Looking at the Mainz Gladius (Roman Sword) replica by Dynasty Forge. Product: Dynasty Forge direct: www.dynastyfor... The Knight Shop: www.theknights...
I still don't understand why a high end sword maker like Albion doesn't provide their own scabbard. They really couldn't hire someone to make, at the very least, simple leather sheaths?
@@MrPanos2000 That's ridiculous. I get that scabbards take time to make, but those shouldn't cost nearly as much as the swords. If they offer basic scabbard included with the sword and their service was for custom scabbards for that price, that's one thing. But that just feels like trying to take advantage of the customers
Hey Matt, You said once in a older video that the Vikings era sword is not a direct "evolution" of the Roman spatha, Wich is the common explanation, but rather it has its roots on iron age Nordic types. Can you talk about it in a comming video?
@@Vincere.academia not sure there is much more about it. The Celtic and Germanic tribes had long sword types in use before the formation of the Roman army system (I think already in the bronze age) and the Romans had direct contact with Celts of the Po valley (and were at the receiving end of their raids and nearly one conquest) and adopted various weapons and equipment from them. Beyond that it is simply: Our cavalry needs a dedicated sword, it needs to be longer, what is out there, what is our style of making swords. While in Celtic, Germanic and subsequently Scandinavian regions it simply was: How do we improve our swords we learnt to construct from our ancestory? (which happen to be always longer as mostly used in individual combat) Then late Roman thinking: We change our army system so the infantry will fight more like those barbarians do in looser formation and thus need swords with longer reach so let's adopt the cavalry sword for them and oh, those barbarian auxillaries actually already train with similar style of swords so double win in equipping troops. So in short: The Germanic tribes always had swords like that, which is incidently why they call other type of blades not a sword but a knife or a seax regardless of how substantial or long those blades are because to them the definition of a sword was that specific type of weapon. They simply improved over time as smithing and metallurgy improved.
@@mangalores-x_x A lot of the tribes ended up fighting in the Legions though. I don't think the similarities are accidental. Late Roman thinking about swords was possibly down to the fact that the Empire had become split and their recruits and above all officers were no longer Roman in their military thinking. Constantinople was a long way from Rome.
@@mangalores-x_x I think is a little more complex than that. The "official" history is that the Romans took the gladius from the gallics tribes, but I belive thats not the complete history. You could see some greek influence in early gladius that look more like a xiphos. The greeks influenced big part of the itallic peninsule, the etruscans for example were part of that influence. And I belive that the spatha is developed using external influences more than a internal in a similar way. But, like I said before, I would love to hear Matt's take on the matter, because is he said something about it, is because he have some kind of "evidence" that made him think in that way
You briefly mentioned roman swords in a civilian context and i would love to hear more about that in a future video! Cant imagine folks would carry a shield then.
By and large Roman civilians were not allowed to carry swords, also in the republican time. So a civilian use could be only reserved to special opportunities. I'm curious to hear about it, too.
Outside the pomerium is different than inside. Also consider even the soldiers owned their swords. They were all private property. Most free households would have arms , though in old republic days the arms were supposed to be stored out in the plain of mars. Each city would have different laws based on the Roman law.
I have a cold steel gladius machete, and * gasp*, as you'd imagine the thing feels like such a chopper that I find myself using it with two hands. Thanks for confirming what I thought, I imagined a gladius should be a very nimble blade where the tip was easier maneuver.
Well that taught me a lot about blades, hilts and pommels. I was looking at Roman sword blades in the National Museum of Scotland but they are rather sad looking and very corroded remnants of their former selves and I thought that displaying a modern reproduction beside them would show how impressive and fearsome they once were.
Especially regular vibrations like those you would get in a truck. The way we correct this in the modern day is with nylon inserts or glue, neither of which are good if you know you will need to tighten it.
@@tsandroid-x6h blue thread locker is sufficient to prevent them from loosening, while still allowing them to be easily tightened by hand. Not historically correct, but effective.
Hey Matt - thanks for taking the time to do this. I am questioning the "shiny" nature of the wood. I think it would not be wrong, at least for some. They had shellac and linseed oil and tung oil. So, there was surely some officers and wealthy types had the wood highly oiled or shellacked. Maybe? Mirror finish bad. :)
Didn't that armour type come out well after this particular type of sword ? Would be somewhat anachronistic to pair them together no ? Also don't you mean Legionnaire, Centurion was a specific rank no.
@@xinweiliu617 depends on the time, the Segmentata used from 10BC to the 4th century. But it was expensive, and I believe Metatron said it was reserved for high ranking officers.
Excellent video, I couldn’t stop watching it. Will probably watch it a couple more times. I’m not really a sword guy (I’m a Bowie knife guy), but I’ve always been fascinated by the Roman Gladius. Still don’t have one yet. My preference would be the plane-jane, wide blade, such as that Albion.
The smile on your face when you said "large scutum" make my day. Haha. Love this roman content. Best civilization in my perspective. Fathers of the West.
I don't like the aesthetics either, but we commonly expect antiques to be more dowdy than they would have been at the time. Famously, Greek statues displayed in the British Museum were presented as bare stone, when they were originally painted in vivid colours.
I think that's a very good point, ancient aesthetics were likely much different than what we imagine them to be today. What to us would be goddy would have been considered very nice way back when.
I am not a sword person, but I greatly appreciated this presentation on replica Roman swords. I am fascinated by Roman infantry weapon, tactics and the Roman short sword. I would like to see something of the metallurgy involved in the real thing. Perhaps a visit to Leeds and other museums with an interview of curators. There is a big question of the presence of steel versus iron and ways of raising the carbon content of ancient iron weapons and tools. It is my understanding that the surface of some roman sword points were very hard. a further video on that topic and its implications in the combat of the time would be interesting.
tbf, brass (or at least other copper alloys than bronze) are not completely ahistorical in the Roman period. . . they were just uncommon and expensive. There are copper ores in the Eastern Mediterranean that naturally contain zinc and sometimes produced brass accidentally during smelting. These were identified by the Hellenistic period even if the process of producing brass would not really be understood until the late empire
@@nothim7321 that would be impossible as they have widely different characteristics, appereance and oxydize differently. Contrary to what our school teachers with heads still stuck in the Victoria period would have you believe, people werent stupid untill 1860 and then became genius. If anything, we are "slower" than our ancestors.
Brass was used for decorative fittings sometimes, and I think relatively often for Mainz gladii, consisting of 80 parts copper and 20 parts zinc. Also a lot of the metal fittings would have been tinned or silvered to the upmost shinyness. We have to take into account that the Romans, as most other ancient and medieval people, liked bright colors much more than we today.
Really nice review. I think it's important to stress about hilts on historical swords that they are meant to fit the hand that holds them so large hilts aren't alway an error. It needs to fit the person. At these price points, small, medium, large etc. really ought to be available especially at the Albion price points.
The wood on the hilt looks like it might be jatoba (a.k.a. "Brazilian cherry"). You can actually get that wood up to a fairly high shine by sanding gradually up to 400 grit, followed by rubbing the piece with another well-sanded block of jatoba wood. You even might be able to finish with some linseed or tonge oil and end up with a varnished look like that particular hilt (I've never have bothered to oil jatoba, I've always gotten it satisfactorily shiny without).
Hi Matt happy to see that u have recived the pilums and can't wait the see the videos on them but however i have a question on kynght errant and on why he stop loading on TH-cam and on his website. I really enjoyed his videos and he had great information. Either way great video as always keep up the great work.
Your review made me more sympathetic to the Dynasty Forge gladius. The criticisms you made are valid, but they aren't things I'm sensitive to. And I was wondering, "if that looks a bit 'off' are there bigger problems I can't see, that would be obvious in the hand?" Apart from the distal tapering issue (which is not something I see as a deal-breaker), it seems not. All right! I was particularly concerned about the construction of the scabbard -- not a problem!
i made 3 gladius swords. Mine aren't pretty like those two you got. One's got a pirate skull engraved on the base. all 3 have the leaf spring holes in them. One has an ork sigil on the base and that one has a crooked tip angle.
Very interesting! I hope to see more Roman related videos soon! A point about historical accuracy and production of sword blades: You say, there're two ways of lighten the blade - tapering or hollow grinding. In my opinion the latter would be more historically accurate. As far as I know, Iron Age and Roman Era sword blades (and also spear heads) were almost always hollow grinded in the production process to bring them in shape - especially sword types with midrib. And one noticeable point about the origin of the Gladius: At least the word "Gladius" seems to be of Celtic origin. It is still in discussion if the Romans enhanced a (continental) Celtic sword type. But when you look at early LaTene swords, you will find many similarities to the Gladius Hispaniensis which can fortify this theory.
Matt, do you know of any good replicase of the gladius hispanensis type? It is easy to find the Mainz, Pompeii or Fulham replicas online made by various manufacturers, but almost nobody seems to make these older style gladii. Ditto for the Punic wars-era and scuta (as opposed to the later more rectangular shields like the one you have). In general, it is much easier to find the equipment dating roughly to the Principate than anything earlier or later. Thanks!
How well do we know what Roman scabbards look like? I know a few would probably appear on statues and monuments but scabbards are typically made out of wood and leather, materials that don't survive well over time. Did some actually survive or are we mostly guessing based on statuary and monuments?
As much as it’s not historically accurate for your average Roman soldier, I do really enjoy its presentation as a high end sword. I think the artistic license on the hilt and scabbard are fairly forgivable given the ‘idea’ in my head of a high-end Gladius. At the very least, it seems very good value for money
Practicing with a qama (blade similar to a budget gladius) I've found it is not only a splendid cutter, but in the thrust it basically push cuts thru targets such as bottles. Regarding the 19th century cut vs thrust debate perhaps this has relevance, i.e, that thrusts with an edged point are really a form of cut...
Idk I personally liked the way the hilt looked. I'm speaking unbiasedly here as I could never drop more than $250 on a sword. Just dont have it in me to do it, nor the resources anyways. I like the lighter wood look and it doesnt really bother me. And while it could be made to look more like what the ancients used I just look at it as a re-envisioning of the gladius with modern tools and tech. I'm sure if someone in Ancient Rome saw you walking around with that they'd be very impressed at a glance. I try to look at it differently. What would the Romans actually think? I think they'd approve. And that's good enough for me. And this is coming from someone who takes great pride in his Roman heritage. :)
The Romans would have trained with double and triple weight blunted or wooden swords. "This is too heavy. I can't use this." "Grow stronger!" (from the 13th Warrior)
You suggest that the metal decorations should be bronze (copper and tin) rather than brass (copper and zinc) in order to be more historically accurate. Is that right? My understanding is that copper was fairly widespread but tin was rare. If it is just decoration rather than the actual blade as it would have been in the Bronze Age before steel - wouldn't brass make more sense? Cheaper?
Hi Matt, quick question on importing swords into the UK from abroad. I know there was a new bill being passed that could stop knives being sent to home addresses not sure if that's happened or not. Is it still ok to import swords if over 18? I cant find an answer anywhere and dont want to risk importing a sword if it's going to be seized by customs! I'd like to get a devils edge gladius from Kult of athena but dont want to loose out. Good video as always!
Interesting review and for the most part sensible stuff. You are however wrong about the use of brass on Roman equipment of the 1st century AD: a lot of analysis of their copper alloys has now been conducted on all sorts of weaponry and brass was almost exclusively used in this period (one of the few exceptions being the patera-type saucepans, which were made of bronze (copper-tin alloy) and imported to the frontier provinces from Italy). Also, these highly decorated scabbards were used by all troops, even auxiliary infantry (we know that from tombstones), so the old 'high-status' label is a bit of a trap. You are absolutely right about the grips - they must fit the hand. Most excavated examples (whether wood, bone, or ivory) average 84mm (ranging from 75 to 94mm) and we have to assume were fitted to the individual when newly manufactured.
I'm curious, what evidence do we have for iron or steel weapons having a mirror polish? Is it mainly literary and artistic, or are there some miraculously preserved archaeological finds? Every iron tool or blade that came out of the ground at the excavation I participated in was rusted to hell (though the site was coastal, which probably caused more corrosion than would have occurred in a more arid climate). Thanks for another great video!
It is only due to market flooding by cheap shinny stainless steel replica during the 80's and onward that mirror finish fell out of favor as having a "cheap wall hanger smell" to it. But from antiquity (or even prehistory, think polished stone axe...) up to 50 years ago, a sword buffed up to mirror finish was a sign of quality, high status and martial excellence. To our surprise, the romans would have undoubtly prefered that shinny shelack handle varnish (thinking that is was a top notch burnishing) and would have found the albion sword quite crude and second grade. They would have marveled at the screwed in tang too. There is tons of evidence for mirror polish preference, you can look up at the "song of Roland" it talks about the mirror polish of Durandal, but you can also look at period iconography like tapestries, the knight swords are often depicted with deep blue fullers, that's a mirror polish. Ancestral european written knowledge concerning age old techniques of smithing (including sword furbishing) has been kept in a french book called "Manuel de l'armurier" by Paulin Desormeaux (1832). Most of the techniques, material and tools disclosed in the book have been around for at least thousand year. In the manual, high polishing is considered as an integral part and final step of sharpening.
If it's too heavy and shiny, it could be a gladiatorial weapon. It would be made to be used with a round shield only, which gives it more room to move, so it might chop more than a legion gladius. And all the shiny, glamourous detail might fit, too. The longer hilt might be useful for flourishes, then. No, I don't think that was the idea in making it, but it might be a fit.
While round shields were, in fact, used in gladiatorial combat, perhaps the most prominent gladius using "class" of gladiator was, to the best of my knowledge, Murmillo. Those used scuta. The most prominent round shield using class of gladiator was Hoplomachus, meant to imitate the Greek hoplites. Their main offensive weapon was a spear.
@@Someonestrange1000 Thanks, seems I had a false image in my head. Well, it might still be a fit, maybe for a Dimachaerus. But as I wrote before, I don't think that was what it was made for.
A question for Matt - have you been to see the Viking horde collection yet? The swords are strikingly similar to Roman ones in some ways as are some of the other artefacts on display.
Maybe the grips are too long to allow room for protective gear? While this may not be historically accurate it would make sense. Cold Steel’s gladius machete and training gladius have the same “issue.”
As someone who owns the cold steel gladius machete: *BAHAHAHAHAAHHAA* that things not historically accurate at all. If you want a cheap machete, it'll do (with some sharpening) but it is not historically accurate at all.
Hello from the USA! Maybe you can help me or your viewers. I am in the market for a Roman Gladius that is as historically correct as I can find. Two problems have come up. 1) Dynasty Forge does not make this item anymore (to my knowledge). 2) I looked into purchasing an Albion sword but the guy told me it is at least a 2 year or more wait. If you or anyone else has some helpful ideas, I would appreciate it. Love the channel.
What about a video showing or talking about what weapon (sets) the romans wer up against? The roman soldiers weapon set is quite often talked about and shown in detail, but what they were up against seems to be shown very rarely.
The problem is that usually the grips are not complete or totally missing in the findings, so it's difficult to judge. When looking at ancient depictions there is usually no room left between hand and pommel when a sword is gripped.
Surprisingly a lot of original Roman sword grips survive, so we have a fairly decent amount of data about their sizes - we also have the tang length from the blades. But there is the problem that we are bigger on average than them - I seem to recall the average height of people at Pompei is about 5'4". But as Wolfgang says, from the art it appears these hilts are supposed to be a snug fit to the hand. They also work better like that.
Mat, give me a whistle & I'll show you how to "antique" brass items. Also regarding putting a hand-finished surface on the blade so as to be period correct.
I don't think that they used a wash in the brass fittings. Most likely residue from polishing it on a buffing wheel with compound. Just hitting everything with steel wool would help a lot.
Evidence suggest that people (in general) were about a foot shorter then they are now, compare that to Matt, a relatively tall person by today's standards. So its likely that their hands would be smaller than Matt's, with gloves their hands would be near to the same size as Matt's. From my guesterments There is a lot of left over handle on that sword, in any climate.
matt, may i ask why you show a dress sword for the idea of a fighting weapon, dress swords never got used to fight. my mainz swords are inbetween both blade shines due to use and cleaning and sharpening. it is ha rd for the sword to stay nice and sharp and shiny after you've ripped the sh"t out of each other, trust me, scars to prove it! Could i ask aswell after watching many made videos you seem to forget that the pommel in itself creates different fighting styles, whether it is built to block or your hand uses the hilt to slide to pommel. i have found many differences to how a sword acts due to those small things. anyway many thanks
I'd argue that dress swords are a modern concept and not a historical one. Unless the legionary was particularly wealthy, like a well off equite or senator serving in the officer corps, they wouldn't be able to afford a second sword just for dress occasions. You also have to remember that the difference between a dress or parade uniform and a field/combat uniform didn't exist back then and wouldn't exist until many centuries later. Back then, if you were a wealthy soldier, you would have gone into battle wearing your best gear in order to show off your wealth and status. This concept lasted up well until the 20th century, and during the American Civil War the fact that Union general US Grant regularly dressed in a common soldier's style uniform is brought up a lot, despite the fact that he was one of the ranking generals in the Union Army and that his peers would typically dress far more distinctively. On the other end of the spectrum, there was General/Col. Custer who was known for his custom and often rather flamboyant uniforms that he regularly wore in the field and into combat.
Hi, I believe you know about Damascus steel. Did you know that Keris (or Kris in English), the wavy dagger of South East Asia, that were made after Islamisation, have similar properties to the Damascus steel? Maybe next time you can do research on how keris were made and the possibility that they learned the original lost recipe from Arab through Persian.
Bo. I've seen it in Muso Shindoryu, and it's a real pain to get into striking position with a sword against a competent staff fighter. The learning curve is quite unforgiving, though.
Well, for me it would come down to the fight parameters. Are the combatants armoured? Is the fight over after a hit or do you take the type of wound into consideration? I know, I know - a bo staff hit can break bones, but it has to be a hard one or perfectly hitting one, while a sword thrust or cut is in most cases much more severe. And as somebody mentioned already.. it also comes down to length (yea bois, that's right :p). A long sword against a short bo staff in my opinion is far superior. Against a quarter staff it changes drastically. Although, and that is why I brought up the fighting parameters, I'd gladly take a staff hit, if I can overcome my opponent and close distance to thrust through his body. Other way round... no thx :D
There were no bronze coins, they did have copper, brass and silver coins quickly became devalued to no silver or silver plated. So Brass was worth more than Bronze; ie higher class.
I think it's you who are bringing modern conceptions of aesthetics to these items, Matt. Roman elites would absolutely have loved shiny golden stuff. You almost reached that point when you said that they did "fake aging" by oxidizing the inlaid areas of the fittings--the reason you think they should look dark is because extant items are oxidated! Frankly, this discussion is no different than the one you often do about the satin finish of swords, and how people seem to think that liking shiny things is a modern thing. If anything, now more than ever there's a sort of "counter-culture" to the "bling", and nerds who get into these things are the type of people who are into that--all black, all mate. That's why manufacturers make everything with a matte finish, when in reality if there's one single thing that apparently all historical societies seemed to like--many of them having met ruin when seeking those things--that is shiny things.
Out of interest, have any of these makers actually changed their products in response to your reviews? I'm curious whether they're actually looking for feedback or just publicity.
Yes, I have worked on product development with several companies and totally designed one with Kvetun. Whether Dynasty Forge will change any of the designs, I cannot say.
Is it legal where you livr (England I suppose) to posses sharpened swords? Here in Italy swords are considered as a weapon and you must have a special patent. You can't in any way buy a sharp sword...😕
Speaking of the mirror finish. Bronze armor and weapons often had mirror finishes to be bright and shining like gold. So if you think about someone who had knowledge of tue bromze age in acnient time he may have got a mirror finish on his blade.
The Romans made half pommels (with screw on nuts like this sword) so they could easily replace them after ending people rightly. The large shield clearly evolved to defend against this attack. But only the elite mastered this forbidden technique, that's why they're so rare in archaeology. Love that sword BTW, gladius FTW IMO. Gladius > machete, and I looove machetes. In 2019 real world violence, machete > anything but guns. Forget knife, chain, bat, knuckles, improvised, unarmed, etc. And swords > machetes! I've seen plenty of real tactical times and scenarios when going for one's knife is a better solution than using the rifle/shotgun or going for one's pistol. I'd rather pull a sword at that moment, and pwn Crocodile Dundee. You think thaaat's a knife? How cute... Roma victrix! Until the Medieval and Reniassance eras, when people had arming swords and rapiers etc, I'd see nothing much wrong with just having a gladius all day in civilian life. For any other era, just on it's own, it kinda beats the alternatives. Kukri or kama or hatchet? Nah. Knife? Nah. Modern batons? Ha! Swordcane? Nope! Smallsword? Really? Jian? Can you even get one? For most of history in general, a gladius alone would be fine. But, for much of the history of swords (especially the famous times) - you'd be at a real disadvantage. But, that disadvantage was temporary, because nowadays once again I think just a gladius would be fine. Beats a damn folding pocket-knife, which so many seem to have near endless fascination with and faith in plus deify... All my Warhammer painting experience agrees with your color choices. Here, I'd go bronze over brass any day. I do like to mix and match little details like that in my unit tho. To show not everything is identical, that people have preferences, things are made in different times for different people and passed on for greatly variable periods of use, and that even the same thing can be worn or maintained or preserved at different levels. This applies a LOT if I ever paint 19th century guards on sabers etc now lol thanks for all the knowledge on that! Same with satin and mirror polishes etc. I never noticed the difference until you held them up side by side. My only care is for advantage and disadvantage. Will one have more or less friction going through? Because I think a mirror polish is better ultimately for that, like tatami cutting competition level especially. Is blinding yourself or the enemy a big enough factor to want a non/reflective surface? Like how Samurai Jack blinded a ninja (with his blacked out blade) using the sun to defeat him, or how Beatrix Kiddo used her katana's mirror polish to watch her 6 fighting the Crazy 88, etc. Any parallels in history, sources, art, myth, etc? I know I despise shiny glints on my gear, but stealth and invisibility are priorities in the Modern era, in previous ones soldiers carried flags to show off their position - rather than cursing when it's given away. I liked gilded steel, myself, for guards on sabers or basket-hilts etc. Shiniest, no dulling, strong as steel, with no rust. Perfect! Damn the cost! Oh, it happens to look cool, and stupid/shallow/weak-willed people tend to treat you better just for having it? Bonus! Buy once, cry once. It's a weapon, it's your friggin' life. No bargain bin goods need apply IMHO. You'd think a benevolent ruler (or true People's government) would want such kit; and than even Machiavellian Realpolitik monarch could see the utility in such a thing, like the fanciness, appreciate the morale boost and prestige it would bring, and could afford to standardize it after everything else they waste money on. Nope! Cheaper and better to have pretty uniforms and soldiers with blunted blades in their metal scabbards who get their hands and fingers mutilated (and probably die after) from weak little brass hilts - while the crown jewels glitter. Swift was right in Gulliver's Travels. Yahoo! Yahoo!
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By Jove’s beard! Matthaeus Contextius has bestowed upon us another great video!
Matthaeus Contextius!? lol Loving it! Tank you for brightening my day, Sir. You shall have my like and good day to you!
Finally the gladius and shield together at last
"It'll thrust through car doors"
Was that a shot at Cold Steel? 😆
I'd say it was more of a thrust or jab ;)
What’s the context here?
What's the context here? (2)
@@JimCullen Cold Steel is known for making videos where they test their weapons, including by stabbing car doors with them.
"It'll thrust straight through war chariot doors"
I still don't understand why a high end sword maker like Albion doesn't provide their own scabbard. They really couldn't hire someone to make, at the very least, simple leather sheaths?
Profit Margins....
Because it will also kick the price up even higher too
@@ElliFong i mean you could probably call them to make it if your rich enough ;P
they do offer scabbard service, that costs almost as much as their swords
@@MrPanos2000 That's ridiculous. I get that scabbards take time to make, but those shouldn't cost nearly as much as the swords. If they offer basic scabbard included with the sword and their service was for custom scabbards for that price, that's one thing. But that just feels like trying to take advantage of the customers
Hey Matt, You said once in a older video that the Vikings era sword is not a direct "evolution" of the Roman spatha, Wich is the common explanation, but rather it has its roots on iron age Nordic types. Can you talk about it in a comming video?
It's more that the Viking sword and Roman spatha evolved as sibblings or cousins from common Germanian and Gaulic ancestors.
@@SonsOfLorgar yes, but I would love to hear Matt's take on the subject.
@@Vincere.academia not sure there is much more about it. The Celtic and Germanic tribes had long sword types in use before the formation of the Roman army system (I think already in the bronze age) and the Romans had direct contact with Celts of the Po valley (and were at the receiving end of their raids and nearly one conquest) and adopted various weapons and equipment from them.
Beyond that it is simply: Our cavalry needs a dedicated sword, it needs to be longer, what is out there, what is our style of making swords.
While in Celtic, Germanic and subsequently Scandinavian regions it simply was: How do we improve our swords we learnt to construct from our ancestory? (which happen to be always longer as mostly used in individual combat)
Then late Roman thinking: We change our army system so the infantry will fight more like those barbarians do in looser formation and thus need swords with longer reach so let's adopt the cavalry sword for them and oh, those barbarian auxillaries actually already train with similar style of swords so double win in equipping troops.
So in short: The Germanic tribes always had swords like that, which is incidently why they call other type of blades not a sword but a knife or a seax regardless of how substantial or long those blades are because to them the definition of a sword was that specific type of weapon.
They simply improved over time as smithing and metallurgy improved.
@@mangalores-x_x A lot of the tribes ended up fighting in the Legions though. I don't think the similarities are accidental. Late Roman thinking about swords was possibly down to the fact that the Empire had become split and their recruits and above all officers were no longer Roman in their military thinking. Constantinople was a long way from Rome.
@@mangalores-x_x I think is a little more complex than that. The "official" history is that the Romans took the gladius from the gallics tribes, but I belive thats not the complete history. You could see some greek influence in early gladius that look more like a xiphos. The greeks influenced big part of the itallic peninsule, the etruscans for example were part of that influence. And I belive that the spatha is developed using external influences more than a internal in a similar way. But, like I said before, I would love to hear Matt's take on the matter, because is he said something about it, is because he have some kind of "evidence" that made him think in that way
If you tighten the nut on the pommel it will grind the peppercorns much finer
LOL
Fuckin dead
I'm dying LMAO
You briefly mentioned roman swords in a civilian context and i would love to hear more about that in a future video! Cant imagine folks would carry a shield then.
By and large Roman civilians were not allowed to carry swords, also in the republican time. So a civilian use could be only reserved to special opportunities. I'm curious to hear about it, too.
Outside the pomerium is different than inside. Also consider even the soldiers owned their swords. They were all private property. Most free households would have arms , though in old republic days the arms were supposed to be stored out in the plain of mars. Each city would have different laws based on the Roman law.
I have a cold steel gladius machete, and * gasp*, as you'd imagine the thing feels like such a chopper that I find myself using it with two hands. Thanks for confirming what I thought, I imagined a gladius should be a very nimble blade where the tip was easier maneuver.
Kudos for getting the word "Maintss" correct!
German "Z" is always a "tss!".
That also goes for "Tssweihänder". Always, always "tss!".
Well that taught me a lot about blades, hilts and pommels. I was looking at Roman sword blades in the National Museum of Scotland but they are rather sad looking and very corroded remnants of their former selves and I thought that displaying a modern reproduction beside them would show how impressive and fearsome they once were.
Perfect, I was looking for a gladius that can go through car doors. For a friend.
Mat, you could add the fact that most of your changes would probably save the company money and thus incline them to change it.
vibrations can loosen nuts, it could be that the sword was tight when it left the shop.
Especially regular vibrations like those you would get in a truck. The way we correct this in the modern day is with nylon inserts or glue, neither of which are good if you know you will need to tighten it.
@@tsandroid-x6h blue thread locker is sufficient to prevent them from loosening, while still allowing them to be easily tightened by hand. Not historically correct, but effective.
Don't forget that you also preferred that the brassy fittings were more bronze looking with the relief details based more on historical examples.
Pretty easy to take a mirror finish back down to a satin finish by hand if so desired. Not so much the other way.
Hey Matt - thanks for taking the time to do this. I am questioning the "shiny" nature of the wood. I think it would not be wrong, at least for some. They had shellac and linseed oil and tung oil. So, there was surely some officers and wealthy types had the wood highly oiled or shellacked. Maybe?
Mirror finish bad. :)
Thank you for saying the sword is part of a set and never just a stand alone weapon. The Roman sword is one of the best when used as intended.
You also covered the Lorica Segementata. You should have completed the set and come out as a full centurion.
Didn't that armour type come out well after this particular type of sword ? Would be somewhat anachronistic to pair them together no ? Also don't you mean Legionnaire, Centurion was a specific rank no.
clothar23 the Lorica Segementata was reserved for high ranking officers. Centurions or higher
@@overeasymode Based on pictural evidences from gravestones, centurions worn lorica hamata and lorica squamata, but not lorica segmentata.
I believe that will be reserved for next video with Metatron as special guest.
@@xinweiliu617 depends on the time, the Segmentata used from 10BC to the 4th century. But it was expensive, and I believe Metatron said it was reserved for high ranking officers.
Excellent video, I couldn’t stop watching it. Will probably watch it a couple more times.
I’m not really a sword guy (I’m a Bowie knife guy), but I’ve always been fascinated by the Roman Gladius. Still don’t have one yet.
My preference would be the plane-jane, wide blade, such as that Albion.
The smile on your face when you said "large scutum" make my day. Haha.
Love this roman content. Best civilization in my perspective. Fathers of the West.
I don't like the aesthetics either, but we commonly expect antiques to be more dowdy than they would have been at the time. Famously, Greek statues displayed in the British Museum were presented as bare stone, when they were originally painted in vivid colours.
I think that's a very good point, ancient aesthetics were likely much different than what we imagine them to be today. What to us would be goddy would have been considered very nice way back when.
We need more Gladius reviews on TH-cam.
I think you should mention the steel qualities of both blades and if they are on par.
I am not a sword person, but I greatly appreciated this presentation on replica Roman swords. I am fascinated by Roman infantry weapon, tactics and the Roman short sword. I would like to see something of the metallurgy involved in the real thing. Perhaps a visit to Leeds and other museums with an interview of curators. There is a big question of the presence of steel versus iron and ways of raising the carbon content of ancient iron weapons and tools. It is my understanding that the surface of some roman sword points were very hard. a further video on that topic and its implications in the combat of the time would be interesting.
Why not actual BRONZE for the fittings? It IS available out there...
Yeah, I agree bronze would be best.
tbf, brass (or at least other copper alloys than bronze) are not completely ahistorical in the Roman period. . . they were just uncommon and expensive. There are copper ores in the Eastern Mediterranean that naturally contain zinc and sometimes produced brass accidentally during smelting. These were identified by the Hellenistic period even if the process of producing brass would not really be understood until the late empire
@@nothim7321 that would be impossible as they have widely different characteristics, appereance and oxydize differently. Contrary to what our school teachers with heads still stuck in the Victoria period would have you believe, people werent stupid untill 1860 and then became genius. If anything, we are "slower" than our ancestors.
@@nothim7321 yeah, who'd a thunk it ;)
Brass was used for decorative fittings sometimes, and I think relatively often for Mainz gladii, consisting of 80 parts copper and 20 parts zinc. Also a lot of the metal fittings would have been tinned or silvered to the upmost shinyness. We have to take into account that the Romans, as most other ancient and medieval people, liked bright colors much more than we today.
I see that dynasty forge have a german lionhead sabre, and some other relatively recent weapons. I might get one to compare to my lionheads
Thank you sir! Waiting for them to come back in stock to get one....
The Greeks and Romans actually had some resin based varnishes. Whether they ever applied them to sword hilts is another matter.
exactly they are historical... but not sure on swords...
Really nice review. I think it's important to stress about hilts on historical swords that they are meant to fit the hand that holds them so large hilts aren't alway an error. It needs to fit the person. At these price points, small, medium, large etc. really ought to be available especially at the Albion price points.
Well shot with solid audio. Dig the vids and pleased you got around to the Gladius. Slainte
Wire wool's a good shout (as he said) for removing the gloss from the handle, worked a treat on the neck of my Telecaster.
The wood on the hilt looks like it might be jatoba (a.k.a. "Brazilian cherry"). You can actually get that wood up to a fairly high shine by sanding gradually up to 400 grit, followed by rubbing the piece with another well-sanded block of jatoba wood. You even might be able to finish with some linseed or tonge oil and end up with a varnished look like that particular hilt (I've never have bothered to oil jatoba, I've always gotten it satisfactorily shiny without).
Hi Matt happy to see that u have recived the pilums and can't wait the see the videos on them but however i have a question on kynght errant and on why he stop loading on TH-cam and on his website. I really enjoyed his videos and he had great information. Either way great video as always keep up the great work.
Your review made me more sympathetic to the Dynasty Forge gladius. The criticisms you made are valid, but they aren't things I'm sensitive to. And I was wondering, "if that looks a bit 'off' are there bigger problems I can't see, that would be obvious in the hand?" Apart from the distal tapering issue (which is not something I see as a deal-breaker), it seems not. All right! I was particularly concerned about the construction of the scabbard -- not a problem!
i made 3 gladius swords. Mine aren't pretty like those two you got. One's got a pirate skull engraved on the base. all 3 have the leaf spring holes in them. One has an ork sigil on the base and that one has a crooked tip angle.
Very interesting! I hope to see more Roman related videos soon!
A point about historical accuracy and production of sword blades: You say, there're two ways of lighten the blade - tapering or hollow grinding. In my opinion the latter would be more historically accurate. As far as I know, Iron Age and Roman Era sword blades (and also spear heads) were almost always hollow grinded in the production process to bring them in shape - especially sword types with midrib.
And one noticeable point about the origin of the Gladius: At least the word "Gladius" seems to be of Celtic origin. It is still in discussion if the Romans enhanced a (continental) Celtic sword type. But when you look at early LaTene swords, you will find many similarities to the Gladius Hispaniensis which can fortify this theory.
Matt, do you know of any good replicase of the gladius hispanensis type? It is easy to find the Mainz, Pompeii or Fulham replicas online made by various manufacturers, but almost nobody seems to make these older style gladii. Ditto for the Punic wars-era and scuta (as opposed to the later more rectangular shields like the one you have). In general, it is much easier to find the equipment dating roughly to the Principate than anything earlier or later. Thanks!
I'd make a territory joke concerning the Metatron, but he's more likely to want to nerd-out with you over the roman gear than to want you to stop.
How well do we know what Roman scabbards look like? I know a few would probably appear on statues and monuments but scabbards are typically made out of wood and leather, materials that don't survive well over time. Did some actually survive or are we mostly guessing based on statuary and monuments?
As much as it’s not historically accurate for your average Roman soldier, I do really enjoy its presentation as a high end sword. I think the artistic license on the hilt and scabbard are fairly forgivable given the ‘idea’ in my head of a high-end Gladius. At the very least, it seems very good value for money
Matt why were Antiquity cavalry swords such as the Spatha quite short compared to those of the later period ?
It only makes sense that the horses were shorter back then! j/k
@@FyremaelGlittersparkle actualy they where... a very big one was usualy around 15 hands; an average one around13-14 hands what we call poneys now.
Practicing with a qama (blade similar to a budget gladius) I've found it is not only a splendid cutter, but in the thrust it basically push cuts thru targets such as bottles. Regarding the 19th century cut vs thrust debate perhaps this has relevance, i.e, that thrusts with an edged point are really a form of cut...
Idk I personally liked the way the hilt looked. I'm speaking unbiasedly here as I could never drop more than $250 on a sword. Just dont have it in me to do it, nor the resources anyways. I like the lighter wood look and it doesnt really bother me. And while it could be made to look more like what the ancients used I just look at it as a re-envisioning of the gladius with modern tools and tech. I'm sure if someone in Ancient Rome saw you walking around with that they'd be very impressed at a glance. I try to look at it differently. What would the Romans actually think? I think they'd approve. And that's good enough for me. And this is coming from someone who takes great pride in his Roman heritage. :)
The Romans would have trained with double and triple weight blunted or wooden swords.
"This is too heavy. I can't use this."
"Grow stronger!"
(from the 13th Warrior)
Glad your doing videos on romans
You suggest that the metal decorations should be bronze (copper and tin) rather than brass (copper and zinc) in order to be more historically accurate. Is that right? My understanding is that copper was fairly widespread but tin was rare. If it is just decoration rather than the actual blade as it would have been in the Bronze Age before steel - wouldn't brass make more sense? Cheaper?
Personally I quite like the varnished finish even if it isn't historically accurate but to each their own
Would hollow grind be historically accurate?
you can apply a satin coat over the top of the guard to dull it down with out sanding. Little masking and a satin spray varnish, done.
You could, but I don't really like any sort of plastic-like coating on wood. It spoils the grip and feel.
You mention some books on Roman arms and armor, could you cite these so I can go out and get them?
Is the difference in price and accouterments between these two makers to do with the level of mass production modes relative to hand-work modes?
Hi Matt, quick question on importing swords into the UK from abroad. I know there was a new bill being passed that could stop knives being sent to home addresses not sure if that's happened or not. Is it still ok to import swords if over 18? I cant find an answer anywhere and dont want to risk importing a sword if it's going to be seized by customs! I'd like to get a devils edge gladius from Kult of athena but dont want to loose out. Good video as always!
Interesting review and for the most part sensible stuff. You are however wrong about the use of brass on Roman equipment of the 1st century AD: a lot of analysis of their copper alloys has now been conducted on all sorts of weaponry and brass was almost exclusively used in this period (one of the few exceptions being the patera-type saucepans, which were made of bronze (copper-tin alloy) and imported to the frontier provinces from Italy). Also, these highly decorated scabbards were used by all troops, even auxiliary infantry (we know that from tombstones), so the old 'high-status' label is a bit of a trap. You are absolutely right about the grips - they must fit the hand. Most excavated examples (whether wood, bone, or ivory) average 84mm (ranging from 75 to 94mm) and we have to assume were fitted to the individual when newly manufactured.
I'm curious, what evidence do we have for iron or steel weapons having a mirror polish? Is it mainly literary and artistic, or are there some miraculously preserved archaeological finds? Every iron tool or blade that came out of the ground at the excavation I participated in was rusted to hell (though the site was coastal, which probably caused more corrosion than would have occurred in a more arid climate). Thanks for another great video!
Good point. Iron doesn't keep well.
It is only due to market flooding by cheap shinny stainless steel replica during the 80's and onward that mirror finish fell out of favor as having a "cheap wall hanger smell" to it. But from antiquity (or even prehistory, think polished stone axe...) up to 50 years ago, a sword buffed up to mirror finish was a sign of quality, high status and martial excellence.
To our surprise, the romans would have undoubtly prefered that shinny shelack handle varnish (thinking that is was a top notch burnishing) and would have found the albion sword quite crude and second grade. They would have marveled at the screwed in tang too.
There is tons of evidence for mirror polish preference, you can look up at the "song of Roland" it talks about the mirror polish of Durandal, but you can also look at period iconography like tapestries, the knight swords are often depicted with deep blue fullers, that's a mirror polish. Ancestral european written knowledge concerning age old techniques of smithing (including sword furbishing) has been kept in a french book called "Manuel de l'armurier" by Paulin Desormeaux (1832). Most of the techniques, material and tools disclosed in the book have been around for at least thousand year. In the manual, high polishing is considered as an integral part and final step of sharpening.
@@aryafeydakin Thanks for the detailed reply, man! And for providing sources. I'll check them out
The metatron will keep an eye on you!
If it's too heavy and shiny, it could be a gladiatorial weapon. It would be made to be used with a round shield only, which gives it more room to move, so it might chop more than a legion gladius. And all the shiny, glamourous detail might fit, too.
The longer hilt might be useful for flourishes, then. No, I don't think that was the idea in making it, but it might be a fit.
While round shields were, in fact, used in gladiatorial combat, perhaps the most prominent gladius using "class" of gladiator was, to the best of my knowledge, Murmillo. Those used scuta. The most prominent round shield using class of gladiator was Hoplomachus, meant to imitate the Greek hoplites. Their main offensive weapon was a spear.
@@Someonestrange1000 Thanks, seems I had a false image in my head. Well, it might still be a fit, maybe for a Dimachaerus. But as I wrote before, I don't think that was what it was made for.
Hi I was wondering if you need a license to buy swords if so how do you get one
I love the Gladius! reminds me of a Khyber Knife.
A question for Matt - have you been to see the Viking horde collection yet? The swords are strikingly similar to Roman ones in some ways as are some of the other artefacts on display.
A longer handle may indicate that it was intended for the user to wear gloves or gauntlet.
Gaunlets weren't invented yet in Roan times and simple leather gloves aren't that bulky
It should have a Matt finish!
I am not a fan of mirror finish on blades.
But oddly enough I like it on gladius'es/gladii/whatever.
Maybe the grips are too long to allow room for protective gear? While this may not be historically accurate it would make sense. Cold Steel’s gladius machete and training gladius have the same “issue.”
I can't think of any legal port that allow you to use sharp pointy weapons. If it was to protective gear in a port, the blade would be blunt.
What are your thoughts on the historical accuracy on cold steels gladius machete? 🤔
As someone who owns the cold steel gladius machete: *BAHAHAHAHAAHHAA* that things not historically accurate at all. If you want a cheap machete, it'll do (with some sharpening) but it is not historically accurate at all.
@@Kobolds_in_a_trenchcoat what ?!?!? But the historical blade coating and natural high impact plastic handle screams historical.
Hi Matt
what use the romans for civil self defense?
Slaves XD
Adjudication
Are they still making the grip 4 inches / 10cm? If so, then I cannot support your position on the grip length. My hand is too big for the handle.
how big are your hands?
Hello from the USA!
Maybe you can help me or your viewers. I am in the market for a Roman Gladius that is as historically correct as I can find. Two problems have come up. 1) Dynasty Forge does not make this item anymore (to my knowledge).
2) I looked into purchasing an Albion sword but the guy told me it is at least a 2 year or more wait.
If you or anyone else has some helpful ideas, I would appreciate it.
Love the channel.
Come for the gladius, stay for the extended pommel discussion.
What about a video showing or talking about what weapon (sets) the romans wer up against? The roman soldiers weapon set is quite often talked about and shown in detail, but what they were up against seems to be shown very rarely.
Types of historical finishes could be a video by itself
So did they make the changes?
Given that apparently this Dynasty Forge gladius is LIGHTER than the Albion one, the beefiness is more about distal taper than blade weight.
It's not lighter. The stats published online are wrong.
@@scholagladiatoria Well I naively trusted the Albion and The Knight Shop websites... Have you measured directly the stats of both gladii?
The dynasty blade is more visually interesting. I like it
Please do something on the Spatha.
Dynasty Forge's Gladius looked like a Hand and a Half sword while you were holding it. I am now wondering if the Roman's had those types.
The problem is that usually the grips are not complete or totally missing in the findings, so it's difficult to judge. When looking at ancient depictions there is usually no room left between hand and pommel when a sword is gripped.
Surprisingly a lot of original Roman sword grips survive, so we have a fairly decent amount of data about their sizes - we also have the tang length from the blades. But there is the problem that we are bigger on average than them - I seem to recall the average height of people at Pompei is about 5'4". But as Wolfgang says, from the art it appears these hilts are supposed to be a snug fit to the hand. They also work better like that.
@@scholagladiatoria Thanks for the information. I tend to forget that on average that human are a bit bigger than they were.
Mat, give me a whistle & I'll show you how to "antique" brass items. Also regarding putting a hand-finished surface on the blade so as to be period correct.
I would strip the varnish and apply olive oil because thats what I think the Romans likely used for protecting everything that was steel or wood.
Theyre still not in stock... That's the one I want. Better than a windlass, but not as pricey as an Albion...
I don't think that they used a wash in the brass fittings. Most likely residue from polishing it on a buffing wheel with compound. Just hitting everything with steel wool would help a lot.
I wonder is Matt ever going to paint the shield?
I've had it for two days!
@@scholagladiatoria Sorry didn't mean to hush you. I'm just too excited to see what design you'll apply to the shield.
Could the longer grips have made for soldiers operating in regions up north where soldiers wore gloves?
Evidence suggest that people (in general) were about a foot shorter then they are now, compare that to Matt, a relatively tall person by today's standards. So its likely that their hands would be smaller than Matt's, with gloves their hands would be near to the same size as Matt's. From my guesterments There is a lot of left over handle on that sword, in any climate.
@@TheWok1336 a foot smaller!? Do you have sources on that?
30cm/a foot is a shit ton of height difference.
matt, may i ask why you show a dress sword for the idea of a fighting weapon, dress swords never got used to fight. my mainz swords are inbetween both blade shines due to use and cleaning and sharpening. it is ha rd for the sword to stay nice and sharp and shiny after you've ripped the sh"t out of each other, trust me, scars to prove it! Could i ask aswell after watching many made videos you seem to forget that the pommel in itself creates different fighting styles, whether it is built to block or your hand uses the hilt to slide to pommel. i have found many differences to how a sword acts due to those small things. anyway many thanks
I'd argue that dress swords are a modern concept and not a historical one. Unless the legionary was particularly wealthy, like a well off equite or senator serving in the officer corps, they wouldn't be able to afford a second sword just for dress occasions. You also have to remember that the difference between a dress or parade uniform and a field/combat uniform didn't exist back then and wouldn't exist until many centuries later. Back then, if you were a wealthy soldier, you would have gone into battle wearing your best gear in order to show off your wealth and status. This concept lasted up well until the 20th century, and during the American Civil War the fact that Union general US Grant regularly dressed in a common soldier's style uniform is brought up a lot, despite the fact that he was one of the ranking generals in the Union Army and that his peers would typically dress far more distinctively. On the other end of the spectrum, there was General/Col. Custer who was known for his custom and often rather flamboyant uniforms that he regularly wore in the field and into combat.
Great, informative videos.
Hi, I believe you know about Damascus steel. Did you know that Keris (or Kris in English), the wavy dagger of South East Asia, that were made after Islamisation, have similar properties to the Damascus steel? Maybe next time you can do research on how keris were made and the possibility that they learned the original lost recipe from Arab through Persian.
I've been having a 'discussion' with a friend from karate about longsword vs bo staff in a duel what are your thoughts?
Bo. I've seen it in Muso Shindoryu, and it's a real pain to get into striking position with a sword against a competent staff fighter. The learning curve is quite unforgiving, though.
Bo is the staff that's shorter than a person? I would say longsword. Against a much longer quarterstaff I'd give it to the staff.
Well, for me it would come down to the fight parameters.
Are the combatants armoured? Is the fight over after a hit or do you take the type of wound into consideration?
I know, I know - a bo staff hit can break bones, but it has to be a hard one or perfectly hitting one, while a sword thrust or cut is in most cases much more severe.
And as somebody mentioned already.. it also comes down to length (yea bois, that's right :p). A long sword against a short bo staff in my opinion is far superior. Against a quarter staff it changes drastically.
Although, and that is why I brought up the fighting parameters, I'd gladly take a staff hit, if I can overcome my opponent and close distance to thrust through his body. Other way round... no thx :D
This might be of interest th-cam.com/video/VHZKHmqa0KY/w-d-xo.html
Sword vs Staff - basic test of principles, rather than combat
There were no bronze coins, they did have copper, brass and silver coins quickly became devalued to no silver or silver plated. So Brass was worth more than Bronze; ie higher class.
@40 he said it guys!
all officers carried shields?
I think it's you who are bringing modern conceptions of aesthetics to these items, Matt. Roman elites would absolutely have loved shiny golden stuff. You almost reached that point when you said that they did "fake aging" by oxidizing the inlaid areas of the fittings--the reason you think they should look dark is because extant items are oxidated! Frankly, this discussion is no different than the one you often do about the satin finish of swords, and how people seem to think that liking shiny things is a modern thing. If anything, now more than ever there's a sort of "counter-culture" to the "bling", and nerds who get into these things are the type of people who are into that--all black, all mate. That's why manufacturers make everything with a matte finish, when in reality if there's one single thing that apparently all historical societies seemed to like--many of them having met ruin when seeking those things--that is shiny things.
How actually ahistorical is the varnish finish? Resins and varnish certainly existed throughout the classical world in some form.
Out of interest, have any of these makers actually changed their products in response to your reviews? I'm curious whether they're actually looking for feedback or just publicity.
Yes, I have worked on product development with several companies and totally designed one with Kvetun. Whether Dynasty Forge will change any of the designs, I cannot say.
@@scholagladiatoria That's good
Where is Lucy? We haven't seen her in a very long time.
Is it legal where you livr (England I suppose) to posses sharpened swords? Here in Italy swords are considered as a weapon and you must have a special patent. You can't in any way buy a sharp sword...😕
Brass naturally dull down over time if not varnished. Just look at old brass plumbing
You praise the single bevel edge, but you'll have to make a new bevel to sharpen it... unless you want to ruin the mirror finish. :/
Speaking of the mirror finish. Bronze armor and weapons often had mirror finishes to be bright and shining like gold. So if you think about someone who had knowledge of tue bromze age in acnient time he may have got a mirror finish on his blade.
The Romans made half pommels (with screw on nuts like this sword) so they could easily replace them after ending people rightly. The large shield clearly evolved to defend against this attack. But only the elite mastered this forbidden technique, that's why they're so rare in archaeology.
Love that sword BTW, gladius FTW IMO. Gladius > machete, and I looove machetes. In 2019 real world violence, machete > anything but guns. Forget knife, chain, bat, knuckles, improvised, unarmed, etc. And swords > machetes! I've seen plenty of real tactical times and scenarios when going for one's knife is a better solution than using the rifle/shotgun or going for one's pistol. I'd rather pull a sword at that moment, and pwn Crocodile Dundee. You think thaaat's a knife? How cute... Roma victrix!
Until the Medieval and Reniassance eras, when people had arming swords and rapiers etc, I'd see nothing much wrong with just having a gladius all day in civilian life. For any other era, just on it's own, it kinda beats the alternatives. Kukri or kama or hatchet? Nah. Knife? Nah. Modern batons? Ha! Swordcane? Nope! Smallsword? Really? Jian? Can you even get one? For most of history in general, a gladius alone would be fine. But, for much of the history of swords (especially the famous times) - you'd be at a real disadvantage. But, that disadvantage was temporary, because nowadays once again I think just a gladius would be fine. Beats a damn folding pocket-knife, which so many seem to have near endless fascination with and faith in plus deify...
All my Warhammer painting experience agrees with your color choices. Here, I'd go bronze over brass any day. I do like to mix and match little details like that in my unit tho. To show not everything is identical, that people have preferences, things are made in different times for different people and passed on for greatly variable periods of use, and that even the same thing can be worn or maintained or preserved at different levels. This applies a LOT if I ever paint 19th century guards on sabers etc now lol thanks for all the knowledge on that! Same with satin and mirror polishes etc. I never noticed the difference until you held them up side by side. My only care is for advantage and disadvantage. Will one have more or less friction going through? Because I think a mirror polish is better ultimately for that, like tatami cutting competition level especially. Is blinding yourself or the enemy a big enough factor to want a non/reflective surface? Like how Samurai Jack blinded a ninja (with his blacked out blade) using the sun to defeat him, or how Beatrix Kiddo used her katana's mirror polish to watch her 6 fighting the Crazy 88, etc. Any parallels in history, sources, art, myth, etc? I know I despise shiny glints on my gear, but stealth and invisibility are priorities in the Modern era, in previous ones soldiers carried flags to show off their position - rather than cursing when it's given away.
I liked gilded steel, myself, for guards on sabers or basket-hilts etc. Shiniest, no dulling, strong as steel, with no rust. Perfect! Damn the cost! Oh, it happens to look cool, and stupid/shallow/weak-willed people tend to treat you better just for having it? Bonus! Buy once, cry once. It's a weapon, it's your friggin' life. No bargain bin goods need apply IMHO. You'd think a benevolent ruler (or true People's government) would want such kit; and than even Machiavellian Realpolitik monarch could see the utility in such a thing, like the fanciness, appreciate the morale boost and prestige it would bring, and could afford to standardize it after everything else they waste money on. Nope! Cheaper and better to have pretty uniforms and soldiers with blunted blades in their metal scabbards who get their hands and fingers mutilated (and probably die after) from weak little brass hilts - while the crown jewels glitter.
Swift was right in Gulliver's Travels. Yahoo! Yahoo!
Soooo... you don’t like the hilt?
A cutting test, please!
Yes! More Roman era vids! Love this vid BTW😆!