Was I Too Harsh in my Tests?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Here is my perspective on testing reproductions of historical arms and armor, what I expect of them, and why. I don't claim to be an expert, and I like to keep an open mind with regards to constructive criticism, so feel to let me know how you think my tests and reviews could be improved.
Overall I think that a reproduction, especially in the $500+ range should be able to do what historical originals were expected to, especially considering the superior quality of modern materials.
The earlier videos I reference here:
• Helmet Tests, Part 4 -...
• Helmet Tests, Part 5 -...
• Testing the toughness ...
• Merciless abusive test...
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Oh, yes, the battle axe: the fine, delicate instrument that should be handled with utmost care and hardly ever taken out of its filigree case lined with feathers and rose petals.
They were really only used by lords and ladies for unsealing scroll parchments, weren't they? For a veritable war of words, correct? A battle of vocabulary. Verbal battle axes.
this made me laugh louder than it should have :D
@@texasbeast239 Axe is a mispelling that got popular, sadly.
It was a battle ask, brandishing your weapon while questioning their commitment to their argument and its validity!
@@Soridan - Man I wish I could have lugged a battle ask to high school debate competitions! Opening arguments: *schwing* Any questions? We have ourselves a winner!
@@texasbeast239 That's how you crush your opposition with cutting remarks and a sharp wit.
...I'll see myself out.
Historic Replicas Company: Our weapons are worth $1200 because they are as good as the real thing.
Skall: It broke really easily.
Historic Replicas Company: It doesn’t need to stand up to it’s intended use. Nobody uses those anymore.
Yeah that not shady at all
Igorot Axe Prevails
I don't take that shit. If I buy a polearm and it breaks when I drop it on the ground, then the polearm is the problem. I'm not bracing a cavalry charge! I'd understand if it broke from a 400 pound horse crashing into me.
But yeah, Arms and Armor make decent stuff that feels really good and looks nice... but they don't make it to last. Everything I have ever got from them nicks, dents, chips or flat out breaks often much easier than other, much cheaper companies. I guess they make it to be a good cutter but not a durable weapon.
The halberd I bought from bythesword can legitimately smash cinderblocks with no damage.. I over-swung and hit the concrete once quite hard and it was the concrete that chipped... the halberd was completely fine.
www.bytheswordinc.com/p-2405-german-halberd.aspx
Now that's a halberd I'd feel... less horrified using to brace a warhorse. XD
@@planescaped try forming square and fending off a cavalry charge with only musket and bayonet like during the American Revolution or 7 years war
Here’s the thing: on an actual battlefield, if you were in the front rank with a poleaxe, I don’t think you’d actually be swinging it too many times before you were killed or too injured to fight. Men at arms weren’t personally slaying dozens of enemies like they were in a video game. Maybe they’d get two or three good swings in after making contact with the enemy, but I don’t think it’d be much more than that, in most cases.
_'I Dont spend much time on Social Media"_
good call
It's best not to spend any time at all on social media.
If you L14K3 This comment and zudzcride to me your mom will live forever and your crush will ask you out!
I’ll zudzcride to everyone who zudzcrides to me :)-€
yeah, i just use it to share links and to sometimes scroll over the thing to see what others are sharing - who the hell uses it to show ones private life lol, oh wait^^
Yep.
@Aaron k That is an interesting sidebar: *_Is TH-cam still 'Social Media' with Comments Disabled?_*
A content creator could just post vids for distribution,
but not use any of the social aspects, like comments
(of course, youtube punishes that, with low spread by algorithm focused on Interaction not audience views)
"The blade is a weapon, a tool. Tools are made to be broken, and repaired."- Eorland Greymane
After wich he casually tosses you a legendary axe wielded by Ysgramor... Eorland is best Smith
@@herbivoorus3241 gods be praised.
@@herbivoorus3241 I get a "Hey kid!" *tosses axe your way* vibe
The blade, humankinds most basic and actual tool : >
Broken after wear and use, if it got busted out of the box/ bag, even that guy would have a different opinion.
It is always better to do rigorous testing than meek and weak testing.Period.
EDIT:my hardwood bo staff would have survived these tests no problem.The wood on that axe was just bad.
but you should also do your tests accurately as well. I.E.: Don't strap a piece of chain mail to a tree and hack it as hard as you can with a sword/axe, as this would not accurately show how well chain mail would protect someone.
@@DarkPillWarrior That is of course true.However,what Skall was doing was very much what a pissed off,strong soldier would.If your life is in danger,you are not elegant.Adrenaline kicks in and you simply hit your opponent as hard as you can with simple,but still effective combat techniques.
@@MarijanVukojevic yeah but also humans are more squishy than a tree so when you strike chain mail tightly strapped to a tree it would break easier than on a human
but the tree thing was with a piece of leather and he had no problems with that axe
Jo
Short answer: No. Long answer: still No.
I think its useful to see just how much abuse a weapon can take for us as potential buyers and to have idea about how such weapons would have comported themselves in battle.
And let's not forget the entertainment factor.
Keep breaking them axes Skall!
Don't you mean Eric? Heheh.
@@CazadorSlayer is his name Eric? It sometimes occurs to me when I'm addressing him as "Skall" that I don't actually know his real name. Which is kinda weird because I think I know at least the first name of every other person I watch on youtube.
@@mtgAzim Nah, Eric is the instructor from Blood and Iron and Skall's friend. The joke was that Eric is "The Axe Breaker" because he has broken a bunch of Skall's axes. I can't remember if Skall has ever said what his first name is, but he probably has at some point or another.
@@CazadorSlayer ah ok, what do we think his real name might be? Something cool like Jorgmund? or like... Phil or something?
@@mtgAzim Erik Bailey, just google "Erik Bailey hema" and you will find their webpage.
Imagine a weapon breaking on first strike by a medieval knight: heads would have rolled, literally!
Probably the knights own head depending on the situation
@@alexandremagalhaes1774 If not, then the one of the craftsman...
@@edi9892 Even still, any of his buddies who saw it and survived would be tracking the smith down to give them a "stern talking to".
A wise dog once said:
The best costumers are those who can't write bad yelp reviews.
They usually tested weapons and armour before buying so no head would roll, he would just go to another blacksmith, or try another weapon.
People shouldn't be calling you out on this. The things should have some serious durability, or the makers should state that they are decorative. Simple as that.
Exactly what I was thinking. If a replica is meant to be just decorative and functional, esp. when priced at $500 or more, then the manufacturer should really put a disclaimer stating that it's just a wall hanger and not meant to be a functional replica. And if that's the case, then what's the reason behind it costing so much? At a certain price range people are going to assume that there's a reason for the cost and that's because, in part, it's a functional replica and will be able to withstand a certain amount of use if not abuse.
Riceball01 I honestly don’t care if they’re expensive or not.
What really matters is selling your product honestly.
Bottom line. The purpose of your product should be readily apparent, especially for something like historical weapons that may very well be display pieces OR for-use pieces.
(Of course, ESPECIALLY if it costs 500* frickin dollars!)
Igorot Axe Prevails
@@Riceball01 the exception on price would be if obviously highly decorated. I.e. blade has designs etched in it.
As an amateur smith (because I wanted a blade and ran into this whole nonsense mess of expensive but weak blades everywhere) I can safely say that $500+ "functional" items not surviving abuse is some bullshit. No excuses. No caveats. Bullshit. That's ridiculous. Amateurs with lawnmower blades make more durable items... I would know. Lawnmower blade machete will survive literally any test I've ever seen Skall do on ANYTHING. Go ahead. Try to break it. It's strong enough to survive chopping rock at 300fps tip speed in a lawnmower, it's gonna laugh at being used as a machete/sword/knife. So... guy in a garage > professional company?????? Something clearly wrong. I don't mind premium prices for something I'm trusting my life to, but damn it if you're going to market it as functional and it's not... and I survive... you're gonna be the next person I come to see and it won't be enjoyable. Even the worst guns are better than this or just universally shunned and cost $20 from a crackhead in an alley. At least you knew wtf you were buying when you went to see a crackhead in an alley though... and he didn't charge $500 for a $20 shit pistol.
Yeah I completely agree, the first axe breaking might've been an outlier but the polearm breaking on first hit despite being $500+ makes it sub-standard
Especially considering they're making 'em with much better materials and modern tools yet the product isn't even half as good
And with the hungarian axe, it was after a lot of stress and a strike on the end of the edge. It's not a problem for a wooden shaft to break after that. And it is quickly replaced, so no problems there. On the halberd, it is a problem, since it was the first hit and it was reenforced with steel strips going over the shaft.
"better materials"... well, when I see some modern steel and wood stuff, I can tell that on average, materials were better back in time, because their life rely on it, but also because there were no economic stress on prices. No one would have built a pole arm with balsa wood, and no one would have built a cathedral roof with pin wood in middle age !!
@@dokky Materials available are much better, them not being used despite the steep price is the issue.
@@dokky But they would make most swords with average quality steel, often less pure because of the older smeltingtechniques. Modern steel is better than that in the middle ages, and in the priceclass we're talking about, you should expect the steel to be of a higher quality than average. And the wood was definitly no balsa. I'm not sure which wood the hungarian axe was, but it looked a lot like a lighter oak. And that is a strong type of wood.
@@mennograafmans1595 I was talking to things in general. I have seen many stuff made of poor wood or poor (even if pure) steel. Back in time, they had to make the best they could, cause no one would buy a cheap stuff like we have today.
And defenetly, repairing Notre Dame with pin wood was just a modern heresy that lead to a predictible tragedy, just like for Titanic if you want another exemple of big stuff made of cheap material to cut prices
Just to say that it doesn't surprise me A&A don't care their stuff are poorly made, whaterver the wood is. As long as people buy... Craftman ethics is rare today
Isn't you breaking stuff the point? U bring the item to the breaking point so we (the viewer) know what not to do.
Nice user name and profile pic.
Totally agree with you. It's not like Skall says "Do not buy this for decorative purposes!"
If you say "This testing is too harsh and the product is not to be expected to survive" there is absolutely no problem - because you obviously don't want to use the product for these purposes then.
What Skall does is for the people who want to know what the product can handle, and I fail to see why that is a bad thing.
Plus, manufacturers have taken Skall's tests and used it to improve their products, like the TFW Panabas. So he's essentially doing free R&D for any company that wants to actually improve their products.
And also how much it can take
Igorot Axe Prevails
I don’t know if you noticed, but if you lean on a big axe you seem so much more convincing!
That's the way Skallagrim should talk to us.
Call it " Axe time"
@@pikethree I love this!
I read this comment before I got to that part and had to laugh out loud because its so true.
Axe Skallagrim
Cheap weapon makers complaining about people who test their "weapons"
Arms and armor are the Albion of polearms. They're the best on the market.
I don't know what this means in regards to your comment, but however you interpret this, it's quite interesting...
@@Ranstone clearly not the best if the wood breaks so easily. Just because they charge a premium price doesn't mean premium quality.
@@Pyrolysis2142
I didn't say they were good quality- I said they were the best on the market. There's a distinct difference. If you know of a better pole-arm company, I'd be glad to learn about it.
(And please, no one say Hanwei. X| )
@@Ranstone then im hoping we get someone who doesn't cheap out on wood eventually.
@805NNN
I would need to see proof of that to believe it.
I absolutely agree with you Skall. A weapon should withstand its intended function.
Exactly.
whaaaat ? somethitng is suppost to work fine on it's intended use ? ... I've not seem an label on it that indicate you can't put it in a microwave or put it in a washer .. I don't understand. If there is no warning everything is intended !!! daaaaaaahhhh
MrMacBig273 instructions unclear, penis stuck in toaster
The imobile stand is likely a partial culprit.
Josh Mallett i don‘t think so. If you hit a human target it would definitely move, maybe even more than this practice target. Also if a target moves, the impact will be weaker in comparison against a completely still standing target.
"This here weapon is battle ready. I hope you enjoy"
"Hey, yeah, I'm the guy that bought that pole axe and it broke on the first hit."
"Ohh you were just going too hard with it."
"It broke on the first hit."
"Too hard."
A&A fanboys, that's all. You were not overly harsh on their weapons.
Arms and armor is over priced. Most of their blades and weapons belong in the middle tier of pricing not the high tier.
@@TommyTheCat83 How about their 12th century spear?
I’ve been to the A&A shop, they make things as cheaply as possible 100% of the time, I don’t blame them, but the price tag really doesn’t match what you are getting. All of the sword gangs are welded on. All of the axes and pole arms are cast. They hire people at $10/hr to grind the swords.
@@countbyran How about their 12th century spear?
@@creaturetransylvania8943
Skall reviewed that!
th-cam.com/video/NGSL7XApz2s/w-d-xo.html
The major difference is spears are thrust oriented, and pole-axes are cut and strike oriented, thus the spear will hold up MUCH better. (And Skall even did tip cuts with it.) If you were interested in the 12th century spear, I wouldn't worry at all about it breaking. It's a fine piece, especially at the price.
( _Disclaimer:I have no direct hands on experience with the spear in question. My opinions are based on research alone._ )
_You are using your weapons too harshly!_
...Because on ancient battlefields in the middle of a fight to the death, people used their weapons very, very carefully of course xD
Yes indeed...gentle lads they were.
"Wait wait, hold still and lemme aim this swing at your least protected spots!"
"...why?"
"I don't want to be too rough on my gear."
Well, they had to be careful not to hit too hard. They might hurt their opponent.
Aristocrats during practice, that.
(I love this thread xD)
The people complaining obviously never watched Forged in Fire. The abuse tests they do make me cringe sometimes. Batoning a blade into a steel drum or chopping into a railroad tie is nothing like what Skall does.
I do machining for a living... You test until failure, I like how he tests these
The ice test is my favourite. So many blades have broken to the frozen terror. Truly a "make it or break it" test.
It's always so sad seeing such beautiful handmade knifes just getting totally ruined, but also very fun! I think all weapons should be quality tested before they are sold. Imagine if one of these weapons had broke and hit someone nearby.
Think about gun owners. There is literally nothing that gun owners like more than seeing people torture test a weapon because we absolutely freaking want to know that it will survive in terrible conditions should our lives ever depend on it (God protect us)
> Company makes shoddy weapons
> Sends them for testing
> They don't hold up
> Gets offended
I'm sorry, what?
According to the comments section, they have a reputation for this sort of thing. I'll make sure to avoid buying from them.
I don't think you're being too harsh. The things you are testing were once weapons of war. If their modern replications cannot stand up to those conditions then that speaks about their quality as replications, not your quality as a reviewer.
I think testing them to the breaking point is reasonable, since a modern buyer should know what that is. This may not mean they are poor replicas though. As weapons of war, though, they were probably seen as consumable items. Use 'em til they break and then switch to a different weapon.
I don't think you're too hard on stuff, but to make a note on materials, if I may: Old growth wood is much stronger than new growth wood because it's so much more dense, so wood hafts and the like are actually considerably weaker than they would have been in antiquity.
Also I think the choise of wood is a matter to consider. Even of the piese is around 1k$, The maker might cheap a little out on the wooden part, or take ot from a supplyer that makes standar wooden stuff from usual materials. Where a real medieval weapon might have used a more naturally hard wood.
I'm not an expert tho, so if I'm wrong then my bad.
I looked it up, apparently it's mostly the choice of wood rather than the age. A&A uses ash shafts. Ash is a relatively weak and light wood as compared to say, oak or hickory. I am sure those shafts would have stood the test of time if they were made of oak.
@@mihailcioinica Yes, wood can get quite expensive, different tree species, different wood prices. The most expensive wood is usually used for instruments and can be sold for a thousand € per m3 or more. In medieval times people knew which species have sturdier wood. It's a shame Skall doesn't have the information which wood the handle was made of
@@Carniolan Exactly. In Skall's case you cand pretty much guess the general kind of wood used when it breaks, but yeah, can't know for sure. Or as Horvath Benedek says you know what a manufacturer generally uses, as is the case for A&A.
@@horvathbenedek3596 Historically Ash was preferred for weapon shafts as it bends and springs back instead of snapping, thus it should be more durable than Oak. Hickory should do the same and is stronger than Ash, but isn't historically accurate - it's native to North America but not Europe.
Perhaps modern lumber is too dry and thus brittle? It's usually kiln dried which mideval wood wouldn't have been.
*No*
Quality cannot be tested if its not put in pressure
_"A knight in shining armor is a knight that never had his armor truly tested"_
Or a knight with a particularly adept squire XD
@@CanisMythson Hahahaha a knight in shinning armor is the one that has a suffering squire
A knight in shining armor is a knight that has done basic maintenance
Even worse is a hedge knight with shiny armour. The most terrifying Knight however, is an Old knight wearing armour that is dented all to hell. You see that, you back away.
@@alendonvaldor5808 If I saw an old man in dented armor, I would assume he's either someone well into retirement that's been drafted after 20 years of peace or is a straight up imbecile that can't perform basic maintenance on his equipment; either way, I'd be aiming for those dents, because they represent weak points in an otherwise nigh impenetrable suit of metal.
I agree with you
It wasnt unfair
A polearm should be stronger than that
Skall: "Was I Too Harsh in my Tests?"
Me: _Remembers the Zombie Sword getting shot in half_ ... "NAAAAH!"
My thoughts exactly
Personally think, those tests were not abusive. The only abusive thing I can remeber you were doing is shooting that poor Zombie Cleaver with rifle.
Other than that, I don't remember anything extreme.
what about the zombie cleaver... you broke it while testing it haha
don't listen to haters
Oh... right. I keep forgetting about that shameful lapse of judgment. :)
Exactly, just because one hears something, one doesn't have to listen to it.
@@Leftyotism well we know 1 thing atleast if a guy shoots you once with an ak and u somehow manage to block the round there may be shrapnel, the round may still connect but it has the potential of saving your life...and u would look hella scary if u rushed at your attacker with the broken blade
That falls under 'unless intending to brake it' It was doing so well he wanted to see what it would take to brake it.
@@exoblade7620 I live in Germany, nobody gonna shoot me with an AK or even anything remotely similar.
You're fair and diligent both in your testing and summaries, and in responses like these videos. It's why I respect your opinion.
This is the earliest I've ever caught a video. Nice. But anyway, hard testing shows the capabilities and durability of said weapons. I wouldn't want my things breaking in a noble duel
The word Functional does indeed have a meaning.
To be fair, the word Sharp also seems a bit less than universally understood. ;-)
Your opinion is your own, I feel like you’ve been doing this long enough that you understand the durability of the weapons you test and you know what to expect from each individual price range.
As a certain idiot once said:
"No matter how many facts you have, its just your own opinion"
Just wanted to share it, largely because its just plain stupid and funny. I kid you not, good sir, a foolish friend of mine said this when we were debating on the qualities of cake.
My god.... is it possible humanity is beginning to evolve........ backwards? Because that statement sounds so Cro-Magnon.
Cromagnon. More like apes.
I swear, i had a picture of a shark that i took when i was off on vacation in Cambodia, and he thought it was some sort of extinct species of fish... when it was obviously a sand tiger shark.
Why am i still mates with him, i wonder... Because he equals me in swordsmanship, DZ! Beard and waffles, how can i forget? Well, i'm sodding off now, G'day, sir.
DZ good day indeed, wish I had someone who would train in the sword with me, my teacher took me on as an individual student, and I never sparred with anyone besides him. Of course that was Kendo. But still, I wish someone else would help keep my sharp, iron sharpens iron after all.
Indeed. Well, you'll find one eventually. Just as i have.
The price being he's an utter numpty, but his battle senses are something else.
You are correct, these items for the cost better damn well stand up to the treatment the actual weapons do. A $250 axe handle shouldn't crack/ break.
especially when you can get perfectly functional, more durable axe handles for ten bucks in any self respecting hardware store.
My uncle got a double bladed axe with wood handle for like 200 dollars and has been using it to chop trees for years. Why are these expensive weapons not even strong enough to take on 4 blows before cracking?
In science we call that "stress test" and not "too harsh because thing i like". : >
Very entertaining and genuine dialogue, with the humility that is so rare in this world, yet without apology for your own view points. Much appreciated work, as usual. Hope you continue to grow and improve, daily, as all human beings could strive for, in life. Enough said.
People do the same shit with firearms and no-one complains, infact it’s applauded. For example Rob from AKOU does rigorous 5,000 round tests with AKs.
If you’re paying money for a weapon, especially at that price range, it should at the very least be able to do what it’s designed to do.
Idk if it's just me but it seems like Skall is starting to recover from a... rough period, let's say. I'm delighted to see that and I hope he is indeed feeling better both phisically and mentaly.
Cheers and all the good fortune to you! I'm waiting for the next videos
Your video was very polite, so I will try to be polite and avoid drama as well.
I have always been under the impression that your weapon tests were stress/abuse tests, and that you were simply escalating how abusive you got with one based on how it performed. This type of unique weapon review was what really brought me to your channel in the first place, while I enjoy most of your videos, that was what initially brought me in. Seeing these modern replicas put through their paces and then inspected for damage, then put through even more aggressive tests if they held up... I kinda thought "abuse" was the point. Other than testing like yours, most people would probably be buying these for decoration anyway, or again, that was how I saw the situation.
That said, I remember these videos and I'm a little surprised people were holding a grudge over them, considering how brutal some of your sword tests have been.
But hey, "you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time." I'm looking forward to more great videos, Skall!
"Sire, shall I hit the target will everything I've got?"
"No, just tao him gently, that'll kill him."
I learned from my grandparents when I was a kid,any piece of equipment that your life would depend on,buy one and test it to extinction
I watch the videos on this channel precisely because you DO put the weapons through proper testing. Keep at it man!
If you want to make a wall piece that won't get broken, advertise as such. If it's a "battle-ready" weapon, don't whine when someone does actual tests on it. Take the criticism and improve on your product.
Skall, the way you test arms and armour is the main reason why I started watching your channel, and they remain to be the videos I most enjoy watching. Those are really informative tests, and say a lot about quality of production weapons in the market today. Please do not start going easy on your tests. As a modern collector who buys reproductions, I depend on your test videos.
I think all of the failures with Arms & Armor pole arms I am seeing are due to the wood they are using. Not the metal. It appears their axe heads and Pole arm heads, etc. are holding up pretty good. So their weak area is the wood which they should do something about.
Keep being harsh. It's important to stress test a weapon in real conditions to determine if it's well made with quality materials or not. As you state in your video, the quality and strength of a reproduction weapon especially if in a high price range, should be able to cope with the abuse. So keep up the good work Skall and break them axes!!
I would honestly complain if you *weren't* harsh in your testing. It would be a waste of time.
Nobody wants to see you gently rap upon the skull of thy enemy! *WE WANT TO SEE IT CRUSHED!*
The whole point of the testing is to determine it's limits and if it holds up to it's price tag!
You can't show us that quality, or lack thereof, if you baby the blade like it's your preciousssss...
Your reviews include the video + your thoughts. People are welcome to make up their own minds on the video along. You add a lot to the conversation sir, keep up the good work.
You're not too hard on your tests at all, you're right about needing to be able to hit hard enough in battle but also, the whole point of stress testing is to find out at what point something will fail. If you're accomplishing that, it's silly that people would get mad.
it's very nice to see you on you feet again like this, Skall!
I don't think you're too abuse as well. I see your arguments and fully agree. A good weapon has to withstand harsh impact and this is what you're creating.
Accidentally paused on Skal doing a "generic mobile game icon" face at around 0:23
Even though these are only modern reproductions, doesn't that say something about the quality control of the wood used?
Absolutely
Although,to be fair, today there is a lot less usable wood then it was one day, aspecially in Europe.
Tadicuslegion78 That’s my thought as well. Part of me thinks, “Well, it’s wood, what are you gonna do.”
I do think if you repeatedly put very hard blows on a tree or helmet etc., the wood holding it will fail. Shorter hand axes don’t have to deal with the higher forces created by a pole arm. But, if you use high quality wood for the shafts, the failure rate should be much less & only after those high forces are applied over a considerable length of time.
@@MaycroftCholmsky there's plenty of usable wood. We have farms for it.
@@vyor8837 What is meant is old growth vs new growth. Farmed wood won't be nearly as strong as old growth.
You're not buying a showpiece. You're buying a weapon and USING it as a showpiece. Even collector cars ought to work
I think your tests are fair and reasonable. A modern day, "battle ready" replica that costs more than $250 should easily stand up to the first hit. It should stand up to at least 20.
The shafts should be hard wood with very straight, tight grain with as many rings packed as densely as possible. Something like a Yew shaft would be ideal, as Yew grows slowly so the rings are more densely packed. Finding a straight Yew stave could be a problem, however. Back in the day before Yew weren't wiped out to make bows with, or more recently to make breast cancer treatment drugs, it might not have been such an issue. But there are other great hardwoods to use such as Ash, Osage Orange, Black Locust, Maple, Hickory, Oak, etc. If you can't find something with dense rings, at the very least make sure the grain is straight. Same principle used for making self bows. Try to make a bow without straight grain and it will explode when you try to shoot it. I get the impression some of these companies just grab any old board and make a shaft from it without examining the grain. That first example almost looked like common pine, which is an obvious no no. There's no excuse today to not use a moisture meter. You want your wood to have probably 9-12% moisture. If it's too dry, put it in a humid environment for a while until the moisture content picks up, then seal it with Linseed oil or another sealant, traditional or not.
You're absolutely right man if you spending that kind of money on these weapons they should be as good if not better than the originals
Might be a little late but super glad you hit over 1 million! I’ve been watching for some time and it’s well deserved
When Darksword Armory holds up better than a $1500 Arms & Armor, yes there's a problem.
(No hate DSA, luv u. )
I appreciate how articulate you are in your videos. You get the point across clearly and cleanly.
My feelings are that some of the complaints about fit and finish (and obviously edges) are unreasonable. Tiny flaws in knives or hilts are excusable unless you are in the upper echelons of price range. For example, the Sabersmith sword you said had a laughable edge. The dagger I have from the is wickedly sharp so I'm not sure if you got a dud or have an unrealistic expectation there (full disclosure I love their stuff and we have several items).
I do not think, however, that your testing has been unreasonable for the most part. I think, for the most part, that abusive testing is labelled as such as is "wear and tear" testing.
Overall I think things are fine
The reason I subscribed and listen to you is because you do these kinds of tests and are knowledgeable and not afraid to admit when you are out of your depth which doesn't happen very often keep up the good work
I appreciate your reviews. Personally if I bought any kind of functional blade a axe or a sword and it broke during test cutting. I will be pretty upset especially since most of these things aren't cheap
Quality content with sound arguments while being consistently open to improvement. Love this channel.
I got into melee weapons solely for the purpose of enhancing my ability to defend my home. It's become a hobby since then, but I still want to see what an object can really do. So, in my view, your rough tests are QUITE valuable.
My rule of thumb was always to be harsh in testing. Put your weapon through a worst case scenario. I don't know about everyone else, but if my chosen weapon of any kind can't keep me alive in a worst case scenario, I don't want it at all.
I know if I spent the price of a small car on a stick with a spike at the end and it wasn't the best goddamn spike stick ever, someone's going to get sued or murdered.
Murdered with the now broken spike stick?
"best goddamn spike stick ever" XD
It's like a discussion of wwhetehr to make supercars a garage queen or make use of it on the road, or even. A track day.
On that case, "reviewing it" would be using them for track timed lap.
Of which here, is comparable to using them for chopping trees and facing them against armor. Harsh, but not something "impossible" it may had to do in extreme situation.
Too hard against them is using them for burnouts and countless drag racing in case of cars. Here, hit them to thick ass tree, hit it with a gun, etc.
It's really about whether you should something for its intended use ie, use a car as A CAR, here
use a weapon as A WEAPON which can cut, pierce, bludgeon stuff by hitting it against something.
Just looking badass for some ain't cutting it, it should talk the talk and walk the walk.
And IMO Skall is doing the job of testing them, just fine.
How exactly can you be "too harsh" on percussion weapons???
If they're can't stand getting hit, then why call them weapons?
Absolutely nonsensical argument
You could shoot them with a high powered rifle. Skall has actually done that.
@@sambakich7494 except he emphasized about the axes on helmets and such
"Look, the baseball bats keep breaking because they're not meant to hit home runs. You can use this bat to get a double, at best. It's your fault that it shatters when you swing for the fences."
@@johnladuke6475 yeah but weapons were designed to fight agianst steel armor (being too harsh is nonsensical argument) yeah ofcourse weapon break but not after a couple of strikes.
@@childrenofthesun471 Sorry, my sarcasm font must not have been working. I'm just imagining a bat-maker telling Babe Ruth that he has to bunt because no baseball bat can withstand a home run swing, and the Babe is the unreasonable one for expecting it to work.
A complaint saying that you're being too harsh testing war equipment is like someone saying that you're too violent in a fighting game
No, and for one reason: your critic was able to tell from the context you provided that he was dissatisfied with your conclusion. Everyone can see what you're doing and how effective the weapons are. They know what criteria you're using to come to your conclusions. And, in fact, you're allowed to have different standards than everyone. As a reviewer, your only obligation is to state your bias, which you do.
Clearly the like to dislike ratio speaks for itself. Regardless of other peoples opinions (which they are entitled to) your audience seems to be overwhelmingly on your side. You did a very good job making your point, not arguments or complaints here. Keep up the good work!
I agree with you skall. It's a weapon; if it can't hack it, trash it.
I always thought that for the purpose of testing something for review you have done a really good job in keeping it fair across the board with most of your weapons reviews.
If it fails under an hours testing it had zero hope for the battlefield. Bad weaponsmiths with petty excuses.
Without your kind of testing we will have not knew of the problem of the Devil's Edge xiphos as opposed to the Kopesh. And this is just one example. Keep your great work going! I love yours videos.
if im spending 500 or more on something like these I expect them to function and not break easy
I was like nodding nonstop during the whole video . . . . aarrg . . now my neck hurts.
Skall, it´s great that you are self reflecting all the time and so know your stuff there´s really not much to say than "I totally agree with you and can follow your points"
If the product was marketed as functional, or battle ready, then it should be able to take a degree of abuse.
I am so glad you do the test you do, id much rather see some harsh testing then simple cutting videos. Keep your content strong and awesome!
So they're saying you went to hard on a *replica of a weapon of war*.
Uh, guise, isn't that kinda the point
I s'pose the entire point of a replica is to look cool on the side of your wall.
But then again, why make it with the materials it was made historically? So, yes. I agree with thou completely.
I always enjoy watching your tests, they are in my opinion quite entertaining.
What? Are we supposed to buy a new and expensive sword each time we have a fight? Weapons aren't supposed to break on first impact.
I'd just like to say that I adored the helmet tests when you published them originally, I continued rewatching them, and I shall enjoy them again shortly. If I had to point at one thing as a model for what I love on the channel, those helmet tests would be it.
If I could point at two, it would be the helmets and your Ivan head destruction. That is the definition of cathartic!
You were testing reproductions of historical weapons, as reproductions they should at least be fit for an actual medieval battle.
"Woah there lad, if you hit me with your axe too hard it might break!"
"Oh? Thank you friend, I'll hit you more gently next time!"
It's the same as buying some havy duty wood axe. You do not want it to brake off. People will agree once they get it to fall on their head.
Yeah, we're talking axes in similar price ranges to the _high-end_ woodworking axes of various types. They shouldn't be breaking quite this easily. Like, nobody's expecting them to survive forever, but they should at least hold up as well as they would were they hafted with a goddamn broom handle!
I love your way to test them. It gives good data about the materials the maker used. Like if in a small time on your test something loosens up or breaks, it means that it would happen to us after only 5 years or so under normal use, so it's really good to have these tests. You do so we don't have to hahaha tnx m8.
Could you do an instructive video for sword care after cutting practice? Or in general?
Skall breaking the movie magic with the backdrop today
The hammer failed because it was cut from a board. It's a problem with modern axes as well. Ideally it should be split from a stave like a bow or at least be carefully chosen for minimal grain run out.
I really don't think you've been in any way "too harsh". As you mentioned on you video, at a given price range, it's expected that a functional reproduction -- again, FUNCTIONAL REPRODUCTION, meaning something that is supposed to do the same thing the original one could-- is able to endure a certain degree of stress, under the capabilities of its function of course. If it's a weapon made with the purpose of fighting armored oponents, obviously it should be able to endure a significant amount of stress. I really think that pointing out that some arms and armour not being able to endure properly to non-abusive tests is in the same level as pointing out those so-called "razor-sharp" blades as dull or mediocre sharpness when they're not what it would be expected on what is being sold.
Thanks for your honest content and for being open-minded to have a space for discussion.
Hi Sekiro,
What do you think of the combat in Skallagrim: Shadows Die Twice?
Misjudgement happens to everyone.
But to be serious, I think it's better if every weapon fails your test instead of every weapon succeeding in it: if you set the requirements to low, every weapon your test will get a good reputation, but the problem with it is that we cannot distinguish between good weapons and very good ones or even mediocre ones as they all succeed your test. If all fail is different, especially if you take different measurements like price, durability, material and good execution by the smith. I will use only these as examples though there are many more (you are the one that knows more about this topic). We can still see a difference in a good sword, let's say, affordable in price and well executed but lacking in material and durability, and a very good sword with, let's say, high durability, good execution and high quality material but also very expensive. Knowing this is more useful than giving it a good reputation.
In short: I appreciate it, if the tests are harder and discover weaknesses, but also show strengths than low tests that don't prove anything.
P.S. I don't want to say, arms and armour is bad, but a polearm must survive more than just ten hits, as well as an axe may not break after a blunt impact. One time it can happen as just a mistake in crafting that didn't get discovered (happens as well as misjudgement), but multiple times show bad quality. Or you're very unlucky.
I always thought you treated the weapons fair in your tests.. Apart from the few swords that got heavily abused on purpose.
A perfectly reasonable explanation that makes sense in context and you take context into consideration for even your detractors... Which of course means someone will take issue with this video because thats just how the internet works.
Skall can you please make a video on how powerful is a shield bash?
ThegnThrand
has a video comparing spartan to viking shields if you're you haven't seen it. The sound is pretty bad though
th-cam.com/video/srb26gmb58g/w-d-xo.html
- If you do the bash with arm strength alone it's not much, but can move your opponent's weapon out of the way for your strike, or if their stance was bad it could disrupt it further, mb make them trip and fall;
- If you do it with your full body weight behind it, you can compare it with an american football linebacker's shove: very powerful. If your opponent is prepared to receive the shove though, they can go full aikido on your ass: redirect+sidestep your shove and slash your side/back. That said, if you use the correct shoving technique, i.e. don't over-shove, you'll be fine (except that you wasted some stamina without any useful effect);
- You can also do an arm shove with some body weight in it (like a powerful hook in boxing). This has the downside of potentially leaving you open if you miss (kind of like a boxing hook would). It would be hard to capitalize on that opening though, because the shield would still be in the way somewhat.
Part of A&A's motto is, "for people who want the real thing".
The real thing is a battle ready arm that wont break on the first strike. Ideally it should never break for it's intended use, unless its intended use is being *cheap and disposable.* And at $800+ I expect it to hold up to at least battlefield conditions.
I don't believe you were too hard on them. The tests you conducted were semi-realistic of medieval battlefield conditions.
You're doing great Skall, look at any good firearm review channel, they expect firearms, even reproduction models, to stand up. I think you're doing it right.
Anything can happen in battle. No, you were no too harsh.
I'm personally thankful for your tests. I considered the poleaxe and for 1k I wanted to be sure it was worth the money, after your video I reconsidered. If a&a wants to make wall hangers then they can have the price reflect this otherwise their quality needs to match the price. Keep doing what you do.
Nope. In war i doubt they went easy lol. Keep it up skall 👍
More smashing stuff please Skall! I think hitting things hard... like your life depended on it is the right way to test things