this trick, it is still to high the % of P and S when the sword is finished or makes it more like bloomery steel? If so, was this method only applied for top quality wootz blades? And finally, I have a question regarding wootz quality in contrast with Ulfberth swords: as you said, in wootz steel P and S don't come out because the steel is not folded. Were Ulfberth swords then, so appraised because they folded the wootz steel (as they would with typical bloomery steel from Europe), making P and S go out and having almost homogeneous steel (because of the lack of other impurities and slag given from being a crucible steel and with few P and S from folding it)? Or was it because that particular wootz was from the top quality (and rarer type), having few P and S from the begining? P.S: sorry for my bad english. The article I'm referring to: Verhoeven, J. (2007). Pattern formation in wootz damascus steel swords and blades. Indian Journal of History of Science, 559-574.
Something I am a little on the fence about is the fact that I have handled antique swords from around the time of the renaissance, one I still remember had a manufacture date of 1552 engraved on it, coming from Italy. I definitely didn't abuse it as hard as I would have a modern steel sword. However, it didn't take any noticeable damage from sparring (I know, horror, sparring with an antique). It definitely is stiffer than a modern sparring sword, the one I used against it was a EN45 blade tempered to about 52 HRC. However, due to the fact that it is likely of mid 16th century origin (Like Meyers Gründliche Beschreibung), the steel used might not be bloomery steel, but from a blast furnace, explaining its similarities to 19th, 20th and even 21st century steel.
One thing about antiques that old is that they are often of a higher end quality to have both survived this long (survived both nature and people repurposing the metal) and be preserved in decent condition. If those were already more stiff, I imagine anything closer to average wouldn't compare as well, and then a whole half of the swords were worse than whatever said average was. For me, the damning evidence against the "springy swords were common" theory is the lack of common metal bows. If closeish to modern spring steel was available in large, bows would regularly be made of those, but they werent made. Japan had a few metal bows, but they were rare as were the craftsmen who could produce such items reliably. Pretty sure some craftsmen in Europe could produce comparable steel and evem shape them into blades that big time nobles paid premium for, but they were likely equal rarities.
Did... did Ilya just out-context Matt Easton? In all seriousness, this was a fantastic video. I love seeing the finer details of both the swordsmithing itself and the knowledge and culture surrounding it. Great stuff, guys!
Funnily enough, I always heard (from multiple sources) that the reason for the unique construction of japanese steel was due to the impurities of sulfur and phosphorous in the ore causing them to be more brittle, requiring more work to produce a functional sword that could hold up to the rigors of battle. Of course, we also regularly hear that the Europeans of the crusades tended to prefer the Wootz/Damascus crucible steel blades of their enemies, as well. So it seems like there is quite a bit of misinformation going around.
Thank you Illya, A friend of mine and I have been discussing bloomery vs crucible steels, and we were at a stalemate. you did far better research than we, as we were using whatever metallurgical knowledge that was on top of head (I am a welder, and have worked with many different types of steels and hardening techniques that I had to learn from books, they don't teach you much about heat treatment, so had to get some engineering books, and downloaded many old smithing books to learn). Fascinating presentation, expertly done.
tamahagane removes impurities such as phosphorus and sulfur that make the steel brittle by the Tatara ironmaking method, which was made around the 6th century. Sand iron, the material of tamahagane, has a low content of phosphorus and sulfur. Iron ore, coal, coke, etc. used in the West and China have a large content of phosphorus and sulfur, and phosphorus and sulfur were melted by a blast furnace. In modern Japan, high-quality blade steel and special steel are made using the technology of the Tatara ironmaking method. Katana was created during the Heian period (794-1185). Blacksmiths Amakuni (8c-9c) and Ohara Yasutuna (-987) created many katana. These are now stored in the museum. Japan was exporting katana to the Song Dynasty. Song politician Ou-yang Xiu (1007-1072) announced the poem Japanese Katana Song. The content of the poem praises katana and Japanese technology. I don't know old culture because my country burned books and destroyed culture. I know old culture because there are old books in Japan. It is a poem lamenting his country. Since katana was used in actual battle and showed superiority, it was also exported to the Yuan and Ming dynasties. There was a school for children in the village during the Heian period. In the Edo period, there are schools called terakoya throughout the country. Tuition fees were unfixed, and farmers provided crops to teachers.
I thoroughly enjoy it whenever Ilya puts out a video concerning history; the information is wonderful and detailed, and I can tell that he is very passionate about what he is teaching. I would love to see more of it, to my knowledge there have only been a few lengthy videos explaining some form of metallurgic History put out by him, so I request that he does more!!!
I have a question: What would happen if we took a European made longsword a Middle Eastern saber and a katana and put them through a lot of tests that would imitate the things they would go through in battle, how would they fare? considering that they were made by the best blacksmiths they have what would happen? Thank you Ilya for the amazing video, it was great and very informative.
You would campare apples, bananas and pinaples. Just add a 18th/19th century heavy saber to the mix and see it dominate all other weapens in overall performance because the combination of superior steel and a shape that's optimized for cutting & thrusting maks it th best overall bladed weapon and you can force every other blade user into a fighting style there weapon is subobtimal for.
@Ngiplong Konyak the steel wasn't bad at all that is a myth and they did not often import from China they were points in time when they didn't even have contact with China. gunbai-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/2018/02/iron-and-steel-technology-in-japanese.html?m=1 gunbai-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/2018/04/iron-and-steel-technology-in-japanese.html?m=1 gunbai-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/2019/01/iron-and-steel-technology-in-japanese.html?m=1
What He said at the very end, Rang very true to me. I have always felt that: It’s No coincidence that: In Europe, The typical Longsword and other sizes of basically: A Double edged, Strait sword with generously long Cross-guards were favored and Held in esteem. When the image of such sword, Is basically a perfect match and is so similar to: The Cross/ Crucifix which they had great reverence for.
To resolve the issue as to which is the better weapon, consider the bags of leaks test. You go out to the greengrocer to get something for dinner and buy two bags of leaks. The town is dangerous, and you have enemies. If you carry a spear you can't carry two bags and your spear. But you can with a sword. Swords are not optimal for a man in a battle formation out on the hillside unless he also has a shield and maybe some armor. This is how Rome armed the legions. (of course they also had spears and javelins). But spears in general are better in open battle because of superior reach and power. But in the city a sword is more useful. You can walk around all day with a sword on your belt as you mingle and shop. Try that with any pole arm.
(Excuse my english from now please ,i'm french) It was a damn good video ! As an apprentice historian,i like the way you defend the context and share books and ressources (not enough for me but it's a TH-cam video so i'm okay ). The way you comparing different swords and traditions is very pleasing and useful : it really inspire me for researching and experimenting around material history. Your passion pop off the screen,it is kind of emotionnal and makes it very interesting even it isn't my speciality at all. Thank you ! I hope too see more videos ( like this or like the "regular") soon .
For about a year, I've been seen videos of people throwing shit to the katana and japanese steel......and trying to educate them but they are not interested in learn
The idea that modern feders break, so the interpretations of HEMA must be wrong, because period swords were lower quality metal, is deeply flawed. Feders break because we use them for thousands of fights. Bear in mind that a typical HEMA fight will be something like 10 real life fights, one after the other. And if you practice 2 times a week, having a couple of practice fights each, that means you are using your sword the equivalent of around 50 real fights *each week*. A real sword would have never been used that much. That's why the breaking of feders has nothing to do with "wrong" interpretations. It's just that we use them thousands of times more than any real sword was used.
Also tons of 15th/16th-century manuals & accounts mention that swords broke. It was an accepted reality. Nobody expected swords to be indestructible or to last forever, though they did complain about poor-quality swords breaking too easily.
@@benjaminabbott4705 yeah. If anything, modern feders are breaking far less/later than period swords, which is to be expected, as we have better materials.
you do realize that blunt blades break far less then sharp ones, right? that plus the lower quality of steel does mean the medieval swords break far faster then modern super steels.
May I have a reference for this point? 28:30 As shad said before in the comments, there is evidence that blacksmith were often employed to be part of the town council during the medieval era like in Dinkelsbuhl in 1387 so they werent exactly infamous as you put them out to be. Like with most biblical passages, its hard to interpret them depending on the regional interpretation so maybe in england they followed what you said, while in some parts of Germany, as we have here, they saw it in another way hence why the trades men are treated differently. Also, I find it kind of funny that armorsmiths were grouped with them too, given that their soul purpouse to so protect the user rather than kill which I feel like is more noble and passive which Im sure most christians at the time would adore.
I really liked the metallurgical history lesson. My favorite part was really close to the end though. All of the swords are perfect in their own right. It is we that are flawed. If you try to hammer with a screwdriver you're gonna have a bad time.
while i found this video very well made and containing good information, I have to point out something: You seem to have misunderstood why HEMAists use springy blades and why HEMA practicioners break blades made of modern steel. HEMAists use flexible blades to train thrusts without the risk of injuring your training partner and if you bend a piece of steel too often it will snap at some point. Federschwerter (or short, feders) were also historical used practice weapons, and were flexy too. Of course our training tools need to withstand more abuse than any historical sharp sword, because we want to use our swords for longer even if we make mistakes. We dont want to give a beginner an expensive practicesword just for him to wreck it after his first drill. Dont get me wrong i think you still have a point.
Fiore recommend to break your adversary sword. We still know that there were springy swords, in Europe, even if it was not the majority, so what about those?
Very nice, perfectly broken down. "No pun intended" would love to see what we could actually expect from swords battling each other, although may be painful to watch..,but to see how durable and or affective they can or cannot be. Also demonstrated with the right and wrong way each should be used and how that affects the efficiency and durability of each sword as well.
I tried watching some of Shad's videos because for some unfathomable reason a lot of people seem to revere him, but honestly I don't see any evidence of any real 'working' knowledge. He seems to be someone who forms an opinion, then reads only things that backs his opinion up. All his vids seem to show is proof that the conviction with which you deliver misinformation, or part information, impacts how true people perceive it to be. He's just an opinion peddlar.
"All his vids"...and you've watched how many? Two? With your eyes shut, and your ears plugged, no doubt. That's the only way that you could have come to these conclusions about Shad. Why am I wasting time responding to you, idiot?
Shadiversity, the big fan of “springy” medieval European swords and big hater of “crappy” Japanese swords threatened to “debunk” this video but it looks like he didn’t find any credible arguments.
@@eagle162 As Iliya mentioned 0:25 he planned this video to be the response to Shadiversity who talks a lot of thrash about katanas and praises magic European spring steel. Shadiversity in his turn mentioned this video in one of his “debunking” and said that he’s going to review Ilia’s misconceptions in his video later ( th-cam.com/video/pdp-Xo7YhnE/w-d-xo.html ). I would love to see them both in one stream friendly arguing about their points :).
@@IvanMalechko I really wish Shad just stuck to fantasy videos instead of trying to act knowledgeable on historical weapons. He’s been proven wrong by several channels far more qualified than him including Ilya’s and appears so incompetent time and time again. It’s kinda frustrating seeing him spread so many misconceptions and for actual historically based channels wasting their time cleaning up those misconceptions while also getting significantly less views
I think it's safe to say that Shadiversity is the couch professor of medieval TH-cam subjects - he loves to wax wise about a lot of things, but I've never seen anything practical from his videos.
That's like saying your World Civ teacher who teaches you Ancient Viking History teacher doesn't teach you anything practical. It's apples and oranges. Shad is more of a history teacher than a "this is the practical application of how to use metallurgy," and I think that's a seriously unfair comparison in this example.
The Old Testament is only recently considered a part of Christian theology, in any significant measure. I have no doubt about the fact that your knowledge of sword making and history are leaps and bounds greater than mine, but the Christians of medieval Europe considered the Old Testament to be a Jewish religious text (which is correct) and considered it to be made obsolete by the birth, death and resurrection of Christ. In fact, they considered the god of the Old Testament to be different to the God of the New Testament.
Qwerty of course not all of Europe. The ruling class was very much philo-Semitic, as they were often financially supported by Jewish lenders. The common folk, however, would have very, very different attitudes. The number of expulsions and pogroms in the Middle Ages and many other times in Europe are illustrative of exactly the sentiment I described.
Amazing insights and explanation It cleary opened a more broader and newer angle of vision toward the relation to sword making throught the ages and martial arts that use it, thanks guys keep the excellent work, you have all my support from Brazil!!!
Pistols are a backup weapon in the armies. Do they have to be of poor quality? Swords were a simbol of power and prestige, used mainly by the elite. Why should the elite would trust their lives to a poor quality weapon? The fact is, that swords require more techology to be made. It is more difficult to make a sword than to make another edged weapon. Swords were of poor quality because the technology was of poor quality.
@@herrero4270 The cost of making a good quality gun is going to be similar to a poor quality gun. The time need to make a good quality sword is going to be a lot more than a poor quality sword. What are your considerations for the sword, is it for your self, or a gift? Or do you have to arm two hundred men. How much do you want to spend, how much can you spend. How long do you expect the sword to last in battle. For prestige all you need is a ivory handle with some gems, the blade can be good or bad quality. Prestige is someone else's perception of the object. You mentioned swords breaking in fema, did you account for the swords that had hardened tangs and were breaking at the tang? One method for making crucible steel, was to use crushed glass for the last layer. The glass would seal the crucible while allowing gasses to escape.
@@herrero4270 Yes, as were the other primary weapons. Polearms, Glaives, Poleaxes, Spears, Halberds etc. Much like how once the gun came around, we started making secondary weapons, swords, out of monosteel. Kind of a bad analogy too, as a handgun today cannot shoot nearly as far functionally as a rifle can. Which is the primary and which is the secondary?
This is seriously great television. It's everything i wanted from Man At Arms Reforged: scholarly synthesis, technical details, serious discussion of craft, historicity and separation of craft and commercialism
@@tandemcharge5114 watched the video. Got to "Crucible steel is better", stopped right there. I'm pretty sure this blacksmith knows more about steel than that hemaboo.
@@tandemcharge5114 Not just the one mentioned in this video...Shad does real research and provides references. Where appropriate, he demonstrates his point--instead of making baseless assertions. He takes the scientific approach to learning what is, and what is not, fact. Before I stumbled into this video, I watched th-cam.com/video/pdp-Xo7YhnE/w-d-xo.html, where IPostSwords appears as a guest. This video isn't mentioned in it, but it seems to debunk quite a lot of what is claimed here.
@@TheEudaemonicPlague it’s not mentioned because it came after this one. Ilya debunked Shad again through out this one th-cam.com/video/iqfIW-FurgI/w-d-xo.html
Makes a lot of sense, especially the part about HEMA being wrong. Also, throughout the Dark and High middle ages, a professional soldier would have been using a shield in conjunction with a sword(or another weapon I suppose). So you wouldn't need to parry everything anyway. I think it's worth mentioning for people who didn't see Shads video, that he wasn't saying that Katanas were bad, he was eluding to the popular and modern notion that Katanas are easily the best swords ever made and inexplicitly are capable of things that other kinds of swords are not.
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Please do more educational videos as well as build videos. Maybe you can find a way to combine the two into one "edubuild" video?
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@That Works ,
Great lecture, Ilya! Thank you very much for it. I really enjoyed your great presentation of a very complicated topic. Please bring us more illuminating deep theory videos like this, monthly at least.
A fan
Worst possible sponsor, i've tried this game and it's bad and not "free" i mean i understand the need for money but, that's a company that decides each exact word for their add and lies in it.
Yeah, without a doubt we love you guys but Raid isn't something you need in your life or your channel.
Would love to see a discussion video with Ilya talking about the different skills an armorer needs compared to a bladesmith/blacksmith.
I have trained a few people to make armor who went on to be a blacksmith. Armoring teaches good hammer skills which help alot in blacksmithing.
Check that Ukraininan armourer channel, his last video is about workshop ;)
World of armor. ArmorSmith
I was a Professorial Blacksmith, I have made knives, swords & armour and a shed load of rams head pokers! Bladesmithing is just a specialist area of Blacksmithing, you would need to learn Blacksmithing (or a large amount of smithing skills before just going all out on blades). Blacksmithing for the most part is moving thick/thick-ish mental into a shape, so say you want a spanner, you forge a spanner shape, file the spanner mouth/jaws to wanted size, hard and temper, you want a knife, you forge a knife shape, file/grind to finish size (learning bench skills with files will help lots), semi finish surface, harden & temper, finish the surface to level of finish wanted, make and fit handle and/or guard if wanted/needed, repeat on big scale for a sword, which is just a big knife at the end of the day, most of this is all skilled hammer work, making armour is (for the most part) working the mental cold, so again it is mostly all skilled hammer work, learning sheet mental work & car body repair work (if they still teacher such) would be also help for making armour, not just for hammer work moving cold steel, but also for making templates etc. Being able to make all your tools for your work also helps a lot being a Blacksmith. Getting the level of finish on your work is a scale only you know what you want, top end, learn jewelry skills. But for the most part, Blacksmithing skills would cover most of all skills you asked about, it just depends on what level you want to take your skill/s level to! More you put in, more you get out. Being able to see a piece of work in your head, transplanting that idea on to paper by way of a pencil will save you time, money and a lot of hart-ach, not much, but some! Last tip, if you got soft hands, piss on them, work with piss wet hands until they are dry, repeat when needed, there is no thing better for hardening skill up fast, just remember to wash hands before shaking hands with a customer, picking your nose, or eating your bate! Don't worry if you forget, your will remember pretty fast and or be told! And Nit-bond/comfrey oil for burns, just make sure you got all the scale out, or the skin will grow over it, for any cuts or removed skin use iodine, when dry, then comfrey oil. Lastly, be warned, if you like Blacksmithing, once you have tried it, She will get under your skin and be like a drug and you will be addicted for life! And not being able to do smithing, either because of no where to do it, or no money, or your body is to knackered, will just mess with your head! And be under know illusion, not many make any money at it! So like most craftsmen, you will died physically fucked up and in adjective poverty! But for the most part.....Happy in the knowledge that you have the skills and have done a trade that few others have and have done! But is not needed in this brave new world of ours....................................................... Good Luck.
poly is better for armor now thpugh so, idk
Let's just say with enough patience as a hobbyist I can make a well fitted helmet or a pauldron. I can also make an axe or a spearhead. I still can't for shit make a good blade longer than 30something cm xD
FUCKING HELL!
I honestly think you guys might have THE best historical weapon/smithing-based channel on TH-cam.
The amount of care and dedication you guys have shown in attempting to understanding and educate people about weapons and armour within their historical and cultural context is unparalleled.
I’d love to see the things that YOU enjoy making. I remember Ilya saying he likes architectural builds and it can be informative for us and more fun for y’all
I second this. I'm pretty sure most of us like to learn a bit and really like his insights. And the other part is skill and enjoyment. I really like watching Ilya and Kayle Royer creating. Their dedication to their work is just inspiring.
Man at arms style build video for a gate or railing. Do it!
Never thought I'd be sitting through nearly an hour of somebody talking about medieval steel and sword qualities and production but here I am, completely enjoying it.
Yup. It was an absolutely amazing video. Thoroughly enjoyed this long and nuanced discussion about medieval, middle eastern, and Japanese metallurgy.
My thoughts exactly....
More history, my god that was satisfying :) refreshingly precise.
Its more enjoyable to hear multiple avenues to the truth rather than a historian just using what's already been written, There have always been half truths when it comes to history as people usually make assumptions on a bias of something they really know very little about, In this case Ilya Slam dunked Shad because he used a bit of History, Science, and his forging experience.
A sword is a complicated piece of engineering, each sword by time period or area of creation had specific engineering goals with the types of combat that occurred that was in their best efforts to create a weapon that reflected the style of combat and represented religion and society for the times and areas they were created in. Many historians get lost without seeing the wide vision and focus on the narrow tunnel.
This is one beautiful video to watch, its informative, well shot, and passionately narrated. As a person that never before had a great interest in the subject i absolutely enjoyed it.
They definitely need to make more videos like this
He said it good and also people were very illiterate in those times, but as for the Cain and Abel no theory... in part yes, but ultimately not over all like that when we seen blacksmiths.., and as for them being illiterate yes that is fact like all over the world, but not so illiterate that they cannot write their name or understand it's symbols, also people did not need to be literate in those days as much as we clearly need to today. We tend to have a great bias against the past, or what works for us and that is our modern flaw. Modern "secular" education tends to teach this of our past so we do not value our past and instead just pay more tax and adopt whatever they want us to learn rather than what we need to learn.
I get why ppl wouldn't be able to continually reproduce the same product without literacy, but then I also thought wootz was thermo cycled and consolidated into a more heat treatable metal but it's hard to find sources
i felt as sleep when my professor gave a more-than-20mins of explanation but i coulld keep up with a 50mins long of a guy talking about steel. Great presentation Ilya!!
Ilya, you have been such an inspiration to me. You gave me the drive to build my own forge, and start my own Bladesmithing group. i love your work and your videos have taught me so very much. Thank you!
I have read Sagas which include time-outs where duelists stomp and beat their swords back into shape after both of them got bent. Sounds very much in line with what you're saying.
Excellent historical reference! I had previously only heard of one instance of that happening and that was mostly a word of mouth rumor (and you can't always trust those), but it's fascinating to hear that it was FAR more common than we might think. I would love to read the treatises or sagas you are referring to (as would any history nerd).
@Jake Folk Yes, yes. The fact that overall quality was lower and the technology was inferior means we aren't being fair. Got it. Anything to preserve the myth of EVROPAN superiority in all things. And I note that the superior metallurgy of artifacts from the Subcontinent and Persia gets quietly ignored.
@Jake Folk I am not saying the katana is a "better sword". It, like all others, was designed for a particular set of conditions. What I am saying is that Japanese and Indo-Persian blade metallurgy were simply more advanced. And that is pretty incontrovertible.
A bent sword is better than a broken one. You can unbend a blade but you can't unbreak it.
@@sauronthemighty3985still terrible quality
Best Smithing lecturer ever, love the historical context he gives 👍
Agreed, history major girl here and I love it. I find myself confused as to how Professor Ilya is somehow even a little sexier than Smith Ilya? Should I even say that? I shouldn't even say that. I said it.
I love how much of the nuanced stuff he always explains before every step. It's never just "do this like that", there's always reason to everything. I've learned some stuff here that I didn't find in my books
@@Sk0lzky Hey! Great to meet you, and heck yeah Ilya always had the game down when he wants to share information or show it, he's doing it with a sincere and clear passion. I'm not convinced that I agree with his particular interpretation on bloom steel (He's actually worked it so I know he knows more about it than I do, and I'm not a mythological Indus-Valley critter...)... mostly because I don't understand how Viking smiths using BOG steel were able to make spectacular swords from bloom ingots.
I mean yeah they knew they were doing, but the Ulfbehrts and Ingleris were .... forgive me, "cutting edge," how did the smiths know how to work that metal "correctly?" I love you guys your channel and everybody into this, so again, great to meet you Sk0lzkiy!
Well, he got a lot right, especially in the steel making process, but maybe not so accurate about sword making [edit: the soft core is not a product of a different steel, but a product of different quenching rate]. My understanding is that the harder and more brittle steel of katanas is inserted into the "U" shape formed of the softer and more ductile steel that forms the outer surfaces and the spine. The idea is obvious, that the harder steel makes for a sharper edge to the weapon, and a martial artist will instruct a katana student to block with the spine where the steel is softer and will not chip. The softer steel acts as a shock absorber (and is not sharpened). Today, Henckels makes a high end kitchen knife with a "core" - the cutting edge - of their brand "Cryodur hardened" M66, 66 on the Rockwell Hardness Scale (HRC). Presumably, that is a special hardness wrapped in a protective layer of comparatively softer steel. Give me a choice between believing Henckels and several videos on katanas, or the guy here in this video, and I'll go with Henckels and the katana makers and the logic. Why the heck would you make an edge of softer steel and a shell of harder more expensive and more brittle steel? The guy here should review his material on making swords.
To me, the real super-art form of the katana comes in with the quenching that gives the blade its distinctive curve. I've watched videos of modern day hand-made single-shop sword makers, and it is apparently no easy trick at all to keep that blade from warping to the side when quenching. And that isn't even trying for the distinctive curve of the katana. Now the guy here may have explained that in talking about how folding is essential to getting a homogeneous steel. So I think he knows a lot more about the metallurgy than he does about the sword making. I would guess that for the katana, it is critical to get the hard core exactly in the center of the surrounding layers, to prevent a sideways curving, hammering equally on both sides. Two arts there, the steel and the sword. Henckels uses powdered steel, I'm guessing to achieve homogeneity. But they do not put the harder steel on the outside, they put it in the core of the blade.
Edit added: Checking what I wrote, I watched a video debunking myths about katanas, and comparing them to European swords. The guy said that the edge is the hardest part (martensite), surrounded by more ductile steel (perlite), and notably, he said that the inner core, back from the edge, is the softest part, closer to ferrite. But there are not three types of steel in a katana process, only the outer "U" shape, and the harder insert (I guess higher carbon content). Thinking about it, and the clay that forms the hamon of wavy "bevel" at the edge, the idea is to cover all but the edge in clay, before heating and quenching, The clay, I guess, acts as an insulator to the cooling. And the katana is thicker than the typical European sword of the time. Since hardening is a function of cooling, the inner parts of the katana should cool more gradually than the outer parts, thus leaving the core as the softest part of the whole.
Great video! It's nice to see a complex breakdown of all the factors regarding swords. Even when I was younger, I was kind of confused by how obstinate people would get about swords and which was better and "sword superiority" or whatever. I always felt really odd, especially considering most people have little to no knowledge of blacksmithing or sword arts.
I really enjoy that you took your time to explain things and cited sources and gave examples. Great job!
"Context"
*MATT EASTON INTENSIFIES*
th-cam.com/video/t2N-pOjei3I/w-d-xo.html he do it 2 years ago and the expert says the indian sword was far better than the katanas.
not really, no. He said that the indo swords were "less likely to break in combat" aka "tougher" . Never he says anything about being "far better" .
After the "katana is the ultimate sword, can cut through a tank" is this now the age of "the katana is shit lol" ?
@@TheOneAndOnlySame i mean it kinda is, it has lots of issues xD
@@MrDarto Yes, that is how science is done: one singular researcher agrees with your opinion, you are free to dismiss the one in the video (ilya is an expert blacksmith and researcher of his trade), the ones mentioned in the video, and you don't need to do any other reading or research, just point to the one that said one thing you like. And of course, let's not forget to talk though online as if you were in any way shape or form capable of being an arbiter of knowledge. Yes, that is how science works indeed.
Love this video! Started bladesmithing over a year ago and was waiting for someone to do more history based videos of steel,used in different cultures. Love you work by the way. You make absolute works of art. Love from ohio here buddy.
Thanks for a fantastic video. I would go as far as to say that I think this is one of the best videos on TH-cam about historical swords and the context that produced them. Keep up the great work looking forward into the next video that was alluded to.
It is the single best contribution I have seen so far.
That was the best explanation of why one folds steel I've heard.
You guys are just flat out talented, some of the most intelligent men when it comes to metallurgy. Been a huge fan since awe. I'd like to see you guys come together and make a design that pushes you both to the brink, something that you've been dreaming of for years but just haven't had the confidence to do. Every square in fit and finished perfectly. What that is, I dont know but I'd love to see your minds at work. Peace, love, and prosperity my friends.
I don’t know if this has to do with them being skilled or not? But that’s not a rumor that’s just truth back in the day they were made by less skilled craftsmen I mean it’s always going to vary from person to person, and in comparison to a katana yes, it is completely in superior, but that’s just facts. The katana is extremely popular for a reason.
@@matfry2310Inferior to what?
This is a great type of video to add on the channel, love it!
Great video. Almost the level of a great TED talk.
I do want to bring up that it is my personal belief that percentages of material specs mean very little, as it’s position and layout as a molecular structure can change everything. For example, carbon nanotubes and buckyballs have very different specifications than a pile of coal dust, even though they may have the same carbon content.
Verhoeven and other scientists don't think wootz has nanotubes or nanowires;
"Steel expert John Verhoeven, of Iowa State University in Ames, suggests Paufler is seeing something else. Cementite can itself exist as rods, he notes, so there might not be any carbon nanotubes in the rod-like structure.
Another potential problem is that TEM equipment sometimes contains nanotubes, says physicist Alex Zettl of the University of California, Berkeley. Paufler admits it is difficult to exclude the problem but says that, having studied the swords with a range of different equipment, he is convinced that the tubes he sees are from the swords."
For context, Verhoeven et al discovered the role of carbide formers in making pattern forming crucible steel
IPostSwords not saying they have bro. Just saying that I think comparing content percentages on it’s own is not a useful metric.
TED talk is just trash in most cases
Jay Dee You think? :)
@@poelmeister yep ;)
I love seeing Ilya's passion for his craft. It really shows how he always gets such beautiful results from his swords.
damn, this was great! A true HEMA-practicioner always HAS to question his interpretation, and this video definetly threw up some questions!!
I mean it only makes sense, even Shad pointed out the stupidity of a warrior dragging a sword along the ground or stabbing it in the ground was quite a stupid Hollywood trope, If you were relying on a weapon to help your survival in battle you wouldn't mistreat it, and after Ilya's breakdown I would almost say Swords were probably treated incredibly well as the expense of buying or creating one and the dependency on winning a battle would be down to how they fought, so with that being said you would just go haphazardly clanging them together or against armour recklessly,
I do like the idea of a sword being slightly curved, for the same reason a flail might have been valued as you could take the sword and place it on top the opposing shield spine side down and use the curve to get an angle of stab behind the shield in a possible fatal spot, I think strikes against an opponent were probably incredibly calculated and you wouldn't just try battering a shield apart unless you had a weapon made specifically for that, But this may give new context to battles where a valid attack against the opponent was to not strike the person but instead attack the weapon, as once the sword is broken the opponent is all but dead.
@@douganderson7002 I think it's more appropriate to say that it's an attempt to revive a dead tradition. The problem with that is you can have all the manuals, tapestries, and historical accounts you want, but the amount of nuance and context lost means it will forever be an imitation and not quite "the real thing".
I'm sure years into the future there will probably some kinda Nokia brick phone cult too, with no idea why people slipped paper under the battery covers, or debate over why people had phone straps. A lot simply won't be passed on to this new generation because it's treated as "common sense", when in fact it's simply the limitations of our time.
@@Tremulousnut What's a Nokia.
@@consideringorthodoxy5495 They are nasty little buggers...
th-cam.com/video/wEIGG-pN7ug/w-d-xo.html
@blueboywhitie That is not what they are for, Maces were made to crush metal plate armor, same with warhammers and warpicks style weapons made to punch holes or just plain crush. Maces can be quite heavy and slow in battle so by the time you try to wind up against a shield and sword all the person needs to do is step in using the shield to block the mace and force it to the side and thrust with the sword, partially that is why shield sword armor was made, Axes well they are cheap and easy to make, Vikings used them quite effectively but using axes against a viking shield wall is kind of pointless, the bullet cap on the shield was used as a means to attacking and well destroying weapons used against you, plus if the axe gets lodged in the shield you are screwed.
Now a Poleaxe or duckbill well they were cheap and great on battlefields because they had a pick, curved part for ripping armor off, and the axe blade portion, that still doesn't mean though you didn't have to be careful.
Loved, loved, loved this presentation. Thanks for this video. Well done!
Regarding the HEMA part: I recall Matt Easton mentioning in a video that weapons breaking was an accepted part of life. Depending on how often they used their swords I assume that people of higher status and wealth, like the kind that involved themselves with manuals, treated them in a more expendable manner and replaced them if necessary
Yeah unless it breaks on you IN battle. It's not about keeping the sword after the battle to save money. It's about not DYING because your sword broke.
The potential for breakage depends on quality and mileage, sometimes you can see that a sword is on its last legs and could potentially break on its next battle. I think it's more appropriate to say swords are treasured, but those who have more money are very careful about taking potentially damaged swords into battle, and would replace them (or relegate it to training) if possible.
@@Tremulousnut Also if a sword is that worn you can take it to the blacksmith. Forge welding a crack might keep the blade usable for a few more years. or just trade it for a new blade and let the smith melt it as scrap iron.
It's the reason why armories were a thing. you'd have a weapon master who'd carefully inspect things to ensure they were still usable and send them off to the smith if they needed repair.
@@marhawkman303 That sounds impractical, how would they know what kind of steel it was even made out of, they might repair superficial or appearances, but I doubt they could repair it to 'new' conditions.
@@Orinslayer How would the smith know what kind of steel? well if it was their own work they'd just remember. Also, in medieval era there was less variety in metals used.
Yes! Ilya's warning about judging genuine swords from history based on the versions of those works we have today]-and thus seeing them as "bad"- is an idea known as "presentism", in which we criticize past events through a present-day lens. We must remember that everything we have today has had to evolve (through innovation and discovery) to what it is now. Space Age steel did not exist before the Space Age, and just the same humanity went thousands of years believing the Earth was the center of the Universe. While today's steel is objectively better than earlier steels we must keep in mind that in the period it was created and used that steel was the best quality produced with the methods used. Things are constantly refined and innovated, even more so today than a hundred years ago.
The crazy, amazing, cutting-edge technology we have today will be archaic to our great-grandchildren. There's nothing wrong or bad about comparing what we have today to the marvels of the past, but we must also value that technology within the context it existed within. Those swords are perfect for the environment they were used in, and the swords we make today are just as perfect for the 21st Century.
Take memory storage (VHS, floppies, etc) for example. God, people will forget a lot of that stuff in no time.
@@Tremulousnut on side note LTO coming back
I loved Ilya's discussion of armors in the last one of these, and I'm super down to get another video in roughly that style. He's such a fascinating creature. Slavic memes and Ahegao hoodies juxtaposed with expert craftsmanship and a deep understanding and knowledge of the history surrounding his trade
That was one hell of a presentation man! Very good!
"Those items exist in a cultural historical context." EXACTLY. I wait for these historical discussions. Thanks, Ilya!
(To understand how these weapons worked, you just have to watch modern cavalry troops 'pegging', i.e., picking up tent pegs with lances and cavalry sabres). Nicely done. Can't wait for more!
Wow Thank you for this Ilya. I've learned a ton because you have taken the time to share your knowledge with us. You need one of those Master Class seminars that TH-cam is always pushing. Thanks again and I cant wait to learn more.
Skallagrim made a great video on how Europeans would have fought in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and he concluded that it wasn't the level of master swordsman, but they weren't bashing each other. Some swordsmen were no doubt masters of the Art, but I feel that your average soldier, knight, or man-at-arms probably fought much more direct, with no flourishes as Hans Dobringer tells us.
Johannes Liechtenauer is known for putting false plays in his poem of the longsword, so it figures our interpretation of Liechtenauer and his lineage of fencing is somewhat skewed.
Personally, I find that what Talhoffer and Fiore show is more direct and sensible, making more use of the point, grappling, and with cuts, the cuts are VERY direct and fast, with no extraneous movement. At least when it comes to the longsword. For sword and buckler, MS I.33 is kinda similar, making use of the buckler to bash or grapple to bring the edge of the sword and point to bear against the enemy.
I say this as someone that does practice HEMA, specifically Fiore. With manuals written several hundred years ago in languages that have evolved a lot since the time, there's always going to be interpretation.
Great video Ilya! Fantastic work! Really helps bring out the context of the manuals we study and hopefully improve our interpretations.
That and more like a crap ton of pike/spear work and then you are in a crush where the sword is just going to be stabbing.
@@jordanlarson8310 yeah, the sword play would be a tiny part of who wins the battle, man management and proper formations and flanking etc would've played a bigger part. We like to look at the Roman's as the best examples of this but seem to forget that they conquered most of Europe before the medieval period. It wouldn't have devolved after their conquest into the unruly skirmishes that modern day pop culture portrays. And you quite rightly point out that a spear would've been the go too weapon, along with archers and cavalry.
As for when the sword is actually used, I can see some of the more extravagant styles shown to be more for demonstration and show, 1 on 1 duels at the most. In a battlefield scenario I can't see anyone standing with one arm behind their back like you see people doing today, that arm is a vital weapon and balance aid so why remove it? What's with the swish and flicks like you're casting a Harry Potter spell? Stick em with the pointy end, quick cuts and grabs.
@@J1mston people tend to forget that the sword was a side arm during the "middle ages" kind of the equivalent of the pistol a soldier wears these days, a sort of last resort kind of weapon.
i agree that your average solider or man-at-arms would fight more direct, but the knights were filthy rich nobility. they had so much money that everything they needed was taken care of, they had all the time in the world to master the art of war and combat, and they did. the knight and the samurai are really no different from each other. im not saying that you are saying what im about to state, but people do tend to assume that a knight was more of a rugged less trained fighter where a samurai was more of a disciplined master. the fact of the matter is that both knights and samurai were disciplined masters. i think this image says a lot: qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-625388899a1750a2b9d267cc0c9ea3b7
@@lurchiesmith8752 yes exactly. you wouldnt want to use a sword when fighting on a battlefield in large formations of troops. knights used halbards and pollaxes, samurai used yari and naginata. swords dont do too much against fully armored opponents, even the long swords meant for thrusting between gaps in armor would of been a side arm. your best bet against combating steel armor is blunt force trauma. in a 1v1 duel between two knights in full plate it would be far more logical to go to the duel with a longsword. battlefield situations are far different than 1v1 duels though, and in large formations, pole weapons are the primary weapon
EXCELLENT!! This is by far, the best talk on different swords I’ve seen, I’ve seen more arguments about which is better European or Japanese swords, to the point of insults and stupidity that I’m so glad someone finally took something else into account besides a personal opinion. You’ve taken into account things other “sword guys” haven’t even thought of and have drawn a larger picture of a history of swords, you didn’t nitpick small points, which many many other guys tend to do, you weren’t trying to say “I’m right and your wrong” which many guys also tend to do, it was very well done. I do have to say, expect a lot of those “nitpicking” comments about one small thing or the other, “you missed this trivial fact” or “you said this but there is this one sword found somewhere that blah blah blah so your whole argument is wrong”, don’t pay them any mind, seriously this was fantastic, also besides being a great talk, I learned quite a bit that no one else talks about. Thank you.
P.S. I’ve just read some of the comments and it’s already starting “you misunderstood blah blah blah” I wonder why humans can’t just take information and count themselves potentially smarter because of it? Why does everyone hold onto their opinions to the point of stupidity? I don’t know, I guess we’ll probably never learn as a species. Wish people would realize there is no way you can know everything about anything, and yet they never do.
This was a masterclass, really great video, you surely must've spent a lot of time on that research.
I never thought about how the social status of the blacksmith could impact the way the blacksmithing practices and technology evolved differently in various locations.
Anyway, congrats ond the video, I'm excited to see what you're going to teach us next, you're a great teacher.
I started watching this channel because you videoed forging and finishing a sword.
I will continue to watch it. Because you are a well read and studied craftsman who can communicate in an organized manner.
Thank you for your work.
+thatworks in regards to Meyer, there are illustrations and plays which involve using the flex of the weapon to slap your opponent in the side of the head, as well as deliberately striking with the flat to store energy to use on a second cut.
Mind you, Meyer was mid 16th C and is there is also artwork from the 15th C depicting feders high degrees of flex - including one of a man flexing the sword over his own head.
One of my favorite videos you guys put out. I do enjoy the respectful back and forth between you guys and shad
I gave an actual cheer when you got to the "form must follow function" part near the end. I have long held that physics dictates that martial arts be CONvergent, rather than DIvergent. Even with the differences in steel you discuss, weapons are their uses are far more similar than different in all parts of the world. If you see two wildly different styles, there is a great likelihood that at least one of them is wrong- and possibly both. An entire fighting style would not develop, that relied on an exotic weapon. Exactly the opposite, the generally accepted practices would be functional with whatever weapons were normally available. If your interpretation of a fighting style only works with a weapon that would have been mostly unavailable in its day, then your interpretation is wrong.
...and that goes equally true on both sides.
Quite insightful response. And I entirely agree. And laughed out loud when you mentioned seeing a DIvergent style probably being wrong, as well as interpretations of ancient martial combat using modern weapons makes just about no sense at all. And to your point, form without function is--well...not functional. Always been one of my pet peeves about over/under-engineered weapon systems, and methods of their use. I'll use some more modern examples, but the point is the same. One is far too complex for reality (Tiger tank for instance, expensive yet scary....when they worked), and the other is totally useless in reality (TBD Devastator and Mark 13 torpedo), and if your method doesn't match your weapon (Devastator again, because torpedoes actually work in theory...well, theirs didn't work at all, no matter what aircraft they were paired with...but that lumbering plane delivering them at near stall speed at a rather convenient height for enemy gunnery? Not so much), so basically too complex, too simple, or too imprecise (which is really a method aspect in and of itself), or unable to perform the task assigned, all pretty much useless in the end. If your weapon of choice works great then breaks when you sneeze, or it just never was going to work because you are using it wrong, you might want to rethink your approach to the whole combat thing.
EDIT: I originally accidentally mentioned the TBF Avenger instead of the Devastator, so correction made.
Yeah, humans biomechanically are the same no matter where in the world you’re from, so it makes sense that techniques and design will generally be fairly similar with just a few differences based on culture, doctrine, etc.
Yup. I'd expand that a fighting style begins to develop with the simplest and most readily available tool. That's probably a simple stick in most cultures. From there, the weapon development and style evolution will follow each other. Stick becomes stone spear, and the style begins to emphasize thrusts. Stone spear becomes metal spear and cuts are introduced. Spear tip grows stronger and larger, facilitates complex styles and associated techniques in fighting.
The complex head (polearm) is the last in the chain, so logically the associated fighting styles would be derivative of those suited to the previous weapons.
The same basic evolution would follow most weapons and techniques. Very few would be so revolutionary that they arrive without the past trailing behind them.
Hell, you even see that with guns, which all have fairly similar form no matter where in the world they’re from. And even a lot of ergonomic concepts like a handle and trigger came from crossbows.
Awsome! I really enjoy the historical talks he really knows his stuff.
Also, if you ever plan on doing a shamshir, I just did a detailed breakdown and schematic image of the measurements of mine. Distal taper, profile taper, curve, length, POB. The whole lot.
(I can send a link, but it's also on allswords2 or on my community page)
What a magnificent video. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Ilya,
If you get this question I’d sincerely welcome your thoughts and guidance here.
In these modern times, there are zero battle-hardened swordsman that still exist who would be able to tell us “unequivocally” that a modern made blade would be a worthy instrument upon the battlefield.
I’ve watched your videos and witnessed the incredible artistic creations your combined skill and modern-forge have created for the public to review. However, as beautiful as these works are, how do I know (or anyone for that matter) that your creation (or the creation of any modern blacksmith) won’t bend, snap, shatter, or just keep a decent edge after the first strike?
Please know I’ve watched several of the other shows in which master craftsmen compete, and then a blade expert tests the blade by striking a pig carcass (among several other tests). Surprisingly, in the majority of cases (far more than I ever would have expected) the weapons fail in some dramatic manner or other. I truly believed that with modern day equipment and modern metallurgical alloys, that anything made today would be magical to those living in earlier periods. Was I wrong in believing this?
I also fully understand why you personally cannot risk damaging the blades you forge, by testing them against a hardened shield or a block of wood (or even a carcass, or acidic fruit). I watched your other video (the heretic blade?) where you explained specifically why you can’t, and I both agree and understand.
I guess, my core question is how, in ancient times, did a blacksmith test a newly forged blade, when forging a blade for a King, or rich nobleman (that also had detailed artwork etc).
Wouldn’t the King, or nobleman, need to test his new blade, or even practice and spar with it, to ensure it is a credible battle-blade? In point of fact, his very life may be dependent on it holding-up in actual combat, and I doubt they’d want to find out at the next real-world battle event, whether it’s going to get the job done or not.
I would welcome your thoughts on all of this. I sincerely need the education.
God bless, and thank you.
Been waiting for somone to make this vid. THanks
This, Sir, is an epic contribution. It really leads you to reevaluate one's approach. Many thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Just re-watched this amazin lecture, I still remeber it quite well after 3 years when I watched it on relise and its still pretty much best lecture on topic (by far comapare to what I saw on other channels)
I think that works is one of my favorite channels at the moment the video are not as polished as the man at arm's videos but I feel like the videos on this channel have much more soul. I love seeing two freaks (in a good way not as insult) make the Best videos they can on subject they care about. I especially love the educational videos it seems like they are based on a lot of knowledge and I think it is awesome that you explain it in a way that Evan a normie like me can follow without any problems. Keep up the work (pun intended) you guys are awesome.
Always enjoyed how Ilya goes into details and actually explains the science behind what he's doing on man at arms show. This one is even better.
Привет, Илья! Спасибо за понятные, информативные видео без воды.
Ilya, this was amazing. The build videos are stunning, but you dropped some knowledge on us. There's nothing more important than truth.
Except maybe coffee.
That was awesome. I enjoyed the history and found it a refreshingly honest and precise analysis of historical swords. Can't wait to see what you post next!
I was not expecting the Playdoh lol
13:08 It was really difficult for me to understand the Slavic, being American, but we got there.
This was an amazing lecture. I'd love to see Ilya do more stuff like this. So incredibly educational!
You know it's actually pretty amazing how two groups of humans who couldn't have much to any contact solved the same issues with a tool and materials in roughly the same way with some design specialties for how the tool was used.
Makes you wonder is more information was shared than we give them credit for of if it’s pure coincidence. The world wide pyramid building for instance just amazing that by chance every major civilization decided to do it randomly at a at the rough same time period
@@larrypostma2866 There isn't a lot of time period overlap with pyramid building civilizations, at least not much more time period overlap than we have with the Roman republic. When it comes to metallurgy there definitely was some cultural exchange between the different cultures in the old world although the transfer of knowledge was pretty slow.
@@larrypostma2866 Pyramids are just the easiest way to build tall buildings when your architects still don't know how to in more refined ways.
@@SRaburrido if it were building structure alone I would agree for sure. But when you add in creation stories and disaster stories or similar imagery of their creator/teachers coming from the literal or figuratively heavens and those coincidences are global at a time we are taught global trade in even small scale didn’t exist it becomes far more likely that it isn’t coincidental. At least in my opinion which granted doesn’t mean much in this platform lol. Happy we got to exchange outlooks on it though. I do appreciate other peoples takes on the subject immensely.
@@larrypostma2866 Well, if the Book is correct, and I think it is, basic metal working was a skill Humans developed BEFORE spreading out around the world.
Thank You, Ilya!. It's about time someone addressed many of these topics you talk about in the video. It really bugs me when people talk about how great one type of sword is or another, while what they have knowledge of are modern blades, made with both modern steel and means of manufacture.
I'm getting the message, but some of your comparisons are scewed (I'm not talking about the metallurgy, but your arguments about literacy and how you compare Europe and Japan here). For instance the Edo-Period you are referring to when stating literacy rates is not Middle-Ages. Its 1650 to 1850, which is modern times in Europe, not even Renaissance anymore (which end at the start of the 17th century). You refer to 80% of people in cities know how to read and write (which is a selective group, general literacy rate in Japan at the End of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1870 was 40%!). In Saxony at 1800 80% of all males (not only those in cities) knew how to read and write (but only 40% of women).
When comparing medieval Europe, you have to specify which time-frame, as "medieval" can mean anything between the 5th and the 15th century, but certanly not the 18th or 19th century where most of the Edo period falls into. For Japan before the Edo period, it is hard to find any literacy rates at all. I only found some data referring to one District of Nagasaki from 1650, suggesting literacy rates between 80-90% for homeowners, and 20-50% for Tenants (all male, no literacy for women as they all signed with thumb-prints or stamps). I found literacy rates for england for 1650, suggesting a literacy rate of 50% for men for the whole population, and around 10 for women. For Germany the general literacy rate I found for 1650 is 30%, which sounds about the same as in England as those combine the male and female rates.
All this literacy rates again say nothing about the proposed literacy rates of blacksmiths in particular.
I think your theory that literacy was the drastic difference between Japan and Europe is not supported by the actual literacy rates. At least not, if you are taking the same time period, and not just compare 1750 Japan to 1200 Germany. When comparing the Edo-period, you have to compare to late Renaissance or Modern times.
I recalled that the The Ulfberht swords including the faked ones were signed, but again maybe the smith making making the letters was simply copying them. Some germanic peoples did know ruins.
But there is likely a point in that Japan being somewhat insular and not succesfully invaded written records of weapons making were kept.
Anywhere most craftsmen including black smiths had their secrets and only their apprentices learned them.
@@loquat44-40 There is actually evidence that literacy may have been high in Germanic cultures during the Viking era, though exact rates are not, nor can they ever be, known. However we see the names of objects like "comb" engraved on to actual comb's and such in the remains of c. 8-900's c.e. Nordic villages. The prevailing theory is that this was done to teach reading and writing. There are enough such items scattered about the Scandinavian world to suggest that literacy may have been at least somewhat common.
and the fact that Smiths were in guilds related to shrine and temples and supposed to participate in religious affairs and cérémonies, maybe a little more educated than the usual due to their surroundings.
Where Japanese swords made in as large quantities as europeans? I have the impression that the comparison is between swords used by elites (samurai) and average soldiers (european armies).
There were early typologies, reviews and buyer's guides back then. There may have been exaggerations on performance (how many bodies it could cut through), but people knew what they wanted out of their swords, and smiths were happy to experiment and provide. There are many unsigned swords (for various reasons), but the sheer number of signed swords with matching oxidation/rust patterns suggest that they should have some degree of literacy, enough to put down their own name or school (lineage) of blacksmithing.
@@Annou7la Not all katana were for samurai. In fact commoners (especially merchants) could own katana, often with even fancier fittings than samurai. What was regulated was the length and number allowed, and later even regulations on fittings.
Love the historical value of these videos also and especially.
Hi Ilya, it was an incredible video!! I have some questions regarding to wootz ingots and the problem of P and S in the blade's brittelness: in an article from John Verhoeven where it talks about wootz making, he says that it was difficult to work with the steel because it was too brittle, mainly caused from the high % of P presented in the blade as you said. For making it more suitable to work with, the smith Alfred Pendray devised an "oxidation trick" that also ancient Indian smiths used for making their swords.
My question is, even by using this trick, it is still to high the % of P and S when the sword is finished or makes it more like bloomery steel? If so, was this method only applied for top quality wootz blades?
And finally, I have a question regarding wootz quality in contrast with Ulfberth swords: as you said, in wootz steel P and S don't come out because the steel is not folded. Were Ulfberth swords then, so appraised because they folded the wootz steel (as they would with typical bloomery steel from Europe), making P and S go out and having almost homogeneous steel (because of the lack of other impurities and slag given from being a crucible steel and with few P and S from folding it)? Or was it because that particular wootz was from the top quality (and rarer type), having few P and S from the begining?
P.S: sorry for my bad english. The article I'm referring to: Verhoeven, J. (2007). Pattern formation in wootz damascus steel swords and blades. Indian Journal of History of Science, 559-574.
Wow, that is very fascinating. Thank you so much for this resource!
Something I am a little on the fence about is the fact that I have handled antique swords from around the time of the renaissance, one I still remember had a manufacture date of 1552 engraved on it, coming from Italy. I definitely didn't abuse it as hard as I would have a modern steel sword. However, it didn't take any noticeable damage from sparring (I know, horror, sparring with an antique). It definitely is stiffer than a modern sparring sword, the one I used against it was a EN45 blade tempered to about 52 HRC. However, due to the fact that it is likely of mid 16th century origin (Like Meyers Gründliche Beschreibung), the steel used might not be bloomery steel, but from a blast furnace, explaining its similarities to 19th, 20th and even 21st century steel.
So it was signed Mdlii?
@@HanSolo__ no, by that time arabic numerals were already in common use, especially in Italy, so it was written 1552
@@JmbFountain My first guess would be Roman. Was it punched or engraved? Like highly visible or only slightly? Any manufacture pin punc?
One thing about antiques that old is that they are often of a higher end quality to have both survived this long (survived both nature and people repurposing the metal) and be preserved in decent condition. If those were already more stiff, I imagine anything closer to average wouldn't compare as well, and then a whole half of the swords were worse than whatever said average was.
For me, the damning evidence against the "springy swords were common" theory is the lack of common metal bows. If closeish to modern spring steel was available in large, bows would regularly be made of those, but they werent made. Japan had a few metal bows, but they were rare as were the craftsmen who could produce such items reliably. Pretty sure some craftsmen in Europe could produce comparable steel and evem shape them into blades that big time nobles paid premium for, but they were likely equal rarities.
@@JmbFountain do you have a picture of it?
I am grateful to continue learning about steel and blacksmithing from Ilya.
Илья, ты мой учитель
I have a strange suspicion I know which youtuber spurred the creation of this video. A certain very enthusiastic australian.
I mean he said that at the very start.
@@_aullik yeah, I joined midway through the premiere and commented when I was a few minutes in.
Only rewatched the beginning after and saw that
@@IPostSwords Yeah when im to late to a premiere, i usually just watch from the start. and ignore the premiering thingy.
Great presentation. You covered a lot of info. I'll watch this one again.
Did... did Ilya just out-context Matt Easton? In all seriousness, this was a fantastic video. I love seeing the finer details of both the swordsmithing itself and the knowledge and culture surrounding it. Great stuff, guys!
The best video I have seen about swords so far
Funnily enough, I always heard (from multiple sources) that the reason for the unique construction of japanese steel was due to the impurities of sulfur and phosphorous in the ore causing them to be more brittle, requiring more work to produce a functional sword that could hold up to the rigors of battle.
Of course, we also regularly hear that the Europeans of the crusades tended to prefer the Wootz/Damascus crucible steel blades of their enemies, as well.
So it seems like there is quite a bit of misinformation going around.
Well, it has been hundreds and hundreds of years. I imagine it's the world's worst game of telephone.
@@BespokeCarpentry Such is all history from all over the world. A tragedy, to be sure, but a universal one.
Thank you Illya, A friend of mine and I have been discussing bloomery vs crucible steels, and we were at a stalemate. you did far better research than we, as we were using whatever metallurgical knowledge that was on top of head (I am a welder, and have worked with many different types of steels and hardening techniques that I had to learn from books, they don't teach you much about heat treatment, so had to get some engineering books, and downloaded many old smithing books to learn). Fascinating presentation, expertly done.
tamahagane removes impurities such as phosphorus and sulfur that make the steel brittle by the Tatara ironmaking method, which was made around the 6th century.
Sand iron, the material of tamahagane, has a low content of phosphorus and sulfur.
Iron ore, coal, coke, etc. used in the West and China have a large content of phosphorus and sulfur, and phosphorus and sulfur were melted by a blast furnace.
In modern Japan, high-quality blade steel and special steel are made using the technology of the Tatara ironmaking method.
Katana was created during the Heian period (794-1185).
Blacksmiths Amakuni (8c-9c) and Ohara Yasutuna (-987) created many katana. These are now stored in the museum.
Japan was exporting katana to the Song Dynasty.
Song politician Ou-yang Xiu (1007-1072) announced the poem Japanese Katana Song. The content of the poem praises katana and Japanese technology. I don't know old culture because my country burned books and destroyed culture. I know old culture because there are old books in Japan. It is a poem lamenting his country.
Since katana was used in actual battle and showed superiority, it was also exported to the Yuan and Ming dynasties.
There was a school for children in the village during the Heian period. In the Edo period, there are schools called terakoya throughout the country. Tuition fees were unfixed, and farmers provided crops to teachers.
I thoroughly enjoy it whenever Ilya puts out a video concerning history; the information is wonderful and detailed, and I can tell that he is very passionate about what he is teaching. I would love to see more of it, to my knowledge there have only been a few lengthy videos explaining some form of metallurgic History put out by him, so I request that he does more!!!
I have a question: What would happen if we took a European made longsword a Middle Eastern saber and a katana and put them through a lot of tests that would imitate the things they would go through in battle, how would they fare? considering that they were made by the best blacksmiths they have what would happen?
Thank you Ilya for the amazing video, it was great and very informative.
You would campare apples, bananas and pinaples.
Just add a 18th/19th century heavy saber to the mix and see it dominate all other weapens in overall performance because the combination of superior steel and a shape that's optimized for cutting & thrusting maks it th best overall bladed weapon and you can force every other blade user into a fighting style there weapon is subobtimal for.
@Ngiplong Konyak the steel wasn't bad at all that is a myth and they did not often import from China they were points in time when they didn't even have contact with China.
gunbai-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/2018/02/iron-and-steel-technology-in-japanese.html?m=1
gunbai-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/2018/04/iron-and-steel-technology-in-japanese.html?m=1
gunbai-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/2019/01/iron-and-steel-technology-in-japanese.html?m=1
What He said at the very end, Rang very true to me. I have always felt that: It’s No coincidence that: In Europe, The typical Longsword and other sizes of basically: A Double edged, Strait sword with generously long Cross-guards were favored and Held in esteem. When the image of such sword, Is basically a perfect match and is so similar to: The Cross/ Crucifix which they had great reverence for.
After listening to this lecture:
Looks at a sword.
- No, I'm good, give me a spear.
Better weapon anyway
To resolve the issue as to which is the better weapon, consider the bags of leaks test.
You go out to the greengrocer to get something for dinner and buy two bags of leaks. The town is dangerous, and you have enemies. If you carry a spear you can't carry two bags and your spear. But you can with a sword.
Swords are not optimal for a man in a battle formation out on the hillside unless he also has a shield and maybe some armor. This is how Rome armed the legions. (of course they also had spears and javelins). But spears in general are better in open battle because of superior reach and power. But in the city a sword is more useful. You can walk around all day with a sword on your belt as you mingle and shop. Try that with any pole arm.
@@Agorante the better weapon is the one suitable for the case and usage.
@@soulwind2101 which is the sword
(Excuse my english from now please ,i'm french)
It was a damn good video ! As an apprentice historian,i like the way you defend the context and share books and ressources (not enough for me but it's a TH-cam video so i'm okay ). The way you comparing different swords and traditions is very pleasing and useful : it really inspire me for researching and experimenting around material history.
Your passion pop off the screen,it is kind of emotionnal and makes it very interesting even it isn't my speciality at all.
Thank you ! I hope too see more videos ( like this or like the "regular") soon .
For about a year, I've been seen videos of people throwing shit to the katana and japanese steel......and trying to educate them but they are not interested in learn
Preach this knowledge Illya.
Nobody:
Illiya: Accidentaly teaches us how to make a pipe bomb. 15:08
Accidentally..
Excellent video, I love to hear history on how this evolve, also the chemistry involved is really interesting.
The idea that modern feders break, so the interpretations of HEMA must be wrong, because period swords were lower quality metal, is deeply flawed.
Feders break because we use them for thousands of fights. Bear in mind that a typical HEMA fight will be something like 10 real life fights, one after the other. And if you practice 2 times a week, having a couple of practice fights each, that means you are using your sword the equivalent of around 50 real fights *each week*.
A real sword would have never been used that much.
That's why the breaking of feders has nothing to do with "wrong" interpretations. It's just that we use them thousands of times more than any real sword was used.
Also tons of 15th/16th-century manuals & accounts mention that swords broke. It was an accepted reality. Nobody expected swords to be indestructible or to last forever, though they did complain about poor-quality swords breaking too easily.
@@benjaminabbott4705 yeah. If anything, modern feders are breaking far less/later than period swords, which is to be expected, as we have better materials.
you do realize that blunt blades break far less then sharp ones, right? that plus the lower quality of steel does mean the medieval swords break far faster then modern super steels.
This video alone answers all the questions I had about historical swords and smiting. Impressive work.
I'd like to give the mild steel HEMA interpretation experiment a try. Can you recommend an appropriately "cheap and mild" sword to use for this?
Something meant to be decorative that's made out of nearly pot metal?
May I have a reference for this point? 28:30 As shad said before in the comments, there is evidence that blacksmith were often employed to be part of the town council during the medieval era like in Dinkelsbuhl in 1387 so they werent exactly infamous as you put them out to be. Like with most biblical passages, its hard to interpret them depending on the regional interpretation so maybe in england they followed what you said, while in some parts of Germany, as we have here, they saw it in another way hence why the trades men are treated differently. Also, I find it kind of funny that armorsmiths were grouped with them too, given that their soul purpouse to so protect the user rather than kill which I feel like is more noble and passive which Im sure most christians at the time would adore.
I really liked the metallurgical history lesson. My favorite part was really close to the end though. All of the swords are perfect in their own right. It is we that are flawed. If you try to hammer with a screwdriver you're gonna have a bad time.
while i found this video very well made and containing good information, I have to point out something:
You seem to have misunderstood why HEMAists use springy blades and why HEMA practicioners break blades made of modern steel. HEMAists use flexible blades to train thrusts without the risk of injuring your training partner and if you bend a piece of steel too often it will snap at some point. Federschwerter (or short, feders) were also historical used practice weapons, and were flexy too.
Of course our training tools need to withstand more abuse than any historical sharp sword, because we want to use our swords for longer even if we make mistakes. We dont want to give a beginner an expensive practicesword just for him to wreck it after his first drill.
Dont get me wrong i think you still have a point.
Fiore recommend to break your adversary sword.
We still know that there were springy swords, in Europe, even if it was not the majority, so what about those?
That was one of the most fascinating videos I have ever seen on youtube. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
Honestly, I'd drop everything to be his apprentice ahaha
Absolutely the most fascinating and thought provoking discussion on steel I've yet to witness! Kudos, I look forward to more!
Great presentation. Very informative.
Very nice, perfectly broken down. "No pun intended" would love to see what we could actually expect from swords battling each other, although may be painful to watch..,but to see how durable and or affective they can or cannot be. Also demonstrated with the right and wrong way each should be used and how that affects the efficiency and durability of each sword as well.
I tried watching some of Shad's videos because for some unfathomable reason a lot of people seem to revere him, but honestly I don't see any evidence of any real 'working' knowledge. He seems to be someone who forms an opinion, then reads only things that backs his opinion up. All his vids seem to show is proof that the conviction with which you deliver misinformation, or part information, impacts how true people perceive it to be. He's just an opinion peddlar.
"All his vids"...and you've watched how many? Two? With your eyes shut, and your ears plugged, no doubt. That's the only way that you could have come to these conclusions about Shad. Why am I wasting time responding to you, idiot?
And his fans rabidly defend him like there’s no tomorrow. Most of them are children and the ones who aren’t can’t argue for their lives
That was fascinating man, thanks so much. Time flew watching this, which i wasn't expecting.
Shadiversity, the big fan of “springy” medieval European swords and big hater of “crappy” Japanese swords threatened to “debunk” this video but it looks like he didn’t find any credible arguments.
What happened here between the two.
@@eagle162 As Iliya mentioned 0:25 he planned this video to be the response to Shadiversity who talks a lot of thrash about katanas and praises magic European spring steel. Shadiversity in his turn mentioned this video in one of his “debunking” and said that he’s going to review Ilia’s misconceptions in his video later ( th-cam.com/video/pdp-Xo7YhnE/w-d-xo.html ). I would love to see them both in one stream friendly arguing about their points :).
@@IvanMalechko I really wish Shad just stuck to fantasy videos instead of trying to act knowledgeable on historical weapons. He’s been proven wrong by several channels far more qualified than him including Ilya’s and appears so incompetent time and time again.
It’s kinda frustrating seeing him spread so many misconceptions and for actual historically based channels wasting their time cleaning up those misconceptions while also getting significantly less views
This Was Incredible Informative, and Amazing!!! Thank You so Much Ilya!!!
You're a True Inspiration!! Keep up the Badass Work Brother!!
I think it's safe to say that Shadiversity is the couch professor of medieval TH-cam subjects - he loves to wax wise about a lot of things, but I've never seen anything practical from his videos.
Easy to think, but he does do weapons testing in some of his videos. I hope he is able to do more practical stuff after his surgery.
That's like saying your World Civ teacher who teaches you Ancient Viking History teacher doesn't teach you anything practical. It's apples and oranges. Shad is more of a history teacher than a "this is the practical application of how to use metallurgy," and I think that's a seriously unfair comparison in this example.
Shad has a tendency to assume too much. I refer you to folding camp beds in the great hall.
You guys perfectly merge entertainment + education + art! You've all lived a worthy life by enriching humanity!
Yes, I love this sort of content! History, science, play dough! It has the full trifecta!
More History with Ilya, please!
I love how you guys not just entertain but educate
The Old Testament is only recently considered a part of Christian theology, in any significant measure. I have no doubt about the fact that your knowledge of sword making and history are leaps and bounds greater than mine, but the Christians of medieval Europe considered the Old Testament to be a Jewish religious text (which is correct) and considered it to be made obsolete by the birth, death and resurrection of Christ. In fact, they considered the god of the Old Testament to be different to the God of the New Testament.
Nice bait, did you make it yourself?
Night Que?
Qwerty yes, it’s essentially what I described.
Qwerty because it didn’t exist in name doesn’t mean it didn’t exist in practice.
Qwerty of course not all of Europe. The ruling class was very much philo-Semitic, as they were often financially supported by Jewish lenders. The common folk, however, would have very, very different attitudes. The number of expulsions and pogroms in the Middle Ages and many other times in Europe are illustrative of exactly the sentiment I described.
Amazing insights and explanation It cleary opened a more broader and newer angle of vision toward the relation to sword making throught the ages and martial arts that use it, thanks guys keep the excellent work, you have all my support from Brazil!!!
swords at best were a back up weapon, so the fact that there were a lot of poor quality swords isn't that surprising
Pistols are a backup weapon in the armies. Do they have to be of poor quality? Swords were a simbol of power and prestige, used mainly by the elite. Why should the elite would trust their lives to a poor quality weapon? The fact is, that swords require more techology to be made. It is more difficult to make a sword than to make another edged weapon. Swords were of poor quality because the technology was of poor quality.
@@herrero4270 The cost of making a good quality gun is going to be similar to a poor quality gun. The time need to make a good quality sword is going to be a lot more than a poor quality sword. What are your considerations for the sword, is it for your self, or a gift? Or do you have to arm two hundred men. How much do you want to spend, how much can you spend. How long do you expect the sword to last in battle. For prestige all you need is a ivory handle with some gems, the blade can be good or bad quality. Prestige is someone else's perception of the object. You mentioned swords breaking in fema, did you account for the swords that had hardened tangs and were breaking at the tang? One method for making crucible steel, was to use crushed glass for the last layer. The glass would seal the crucible while allowing gasses to escape.
to use crushed glass for the last layer. The glass would seal the crucible while allowing gasses to escape.
@@hightest40 Swords were not used by most of the MiddleAges soldiers. AsI said, they were mostly used by the elite.
@@herrero4270 Yes, as were the other primary weapons. Polearms, Glaives, Poleaxes, Spears, Halberds etc. Much like how once the gun came around, we started making secondary weapons, swords, out of monosteel. Kind of a bad analogy too, as a handgun today cannot shoot nearly as far functionally as a rifle can. Which is the primary and which is the secondary?
This is seriously great television. It's everything i wanted from Man At Arms Reforged: scholarly synthesis, technical details, serious discussion of craft, historicity and separation of craft and commercialism
When I first saw the books on the anvil I thought they were D&D rule books...
This was a great video. I am relatively new to the world of blacksmithing, and I love it. I never thought it could be so technical. I love steel.
I guy using actual books for once. Sure beats a TH-camr that Google's all his knowledge. Hats off to this video!
I'm 100% sure what you wrote is just another completely ignorant comment. I'm sure you've never even watched Shad's video in depth
@@tandemcharge5114 watched the video. Got to "Crucible steel is better", stopped right there.
I'm pretty sure this blacksmith knows more about steel than that hemaboo.
@@tandemcharge5114 Not just the one mentioned in this video...Shad does real research and provides references. Where appropriate, he demonstrates his point--instead of making baseless assertions. He takes the scientific approach to learning what is, and what is not, fact.
Before I stumbled into this video, I watched th-cam.com/video/pdp-Xo7YhnE/w-d-xo.html, where IPostSwords appears as a guest. This video isn't mentioned in it, but it seems to debunk quite a lot of what is claimed here.
@@TheEudaemonicPlague it’s not mentioned because it came after this one. Ilya debunked Shad again through out this one th-cam.com/video/iqfIW-FurgI/w-d-xo.html
Stumbled on this after binge watching forged in fire. Great to see champion still working his craft, historically, and beyond. Great job.
Makes a lot of sense, especially the part about HEMA being wrong. Also, throughout the Dark and High middle ages, a professional soldier would have been using a shield in conjunction with a sword(or another weapon I suppose). So you wouldn't need to parry everything anyway.
I think it's worth mentioning for people who didn't see Shads video, that he wasn't saying that Katanas were bad, he was eluding to the popular and modern notion that Katanas are easily the best swords ever made and inexplicitly are capable of things that other kinds of swords are not.