Joerg: What was he thinking?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ย. 2024
- Joerg Sprave from the Slingshot Channel sent me one of his "Instant Legolas" arrow feeding magazine system for longbows.
I have shot the weapon and now my task is to reinterpret it and remake it in a way that our medieval ancestors could have made it, but that is for the next films; this one is all about me discovering what this invention is all about. Fun, but more than just that.......
So the discussion to come is "would it have replaced the longbow and changed the shape of medieval warfare". I suspect not, but I do think had this been around it would/could have had a role and this film is the start of a journey to look at the object in an alternative reality where this device could have existed and if so........what would it have been like? But hell I changed my mind during the filming of this, so who knows what I will think next week or the week after.
If you would like to support my work on this channel you can always buy my fantastic reproduction medieval weaponry available here todcutler.com
If you are interested in custom medieval weapons have a look at my site todsworkshop.com
Check out Joerg's channel here / joergsprave
Very cool video! I loved to see the groups you were getting, and the speed shooting was even better. One of the best things about this project is that now, I don't have to keep coming up with new features all by myself anymore. It took me almost three years to arrive at this point, starting from my very simple first Instant Legolas device in 2017. Just imagine what thousands of talented medieval bowyers would have developed from this, over the course of a few hundred years. I am sure they would have made it so much better. Faster reloading, easier attachment, mass production optimizations... probably all it would have taken is a simple first proof of concept model.
While I have no doubts that the SIL would have been a success once on the way, I keep thinking "how would I have marketed the idea in the middle ages". Keep in mind no internet, no TV, no radio, no print magazines. How do you get that FIRST army using it? I am fairly sure that it would have been unstoppable afterwards.
Even ground breaking inventions need a clever marketing strategy to succeed, and I am not even sure if you can call the SIL "ground breaking".
In fact, now that we have the internet, and also we have all those firearms regulations, maybe the SIL will change modern archery more than it would have changed medieval archery. We will find out!
Can't wait to what you will come up with! It is all about THE FEATURES.
I used to be a product designer way back and I used to think that one person can get an idea 95% of the way, but if you want better then you have to bring in others to refresh and review and to build from each others ideas and this is that same process, you are right.
Ideas and products moved and were adopted because they worked, so marketing was basic in that sense; (for example) if helical flights worked, helical flights got used all over after a while.
There is much discussion about how and if the device would have replaced a longbow or a crossbow, but at present, and my view may change, I see crossbows staying in the role they had. A longbow is a cheap, simple, powerful and flexible weapon with a generally high enough rate of fire given physical effort to shoot it and the limited amount of ammunition available whilst on campaign so I don't see its role much changed. However I do see a role for the SIL in certain circumstances where a high rate of shooting is a must and there it could excel.
But my musings are to come.......when I show you its features!
How is there no playlist for the Instant Legolas on your channel? Would be awesome if you could add one.
Lady Marion: I've come to warn you. Prince John and Rottingham have hired murderers to kill you at the fair tomorrow. You mustn't go!
Jörg: Well that's easy, I won't.
Lady Marion: Oh. I'm sooo happy. They were going to lure you there by having an archery contest.
Jörg: AN ARCHERY CONTEST?
I just REALLY want to get my comment in,,, that the second bow could be LONGER, if it were like the japanese bow and skinny on the top to let it be really long.
Hi Joerg & Tod! Marketing in the medieval times went by word of mouth. So if you made a nice working design, and got a few knights interested, you would have a lot of work. It was simple as that. You would be made the lords smith/bowmaker or something.
2:08 "Sights, huh? Always thought they were overrated"
*pans to reveal a perfect 3-inch group*
Tod's comedic timing is underrated.
That was a really good grouping, impressive.
Imagine explaining this to a medival king.
"Yes, there is supposed to be two bows."
"Yes the other bow is meant to be pointed at me"
"No I am not going to shoot myself"
King: this sounds stupid, but I will give you one shot, and one shot only, to prove your invention!
Medieval Joerg: *shoots perfectly, manly laugh*
King: I'll take 10,000
Underrated comment XD
@@Joe125g20 "Your Majesty, could I get you to, instead, count to ten?"
(because a single shot wouldn't prove anything. A single magazine would!)
While I assume that you comment is made in gest, I find it insulting that people regard their forebearers with such contempt. While there were undoubtedly kings that were stupid, there were also undoubtedly kings that were genius military commmanders, and political schemers.
Oh, the double/triple bow crossbows did exist in the past, so it wouldn't be that surprising to the kings of the past
myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?p=267780
I love how youtubers like Shad, Jeorg, and Todd don’t jealously guard their fan base, but frequently recommend others they find interesting. They are helping to create a community of people who love to learn.
Amen to that.
Fact!
Modern History TV as well
I never really see youtubers "jealously guard" there fan base? Most youtubers know that all there subs can be subs of multiple channels...
I think it simply allows us to get more in depth on things that interest up, but in a way that helps carry the audience
CO: “What’s you firearm of choice?”
Navy Seal: “A Semi-Automatic Long Bow”
CO: “What?”
Navy Seal: “What?”
Technically it's a pump action longbow, but yes
@@jjtomecek1623 its not a pump though its a pull
@@alexsanchez1620 Pump, you need to reciprocate the system forward, then back through a full cycle - not just pull. It's most comparable in cycling to a RMB-93 or NS2000 inverted-cycle pump shotgun.
The absolute madman, Jörg. He's done up the archery equivalent of a Winchester.
Actually its more like the archery knox volly gun, to its peak but it shows potentual
In my head, this is either a pump action bow, or a long draw "crossbow" on its side.
Yes
I love everything about what you just said.
I love Joerg Sprave he is so creative
3:53
Tod: "There's some really clever little features here."
Joerg: *appears out of nowhere* I will take it from here.
-Joerg's head literally bursts out of his roof-
"LET ME SHOW YOU ITS FEATURES, HAHAHAHA"
@@excelsior8682 hahaahashhahahhaha
The debate around this has been centered on "instant-Legolas vs longbow". But in the context of medieval weapons, it has always seemed to me that the competition would be "instant-Legolas vs crossbow", the development seems to me closer to an alternative easier and faster loading system to that of crossbows than longbows.
I agree - it sure as hell wouldn't have replaced the longbow, but I see no reason why it couldn't have replaced the crossbow. And we know that the crossbow DID in fact change medieval history.
i dont think this would have nearly the penetrating power that a crossbow does. there's a reason there are special tools to draw a crossbow. If anything, it would be a 3rd weapon that would fulfill a new role, just like what was said in the video.
That's what I keep coming back to when evaluating how it would be used. The main advantage of the repeating bow is to give low-skilled users the ability to shoot quickly and, with these new assists, more powerful bows. But that's pretty much what crossbows did. The bow is a very versatile weapon - the people who used bows could shoot them with power, speed and accuracy as needed. The repeating tool turns it into a specialised tool for very specific scenarios. The question is whether it would replace crossbows or be used as a standalone weapon.
It wouldn't have even replaced cross bows, repeaters changed firearms while keeping a similar package so they could fit the same role. How would it change the bow, I dont know, lmg type role?
I don't think so. Crossbows have other advantages. They're more devastating at short distances, they're easier to operate behind cover and on ships and castles, for instance, an they're easier to keep loaded for long periods of time. Crossbows are for slow, methodical combat, where this repeating bow is very good at suppressing a charging enemy instead, it's perfect for moments of panic. I think it has an entirely different purpose to both the bow and crossbow.
medieval archers: We were born in the wrong millennium.
its they engineers doe
Shooting a bow without dysentery is nice though.
Hey, don't sell yourself short. You may very well require that skill in the living future.
@Swedish Dissident
Dam french
@Tyler K. 15th Century handgonner: heavy breahing while looking at a firelock that fires almost indefinitely, wonders why it doesn't explode
"Ugh, nobody needs a high capacity assault bow!!!"
This is freaking awesome! haha Basically a pump action long bow.
More like a pull action longbow ^^
This is the most I've ever seen Todd smile
The repeating bow tends to do that to everyone. Might be a Joerg thing.
@@NUSensei His contagious laugh has somehow leaked into his very engineering, causing all who hold his creations to at least smile
I think it’s a man thing. We get our hands on a cool, dangerous new toy, and we get a giant smile on our faces.
I did it once in 2012....Seriously though, NUSensei has it right. It does that to you
@@tods_workshop You have no idea how much I like that. Makes me so proud.
"You cant get anymore simple"
Blasphemy! *throws rock*
you call that simple?! *throws punch*
Hang on a minute! Unscrews pommel...
I've heard that one guy throw a cobblestone through a wooden door in a fit of jealousy. I doubt that even many pitchers can generate this much power...
On the other hand, a relative of mine did the same with a cabbage through a closed window and still injured his wife who was busy cheating on him... (there was a cabbage patch right next to the window among a bunch of other plants).
edi wtf is this comment
@@nevertrustatory9412 unscrewing a pommel makes it léss simple. it's not about ranged, it's about less moving parts.
Just imagine about thirty Joerg's shooting those at you whilst chuckling.
With the booming warcry:
*LET ME SHOW YOU IT'S FEATURES!*
And the hills bellowed with the mighty HAHAHAHAHA as the slaughter went on...
...
i suddenly want this as a mod in probably a total war game or something similar, voice clip and all
Someone’s got to put it in bannerlord
i can hear the voice line of attacking now
"LET ME SHOW YOU ITS FEATURES! HAHAHA!" *queue arrow storm*
if i was any good a writing stories i'd turn all this into a medieval fan fiction LOL
"just before the siege horn was sound... we saw a figure raise up on the castle wall. He was a big man, bold, and build like a bear... then a team of archers came up next to him, lined up along the wall, all holding a strange shaped bow that we have never seen before... then that man started laughing, sounding like a joyful kid, but to think about it now, it was the laughter of demon... of death and destruction... soon he stopped laughing and shout out joyfully from the top of that wall... "LET ME SHOW YOU IT'S FEATURES!" he shouts... then the arrows... all those arrows just rain down on us, like the heaviest rain during a storm... during my 20 years of battle i have never seen arrows fall from the sky like that... and that was all i could remember... i don't know how i survived it, it might be luck, or it might be the will of the god... for that i was chosen to live on and pass down the story of the great battle at the Castle of Joerg..."
Ps.omg 400+ likes xD?
Thinks guys for the support!!
FYI You are actually pretty good with that and might as well try and write&share more of these :3
@Adam Richard thank you :3
@@davydovua thank you :D really appreciate that! but nah, little short stuff like this i can do, but any longer i just don't have the brain cell nor the language skill to make it happen saidly.
PS: first time i actually get to 100+ likes on a reply haha, this is pretty cool
@@askaliu2943 fun little story :)
Yeah was also thinking this would totally fit a medival or fantasy setting. Maybe one special tribe invented this type of bow.
another thing to think about is that in joerg's version, it fires short bolts which cannot be fired back by enemies with regular bows.
What a wonderful idea ! I had never thought about that
A good idea, but how do you keep the weight of the projectiles high enough to avoid damaging the bow?
@@GuyUWishUWere Thicc and all made of wood except for the tip. Problem solved.
"Infinity War is the most ambitious crossover in..."
Jörg: "Hold my features HAHAHAHAHA"
Shad: "Hold my MACHICOLATIOOOOONSzzaaaaa...!!!"
Tod: Hi. It's Tod from Tod's Workshop and Tod Cuttler here, and today you're gonna hold my medieval crafting skills.
I honestly ugly laughed at this comment
This is the best comment here lol
this comment is underrated XD
Hold my features HAHAHAHAHA... that is pure gold.
you forgot to add modern history tv
joerg: "I'm not a carpenter"
Todd: "joerg is a master of wood engineering"
wholesome
those are two different things
@@jensboettiger5286 It's still very high praise!
I want to get into woodworking but I don't have any space or power tools :(
@@untitled9181 Non issue. Get your self drill of some sort, cordless are very nice for fine control, drill bits, hand saw, few chisels of various size, build wooden hammer to knock chisels with, metal ruler, box cutter, measuring calibers and couple of planers. All of those can be found from drift shop or yard sale for few bucks, though for the drill you might spend bit more money. Then just get tools when you need them.
For space...you do have roof over your head right? I built gf's custom crafting table on living room, while bedroom was storage for ready made parts and materials and kitchen stored glue ups and with door closed and windows open made it painting room (with a brush and rollers, not spray), with plastic on the ground and news papers soaking any drips. Though i did finish it in friends shop with spray gun, but you can rent a garage or work shop from local company to do it real cheap, or hire them to do it entirely, if you want spray finish.
Only thing required is relative good neighbors (usually just asked what the fuck was the noise, cause they were interested what i was doing, not to complain) and cleaning way more often. After project is done you need to do big clean up due all the dust, but nothing major. Construction vacuum cleaner is advised for dust prevention. If you have gf, its great test for the relationship :D If she cant handle little crafting on living room, specially when you clean it after every day and major clean on projects end she aint keeper :D
@@jensboettiger5286 in the same way that golden and red apples are
I shoot a longbow and when I saw that first grouping I almost spat my coffee.
That is NOT bad for someone (iirc) with no formal longbow training/on your first time shooting a given configuration. Hell, I'd take that grouping on any given day!
Personally, I think it's the effect of the sight and the light draw weight. I was surprised to see that this version has a tangent sight - that was pretty clever.
@@NUSensei Hi man! I'm surprised to find you here.
Btw, I'm big fan of you.
Your 'Instant genghis khan' needs some upgrade as well. 😊
@@NUSensei Well, don't under estimate the effect of the front lever, what I call the "medieval let-off". It allows you to hold the weapon steady under full tension. The heavier the bow, the more important this gets. Sights are useless if you can't hold the weapon steady.
@@Slingshotchannel I would agree that the front hold does help massively with the sighting because it helps to keep everything steady
@@Slingshotchannel and then there's the perfectly consistent draw length and reference point, really you need all these features together to make the exceptional accuracy with zero training
When you combine German engineering with an English longbowman, you get a walking weapons platform
English skill, German engineering, a weapons system to rule them all.
BBBBBRAAAAKAAA MOONOOOOGAAAA! DOITSU NO KAGAKU WA SEKAI ICHI!
What about a Mongol-born Englishman with a horse and a 120lbs instant legolas? That we would call a light tank.
I don't know, it seems more like an Italian engineering project to me. I'd believe Leonardo de Vinci would have been able to make this using era-specific materials.
@@clyax113 Probably, but IMHO with fireweapons starting to dominate the European battlegrounds it's unlikely that Leo would dedicate energies into this project.
Anyway he could master it just as a hobby XD
Imagine if Joerg was around in the medieval times, the man would be rich and well renowned for the weapons he makes.
And he would be featured at "forgotten weapons"
I am like 80% sure that the whole "Don't hold a longbow at full draw for extended periods" thing is more about being physically unable to hold a 120 pound draw bow at full draw for extended periods rather than anything about it possibly damaging the bow.
Yeah, probably more of risk of hurting yourself than the bow.
@@simmerke1111 more tiring your arm out (which then means your aim is unsteady) rather than hurting yourself
I think it would be pretty interesting to test that out.
Make a jig to draw out a longbow and hold it there for some time. Use a chronograph to measure the speed of the arrows before and after. Test by drawing it out for increasing periods of time.
It's not as much about being physically unable to do it, but drawing a 120 pounder at full draw and keeping it there massively increases the forces that your body has to contain (from explosive to sustained force), and this tends to lead to overstretching of the muscles, and even the stretching of bones (see the Mary Rose skeletons), which can give problems after the battle (injury prone, dislocations, muscle tears etc) . To a certain extent a trained body can deal with this, but there is a limit. Just like how the Strongmen competitions only ask for a 2(?) second lift, and not a walk around the stage.
@@rugratrik Find me the person who can hold a 120+ pound longbow at full draw for longer than 5 seconds.
And if you do find that person, see if they can do it twice in a row.
I can't wait for this project!
I can't imagine a person more suited for building this kind of contraption, while keeping it historical, than Tod.
Everyone who recieved instant legolas from jörg: have a great smile like a child recieving gift from santa Claus... Lol
Joerg is my kind of Santa.
That's its hidden feature.
+75% chance of boisterous laughter when using
+110% chance of smiling when using
Let me show it´s features, Ho! Ho! Ho!
I really really want one
I could receive a single sock and a broken marble in a gift box from Joerg and I'd still have a big dumb grin on my face.
It's to a longbow what the henry rifle is to a single shot rifle: slightly less power but way more shots per minute. So like the henry rifle, it would have found it's use case.
Bows are already quite fast and you have to add the magazine reload, I don't think it is actually faster than a simple bow if you want to shoot a lot of arrows.
So for raining down volleys of arrows a standard bow is probably better, if your concern is a LOT of arrows in a limited time then yes, this is way better.
@@flakes6551 i would envision its medieval use being a small fast moving company of men armed with these. You cant fire on horseback, but if you could move to an area of the battle quickly, then fire a tremendous amount of firepower there very quickly, then leave in a hurry. Return to "base" reload then prepare to move out again. You could send them to key points on the battlefield and devastate enemies there. Wouldnt be effective much in defense, youd burn through your arrows fast and unless you could collect arrows back youd need a massive amount of them. !00 men who can move quickly though and with 5 arrows a piece could sling 500 arrows with good accuracy in a matter of seconds, that would be pretty effective.
Andrea Fiocchi i always picture an army who gets hit by the enemy having all their bowmen with these and just blotting out the sky with the million tiny bolts that the enemy cant shoot back at them
The Instant Legolas should be more powerful than a bow, in the hands of the same archer. The draw assist lets one draw a bow 20-30% beyond their normal ability by storing energy from the initial 'pushing' action. Never have to pull more than 90 lbs to draw a 115 lb bow.
@@sammyjones6730 Seem it would serve a Flanking, and Skirmishing role in the hands of a few bands of soldiers in a battlefield, and might slightly prolong the length of wars, and battles slightly, and be effective I would believe in wooded terrain, steep hills, night ambushes, and large towns/villages, and the urban cities of the medieval era, Medieval Outlaw bands, marauders, vikings likely would see the use of Instant Legolas, for quick raids, and Viking Longbows for range at sea, very well become the weapon of foot soldiers if there are enough bolts around which is unlikely but extensive mining, and metallurgy might supply it, and would crudely resemble the Vietnam war, and World War 1 Balkans in war.
If we're talking medieval military use, there's three things we need to look at, aside from does it work for arrows and bows big enough to get through at least gambeson:
1) Cost. How much longer does this take to make when compared to a simple bow, and how much does it cost to maintain? Because we may well find out that it's cheaper to just hire another bowman.
2) Weather resistance. Will rain be enough to make it not work because wood got bloated? Sure, you could store it in something like a leather bag, but if your formation is in the field, there may not be enough time. Comapre it to crossbow with its waxed string or bow with a string that's easy to take off and store.
3) Wear and tear. How many arrows can we put through this before it breaks. There's a lot of surfaces sliding along each other and a lot of force pressing into things. Some of it could be helped by embedding bone or horn into critical contact points, but perhaps not all.
The crossbow was a far more complicated, expensive version of a bow, a major advantage was that anyone could use it. The cost of 'just hiring' another bowman, is months, or years of training versus a more expensive 'bow'
@@Regnent No, cost of a bowman was about 6 pence a day. We have actual data on this from Hundred Years War, it's not hard to look them up.
MartinGreywolf yes, and months upon months of training to get a competent archer.
about the cost; In the medium term it would be cheaper due to the fact that the arrows being shorter, are much easier to manufacture. from my own experience; I was able to make 6 bolts for the same cost of 1 normal arrow and much faster just because it was easier for me to find 15-inch sections that were straight enough ... also fewer feathers are used. also being short arrows they could not be fired against you with a normal bow ...
1) There have been far more complicated and sophisticated Crossbow systems in the ME era that went into mass production anyway, as Shadiversity has pointed out
2) I don't know
3) If you enforced the fragile parts, like the left hand handle at the front and the attachment part with metal reinforcements, stability should not be a problem. A medieval craftsman should have no problem to repair it either. It might need frequent repairs and reinforcements, but this should not be an issue.
"This is not a long bow... it is a different kind of a weapon"
Yeah, it's a Jörg-bow. 😅
SIL
Surely it's like the difference between a musket and a M16, who do you think would win?
Trade mark it
I think IL x long bow is not comparable to m16 and musket
I love how Joerg whent fron playing with slingshots to uniting a community of thinkers and tinkers.
And he did it to his theme-tune of HA HA HAAAA!!
Darth KEK Let me show you its features lol
This is the type of video that made TH-cam great, it’s a shame that TH-cam has forgotten this.
Cheers from Tokyo!
I can see this being banned in California for having to large a magazine or something like that.
In California, I’m surprised you don’t have to register a baseball bat. Or firewood. Or bricks. So tired of the constant new things that are harmful in the state of California notices on products. It’s like the legislature is bored and full of coffee drinking soccer moms.
@Lex Bright Raven
Life causes cancer.
@@RavemastaJ Yeah, definitely. That's why if I have a child I'll let them smoke and go to UV tanning booths and so on. Might as well get it sooner than later, you know?
V. S.
Just a little bit of the cancer. You probably want your kids to get it anyways in the future. Cancer gives your whole family Pity Points! Big PP!
7:28 - "medievalwise". I've been waiting my whole life for this qualifier.
"I get it, Joerg, I get it".
Pretty much my thoughts too.
I've said in my analysis that the main thing that holds it back is its simplification of rapid shooting, such that a novice could shoot a quick burst with decent effectiveness (granted the new pump-action model and sights, and potentially with the pendulum design, greatly enhances this). Once you have actual training and experience with a normal bow, the rate of fire evens out, so you're just switching sustained shooting for burst shooting. As the number of combatants scale up, the volume of arrows is achieved through simply having more archers. This would be a highly specialised weapon and role, suitable for when an individual or small group of unskilled archers needs a disproportionately larger volume of shooting.
Something else viewers should be wary of is how effective it looks on camera, but given that we're shooting light draw weights with light bolts, things really drop off past 10 yards in terms of penetration and accuracy. I had the same tight grouping as Tod on my first go with the original Genghis Khan model (no release grip or sights), but struggled past 20 yards. As Tod said, if the draw weight and bolt weight could be beefed up, we might see different results.
I agree with your initial observations on the technical drawbacks. My viewers seem to miss that it isn't a quick-detach device - it does require the string to be threaded into the rail and the bow needs to be lashed on, so it removes the ability for the bow to be used conventionally unless you can modify it to be removed easily.
@@NUSensei My intuition is that the sliding mechanism fundamentally changes the Instant Legolas as a concept, and is actually the far greater innovation than the magazine. As you said, with high draw weights plus reloading and logistical concerns, the rate of fire advantage of the magazine is probably close to nil on a large scale. But the sliding mechanism provides a consistent draw, a consistent release, and a draw-hold feature - essentially the exact same advantages of a crossbow. It is, in effect, a crossbow that is *much* faster to reload, at the cost of being slightly more bulky.
I might even suggest that the Sliding Instant Legolas would have been game-changing WITHOUT the magazine. It would allow you to mass train large amounts of unskilled archers - just like crossbows - but each one has a rate of fire equal to a regular longbow, instead of a crossbow.
@NUSensei
The best conceivable application would be on the defender's side during a siege.
It would be "difficult" on the open battlefield - at the latest when it comes to close combat (reloading time between the bursts).
An untrained person would have no chace at all without a secondary weapon (and training).
But to shoot arrows from the castle walls ... the IL would do the job.
AND anyone could shoot it - the cook, the princess and anyone else....
@@espneindanke9172 I question the "anyone" part. While it definitely makes it easier, especially the sliding rail design, but when you scale it up to war bow levels, you still need to be physically able to draw the bow even with the tool. Crossbows were employed for this very reason - it could be cocked with tools and shot by anyone, and you didn't even need to load it if you had someone else to do it for you. This seems to be the opposite - anyone can load it, but it would be ineffective if the user couldn't draw it to begin with.
@@NUSensei Chinese repeating crossbows are very similar operationally. They were used mostly to repel charges against static defenses due to the low weight of the bolt and demand for sudden firepower.
Be sure to check out Joerg's channel if you have questions or ideas- he has pretty much addressed them all multiple times while developing this concept.
Saw the size of a 200lbs longbow on Joe's channel. Makes me wonder how big a 300lbs bow would look like and can the assist on the IL make it usable by Joe.
Ok Guys. Its hapening everybody stay calm
I CAN'T STAY CAAAAALM! AAAAAH
I'm trying, I'm trying. Now excuse me while I take a cold shower and steel my friend's heart medicine.
REEEEEEEEE
calm? CALM?!?
Don't tell me what to do! XD
there are no words. one of the most functional and fun inventions ever. I thank Joerg for allowing me to use his figure and his inventions for my fantasy book!
Thank you Joerg and thank you Tod for this review.
Great to see you 2 collaborating. Glad I suggested it along with others... here's to great results.
What's really quite amazing with the "Instant Legolas" is that it basically requires no experience with firing a bow yet it allows the person to become quite good at aiming and firing.
Which is the primary advantage of the crossbow and gun. Easy training. This however has a significant speed advantage.
@@Justowner Easy training is a function of just what the Instant Legolas does as well as the Crossbow and later guns..it give consistency...it is accurate because it removes any variation in the pull of the weapon.
@@r.gilman4261 The release is the more important variable, but yes, more repeatable.
Jeorg has the manliest laugh I have ever heard
You're young
@@MACtic1 Ok Boomer
Lordy. Imagine 1000 trained archers armed with these things firing into a crowd of troops.
5000 arrows in maybe 2 or 3 seconds... That's a scary thought.
@@WingmanSR And the skies went black as night
Imagine 1000 UNTRAINED archers useing this to seige a city
Not as scary as it sounds compared to what was already achievable. The main difference is in sustained vs burst shooting. If all 1000 shot at the same time, you could get 5000 shots in a few seconds. But factor in the reload and a normal bow will match or even outshoot it. It comes down to whether you need that burst for short-distance engagement, perhaps similar to how we see single-shot rifles and repeating rifles being used.
late 19th-century european nations resisted the adoption of repeating rifles because they didn't think they could afford the increase in ammo spent. Both logistically, financially and in terms of tactics. Advances in industry made that point moot but we still have the question about what happens after the 1000 archers shoot that first 5000 arrow volley.
This is one of the reasons that internet is beautiful. Variety, beautiful and ingenious people. Hat off to you sir!
This thing looks like a monster hunter weapon
glad to see I wasn't the only one who thought that lol. Heavy bowgun irl
Light* bowgun
Joerg is the only hope we have for a real life working bowgun
I want one rn
Somebody is gonna try and make a D&D home-brew of this thing.
Probably done already.
Wouldn’t it be treated like a repeater crossbow does for crossbows?
It took maybe a day for several homebrews to show up on Reddit.
@@JK-ko6en now it needs a Skyrim mod.
Done.
There's something interestingly heart-warming seeing Tod having fun in this video. Thank you for sharing your experience and insights with us, Tod.
What's really interesting about that weapon's theoretical role in medieval combat is the fact that it's not really a standalone weapon. Soldiers could potentially be deployed with longbows and several of those attachments, and simply switch when the need arises. It almost would be like the ability to switch from semi-automatic to fully automatic in modern military firearms.
Not to mention if you had a peasant boy and 3 of those you could fire really fast.Like a crew ,one guy shoots,other guy reloads and 3rd guy passes them.Medeval equivalent of machinegun.Then when a shooter gets tires someone else replaces him .
The attachment is a hassle to get on and off and it's perfectly capable of single shots. Switching in the field doesn't make that much sense.
I don't really see anything a bow can do that an IL can't. Some things a plain warbow can do better (the bow doesn't encourage you to damage it by drawing it for too long, friction slightly decreases the IL's efficiency and might wear out the string faster etc.) but I would see the device almost completely replacing normal bows in an army because:
Astonishing volume of fire
Good accuracy
Easier to train people on, thus potential to get more guys in the field in the same amount of time
The Instant Legolas is a noob weapon. Easy to learn, easy to master. Perfect for the modern type of soldier. About medieval English longbowmen I know little and can't really make any statements.
more likely you would have all three alternate shooting and reloading, which was more effective with reloading weapons like musket. You would not need such a deep line to allow continuous fire though (a musket takes much longer to reload than to fire compared to these) which might change tactics a lot.
If we are talking about England, all the peasants in this situation would likely be trained to use a longbow.
Modern combat rifles switch modes with a flick of the finger. This tool requires the bow to be lashed onto the device, the string threaded through and then strung. It's a clumsy process that, as Tod said, is more awkward with a heavier bow. I had mine jam a couple of times, and that pretty much put the whole thing out of action until I unstrung it and cleared the rail.
@@dot620 I'd say it takes around 10 seconds to load a full magazine (depending on capacity) in this tool. The loading speed is fast enough that you don't need to fire by rank. More likely you would fire at will given that each soldier will load, aim and shoot at their own pace. Unlike with muskets, you're not looking for initial volume of fire. You have a weapon with multiple shots, negating the need to immediately reload.
What *could* change, if this was actually adopted as a standard weapon, would be that armies might be less linear and massed. If both armies had this tool, there might be more small-unit skirmish tactics around a greater area.
The short arrows are the point, they can't be shot back at you and when you run out of arrows you can remove the legolas and fire the opponents arrows back at them.
but well, as seen would be dificult, you would have to reestring the bow due how the instant legolas is built.
What Tod was on about was not how well the arrows would fit, but that firing such light bolts from a heavier bow could physically damage the bow itself from the shock.
Still short, just heavier.
Looking at this through the lens of someone with an understanding of weapon systems of the last 100 years here are my thoughts. The longbow is highly effective as a ranged weapon with multiple archers making sustained fire but those archers have to be skilled.
This weapon can act similar to how the Russian army used snipers in WWII, taking a small team and effectively denying an area to an enemy force. With the sights and the offset you suddenly do not need the strongest and most skilled archer, you can use a less valuable soldier holding a delaying position or guarding a flank while maintaining a very strong defensive posture.
I see this like a light machine gun team, 2-3 people out on the edge of the line or set up in a static position holding and flushing the enemy into the path of more potent fire.
the problem with this is the manufacture cost though. every peasant could make a bow, but engineering this requires precision
P McR id say this would be relatively cheap. Not super cheap, requires some lumber and some time. But the ease of making smaller arrows would compensate that cost. Since straight pieces of wood can make more bolts per. So craftsmen and carpenters could be sufficiently skilled
Joerg imbues all his creations with the "childish grin" spell of enchantment. I just want Tod to say "Let me show you its features".
I'd really like tod to go as heavy as possible with the build, optimize it to have the most powerful forward assist and a humanly impossible draw weight on the main bow
Now i’m wondering if you can have some sort of assist tool to allow the second bow to be hilariously heavy to allow for an even more hilariously heavy primary bow, the same way you need a crank to pull back a heavy crossbow. Sure all the advantages would be lost but hey, 200 lb here we gooooooo.
I think the mechanism will reach it's limit before human anatomy. Then again, wood can always be reinforced with metal, at the expense of cost and weight. I would be intrested in a medieval smith's ability to form flat metal plates - I wonder how the performance would look if the sliding mechanism was just two oiled plates sliding against each other. I envisage two strips of metal being meshed with three strips of metal (one of them higher than the others, placed between the two) forming a crude T shape and slotting into the gap between the two plates. This might allow the mechanism to be expanded beyond a weight where wood on wood contact surfaces for the movement of the rail would fail.
@@shallowabyss515 I agree, the design needs reinforcement. That's where tod fits in. as for the ability of medieval smiths to make straight metal slabs, what is a sword if not a straight long steel slab?
I never clicked so fast in a video before! Damn how I waited for this.
Same here.
About sprained my finger . . .
"Favor the bow, eh? I'm a sword man myself."
- some random guard-
You would take a knife to a gun fight
@@kowhaijack6033 He was making a Skyrim reference.
For when someone steals my sweet roll
1:05 That chicken be like: «Never mind me! I’m just going ‘bout my business.»
Tod : ok, i think i will have to try that again just to see how well it shoots, 20 secs later, ok, i think i will have to try that again just to see how well it hits the target, 20 secs later, ok, i think i will have to try that again just to see how well it hits when i aim it.. GOD THIS THING IS SO MUCH FUN TO SHOOT
Holy crap! Something like that could've changed history had someone invented it before the age of gunpowder. Wow!
Exactly!
even a bit into the gunpowder age i think it would have been used, just for the amount of firepower it gives one person.
Anthony Zierhut History is full of cool weapon designs that weren’t adopted because they were too complex or finicky to be effectively carried, maintained, and utilized by the common foot soldier. As Todd points out this is very light bow. Beef up the mechanism to use a 100+ lb. bow and the thing is going to start to weigh quite a bit. Add the ‘assist system’ and you’ve got a pretty complicated beast that’s going to really be pain to carry about or use. Maintaining it in the field would be something of a nightmare. Period bows were either entirely covered while strung ( like crossbows) or unstrung and the bow and string covered separately. Henry V’s archers supposedly kept their bowstrings dry before Agincourt by coiling the under their caps. Don’t forget that in this era manpower was always cheaper than materials. You very likely could hire a couple of trained archers for the cost of building and maintaining one of these things.
@@jeffreyhenion4818
Great points!
I'm skeptical it would have changed European history very much. Matchlock firearms drove English bows from the field primarily because of three factors: much greater power & thus armor penetration, convenience of shooting from cover, & much higher velocity (making dodging much more difficult). Magazine longbows would have been even more awkward than classic longbows for skirmishing in rough terrain. They still can't defeat decent armor & they shoot arrows at velocity low enough to potentially dodge. Shooting five arrows in nine seconds isn't that great if your foes take cover within the first second of a skirmish.
I really enjoy seeing your reactions to the bow. Your eagerness over it is awesome to see. It's been worth the wait for this video
I loves this man's passion for his own passion. His knowledge and articulation of the ideas. Even making the science simple to those who may not have known anything prior to this video is just perfect in my opinion. This is amazing!!!!
Thank you - thats very kind
"It is a different kind of weapon" Fantastic.
Well said sir.
I'm so looking forward to seeing what Tod does with this. Fully re-engineered for fully legit historically plausible medieval craftsmanship. Can't wait!
Thats the plan, but lets see...
It’s got a hold-open! That tickles me immensely.
It's great isn't it haha. However, it serves a very real purpose, even more so than on a firearm - dry firing a longbow is likely to do serious damage.
@@jameshealy4594 You can do quite a lot of damage to caplock firearms when dry firing, not that that relates being hold-opens cannot be implemented without a bolt to hold open.
@@bryceforsyth8521 Yep, it will also damage many rimfires but as far as I know not in quite the same catastrophic way it can destroy a bow.
James Healy Yup, so I’ve been told. I have never put this to the test as I’m too fond of my bow to want to destroy it though. :)
And yes, it isn’t exactly a hold-open. It seemed like the closest analogue.
I’ve been waiting for this video and collab with these two “born in the wrong Century” Titans, Jörg and Tod! It’s like watching 2 of the Avengers for Medieval Weaponry FINALLY coming together! Can’t wait for the next video! 😆
It's a fabulous invention:
1) It securely and easily holds the draw-weight for aiming
2) It's relatively easy to detach and transport.
3) The trigger mechanism ensures a consistent release.
4) It COULD have been manufactured in the medieval times, with the technology available at the time.
5) Ability to use a rudimentary sighting system means accuracy over a longer distance.
I think if this tech had been thought of at the time... Almost all bowmen would have been comfortably and accurately showering their enemies with arrows fired at 100lbs.
Todd, all you need to do is tweak this for the correct arrows, correct draw weight for the most probably use and simplify the materials and production method that would have been employed at the time.
Then you have a History-changing implementat
I came back to watch this again.
Boy am I excited to see where this goes next
I've been waiting for Tod to get his hands on one of these. I've been following the various iterations of the instant legolas and it's variations on Joerg's channel from the get go and I think Tod's the one who can settle once and for all where exactly this thing would have fit historically.
Thanks; I doubt anything can get settled with this device, but I will try
regarding the draw assist:
since it only has to move at drawing speed instead of projectile speed the system can have a lot more moving mass without wasting energy. this opens up a new range of materials.
you could for example use spring steel like on a crossbow. the reason you should not keep a wood bow drawn or even strung longer than nescesary is a material property called creep. the rate at which it's natural shape changes while still in the elastic region of the stress- strain diagramm. steel has a lot less creep than wood.
therefore the permanent preload required to get significant draw assist at full draw where it actually matters is not a problem. also since inertia is less of an issiue you could use brone pulleys or even cams to increase the draw length of a short bow and to better align the forces. cams like on a compound bow could also help to reshape the draw weight /draw length curve of the assist bow to provide much more force at full draw for the main bow, where it would normally provide almost no assisting force beyond your preload.
Bows are cheap and easy to make... loses drawweight? Replace it!
Also u have the biggest advantages if u give that device to untrained people. Cause they get decent fire ratio and accuracy with it.
An well trained soldier could do anything without an instant legolas.
A bow wouldn't last long in untrained hands anyway...
@@vadimblin I see two versions of this emerging, A milita version that is optimised to be cheap idiot proof and mass produced. The sort of thing you give to your conscripts.
Then like ARandomTroll5150 sugests an assault and ambush version so to speak. This would be for professional soldiers who normally fight mele. The would use this as an opener a bit like roman pilum. Or to start an ambush, or to blunt an enemy charge.
@@eps200 yeah, that is exactly the thing!
Vadim Блин the English who used the longbow the most didn’t have enough materials to make them and had to rely on imports to make enough and each bow could take 4 years to make back then so no you can’t just replace it.
Longbows already had a draw weight of 80-150 lbs (recommended draw weight for large males now is 60-70 for reference) so the draw weight wasn’t something needing increasing that much which is also another reason for not drawing them for too long as it required a lot of strength to use.
just imagine how happy medieval footmen were that this didn't get invented in their time
100 archers with this thing would be like assaulting a ww1 trench guarded by automatic weapons😨😨.
The primary arguement agaisnt it is that a trained longbowmen wouldnt have use for it.
Yeah but my army of peseants turned legolasses will. You can out shoot by virtue of training 100s of bowmen in weeks compared to 10s in years.
Medieval footman: "Yeah, we really dodged an arrow on that one."
@@B3RyL badum tsss
Joër/ Tod,. Thank you for your time for the construction of such a beautiful piece of art.
Is there anything more satisfying than a British man saying "I like that"? XD
This is the crossover everyone was waiting for
AND UNIVERSES COLLIDE. [deep laugh]
th-cam.com/video/8uVU0m0b5uI/w-d-xo.html
HA HA HA!
So hyped for this project, can't wait to see the result.
When Medieval History got Instant Legolas it looked cool, but this upgraded version, especially with assist bow is a monster.
Put a bunch of those on a fort and you effectively got five times more men.
@Jadandlud that's why overdraw devices like the tong ah and majra exist.
Five is conservative.
So my first instincts say this weapon could he deployed in seiges on the walls and seige towers to fire many shots at rushing bodies of men. I could see it in city fighting, making archer much hard to rush. I can see it essentially making a skirmisher rapidfire archer sort of like spears. Maybe it replaces slingers in many armies. So far I don't see the power or accuracy for long range heavily armour targets but I can definitly see this being the machinegun or point defense bow.
Could one use the assist system with the insta legolas to make a different crossbow design? One much faster than winching?
That would be a big cross bow like a monster hunter crossbow
Also the learning curve would flatten considerably, A bunch of foot man with machine guns won't replace archers. but they would be cheap and easy to train for situations where rate of fire is more desired over accuracy.
@@paulsherman7802 Like a field battle where you can rain arrows on infantry or riders before they get to your positions. Allowing you to seriously hamper and fatigue the reinforcing troops to the front lines.
imagine 20 horse archers flanking a light infantry shooting magazine into them and run away
Reload behind the lines, than come back with 5 arrows per horse. Would have been a hell of a surprise the first few times before the technology would have been used against the horsemen ^^"
ForestRaptor Thats just one use. Imagine a few hundered people armed with these loosing an arrow hail.
On horseback it’d start looking tempting to come equipped with an extra bow or two.
"Hopefully You'll come along for the journey..." Yes Sir, we will. Oh, we will
The "Instant Legolas" on a longbow is equivalent to the Pedersen Device mounted on the M1903 Springfield rifle late in World War 1. You either have your normal .30-06 bolt-action rifle, or a semi-auto, magazine-fed gun for close-range combat.
Eh, the Pedersen device is shooting what amounts to 7.62 tokarev, not 06. So much less power. So much less that people were popping their heads up while on the wrong end of the range because they weren't hearing the supersonic cracks of the bullets at ... I want to say 300 yards.
expect this appears to work unlike the Pedersen Device as shown in 20's trials of the system by the US army
@@ScottKenny1978 I know. But the Instant Legolas also isn't firing full power arrows for a longbow. You trade power for firing speed.
@@ScottKenny1978 its not even as powerful as 7.62x25. More like a few joules above .32 acp
@@AldanFerrox Actually, you don't. or at least, you don't have to. The shorter bolts for the IL can easily be made with the same mass of a longbow arrow (in fact, they'll have to be, for the heavier bows. As Tod mentions in the video), and the loss of power from the device itself (added friction and whatnot) is somewhere between minuscule to non-existent. Your real tradeoff is in the added complexity to the manufacturing and maintenance processes.
I cant agree with the statement about the simplicity that they probably wouldnt use this instant legolas.
There are few points .
1. Is that there were not enough of trained or capable archers to draw 120 pound or more bows .
2. The reason why they started to use Muskets was exactly that it was super easy .
Interesting point. Firearms increased the potential damage untrained soldiers could do and the IL propably would have had the same effect.
Well that is part of the instant legolas, you don't have to pull the full 120lbs, only a fraction of it till the very end but then you have momentum on your side and you no longer have to try to hold it which is the hardest part... It's also why you aren't suppose to hold a bow of such draw weight because you are going to wear yourself out and potentially even pull muscles by forcing your body to keep doing it.
Might aswell make little timmy potentially hit an enemy every 5 mins between reloads. At least he’ll be of use to the war effort. Same thing here except it wasnt increased damage but speed and accuracy
As a competitive 3D , field archer and enthusiast, I have loved the concept of this thing since Joerg came up with it and started making videos of his inventions. I shoot a lot of different bows from history including war bows and long bows. I can see the benefits of it and a few draw backs. I look forward to seeing what Tod will come up with to expand upon it from a medieval perspective. I think his comments so far were well reasoned and fair. Keep up the great work Tod. I look forward to seeing what you do with this beast of an invention.
Genius to be honest. It's a crazy design and took a lot of logic behind it.
Ok I'm decided: I'm including this weapon in my worldbuilding project!
you better include its creator, too, then.
@@frankgelder8519 mad inventer with a laugh that haunts his enemies
I wanna see that when it's done, so i can die happy
@@OrDuneStudios It's a more exotic weapon, coming from a different continent, specific to very well trained elite archers who have the purpouse of completely disrupting and discouraging enemy lines, that could then be crushed by heavy cavalry. This style of fighting has made this particular branch of the empire quite feared. Not thinking about including the weapon in detail, explaining precisely how it works and stuff, as it would only be mentioned as "elite archers who use a very unusual type of bow that can fire multiple arrows in quick successions" and it is enough for me to know that such a weapon could exist in the context.
I for one can't wait for you to....
"show us its features"...hahaha
We have to remember that, while the instant legolas is a very impressive weapon capable of producing lots of accurate fire, it is nothing without the IDEA of a magazine that reliably feeds the bolts. If we met with and were able to communicate with a group of medieval craftspeople what this thing is and how it works, there is no doubt in my mind that they could make units that were reliable and effective. The difference is the idea and the practicalities of the design. WE know about magazines and their function from fire-arms and the feeding of self contained cartridges. THEY, over 500 years ago, had no more clue about that than the idea of a flying machine or a computer. It's the IDEA that counts here. Now we have to work on a time machine that would deliver Joerg Sprave to 1450 Germany and then the entire history of the western world would be forever changed. It's just that simple.
This is like explaining the concept of an engine to a medieval captain. "You want to put a FIRE on our wooden ship to make it move against the wind?"
Your evaluation is insightful. This could be a history changer, but only because we're deliberately introducing a modern concept into time period where it didn't exist. Similarly, would a bolt-action magazine-fed rifle, or even just a breech-loader, change the Napoleonic Wars? Certainly. But we have to work with what was available at the time.
Something like this was developed in China in the 200s (the Chu Ko Nu), so it's conceivable to me that someone in 1450 could grasp it.
Humans were as intelligent and creative 10000 years ago as we are today. 600 years ago they had complex machines already. The printing press was about to be invented. It was probably the advent of firearms that made this development obsolete before it even happened.
The thing is somebody has to have the idea in the first place. We take pockets for granted, but in 1550 or whenever somebody came in one day and said to their wife "I have just had an idea...." It just needs that first seed and then our collective energy and intelligence and curiosity take over
Chinese repeating crossbow had magazine. The chu-ko-nu.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance mod please.
@J Thorsson i wonder why that's surprising for you. Most of my female friends have great taste in games :)
@J Thorsson A Ooo-Maan with good taste in video games. Noice!
At this rate just enter a cheat code, using this thing against normal player is practically cheating.
They will be penetrated so much by the time you are finished you will find some unrecognizable meat pile on ground.
@J Thorsson bruh.. The medieval simp.. The white Knight lol jk i hate the simp meme but yeah
afaik that is unfortunately impossible atm.
I dont know how I get here but I love it, never knew something like this exist.
Tod, I do believe he made one with a bow with two long bows and during the action of drawing without stressing out either one, and while the clip is empty.
@daAnder71 I was referring more to the mechanism that locks and releases.
@daAnder71 I don't mean to be *that guy* but when referring to firearms, clips and magazines are very different. Clips are just, as the name suggests, clips that hold bullets. Generally via the rim on the rear end of the cartridge. Usually the rounds are fairly exposed, though some clips to wrap around the cartridges somewhat. Magazines are completely different, it's a box with a spring in it that holds bullets for the weapon in question to utilize and it isn't necessarily even a separate thing from the weapon itself. Many WW2 era rifles had internal (non detachable) magazines that were loaded from clips through the breech, the clips are just a convenient way of storing the bullets in a configuration that makes them easy to load.
It turns the Longbow from a Weapon into a Weapon System.
I shall gladly pay 20 golden Florins a piece to any artisan or merchant who shall deliver unto mine castle such an enchanted longbow 'afore the feast of Michaelmas.
(terms and conditions apply)
Imagine this as a defensive weapon. A mix of traditional archers and specially trained archers with these atop a wall defending a position. The volume of fire that could be brought down on an advancing enemy would be amazing. When it's time to reload, the traditional archers could step up their tempo a bit to provide cover.
I cannot wait to see what people will come up with this in the days to come.
"I get it, i get it." - everybody using the instant legolas :D
Looking forward to seeing how this develops.
I've seen how this is deployed. Robin Hood, the 2018 movie: Zero Dark Loxley.
Nice video. Imagine one of those firing from an arrow slit in a medieval castle. Most of the time castles had few soldiers in them so there might only be one person to do the shooting until his friends responded to a threat. The ability to deliver instant rapid firepower into any group approaching the walls or entrance would be a huge improvement on a bow or crossbow. That would be a great siege weapon for the defenders.
"Things that shoot fast are always fun." :)
here i'm wondering is this would've added some sort of "medieval turrets" with a similar system. Just aim at a spot, lock and just "row" like you do a boat a bigger mechanism and shoot multiple loaded bolts.
Joerg has made several wooden gatling weapons in the past. He used to focus on big crazy weapons but recently is working on practical concepts rather than flashy. It is definitely possible to make a wooden gatling bolt shooter but it woudl take some work to build it using medieval materials and methods, without plywood and screws and so forth.
The semi-automatic assault bow -- soon to be banned in California
That pistol grip is screaming "autolock-on kids skull"
Cant wait for the emo white kid to instant legolas the school kids.
@@CrowBag
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
Better go, better go,
Outrun my bow.
_Foster the People_ "Pumped Up Kicks"
Composed for lute, recorder, and drums.
@@richardhanck972 Some mad lad already beat you to it! Introducing the best remix ive heard this year: th-cam.com/video/Kl40J5YMmcI/w-d-xo.html
The main benefit I think wouldn't be the rapid firing on it's own but simply how it would make make it easier to get someone untrained to a level where they could be effective with it, especially if the assist can be made functional with medieval technology.
People should keep in mind not all medieval states/countries was like England with a large portion of the population trained to use the longbow, and even if a country did have access to trained archers that doesn't mean they would be evenly distributed and always available in all parts of the country.
So the easier training of archers along with the rate of fire means the device could be useful in cases where there is a lack of trained manpower, rather than trying to outfit a large scale army.
For example I could see a city or local lord buying up a number of these as an alternative to hiring mercenaries, to a fill a short term need of archers.
Though question is how hard it would be to produce in larger quantities.
I don't think it would replace either the regular bow or the crossbow though, it seem different enough that it would likely coexist with both.
@AAJAA5 Not disputing that, even if it would be limited by available arrows, even if putting stationary battles aside it seem like it would be useful for hit and run tactics.
It is just that rapid firing isn't the part that interest me the most, but that doesn't change that it is an advantage.
Crossbows have this advantage and would prob be creaper too.
This thing is still badass as hell though
@@lordilluminati5836 Crossbows do have a "similar" advantage yes, but that is still not the same since there is significant differences between bows and crossbows aside for the ease of use, and I'm not really so sure that the heavier crossbows would be all that much cheaper.
My thoughts as a product designer, (with some understanding of weapon development, but no experience in archery and only amateur knowledge on medieval topics, so I could well be talking nonsense):
This is undoubtedly a remarkable design, which solves the main task- namely, quick accurate shooting- unbelievably well. However, many great inventions had trouble in the past because of tradeoffs on secondary tasks. This is especially true with weapon designs, where maintenance and integration are very important.
For it to integrate well in the daily, "non shooting", routine of a medieval archer in the field, it would probably need to be easily transported, stored and maintained, as it would compete in these areas with the regular bow, which seems to be fairly straightforward, logistics-wise.
Perhaps a folding feature, so that when folded it could be wrapped in cloth and stood in the corner, or laid on the ground unobtrusively, would boost its usability?
Another thought is that while a regular archer may shoot slower, he doesn't have to reload every five shots or so, so he could perhaps offset in consistency what he lacks in speed. Therefore, easy and speedy reload would probably be an advantage in a realistic scenario (though, as I don't know for sure that it's particularly slow to reload, this point could well be moot)
Just my 2 florins :-) thank you for the brilliant, fascinating and educational content!
I believe Joerg's answer to the assist bow flex problem was to use a longer string so that the limbs of the assist bow are straighter than usual when in neutral position. This effectively extends the draw length of the assist bow so that, on the push forward, the assist bow itself will not flex beyond what it normally would at full 'push' while it can still provide some assistance even when the main bow is at full draw by giving it some pretension.
On the usefulness note, I think it depends on whether you can get the assist feature working. Without the assist, its main advantages over a normal longbow are better accuracy and rate of fire, but you still need someone who can pull a 100+ pound warbow to use it. The assist, however, would provide a massive advantage in no longer needing burly bowmen who've trained most of their lives to pull those 100+ pound warbows, meaning your more average Joes can use it. You'd no longer need (fully) trained archers, so this device would let you deploy more archers more quickly. And they could probably achieve a far greater rate of fire with this than they ever could with crossbows...
It's 8 A.M., in England, and it's been a week and all I'm thinking is, "Is he done yet?
Give him time there are some rly tricks party about it when it comes to doing everything with medieval technology. But I am sure it is possible, just maybe the assist will be a bit weaker, the rest will work 100%
@@kooroshrostami27 I guess since he is taking longer he must have decided to do the assist. He did say he might not if he couldn't make it work. I suppose I'll have to take solace in that.
Could the draw assist be done with a steel bow and a system of pullies? You could have a more powerful bow with a short stroke with some sort of block and tackle system that would divide this force in the longer draw of the main bow. This would also reduce the bulkiness of having another full-size box in the front.
That was my thought as well, but steel may be too hard and unforgiving of a material to allow the bow to 'flex' and give elastic force to the frame. It could apply too much resistance in the opposite direction of the bow, and defeat the purpose of the bow acting as a force mulitplier in order to add velocity to the arrow.
Copper, on the other hand, could be ductile enough as a soft metal to enable the historical replacement of fiberglass, and still retain some of that material's elasticity in order to operate in this function. But then the question becomes at what size, gauge, and purity of copper (base metal or alloy) would be most effective for this project, and if said metal 'springs' back into place or warps under constant usage.
Weight might be a problem here. My version (the Genghis Khan) makes my bow weigh around a kilogram - not much on paper, but it feels like you're holding a plank after shooting and loading it for an hour, and especially compared to a normal bow which is almost weightless. Adding a steel bow and pulley system might be efficient, but less usable.
If the draw assist worked as a crossbow, latching on the push then delatching to provide assist at the end of the draw.
There are a lot of complex issues to go through with trying to get a decent draw weight at a decent power stroke at a decent mass, but they are rather involved and I will see that for camera, but it will be tricky.
@@tods_workshop Have you considered simple alloys? Metals like tin and aluminum were pricey, but very much in use for a very very very long time in europe, even in pre christian europe. Wouldn't have been standard issue due to costs, but perhaps for select weapons with significant power intended to penetrate kite shield lines in preparation for a charge?
I love every bit about this bow system. I adore the craftsmanship and engineering of it.
But while watching i became fascinated with why this game changer weapon hadn't existed until today
Was it too complex to practicably build? (If you could make a bow with journeymen woodworker, but the legolas required master, it would limit its applicability)
Was it too expensive to make (maybe requiring too much shaped metal, worked by an expensive smith)
Maybe it was, as a society, easier to spool up 10,000 high tier longbow archers than it is to train woodsmiths capable of making 10,000 legolas bows
And of course, maybe our ancestors simply lacked the physics understanding to build one of these (they were by most accounts as smart/smarter than us, but they didn't have "the enlightenment" like we did)
Again, this is an amazing beautiful device, but I am curious why i didn't exist until now
@nasolem Honestly I think the most important thing is rubber. I believe Jorg initially designed it around rubber, and the double bow is an 'adaptation' to what would have been the limitations of medieval materials. But going in reverse in terms of thinking would be far harder I think.
That thing is mental, a whole bunch of alternate history ideas come to mind
Impressive shooting for a medieval weapon of yore...
Thank You for sharing...