Yes indeed! But I have a 'half-assed' theory how it might have been used. Just thinking about it, extremely unlikely it was made as a joke (very expensive joke) so therefore it had an intended purpose. See the 'main comments' section where I shall expound. Pax dude.
You have to imagine that 'tacticool' has existed for all time, so you get weapons that are over-specialized and probably didn't last long beyond their initial inception.
Yeah, also this was back when people believe In magic and superstition, your troop will fight harder and the enemymay get demoralized. You carry something crazy looking people will be more likely to believe you have a magic weapon and might not want to fight you, also if they do fight you they may be cautious sense they don't know how that weapon would be used in a fight.
Yeah I have to agree. Stuff like that I have to imagine was just some apprentice fucking around, or maybe a young noble had this crazy idea that he thought was going to change everything, and the castle blacksmith just indulged him for the paycheck. If there's only one example of some crazy design, clearly it wasn't effective enough to be worth duplicating.
@@Underworlddream they probably believed in superstition because they saw things we didn't for our time. People in modern times don't know how things went down exactly, if at all as such. But people in our times still report things from the supernatural. My family included. God Bless you all!
@@giggityguy Well maybe they weren't duplicated for that reason but I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility to consider they weren't because nobody outside their immediate circle knew how to use it and it got scrapped for it's time. Sometimes a weapon or technique may look odd to the uninformed unless someone figured out how to use them effectively. Just look at chinese martial arts weapons like a 3 section staff and how awkward it's movements are. Not factual by any means for me to say this, but there's nothing to say it was never like this or would be again.
@@giggityguy I remember hearing that their were some set of weapon and armor that were created as a way to show potential buyers what the black Smith is capable of, Like advertisement. It like those crazy building that were design and build, they are not practical but build to show the creator skills.
This is why I like Skallagrim so much. His appreciation for paleolithic, neolithic and calcolithic tools is really rare. To me they are the best example of our humble beginnings.
"Hey Ramesh! I made this crazy big ass fork talwar, it took me 8 days to make this serrated edge!" "Great, the Raj will love it" 300 years later, Historians be like "ah yes the fork talwar, perhaps it was commonly used during the Mughal period?"
Mughul period is not medieval, dude. It's the beginning of a new period after the late medieval period. The early medical period to late medical period was ruled by the indigenous Chalukyas, the Pallavas, the Pandyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Muslim rulers, and finally the Mughal.
People back then weren't that different form us, they liked crazy looking stuff and they were making crazy looking stuff. Even if those were useless in combat they probably still looked good hanging on a wall, making your friends' jaws drop whenever they visited your residence.
As someone who has collected semi precious gemstones most of his life, and knows a lot about their properties, I'd argue that a quartz dagger, especially with such a thick cross-section, would actually be quite a bit stronger than regular flint. It's a much harder mineral, which one might assume makes it more brittle, but in the case of quartz, which is much denser and has a different fracturing pattern, it's remarkably resilient against shock and even bending. So long as it's shaped/polished along the correct fracturing orientation (I can't remember the correct technical term right now, but you get my drift), has enough thickness and isn't too long, it'll deal with soft flesh targets like it's absolutely nothing, and it won't break easily, even at the tip, when hitting bone. Definitely not a one time use item. I can see exquisite pieces like that being passed along through generations.
From what i've seen, it's probably a more durable/less insanely sharp version of obsidian blades. I figure, if that dagger isn't ceremonial (because theres every chance that it was) then it was probably treated similarly to Obsidian, certainly useable, but also replaceable.
I look at that blade and my brain goes 2(with possible convergence) ways, the ceremonial route as well documented, but also the hunting tool route(where the convergence can occur, with ~fancy~ slaying/prepping of a kill as part of ceremonial purpose)
I feel like the smith who had to figure out how to make that thing spent most of the process either cussing the guy out in his head, or wondering why the guy hated him so much...
not against it but to be honest, from what I've seen so far, they will pale in comparison to weapons from other continents. They were stuck in the stone age when europeans found them so their weapons are going to reflect that pretty much. You might find some neatly made but the design will either be simplistic of just plain bad and just aiming for a bad ass look Now I understand that this can make me come off as a little racist, but nothing I said is a lie so I don't care if you think so
@@ReivasMC “stuck in the Stone Age” is incredibly simplistic and even downright wrong. Just think of west Africa and its great empires who had contact with the Muslim world through large trade, or Ethiopia’s prosperous civilization, or even the Muslim kingdoms on the coasts of Eastern Africa, these nations where greatly developed, and some made very interesting weapon designs. Edit: idk why autocorrect put “Israel” instead of “its”
@@theArab__ not to mention the swahili coast, Kongo, and the Shona kingdoms all of which were major players in their respective regions, with a competitive level of technology and society. The idea that "Africans were stuck in the Stone age" is a false piece of colonial propoganda.
Funny thing is, they would not be wrong. Look up " Hyung Jin Moon's church " , and "World Peace and Unification Sanctuary Church " , participants were asked to bring AR-15s at a wedding ceremony to recite their vows . As you can imagine, that generated some controversy .
Whats his issue with the term Copper Alloy? Many historical Bronze artefacts are alloys that contain other stuff than just tin. Copper Alloy is a rather reasonable term
@@EmilReiko quoting meta, saying copper alloy is just as good as saying "it is made of metal' you should watch it, its fun watching him get worked up about it :>
Well, in the text, it describes common orcs (that being; the goblins of the North and the snagas of Mordor) using scimitars and hornbows. By contrast, the Uruk-Hai used short, straight bladed swords and longbows, which reveal their more Mannish and advanced (technologically) nature.
Speaking of the ikakalaka sword, anyone know where to find the picture of the woman with such a sword from 11:19 to 11:23? I wonder what words were used for Google (image) search, *if* Skallagrim even used Google for the image.
On these ceremonial overdone African weapons, there is a wealth of information about them and their cultural role in the book: "Striking iron the art of african blacksmiths"
@@chengkuoklee5734 the broom is the most thesible one you just mentioned, which makes it hilarious that's he's actually used all of these in choreographed fights.
The spanish sabre kind of looks like the weight would be in the center of the curve at the top. I think that would put a bit more heft into the blade, and make it feel like your swinging a pick almost, but for the purposes that swords serve, it looks a bit heavy.
A two-handed version with a longer hilt seems like it would be far easier to wield and be effective with. Though based on the handle it would have assuredly been used on horseback, and that angle at a gallop might punch into french armor. Though a warhammer would've been more effective. Even back then never underestimate the 'cool' factor. :P
To me it looks like a heavy cutting weapon. Maybe similar to what a bearded axe or a glaive can do, only with the flamberge-like serration, which I imagine could be useful in certain situations
Thinking about the armorslayer, that would be insanely effective against mail: the heavy tip would create incredible amounts of force, with the point entering a ring and breaking it from the inside while the taper increases.
It could even pierce some plate, like if you went for the head, and had a strong and long enough point on the flared tip, it'd get through enough to cause serious harm
Lol, this kinda looks like the third part of "unrealistic things in history' with "plot holes in history' the designers in the game of reality were super unrealistic and lazy, they didn't even research.
Nah man theyre easter eggs. You might have to become a vampire and travel the country's most famous island to get the true potential. They called it "Elton saber"
The Ikakalaka is such a unique sword, yet people don't remember it for its real life use. They only remember the one sound associated with a blade of its shape: "DORIYAH!"
i had fun on blade's and sorcery decapitating people with that,as it was my favorite weapon, as i loved using one, and some time two of them at the same time. i never thought of this. you just made me want to play that game again and scream DORIYAH every two second,while dragging the sword from low to high
Fun fact about the african swords: In the video game Hades, the sword of poseidon is based on this design. It could just be because it's a cool fantasy look, BUT it could also be a reference to the Iliad. Homer wrote that Poseidon traveled from Ethiopia, which he was probably using as a catch all term for inland subsaharan Africa. If the game designers knew that tidbit (and based on how they wrote Achilles and Patroclus they clearly read Homer to make the game) it's possible that they referenced it by basing Poseidon's sword on real African swords. Could just be coincidence, but even if it is, it's a neat coincidence.
I think on an image of the remake he is wielding one, or something alongside it. PoP 2 especially is mad with the weapons. It was cool to recognize some of them, even if the names were different.
@@talyrath Preferably you would make the first move with such a weapon and close distance but im not familiar with this. One would think you wouldnt use something like this as an off hand weapon, but as a primary. It can still deliver lethal blows. Even if you successfully parry theres no capture to prevent another attack. If you made me use this it would be in my primary hand with a shield in the other, or it would hang from my hip while I used a spear.
@@doodbob2250 Except Juho was speaking of using it as a parrying weapon, trying to catch a sword with the tip of a dagger. If you miss, the opponent's blade is going to slide down your arm and cut it off at the elbow. Don't miss.
Im from a small north american tribe in the southwest of the continent, and we have made daggers out of various minerals and rocks depending on context. I suggest that the quartz crystal dagger may have been for cutting ceremonial herbs, and possibly more of a tool and “holy” object than a weapon. I think thats why they took the time to make it out of that specific material. Or maybe it just looked cool, im also just speculating here 😄😆
Hey Skal if you make a part two I recommend including these weapons. Dahomey kingdom artistic swords known as Fon Swords from modern nation of Benin Ada royal ceremonial sword called the Ada from Nigerian Benin kingdom. The practical version of the blade is the Uzomo sword. And ofcourse the Kapinga and Hunga Munga. And the Urumi swords
@Samson Themighty Really? I didn't think that was particularly pedantic 🤔 Just pointing something out respectfully for the sake of clarity. It doesn't really warrant further discussion though so let's leave it there ok? 🙂
There's a Persian martial art, the name eludes me as I'm commenting, but it is often fought with a curved sword and a small buckler. During it's time there was alot of engineering of the tools of this art like melding firearms into the hilt and such. Those S blades could be another attempt to make an advantageous design for this sort of martial art that slices at tendons and joints. Ah here it is, Razmafzar. Interesting art.
Really interesting, still thinking about that weird middle era sparring manual in which they used to coat sword's handles with goose fat to enhance grip
One weapon that I love the design of is the Japanese seven branched sword. Would it be effective in actual combat? Probably not! But it is a gorgeous design, and works really well in fantasy as a magical weapon.
It was never meant to be used in combat. It was a gift from the old Korean kingdom of Baekje (I think that’s how it’s spelt) to old Japan (I don’t remember what it was called back then). During the period, the kingdom of Silla, another old Korean kingdom from the 3 kingdoms period, allied with China and worried about invasion, Baekje allied with Japan and this sword was made as a gift (for some reason the old Korean kingdoms were very fond of trees which is why it’s the seven branched sword and not the seven point or seven star). I think Baekje fell though because China was a much more powerful ally but a few nobles and royals managed to escape to Japan where they became a prominent clan there, helping introduce steel smithing and written language (at lease for what would become kanji) I think the real one can’t be viewed by the public? But Korea has a replica in a museum. On a depressing note, what was a gift symbolizing an alliance has become a prop for Japanese nationalists because they use it to claim Korea submitted to them thousands of years ago and twist the meaning engraved in the sword to fit their narrative.
Hello from Spain the Spanish saber that appears in min 5:20 was not used to cut the tendons of the horses. It was used to cut the bridles, straps or straps of the saddles to throw the rider to the ground. Thanks for the videos
I known i said this in one of your videos before, but here we go again. African weapons inspiration are used in Every fantasy setting ever, and they never got the appreciation they deserves. You should do a videos about African non-firearms weapons because you gonna find a lot of it, more than any variation a Katana can came up with.
I could see that Shona dagger being used in knife fighting or duels. The two blades could have been meant to be used defensively to catch your opponent's dagger. They wouldn't be good at killing, but that kind of fight usually wasn't meant to be to the death (as far as I know, anyway).
6:01 I feel like this weapon would work better with a different more reversible handle cause from one side it looks like a saber on the other hand that heavy head looks like it would be a great chopper like a falcata or a kopis
@@hugofontes5708 the best comparison I can make is the orcish machete from the lord of the rings movies how it has no hand guard to easily rotate in the hand and change from flesh cutting side and armor piercing side
As a Galician (Spain) I can confirm that the anticavalry sabre's shape was intended to play golf with the heads of your fallen enemies, just as that one Baggins intended.
Of course, most of these guys practice HEMA, which according to the name is European. There are others who practice asian martial arts but those are more rare or at least less popular than HEMA channels.
I honestly thought that the split tip swords, esp. the ones designed to resemble talons, were belly splitters used by adherants of Kali , the whole "By sword or silken rope" thing.
Central African weapon designs are absolutely insane. It's such an interesting topic. It's just a shame there isn't a lot of reliable information available regarding the majority of them (thanks a lot colonialism).
As a rule of thumb, some of the best "fantasy" designs on real life weapons come out of India and central Africa. I also suspect that a lot of the designs with multiple points, barbs, waves, and serrations were likely ceremonial or just for showing off, especially from the late eighteenth century onwards. People have always liked cool designs -- that's never changed -- so why not get yourself an "everyone look at me sword" to go with your EDC weapon?
Could the double bladed swords and daggers possibly be mail breakers? They seem like they would be used mostly for slashing and the twin points would be to pop through mail links fairly easy
RE: the glass dagger as a one-shot weapon, I'm reminded of a science fiction novel (I forget which one, possibly Susan R. Matthews' Jurisdiction books) which had the idea of a glass dagger with a hilt containing a very powerful speaker/vibrator and power supply. The idea being that the dagger is used in a stabbing attack and then a trigger on the hilt is hit, and a powerful vibration/sound on the blade's natural frequency is produced. The blade shatters explosively inside the target, leaving you with lots and lots of transparent fragments designed to be very hard to detect by most imaging techniques (that bit is sci-fi, but not entirely implausible). Obviously intended as an assassination weapon, not a combat one.
The Shona dagger was probably used as a parry dagger. You can Generate ALOT of force to unarm your opponent if you catch the blade in the middle of the dagger
The Spanish saber, sideways slash towards a running horse leg. The blade slides along the leg with the ribs acting as serration and the angle for a final cut. The hook side might have been used to pull people off of horses. All speculation, of course.
I love seeing outtakes at the end of videos. I think it creates a bit more... humanity (?) in the creators that look like they just nail all of their lines first take.
Have you/ has this guy reviewed a executioner's greatsword? That is my favorite blade ever. I always thought that was a cool sword and the concept even better
The like is for recommending David Gemmell! I've been reading (and re-reading) his stuff for around 20 years since my early teens . Never does his work get enough recogntion . It's such a shame he passed away, and we'll never get any more books from him. He writes the most awesome heroic siege style fantasy I've ever read.
I just figured out that I actually started with Sanderson's books because of this channel (Shardblade video), now they are my favorite series by far. Thanks :)
"... just like with a sickle... ... any kind of pick-like object..." Hmm... what if you had a weapon that was halfway between a sickle and a pick? What would you call that? A pickle?
this is very fascinating.I love the crystal weaponry. I am reminded of this one field trip we went to and we were learning about the Native Americans at the time. We even got to make our own arrow head necklaces. We used an antler to make the arrow head shape and the guy tied a leather cord around it. Best field trip ever.
There’s a “rectangle on a stick” executioner’s sword in Destiny 2 called “Falling Guillotine”. It’s cool to see the name and weapon itself has a basis in reality instead of just being a weird sword with a cool name
i can't even imagine trying to work a crystal dagger that large... but I have to assume it's use was 1 of 3 things: 1. religious. a sacrificial dagger doesn't need to be all that durable if you are cutting in to soft tissue in a controlled manner. crystal would fit in with that general theme. 2. a gift of some kind. a crystal dagger would make a fine gift for a chief/king, especially as a tribute offering or a wedding gift. 3. Ornamentation. place the dagger in the hands of a statue of a god, or as part of an exotic collection. so cool. great video!
The beginning of that sponsored segement reminded me of listening to Brandon Sanderson audiobooks. Sure enough, Skall recommends them seconds later. I can only second that. They're absolutely amazing!
Oh the horse tendon sword! If you swing it and you're pressing against the leg, the part that bends forward will push your arm back a little tiny bit like a spring as the horse moves forward, so the long part can push back into the horse more quickly as it passes, getting a good cut on the back of the leg. Or, at least that's how it looks to my completely non-expert never saw that sword before eyes.
Your sword-axe comment reminded me of the side-arm carried by artillerymen in the Napoleonic times, the so called "Fascine knife" a short sword really, they would be used mainly for construction of fascines, preparing firewood or clearing brush. Lending to some later examples being more like bill-hooks, another item I consider to be a cross of the two tools. I'm sure you've heard of this in any case, enjoyed the video!
![PASULOL รามเกียรติ์ ตอนที่ 4 นนทกพบรัก [Ramakien Ep.4: Nonthok in love]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tMUQgmZzf_A/mqdefault.jpg)
That Spanish saber looks like somebody sneezed while trying to draw a picture of a kopesh.
or tried to draw it with their left hand
I'm Spanish and I've never heard of anything remotely like that. I'm trying to find out more about this crazy weapon.
Yes indeed! But I have a 'half-assed' theory how it might have been used. Just thinking about it, extremely unlikely it was made as a joke (very expensive joke) so therefore it had an intended purpose. See the 'main comments' section where I shall expound.
Pax dude.
🤣🤣🤣
Looks like it was inspired by the Ngombe Ngulu from the Congo region.
You have to imagine that 'tacticool' has existed for all time, so you get weapons that are over-specialized and probably didn't last long beyond their initial inception.
Yeah, also this was back when people believe In magic and superstition, your troop will fight harder and the enemymay get demoralized. You carry something crazy looking people will be more likely to believe you have a magic weapon and might not want to fight you, also if they do fight you they may be cautious sense they don't know how that weapon would be used in a fight.
Yeah I have to agree. Stuff like that I have to imagine was just some apprentice fucking around, or maybe a young noble had this crazy idea that he thought was going to change everything, and the castle blacksmith just indulged him for the paycheck. If there's only one example of some crazy design, clearly it wasn't effective enough to be worth duplicating.
@@Underworlddream they probably believed in superstition because they saw things we didn't for our time. People in modern times don't know how things went down exactly, if at all as such. But people in our times still report things from the supernatural. My family included. God Bless you all!
@@giggityguy Well maybe they weren't duplicated for that reason but I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility to consider they weren't because nobody outside their immediate circle knew how to use it and it got scrapped for it's time. Sometimes a weapon or technique may look odd to the uninformed unless someone figured out how to use them effectively. Just look at chinese martial arts weapons like a 3 section staff and how awkward it's movements are. Not factual by any means for me to say this, but there's nothing to say it was never like this or would be again.
@@giggityguy I remember hearing that their were some set of weapon and armor that were created as a way to show potential buyers what the black Smith is capable of, Like advertisement.
It like those crazy building that were design and build, they are not practical but build to show the creator skills.
Woah, those crystal arrows are from my city! Didn't know such antique weapons have been found so near me hahahaha
Your ancestors were quite creative with killing (~_^)
@@codemonster8443 It appears so lol
gotta support local museums haha
maybe when the virus is over you can pay them a visit
@@PSPMHaestros Cristal arrows? Such fancy killer ur ancestors, aren't them
@@yuritrasimaco5201 I mean, might as well kill em with style
This is why I like Skallagrim so much. His appreciation for paleolithic, neolithic and calcolithic tools is really rare. To me they are the best example of our humble beginnings.
@BurnRoddy: beginnings* 🙄
@@pablohammerly448 Duly noted 🎩👌🏼
"Historical Weapons that look like fantasy"
Medieval India: Allow us to introduce ourselves
"Hey Ramesh! I made this crazy big ass fork talwar, it took me 8 days to make this serrated edge!"
"Great, the Raj will love it"
300 years later, Historians be like "ah yes the fork talwar, perhaps it was commonly used during the Mughal period?"
😂
Mughul period is not medieval, dude. It's the beginning of a new period after the late medieval period. The early medical period to late medical period was ruled by the indigenous Chalukyas, the Pallavas, the Pandyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Muslim rulers, and finally the Mughal.
Most Berserk fans are very surprised indeed to find out just how little the late, great Kentaro Miura made up when designing the Kushan Empire.
Indians were the first weebs
People back then weren't that different form us, they liked crazy looking stuff and they were making crazy looking stuff. Even if those were useless in combat they probably still looked good hanging on a wall, making your friends' jaws drop whenever they visited your residence.
And when real warriors visited their residence they muttered “mall ninja” under their breath.
Turns out "OMG dude... that's so cool" is a historical constant
If I were alive back then, I would be a shit-posting weapons manual writer
The comsmetics of a more proper time
As someone who has collected semi precious gemstones most of his life, and knows a lot about their properties, I'd argue that a quartz dagger, especially with such a thick cross-section, would actually be quite a bit stronger than regular flint. It's a much harder mineral, which one might assume makes it more brittle, but in the case of quartz, which is much denser and has a different fracturing pattern, it's remarkably resilient against shock and even bending. So long as it's shaped/polished along the correct fracturing orientation (I can't remember the correct technical term right now, but you get my drift), has enough thickness and isn't too long, it'll deal with soft flesh targets like it's absolutely nothing, and it won't break easily, even at the tip, when hitting bone.
Definitely not a one time use item. I can see exquisite pieces like that being passed along through generations.
I know I for one would flaunt having such a piece because DAMN it is beautiful. like I kinda want a crystal dagger now!
yup, i agree. quartz in agate material has a hardness of 8 and obsidian has a hardness of about 5. Similar to glass
Hell just playing with rocks as a kid I knew quartz wasn't nearly as brittle as he described lol
From what i've seen, it's probably a more durable/less insanely sharp version of obsidian blades. I figure, if that dagger isn't ceremonial (because theres every chance that it was) then it was probably treated similarly to Obsidian, certainly useable, but also replaceable.
I look at that blade and my brain goes 2(with possible convergence) ways, the ceremonial route as well documented, but also the hunting tool route(where the convergence can occur, with ~fancy~ slaying/prepping of a kill as part of ceremonial purpose)
"That's the problem with distinguishing between reality and a dream, they're both ridiculous."
"The difference between reality an fantasy is that fantasy has to make sense"
"Reality is way more absurd than all the parodies within it."
That Spanish sword looks like a loony toons sword that got crumbled up from stabbing a knife shield.
Skall: This rips right through gambisons.
Shad: *Triggered*
Not even shad is stupid enough to say a gambeson can withstand What is basically a spear point on a lever
Smith: "So, what kind of sword do you want? Saber? Flamberge? ...Khopesh...?"
Spanish Knight: "Y E S"
"Surprise me amigo."
spanish knight: You know a lightning bolt? mix that with a saw.
Smith: I gotchu fam.
I feel like the smith who had to figure out how to make that thing spent most of the process either cussing the guy out in his head, or wondering why the guy hated him so much...
Funny, but I doubt a Knight would be using that kind of weapon seems a bit too short for horseback.
Damn. Even spanish knights know Will Smith.
These were all planted by time travelers who wanted to prank historians.
That does explain the ones you find in Asian countries
DUTH!!
They're obviously from dark souls seventeen
@@aubreyackermann8432
Dark souls 2077
@@thegk-verse4216 *Keanu Reeves waking you up intensifies.*
You should do an entire episode on African arms and armament.
He will never
not against it but to be honest, from what I've seen so far, they will pale in comparison to weapons from other continents. They were stuck in the stone age when europeans found them so their weapons are going to reflect that pretty much. You might find some neatly made but the design will either be simplistic of just plain bad and just aiming for a bad ass look
Now I understand that this can make me come off as a little racist, but nothing I said is a lie so I don't care if you think so
@@ReivasMC “stuck in the Stone Age” is incredibly simplistic and even downright wrong. Just think of west Africa and its great empires who had contact with the Muslim world through large trade, or Ethiopia’s prosperous civilization, or even the Muslim kingdoms on the coasts of Eastern Africa, these nations where greatly developed, and some made very interesting weapon designs.
Edit: idk why autocorrect put “Israel” instead of “its”
@@theArab__ not to mention the swahili coast, Kongo, and the Shona kingdoms all of which were major players in their respective regions, with a competitive level of technology and society. The idea that "Africans were stuck in the Stone age" is a false piece of colonial propoganda.
@@ReivasMC Tell that to the Zulus.
Imagine if in the future they find an AR-15 and they look at it like "this must have been used for ceremonial purposes"
From our salvaged records it was used in a ceremony called *”school”*
Funny thing is, they would not be wrong.
Look up " Hyung Jin Moon's church " , and "World Peace and Unification Sanctuary Church " , participants were asked to bring AR-15s at a wedding ceremony to recite their vows .
As you can imagine, that generated some controversy .
@@thewallachianbard6975 that’s just weird
@@ar-1535 I love that your profile was practically made for this discussion
@@kylestanley7843 well yes but actually no
"The curviture under the flare tips could be effective for decapitation, I haven't done tests yet."
yet
Oh no
*DOOM MUSIC PLAYS*
"It looks impractical, so it must be CEREMONIAL "
*metatron screaming from a distant
"It is made of COPPER ALLOY"
*screaming intensifies*
breaking news: local Italian goes super Saiyan
... now I can't get that image out of my head.
@asdrubale bisanzio sly marbo
Whats his issue with the term Copper Alloy? Many historical Bronze artefacts are alloys that contain other stuff than just tin. Copper Alloy is a rather reasonable term
@@EmilReiko quoting meta, saying copper alloy is just as good as saying "it is made of metal' you should watch it, its fun watching him get worked up about it :>
The Spanish blade was clearly created during a golfing fad. Cut down your enemies, then shoot some holes with their eyeballs.
I thought the sheath looked like a golf club myself.
Really? Well, that confirms it then: hobbits once existed in Spain.
@@ezrafaulk3076 To me the sheath looked more like a hockey stick.
@@DAKOTA56777 that's valid too, but putters are extremely flat headed too.
@@ezrafaulk3076 True, but that's a thicc putter :p
The Ikakalaka swords reminded me of the ones that the uruk berserkers in LotR use. Might have served as inspiration for the designers?
Almost certainly.
They also perfectly incapsulates the spirit of the Uruk-Hai.
The blade is used in so many fantasies likely was the inspiration tbh.
In the books their swords were describes as scimitars. The movies changed that. Still a great design in the movie
Well, in the text, it describes common orcs (that being; the goblins of the North and the snagas of Mordor) using scimitars and hornbows. By contrast, the Uruk-Hai used short, straight bladed swords and longbows, which reveal their more Mannish and advanced (technologically) nature.
Speaking of the ikakalaka sword, anyone know where to find the picture of the woman with such a sword from 11:19 to 11:23? I wonder what words were used for Google (image) search, *if* Skallagrim even used Google for the image.
On these ceremonial overdone African weapons, there is a wealth of information about them and their cultural role in the book: "Striking iron the art of african blacksmiths"
Skal: theres no possible way you could use it as a weapon
Jackie Chan: hold my beer
Jackie Chan:" and also my ladder, my stool, my broom....."
@@chengkuoklee5734 and my shoe...
@@darrianweathington1923 You know what, I'll keep the beer, but take my shirt.
@@chengkuoklee5734 the broom is the most thesible one you just mentioned, which makes it hilarious that's he's actually used all of these in choreographed fights.
@@LegendStormcrow Yup, I will finish drinking the beer and use the beer bottle as weapon.
The spanish sabre kind of looks like the weight would be in the center of the curve at the top. I think that would put a bit more heft into the blade, and make it feel like your swinging a pick almost, but for the purposes that swords serve, it looks a bit heavy.
A two-handed version with a longer hilt seems like it would be far easier to wield and be effective with.
Though based on the handle it would have assuredly been used on horseback, and that angle at a gallop might punch into french armor. Though a warhammer would've been more effective. Even back then never underestimate the 'cool' factor. :P
It seems to me that its point would have been utilized in a similar fashion as the horseman's pick.
@@planescaped It kinda reminds me of the Dothraki swords from Game of Thrones, just a lighter, one handed version of it
To me it looks like a heavy cutting weapon. Maybe similar to what a bearded axe or a glaive can do, only with the flamberge-like serration, which I imagine could be useful in certain situations
What distresses me is that I can't picture just how you're supposed to slide the sheath on it
Thinking about the armorslayer, that would be insanely effective against mail: the heavy tip would create incredible amounts of force, with the point entering a ring and breaking it from the inside while the taper increases.
It could even pierce some plate, like if you went for the head, and had a strong and long enough point on the flared tip, it'd get through enough to cause serious harm
Speaking of the armoslayer, anyone know where and how to find the image shown at 11:19 to 11:23?
Lol, this kinda looks like the third part of "unrealistic things in history' with "plot holes in history' the designers in the game of reality were super unrealistic and lazy, they didn't even research.
lmfao
These were beta weapons. Proven to be too underpowered compared to others.
And thats how we know it allllll a simulation.
@@Deshift00 or too OP and nerfed...
Think about it: WE WOULD NEVER KNOW.
Nah man theyre easter eggs.
You might have to become a vampire and travel the country's most famous island to get the true potential. They called it
"Elton saber"
The Ikakalaka is such a unique sword, yet people don't remember it for its real life use.
They only remember the one sound associated with a blade of its shape: "DORIYAH!"
IZUKU MIDORIYAH
i had fun on blade's and sorcery decapitating people with that,as it was my favorite weapon, as i loved using one, and some time two of them at the same time.
i never thought of this.
you just made me want to play that game again and scream DORIYAH every two second,while dragging the sword from low to high
I disagree, I know about the sword but have no idea what a doriyah even is.
man i just think of prince of persia warrior within
14:17 "...or gambesons in particular, this rips right through"
Shadiversity has entered the chat
Fun fact about the african swords: In the video game Hades, the sword of poseidon is based on this design. It could just be because it's a cool fantasy look, BUT it could also be a reference to the Iliad. Homer wrote that Poseidon traveled from Ethiopia, which he was probably using as a catch all term for inland subsaharan Africa. If the game designers knew that tidbit (and based on how they wrote Achilles and Patroclus they clearly read Homer to make the game) it's possible that they referenced it by basing Poseidon's sword on real African swords. Could just be coincidence, but even if it is, it's a neat coincidence.
I knew the aspect of Poseidon was an armorslayer, but I didn’t know that. Cool!
Ethiopia is a Greek word as well
Meaning the land of burnt faces,
I like this description of thier neighbours to the south, almost feels child like
7:32
You see those warriors from Hammerfell? They have curved swords.
Curved.
Swords.
Even the Redguards don't have swords this mad.
@@JewishFrog I've heard stories that the gap on the blade of Zulfiqar is used to catch opponent's blade
The Zulfiqar looks like a sword you'd find in Prince of Persia; Warrior Within. Especially the serrated one.
I’m pretty sure you do find one in one of the PoP games
They got similiar sources : Exaggerated swagger of middle Eastern warfare
I think on an image of the remake he is wielding one, or something alongside it.
PoP 2 especially is mad with the weapons. It was cool to recognize some of them, even if the names were different.
Especially the Ikakalaka is easily the most recognizable sword from pop2
Yeah
11:12 That double pronged dagger "Shona" looks like a "sword breaker", intended to catch the opponents blade while parrying the attack.
My thoughts exactly.
... Don't miss.
@@talyrath he said while Parrying, so he could have meant during the Bite
@@talyrath Preferably you would make the first move with such a weapon and close distance but im not familiar with this.
One would think you wouldnt use something like this as an off hand weapon, but as a primary. It can still deliver lethal blows. Even if you successfully parry theres no capture to prevent another attack.
If you made me use this it would be in my primary hand with a shield in the other, or it would hang from my hip while I used a spear.
@@doodbob2250 Except Juho was speaking of using it as a parrying weapon, trying to catch a sword with the tip of a dagger.
If you miss, the opponent's blade is going to slide down your arm and cut it off at the elbow.
Don't miss.
Im from a small north american tribe in the southwest of the continent, and we have made daggers out of various minerals and rocks depending on context. I suggest that the quartz crystal dagger may have been for cutting ceremonial herbs, and possibly more of a tool and “holy” object than a weapon. I think thats why they took the time to make it out of that specific material. Or maybe it just looked cool, im also just speculating here 😄😆
When talking about the quarts dagger i was expecting Skall to say it was ceremonial, but he restrained hinself.
Hey Skal if you make a part two I recommend including these weapons.
Dahomey kingdom artistic swords known as Fon Swords from modern nation of Benin
Ada royal ceremonial sword called the Ada from Nigerian Benin kingdom. The practical version of the blade is the Uzomo sword.
And ofcourse the Kapinga and Hunga Munga.
And the Urumi swords
Minor correction: Zimbabwe is in southern Africa.
@Samson Themighty Really? I didn't think that was particularly pedantic 🤔 Just pointing something out respectfully for the sake of clarity. It doesn't really warrant further discussion though so let's leave it there ok? 🙂
@Samson Themighty Don't see how that's a minor detail that Zimbabwe is in southern Africa, it's a pretty huge detail tbh.
@Samson Themighty bruh you have the chance to delete the old one, people will think that you're a jerk
There's a Persian martial art, the name eludes me as I'm commenting, but it is often fought with a curved sword and a small buckler. During it's time there was alot of engineering of the tools of this art like melding firearms into the hilt and such. Those S blades could be another attempt to make an advantageous design for this sort of martial art that slices at tendons and joints. Ah here it is, Razmafzar. Interesting art.
india has a really crazy whip sword made of coiled spring steel. for those for whom flails are not sufficiently dangerous to the user.
The Antler Mattock is literally the first Pickaxe you make in Valheim haha, nice to see it is actually historical!
5:32 Huh. It's rare you can see EXACTLY when the drugs kicked in.
The smith took quite a bit too much weed.
@@YataTheFifteenth nah dawg if he'd smoked or ate weed he'd just not finish the job and he'd just get something to eat xD
@@meadowz1966 Cocaine then.
he sneezed right at the end
Really interesting, still thinking about that weird middle era sparring manual in which they used to coat sword's handles with goose fat to enhance grip
You know your sword is unusual when you have to swing it to stab someone
One weapon that I love the design of is the Japanese seven branched sword. Would it be effective in actual combat? Probably not! But it is a gorgeous design, and works really well in fantasy as a magical weapon.
It was never meant to be used in combat. It was a gift from the old Korean kingdom of Baekje (I think that’s how it’s spelt) to old Japan (I don’t remember what it was called back then).
During the period, the kingdom of Silla, another old Korean kingdom from the 3 kingdoms period, allied with China and worried about invasion, Baekje allied with Japan and this sword was made as a gift (for some reason the old Korean kingdoms were very fond of trees which is why it’s the seven branched sword and not the seven point or seven star). I think Baekje fell though because China was a much more powerful ally but a few nobles and royals managed to escape to Japan where they became a prominent clan there, helping introduce steel smithing and written language (at lease for what would become kanji)
I think the real one can’t be viewed by the public? But Korea has a replica in a museum. On a depressing note, what was a gift symbolizing an alliance has become a prop for Japanese nationalists because they use it to claim Korea submitted to them thousands of years ago and twist the meaning engraved in the sword to fit their narrative.
I ended up using it as the design for Zeus's Master Bolt in a fanfic, as a pole weapon.
Hello from Spain
the Spanish saber that appears in min 5:20 was not used to cut the tendons of the horses. It was used to cut the bridles, straps or straps of the saddles to throw the rider to the ground.
Thanks for the videos
Hola amigo. Donde puedo encontrar info sobre esta espada? Saludos!
I known i said this in one of your videos before, but here we go again.
African weapons inspiration are used in Every fantasy setting ever, and they never got the appreciation they deserves. You should do a videos about African non-firearms weapons because you gonna find a lot of it, more than any variation a Katana can came up with.
Exactly
The bifurcation could be more as a psychological effect after a cut is made. The two tines ringing loudly especially when contact is made.
5:21 THE SCABBARD LOOKS LIKE A HOCKEY STICK LMAOOOO
its cool when you guys do weapons from other continents .the Ikakalaka looks just like the doom slayer's crucible
you're looking much healthier/happier in these new videos. Keep the cool content coming!
8:38
Half expected you to go "And the blade might be from Final Fantasy"
the heck is that, lmao
@@JewishFrog how strange was he
Zulfiqar means "the spines one"
I think the Zulfiqar sword was serrated in bothe sides of the blade, not double edged sword.
Or serrated in one side works too
The shona dagger, 11 minutes in, looks a lot like a fishing spear tip almost.
or a beefier than average barbecue fork
Me, upon seeing the crystal dagger: "Anyone else getting 'Dune' vibes? The crysknife? 'May thy knife chip and shatter'?"
Skyrim:)
Yes, but the crysknife is made from the teeth of Shai Hulud, not actual crystal.
I personally like these dives into odd weapon designs, their history and/or some speculation about their use and merits.
"Aah, you were at my side, all along.
My true mentor...
My guiding moonlight..."
Eyyyyyyy
3:18 The Holy Moonlight Greatsword, weapon of the Moonlight Knight Vito
I love when Shad and Skall upload close to each other
I don't. Can't decide what to watch first
I'm all for this becoming a series.
I could see that Shona dagger being used in knife fighting or duels. The two blades could have been meant to be used defensively to catch your opponent's dagger. They wouldn't be good at killing, but that kind of fight usually wasn't meant to be to the death (as far as I know, anyway).
I’d love more episodes in this series. I’m getting loads of inspiration for DND magic weapons.
6:01 I feel like this weapon would work better with a different more reversible handle cause from one side it looks like a saber on the other hand that heavy head looks like it would be a great chopper like a falcata or a kopis
I was thinking this the whole time, it really does like it's supposed to go from saber to sickle/pick just by flipping the grip
@@hugofontes5708 the best comparison I can make is the orcish machete from the lord of the rings movies how it has no hand guard to easily rotate in the hand and change from flesh cutting side and armor piercing side
Fun video, and always happy to see Zimbabwe mentioned. Small nit pick - not central Africa, but Southern Africa ^^
Blanka is not a Neolithic man, if anyone’s wondering , he’s brazilian, and grew up in the jungle as a result of a plane crash.
Actually everbody in Brasil is Green and generate electricity
@@pedrosantos6183 can confirm
So... if he grew up with proper education and training on martial arts, would he be a green brazilian Super Saiyan?
@@ale-xsantos1078 all brazilians are green super saiyans
Indeed we are
Skallagrim, 2 weeks ago: "Something I don't think many people know, which is the Antler Mattock."
Valheim: "Hold my mead."
Forged in Fire has made a number of these and they generally rip the "crash dummies" for the KEAL test to pieces...
Oh? Would you like to point me toward any videos on the subject?
Doom Slayer approves of the Ikakalaka Sword 😂🤣
I believe that's where they got the crucibles model from
This means that the ikakalaka is the standard form of the crucible swords
@@Temarim222 also, like your profile and name
Speaking of the ikakalaka sword, anyone know how or where to look up the image shown at 11:19 -11:23?
that double bladed dagger looks a lot like an effective parrying dagger.
As a Galician (Spain) I can confirm that the anticavalry sabre's shape was intended to play golf with the heads of your fallen enemies, just as that one Baggins intended.
Wasnt he a Took?
@@TomasPabon Bullroarer Took, correct?
@@RazorO2Productions looked it up, you are correct sir
I really enjoyed the format! And the out-takes afterwards. XD
You know I’m glad skal talks about African and other indigenous weapons. I think it’s easier for channels like this to become very Eurocentric.
Very true
Of course, most of these guys practice HEMA, which according to the name is European. There are others who practice asian martial arts but those are more rare or at least less popular than HEMA channels.
Theyre usually focused on HEMA thats why.
I honestly thought that the split tip swords, esp. the ones designed to resemble talons, were belly splitters used by adherants of Kali , the whole "By sword or silken rope" thing.
Central African weapon designs are absolutely insane. It's such an interesting topic. It's just a shame there isn't a lot of reliable information available regarding the majority of them (thanks a lot colonialism).
As a rule of thumb, some of the best "fantasy" designs on real life weapons come out of India and central Africa. I also suspect that a lot of the designs with multiple points, barbs, waves, and serrations were likely ceremonial or just for showing off, especially from the late eighteenth century onwards. People have always liked cool designs -- that's never changed -- so why not get yourself an "everyone look at me sword" to go with your EDC weapon?
Knights: okay, we need something practical
Designers: Yeah, but what if hooks and spikes?
Could the double bladed swords and daggers possibly be mail breakers? They seem like they would be used mostly for slashing and the twin points would be to pop through mail links fairly easy
Oh, those must be CeReMoNiAl!
Made from copper alloy?
Ian McCollum: gun jesus
Skallagrim: sword jesus
Backyard Bowyer: bow jesus
I'm pretty sure he's a neo-pagan
@@luxinvictus9018 No, he's just Jesus in the flesh
Moistcr1tical: Dildo Jesus
@@youtubeenjoyer-pf3tu ohhhh that too
What about Hickok?
RE: the glass dagger as a one-shot weapon, I'm reminded of a science fiction novel (I forget which one, possibly Susan R. Matthews' Jurisdiction books) which had the idea of a glass dagger with a hilt containing a very powerful speaker/vibrator and power supply. The idea being that the dagger is used in a stabbing attack and then a trigger on the hilt is hit, and a powerful vibration/sound on the blade's natural frequency is produced. The blade shatters explosively inside the target, leaving you with lots and lots of transparent fragments designed to be very hard to detect by most imaging techniques (that bit is sci-fi, but not entirely implausible). Obviously intended as an assassination weapon, not a combat one.
The short blades with wide openings look like they could be used for blocking/catching an opponents weapon.
Man, you've been here a long time, thanks for always giving us something to think about. I always come away learning something
The Shona dagger was probably used as a parry dagger. You can Generate ALOT of force to unarm your opponent if you catch the blade in the middle of the dagger
The Spanish saber, sideways slash towards a running horse leg. The blade slides along the leg with the ribs acting as serration and the angle for a final cut. The hook side might have been used to pull people off of horses. All speculation, of course.
sometimes i wonder how does these bizarre swords fit in their scabbard
i think a lot of the scabbards are made to open like a guitar case where you just lay the sword down and close it
Wonderful job to father them in one materiał,please do more then just two episodes.
I love seeing outtakes at the end of videos. I think it creates a bit more... humanity (?) in the creators that look like they just nail all of their lines first take.
Missed opportunity to show off the Hunga Munga. Thing looks like pure fantasy but was used as a weapon and tool by some places in africa
He may make a part 3
Skal: "Or should I say, 'sword-like object'"
Me, with EFAP on the brain: Is that a reference?
Have you/ has this guy reviewed a executioner's greatsword? That is my favorite blade ever. I always thought that was a cool sword and the concept even better
The like is for recommending David Gemmell! I've been reading (and re-reading) his stuff for around 20 years since my early teens . Never does his work get enough recogntion . It's such a shame he passed away, and we'll never get any more books from him. He writes the most awesome heroic siege style fantasy I've ever read.
I just figured out that I actually started with Sanderson's books because of this channel (Shardblade video), now they are my favorite series by far. Thanks :)
Every sword design has a purpose.
Sword can also be great standup comedian too, so it's okay to laugh at the funny sword, without feeling bad.
If Jesus was a Viking and reviewed weapons he would look like you
what an original comment, 10/10
Ah so we have the Gun Jesus Ian from forgotten weapons and now we also have the Melee Weapon Jesus Skallagrim ? I don't mind at all.
@@Tacticaviator7 SWORD JESUS
Note: Jesus was not European with blue eyes and did not have straight hair
@@nefandusmalummortifer Skall is Canadian.
"... just like with a sickle...
... any kind of pick-like object..."
Hmm... what if you had a weapon that was halfway between a sickle and a pick? What would you call that? A pickle?
Whatever it is, it sounds pretty *sick*
@@BugBoss1205 You could say it's pickle sick
this is very fascinating.I love the crystal weaponry. I am reminded of this one field trip we went to and we were learning about the Native Americans at the time. We even got to make our own arrow head necklaces. We used an antler to make the arrow head shape and the guy tied a leather cord around it. Best field trip ever.
There’s a “rectangle on a stick” executioner’s sword in Destiny 2 called “Falling Guillotine”. It’s cool to see the name and weapon itself has a basis in reality instead of just being a weird sword with a cool name
all Filipino swords basically look fantasy and I LOVE THEM
I'd like to think "sword like object" is an EFAP reference
I had the exact same thought
*Life is sometimes stranger then Fiction*
i can't even imagine trying to work a crystal dagger that large... but I have to assume it's use was 1 of 3 things:
1. religious. a sacrificial dagger doesn't need to be all that durable if you are cutting in to soft tissue in a controlled manner. crystal would fit in with that general theme.
2. a gift of some kind. a crystal dagger would make a fine gift for a chief/king, especially as a tribute offering or a wedding gift.
3. Ornamentation. place the dagger in the hands of a statue of a god, or as part of an exotic collection.
so cool. great video!
The beginning of that sponsored segement reminded me of listening to Brandon Sanderson audiobooks. Sure enough, Skall recommends them seconds later. I can only second that. They're absolutely amazing!
this is the definition of medieval trolling
Oh the horse tendon sword! If you swing it and you're pressing against the leg, the part that bends forward will push your arm back a little tiny bit like a spring as the horse moves forward, so the long part can push back into the horse more quickly as it passes, getting a good cut on the back of the leg. Or, at least that's how it looks to my completely non-expert never saw that sword before eyes.
As long as it kills!
KEEEEEELLSSS
Really like that format !
Your sword-axe comment reminded me of the side-arm carried by artillerymen in the Napoleonic times, the so called "Fascine knife" a short sword really, they would be used mainly for construction of fascines, preparing firewood or clearing brush. Lending to some later examples being more like bill-hooks, another item I consider to be a cross of the two tools.
I'm sure you've heard of this in any case, enjoyed the video!