Hey Matt, I think you are correct on the influence. The Chinese known and had contact with Sassanian in those days. Peroz 3rd served as a Tang general.
I wonder if it's possible that some sword designer took a look at Middle Eastern or other swords with a hidden hilt, thought it looked cool, and decided to replicate it. No real practical reason...just aesthetics preference.
@@Intranetusa Middle Eastern, Persian and Sassanid cultural influences had a strong impact on East Asia until the Tang-Song period before the rise of Islamic empires and Mongols, so that’s completely plausible.
i wrote it in one of your previous video, that ring pommel is not just to secure your hand from slipping, but also helps edge alignment. If you hold your pinky and ring finger on the pommel you can manipulate blade alignment much better
Commonly knives were made with wet formed leather sheaths that cover most of the handle to protect them from weather and aid with retention, given that the other weapons with hidden hilts are large knives or short swords I suspect the origin of this feature is an adaptation in wood of knife sheaths. Possibly in Central Asia, as well as other areas where wood is less common and hence more valuable, leather was the preferred material for sword scabbards.
Hey Matt, I don't know if you remember, but on a previous video on the Frontier Tang Dao that had a cord loop on the handle, some other commenter suggested catching the cord loop with your thumb and looping it around the back of your had like a police baton. I don't know if you've tested this yet, but I took the initiative to test this on my Han Infantry Dao, and it works wonderfully. I used a short loop that forces my hand to choke down on the pommel and hold it in my pinky; this gives me some pretty good edge control and also keeps my hand attached to the sword when I thrust with it, making a large guard unnecessary. I'm now thinking that most Chinese swords with ring pommels that were meant to be wielded in one hand were meant to be held this way, and the reason that we don't see the loops on Chinese examples is due to disintegration over time, whereas Japanese examples are often kept clean and pristine inside temples for _very_ long periods of time.
It is one of the reasons why cloth is tied to the pommel of Modern Dao/Jian/Bian/Maces till this very day. It is to bind the user's hand/gauntlet to the weapon.
Archaeology is a such a cool field. Some of the logic we must use to determine things like that in lieu of having complete surviving samples of objects, even if we don't know if it qas totally true or not, at the very least leads to nice little ideas for replica/reproduction versions of some objects.
Excellent video, Matt! I agree with your assessment of how the sword would have been gripped and I enjoyed hearing more about the history of these types of swords in this region and others. And thank you for the kind words! I'll echo what some others have already said in the comments... please don't leave out your cutting videos. We are all interested to hear your thoughts on how the sword handles and feels when cutting. Keep up the great work! :-)
Re: Gripping it down by the pommel, it also appears that the 'riser' on the pommel sits nicely between your ring finger and pinky, sort of like the risers in the middle of some kukri grips, which might also suggest that it's there to help lock the grip into your hand a little more securely. Of course, I haven't handled one, so I can't really comment other than on appearances, but it does also seem to give some more credence to a lower grip. Cheers.
I'm glad these older battle sword designs are coming to fore these days and highlighted by yourself. So much of Chinese weapon assumptions otherwise in previous years were based inaccurately on later date martial arts swords. Great job.
I'm aware that Philip Martin from the Aikidoka channel held the sword near the ring pommel, and was able to cut with it, but art sources along with traditional Chinese usage suggests it was held by exactly where you'd expect, the hidden handle. It's true that the lack of a guard makes European swordsman nervous, but as long as you hit with it properly/traditionally you won't end up cutting your hand. And note that there are plenty of sources that show us the information, and some of it is speculation, BUT it's speculation based on evidence. The Chinese had a different philosophy when it came to swords, and it was that if the sword didn't perform the way you wanted it to, then the swordsman needs to improve his technique, rather than change the design of the sword. And while it didn't happen a full 100% of the time, it happened enough that it was kind of the general consensus to the era and beyond. I don't expect anyone to take the word of an internet rando like myself (especially with no proof of credentials) seriously, but I still feel compelled to correct any accidental misinformation. Though I wish I had more time and a proper platform instead of a UA-cam comment section xD
Abou the ring pommel there’s a very interesting scene in the anime Princess Mononoke in which the hero, who’s a member of a real ancient native people from Japan, has a machete like knife with a ring pommel. The most interesting scene to me is when the hero faces some mounted samurai and he simply hangs the knife on his pinky finger (on the hand that draws the bow string) by passing it through the ring pommel so that he can shoot an arrow without having to let go of the knife or waste time sheathing it.
Matt brought up the pinky-hanging thing in the video about the Infantry Dao, as it was brought up in comments and some other UA-cam content. Pretty damn cool idea if they really used it that way. (That's my favorite classic Ghibli film btw).
Matt, humility has its place, and kudos to linking to the Aikidoka Channel, but most of us have become accustomed to *your* cutting videos and can compare what we're doing with what you're doing, looking for tips or examples of what not to do etc. Just because *you* think someone's better than you (and even if they are, by whatever metric) is no excuse to blow off doing your duty and showing how well (or badly) a sword cuts in *your* hand. Ultimately it is your channel and your choice- I just wanted you to know there's at least one vote for you to continue showing us that perfection is to be striven for, but that we can all improve, even you.
I'll just note that friction doesn't depend on area, it's just pressure and surface type. Considering that the grip is also more exposed to wear, it doesn't seem likely they did this to stop the sword from falling out, there would be easier ways to do that.
The northern dynasties were descended from the proto-mongolic former vassals of the defunct Han empire, most notably the Xianbei who were cavalry specialists. They set up what were the analogue of the the barbarian successor kingdoms, the difference being that they were so thoroughly sinicized that they ultimately paved the way for a relatively easy reunification at the end of the 6th century CE.
On the subject of the risk of one's hand sliding up the grip and accidentally getting cut, do we know that the blade was definitely sharpened along its entire length?
Good looking sword, love knowing the history behind a piece especially if thinking of purchasing it. Not crazy about fantasy pieces, just not my cup of tea nothing personal.just like historical pieces better. Great review as always sir. Stay safe and God bless 🇺🇸☠️🇺🇸🇨🇦🇬🇧🤺💂!!
Hello Matt, looking at that ridge in the grip. Is that a pronounced as much as it would be on a kukri? It looks like by its positioning it could serve the same function on this sword as it would on the kukri.
One other thing to consider for protection from the elements is that in very cold weather, the blade might expand or contract like any piece of metal. If a tighter scabbard is needed to keep it in, that scabbard might have to be “adjusted” depending on the weather if it’s gripping the blade. The grip, however, can be made of materials that don’t expand or contract substantially, so even if the sword is cold it won’t go sliding around.
chinesemartialstudies.com/2020/07/03/mulan-the-hidden-hilt-dao-and-the-dragon-sparrow-lk-chen-explores-the-northern-dynasties/ Please see the X-ray photo and the pre-assemble components in later part of this article
Also, if you didn't have that extra bit of grip, even if you don't actually hold it there, but it was just blade all the way, then holding it down at the pommel wouldn't necessarily make it much safer. Having that extra length of leather or wood or whatever makes it so that even if you did thrust and your hand did slide up, it would maybe only slide to the upper part of the grip instead of up to the blade.
I think when talk about Chinese swords, it’s always important to think about who use it. This particular type of 环首刀, usually was used not for fight. More like a threatening from the owner, symbol of power. That is why this sword has no guard, thin blade, fancy handle that obviously, hard to hold. You can imagine this sense: a Tang Dynasty police is on duty to catch a corrupted officer, with more 50 polices who armed to teeth standing behind him. He don’t need a big knife to threat, his sword only need to be pulled out and been seen. 环首刀started as a battle weapon, longer and thicker blade, hand guard, reliable handle. But when Tang Dynasty, this weapon started to shift.
Hmm. Is there any possibility it was meant so you could shorted your grip and get a more nimble sword if you got in close quarters if you wanted the option? Still seems fiddly. My other thought was it giving you the option to two hand it even as a shorter sword (I'm reminded of the depictions/writings of people two handing viking swords when their shields broke and needing to clasp a one handed grip in two hands)
Unraleted question about ca 1700 warfare: the depiction of line infantry marching towards eachother than halting and basically taking turns fiering. How accuret is it really?
The ring pommel could for tying a string then tying the rope to rods for mass storage. Lash the swords after slathering them in grease, gravity mades sure they get a good coating and when a soldier wants one out of the armoury, he unties it.
Coming up with things you can do with something in order to explain that somethings existence is the wrong way around. We could sit down and come up with the same ideas explaining certain pommel sizes and shapes in european swords, but the simple matter of fact is that at some point in time you will come up with some sort of pommel for your swords in order to stop them flying about the place when hands get bloody. Some are round, some are square and some look like horse-heads or spongebob. Rather than some nifty lost-in-history super function of ring pommels, it's quite probable that someone attached a ring to his sword grip and everyone else thought "uh, that's a nifty idea, I'll have that as well".
@@Feldscher1039 Yeah, I'm not trying to be definative about that, but it makes sense. Rings would easy to make and when you are state supplying a huge number of soldiers, low cost and easy storage are very important factors.
@@PJDAltamirus0425 in the same vein one could argue that the cross hilts of european arming swords were for easy storage in the armory, which explains why they don't have ring-pommels and the dao doesn't have a cross-guard. We now have made two arguments that totally make sense and support each other. One of them is also completely wrong and the other one most likely as well. If you think about it, storing swords, spears and alike is most space-efficient in shelfs and racks. They are also easier to take out, you just grab a bundle of them and head out to arm the militia. If you have to take of a cord holding 100 Dao (that's +60kg of dangling metal you somehow now have to embrace into a bundle I guess?) you are fumbling about a bit much. If one of the scabbards dropped because of that phenomenon gravity you are also embracing a sharp blade, which might lead to infertility. Hanging swords on walls or off hooks and such is great for display, not for military storage.
that's also one of the reasons why, although our modern battle rifles have multiple points to attach to and hang from, we don't store them hanging. We put them in racks.
@@Feldscher1039 Racks are allot my complicated to build that a thick rod stored mounted to a wall in a room and also you could just lash each dao separately and lash the scabbards to them. The easiest think I can think of which I don't know was possible at the time would to cover a empty floor with cork and such press the tips of swords into the floor or store them in barrels Also, as Matt points out in his cutlass videos,not all swords were stored in scabbards.
"Even though it doesn't feel as nimble" You wouldn't expect a dao to feel nimble to a saberist. Because of the difference in weighting and in styles, it won't be nimble with the motions that are habitual to you, they're designed to be used in ways that are much more intensive to the core and with a focus on circular movements which relatively different from how western people think about the motions involved. Although later, I reckon the difference in edge bevel could be compared to the transition from 8-faced jian to 4-faced jian.
@@junichiroyamashita The cross-section has eight sides. Very normal in the Chu kingdom but became mush less so during the Han dynasty, replaced by the four faced jian with a purely diamond cross-section. Mostly because of design standards changing as smiths became more accustomed to more durable metals, I believe.
Looking at the design and style, and **knowing nothing about its history** my first thought was that looks like a symbol of status, designed to be worn and seen, but seldom if ever used. Somewhere between a swordstick and a small sword: the sort of thing a gentleman would carry but hope never to have to draw in anger. It's elegant and beautiful, but not necessarily optimised as a weapon because of that grip and the lack of even the simplest guard or ridge to stop your hand sliding. I feel a warrior who expected to use his sword would prioritise ease of drawing and holding, and a little bit more length, over the hidden hilt feature. There are other ways to stop a sword falling out of its scabbard and to stop rain getting in.
I'd imagine if you thrust hard and run into any resistance, you'd almost certainly slide your hand up and cut yourself - does this mean this sword is NOT meant for thrusting?
I think stabbing with an icepick grip would be more practical. You slash upward via reverse grip and stab on the return. You can even do it on horseback. Great for close quarter melee up close on horseback when you are being swarmed by infantry. Drawing it in an icepick grip also helps make it easier to clear the scabbard compared to a proper upright grip when hung further above the waist.
having the hidden pommel plus having the belt attachment so close to the the edge of the scabbard, do you think this design was to prevent the pommel from interfering with horsemanship or mounted archery? You definitely wouldn't want to have a long pommel swinging around while you ride or shoot.
I'd imagine since it has that little raised ring around where Matt is gripping it it is somewhat like a Khukri. So you have some level of solid grip from your little and ring finger for thrusting but it isn't intended to be the weapon's main purpose.
It's unrelated to the video, but do you know what (if anything) has happened to Martin Austwick? There are a lot of people wondering over on his channel.
Northern Dynasty (North Wei) in fact founded by a non-ethnic Chinese nomadic race 鮮卑, closely related to the Turks and Afghan/Uzbek/Central Asian, and their closest relatives now are the asians living in Siberia. Therefore, the Hidden hilt design.
you reminded me of a prison shank when your hand rode up it so easily. Given that they will hardly ever have hilts the user have lanyards to keep a solid grip. that's the only way i'd stab with that sword. Would also make drawing slightly easier.
Longest ancient chinese sword discovered so far is about 148 cm there are textual description of even longer ones but no real specimen found. lkchensword.com/striking-eagle
North dynasty (that period is called south north dynasty) are formed by nomad tribes from mongolia. South dynasty are han Chinese. At the end one of the dynasty in north dynasty conquered the whole of china. Not surprise it has a lot of central Asia influences.
The ruling elites of the Northern Dynasties were Xianbei, but the populace was mostly Sinitic (there were no Han Chinese at that time). On the contrary, the ruling elites of the Southern Dynasties were Sinitic, but the populace was mostly of native Baiyue descent.
maybe, it was fashionable back then, or because they didn't like broader sword, for the purposes they usually performed, but I'm probably talking bullshit.
What sucks most about LK Chen blades is that copper alloys and Iron alloys shouldn't ever be combined! The blade will rust of the hilt if any sweat, blood or other conductive moisture gets in the hilt.
Khyber swords were not originally guardless so that theory is not exactly correct. I would not exactly rely on 19th century khybers to think all of them had hidden hilts considering most were unfinished products during the time of war. We have to go before the Victorian era to examine what khybers looked like hilt wise.
Why not put incised texture in the wooden portion of the grip? Even cut rings would do. I can't see a real cavalryman using this as a weapon. It is as dangerous to the user as it is to his opponent.
**looks at that bill** Well, someone knocked that together in a hurry.... I guess that's probably pretty authentic. I'd have gone for a pocket or cleft weld for the rear spike, but admittedly it's easier to do a lap weld in wrought iron than mild...
Obviously hidden hilt blade isnt a chinese weapons. Haha. It belongs to Xianbei or Donghu tribe in the north and north east of modern day china. These are the sinicized ancient turko mongol speaking tribe with powerful army.
You becoming a sales rep for LK Chen? They are getting a lot of free exposure from your "review" vids. I wonder how much their sales have increased from the free advertising you're giving them?
Man you are talking way to much. It took you more than 5 minutes just to show us a blade of this sword. So irritating. Stop listening to your vica, please, ald cut thos videos in a half.
Many states in medieval Europe called themselves Roman. The Byzantine Empire may have started as simply half of the Roman Empire, but their culture became much more Greek over time.
@@maximilianolimamoreira5002 Byzantines no longer existed by the Renaissance, and was the "sick man of Europe" post-crusades. It was a city state by the 15th century, hanging on by a thread. It was invented because European writers then found it embarrassing to associate the glory of the Roman Empire with the sad rump state that couldn't get any help from their Christian allies to stop the Ottomans from conquering the city in 1453.
Hey Matt, I think you are correct on the influence.
The Chinese known and had contact with Sassanian in those days.
Peroz 3rd served as a Tang general.
Sometimes people in history come up with a solution...it doesn't mean that it's necessarily the best or most practical solution.
I wonder if it's possible that some sword designer took a look at Middle Eastern or other swords with a hidden hilt, thought it looked cool, and decided to replicate it. No real practical reason...just aesthetics preference.
@@Intranetusa Middle Eastern, Persian and Sassanid cultural influences had a strong impact on East Asia until the Tang-Song period before the rise of Islamic empires and Mongols, so that’s completely plausible.
i wrote it in one of your previous video, that ring pommel is not just to secure your hand from slipping, but also helps edge alignment. If you hold your pinky and ring finger on the pommel you can manipulate blade alignment much better
Commonly knives were made with wet formed leather sheaths that cover most of the handle to protect them from weather and aid with retention, given that the other weapons with hidden hilts are large knives or short swords I suspect the origin of this feature is an adaptation in wood of knife sheaths.
Possibly in Central Asia, as well as other areas where wood is less common and hence more valuable, leather was the preferred material for sword scabbards.
Hey Matt, I don't know if you remember, but on a previous video on the Frontier Tang Dao that had a cord loop on the handle, some other commenter suggested catching the cord loop with your thumb and looping it around the back of your had like a police baton. I don't know if you've tested this yet, but I took the initiative to test this on my Han Infantry Dao, and it works wonderfully. I used a short loop that forces my hand to choke down on the pommel and hold it in my pinky; this gives me some pretty good edge control and also keeps my hand attached to the sword when I thrust with it, making a large guard unnecessary. I'm now thinking that most Chinese swords with ring pommels that were meant to be wielded in one hand were meant to be held this way, and the reason that we don't see the loops on Chinese examples is due to disintegration over time, whereas Japanese examples are often kept clean and pristine inside temples for _very_ long periods of time.
It is one of the reasons why cloth is tied to the pommel of Modern Dao/Jian/Bian/Maces till this very day.
It is to bind the user's hand/gauntlet to the weapon.
Archaeology is a such a cool field. Some of the logic we must use to determine things like that in lieu of having complete surviving samples of objects, even if we don't know if it qas totally true or not, at the very least leads to nice little ideas for replica/reproduction versions of some objects.
Skallagrim almost cut his hand thrusting with a dao, but luckly didn't. I think he is the one you are thinking about.
Excellent video, Matt! I agree with your assessment of how the sword would have been gripped and I enjoyed hearing more about the history of these types of swords in this region and others. And thank you for the kind words! I'll echo what some others have already said in the comments... please don't leave out your cutting videos. We are all interested to hear your thoughts on how the sword handles and feels when cutting. Keep up the great work! :-)
Re: Gripping it down by the pommel, it also appears that the 'riser' on the pommel sits nicely between your ring finger and pinky, sort of like the risers in the middle of some kukri grips, which might also suggest that it's there to help lock the grip into your hand a little more securely. Of course, I haven't handled one, so I can't really comment other than on appearances, but it does also seem to give some more credence to a lower grip. Cheers.
I'm glad these older battle sword designs are coming to fore these days and highlighted by yourself.
So much of Chinese weapon assumptions otherwise in previous years were based inaccurately on later date martial arts swords.
Great job.
It's hard to review this sword, you can't always find it.
I'm aware that Philip Martin from the Aikidoka channel held the sword near the ring pommel, and was able to cut with it, but art sources along with traditional Chinese usage suggests it was held by exactly where you'd expect, the hidden handle. It's true that the lack of a guard makes European swordsman nervous, but as long as you hit with it properly/traditionally you won't end up cutting your hand. And note that there are plenty of sources that show us the information, and some of it is speculation, BUT it's speculation based on evidence.
The Chinese had a different philosophy when it came to swords, and it was that if the sword didn't perform the way you wanted it to, then the swordsman needs to improve his technique, rather than change the design of the sword. And while it didn't happen a full 100% of the time, it happened enough that it was kind of the general consensus to the era and beyond.
I don't expect anyone to take the word of an internet rando like myself (especially with no proof of credentials) seriously, but I still feel compelled to correct any accidental misinformation. Though I wish I had more time and a proper platform instead of a UA-cam comment section xD
Some good points, "internet rando!" Don't we love the First Amendment? :)
Abou the ring pommel there’s a very interesting scene in the anime Princess Mononoke in which the hero, who’s a member of a real ancient native people from Japan, has a machete like knife with a ring pommel. The most interesting scene to me is when the hero faces some mounted samurai and he simply hangs the knife on his pinky finger (on the hand that draws the bow string) by passing it through the ring pommel so that he can shoot an arrow without having to let go of the knife or waste time sheathing it.
Matt brought up the pinky-hanging thing in the video about the Infantry Dao, as it was brought up in comments and some other UA-cam content. Pretty damn cool idea if they really used it that way.
(That's my favorite classic Ghibli film btw).
For such an old style it is extremely elegant and ornate. Beautiful piece overall. Reminds me of cane swords.
Matt, humility has its place, and kudos to linking to the Aikidoka Channel, but most of us have become accustomed to *your* cutting videos and can compare what we're doing with what you're doing, looking for tips or examples of what not to do etc.
Just because *you* think someone's better than you (and even if they are, by whatever metric) is no excuse to blow off doing your duty and showing how well (or badly) a sword cuts in *your* hand.
Ultimately it is your channel and your choice- I just wanted you to know there's at least one vote for you to continue showing us that perfection is to be striven for, but that we can all improve, even you.
I'll just note that friction doesn't depend on area, it's just pressure and surface type. Considering that the grip is also more exposed to wear, it doesn't seem likely they did this to stop the sword from falling out, there would be easier ways to do that.
The northern dynasties were descended from the proto-mongolic former vassals of the defunct Han empire, most notably the Xianbei who were cavalry specialists. They set up what were the analogue of the the barbarian successor kingdoms, the difference being that they were so thoroughly sinicized that they ultimately paved the way for a relatively easy reunification at the end of the 6th century CE.
You Get it Matt. I Love you’re videos man
*your
Lol
On the subject of the risk of one's hand sliding up the grip and accidentally getting cut, do we know that the blade was definitely sharpened along its entire length?
Good looking sword, love knowing the history behind a piece especially if thinking of purchasing it. Not crazy about fantasy pieces, just not my cup of tea nothing personal.just like historical pieces better. Great review as always sir. Stay safe and God bless 🇺🇸☠️🇺🇸🇨🇦🇬🇧🤺💂!!
Han dynasty pommel looks like it is made for cracking open beers
Hello Matt, looking at that ridge in the grip. Is that a pronounced as much as it would be on a kukri? It looks like by its positioning it could serve the same function on this sword as it would on the kukri.
I wonder if the Hidden Hilt concept was for concealment? Similar to the Cane Swords
Can you do a review on sassanid cavalry swords?
Aikidoka ? Just put me in mind of the famous Pratchett martial art of okidoki
One other thing to consider for protection from the elements is that in very cold weather, the blade might expand or contract like any piece of metal. If a tighter scabbard is needed to keep it in, that scabbard might have to be “adjusted” depending on the weather if it’s gripping the blade.
The grip, however, can be made of materials that don’t expand or contract substantially, so even if the sword is cold it won’t go sliding around.
how was the ring pommel attached to the rest of the hilt?
chinesemartialstudies.com/2020/07/03/mulan-the-hidden-hilt-dao-and-the-dragon-sparrow-lk-chen-explores-the-northern-dynasties/ Please see the X-ray photo and the pre-assemble components in later part of this article
@LKChen Sword - Thanks! A really good page of research.
Sounds correct on the pommel which became likely ore ornamental.
I doubt the pinky was used. Sounds painful waiting to happen.😄
These swords and their like were also imported and copied extensively in japan during the following period, Chokuto swords.
I want one of these in a sword cane style.
I'd guess the longer grip is related to thrusting and it being safer even if you hand slips up a bit
Also, if you didn't have that extra bit of grip, even if you don't actually hold it there, but it was just blade all the way, then holding it down at the pommel wouldn't necessarily make it much safer. Having that extra length of leather or wood or whatever makes it so that even if you did thrust and your hand did slide up, it would maybe only slide to the upper part of the grip instead of up to the blade.
I think when talk about Chinese swords, it’s always important to think about who use it. This particular type of 环首刀, usually was used not for fight. More like a threatening from the owner, symbol of power. That is why this sword has no guard, thin blade, fancy handle that obviously, hard to hold. You can imagine this sense: a Tang Dynasty police is on duty to catch a corrupted officer, with more 50 polices who armed to teeth standing behind him. He don’t need a big knife to threat, his sword only need to be pulled out and been seen.
环首刀started as a battle weapon, longer and thicker blade, hand guard, reliable handle. But when Tang Dynasty, this weapon started to shift.
That very long grip and how one holds it makes me think of the P1899 cavalry trooper sword.
Hmm. Is there any possibility it was meant so you could shorted your grip and get a more nimble sword if you got in close quarters if you wanted the option? Still seems fiddly. My other thought was it giving you the option to two hand it even as a shorter sword (I'm reminded of the depictions/writings of people two handing viking swords when their shields broke and needing to clasp a one handed grip in two hands)
What? Pommels to stop your hand sliding? What about ending them rightly?
Unraleted question about ca 1700 warfare: the depiction of line infantry marching towards eachother than halting and basically taking turns fiering. How accuret is it really?
But doesn't wood swell in tropical and high humidity climes? Wouldn't that possibly cause scabbard binding?
northern dynasty don't have tropical area though...
Probably why it seems limited to arid and northern regions.
@@hanliu3707 LK Chen is based in Guangzhou, which is decidedly more tropical than UK.
The ring pommel could for tying a string then tying the rope to rods for mass storage. Lash the swords after slathering them in grease, gravity mades sure they get a good coating and when a soldier wants one out of the armoury, he unties it.
Coming up with things you can do with something in order to explain that somethings existence is the wrong way around. We could sit down and come up with the same ideas explaining certain pommel sizes and shapes in european swords, but the simple matter of fact is that at some point in time you will come up with some sort of pommel for your swords in order to stop them flying about the place when hands get bloody. Some are round, some are square and some look like horse-heads or spongebob. Rather than some nifty lost-in-history super function of ring pommels, it's quite probable that someone attached a ring to his sword grip and everyone else thought "uh, that's a nifty idea, I'll have that as well".
@@Feldscher1039 Yeah, I'm not trying to be definative about that, but it makes sense. Rings would easy to make and when you are state supplying a huge number of soldiers, low cost and easy storage are very important factors.
@@PJDAltamirus0425 in the same vein one could argue that the cross hilts of european arming swords were for easy storage in the armory, which explains why they don't have ring-pommels and the dao doesn't have a cross-guard. We now have made two arguments that totally make sense and support each other. One of them is also completely wrong and the other one most likely as well. If you think about it, storing swords, spears and alike is most space-efficient in shelfs and racks. They are also easier to take out, you just grab a bundle of them and head out to arm the militia. If you have to take of a cord holding 100 Dao (that's +60kg of dangling metal you somehow now have to embrace into a bundle I guess?) you are fumbling about a bit much. If one of the scabbards dropped because of that phenomenon gravity you are also embracing a sharp blade, which might lead to infertility. Hanging swords on walls or off hooks and such is great for display, not for military storage.
that's also one of the reasons why, although our modern battle rifles have multiple points to attach to and hang from, we don't store them hanging. We put them in racks.
@@Feldscher1039 Racks are allot my complicated to build that a thick rod stored mounted to a wall in a room and also you could just lash each dao separately and lash the scabbards to them. The easiest think I can think of which I don't know was possible at the time would to cover a empty floor with cork and such press the tips of swords into the floor or store them in barrels Also, as Matt points out in his cutlass videos,not all swords were stored in scabbards.
"Even though it doesn't feel as nimble" You wouldn't expect a dao to feel nimble to a saberist. Because of the difference in weighting and in styles, it won't be nimble with the motions that are habitual to you, they're designed to be used in ways that are much more intensive to the core and with a focus on circular movements which relatively different from how western people think about the motions involved.
Although later, I reckon the difference in edge bevel could be compared to the transition from 8-faced jian to 4-faced jian.
8 faced jian?
@@junichiroyamashita The cross-section has eight sides. Very normal in the Chu kingdom but became mush less so during the Han dynasty, replaced by the four faced jian with a purely diamond cross-section. Mostly because of design standards changing as smiths became more accustomed to more durable metals, I believe.
@@junichiroyamashita The sword is actually a very flat, long and skinny pyramid, then there are square pyramid and octagon pyramid
Looking at the design and style, and **knowing nothing about its history** my first thought was that looks like a symbol of status, designed to be worn and seen, but seldom if ever used. Somewhere between a swordstick and a small sword: the sort of thing a gentleman would carry but hope never to have to draw in anger. It's elegant and beautiful, but not necessarily optimised as a weapon because of that grip and the lack of even the simplest guard or ridge to stop your hand sliding. I feel a warrior who expected to use his sword would prioritise ease of drawing and holding, and a little bit more length, over the hidden hilt feature. There are other ways to stop a sword falling out of its scabbard and to stop rain getting in.
I'd imagine if you thrust hard and run into any resistance, you'd almost certainly slide your hand up and cut yourself - does this mean this sword is NOT meant for thrusting?
I think stabbing with an icepick grip would be more practical. You slash upward via reverse grip and stab on the return. You can even do it on horseback. Great for close quarter melee up close on horseback when you are being swarmed by infantry. Drawing it in an icepick grip also helps make it easier to clear the scabbard compared to a proper upright grip when hung further above the waist.
It's a dao so it's not.
having the hidden pommel plus having the belt attachment so close to the the edge of the scabbard, do you think this design was to prevent the pommel from interfering with horsemanship or mounted archery? You definitely wouldn't want to have a long pommel swinging around while you ride or shoot.
how dangerous is it to use it to thrust, as soon as there is nothing stopping your hand from sliding upwards on to the blade?
I'd imagine since it has that little raised ring around where Matt is gripping it it is somewhat like a Khukri. So you have some level of solid grip from your little and ring finger for thrusting but it isn't intended to be the weapon's main purpose.
Gloves.
Attack a lanyard
It's unrelated to the video, but do you know what (if anything) has happened to Martin Austwick? There are a lot of people wondering over on his channel.
Northern Dynasty (North Wei) in fact founded by a non-ethnic Chinese nomadic race 鮮卑, closely related to the Turks and Afghan/Uzbek/Central Asian, and their closest relatives now are the asians living in Siberia. Therefore, the Hidden hilt design.
and if your hand slips, you can use the braid or handkerchief to pull the sword out
What about it being a compact design to keep it more out of the way when riding?
It's not more compact. Your scabbard becomes effectively longer. The overall length doesn't change all-else-equal.
very cool sword.
Is it possible to do video on home defense weapons- axes, machetes etc...swords are expensive :D
you reminded me of a prison shank when your hand rode up it so easily. Given that they will hardly ever have hilts the user have lanyards to keep a solid grip. that's the only way i'd stab with that sword. Would also make drawing slightly easier.
how long was the longest Chinese sword?
Longest ancient chinese sword discovered so far is about 148 cm there are textual description of even longer ones but no real specimen found. lkchensword.com/striking-eagle
North dynasty (that period is called south north dynasty) are formed by nomad tribes from mongolia. South dynasty are han Chinese. At the end one of the dynasty in north dynasty conquered the whole of china. Not surprise it has a lot of central Asia influences.
Mongolia is not in Central Asia
The ruling elites of the Northern Dynasties were Xianbei, but the populace was mostly Sinitic (there were no Han Chinese at that time). On the contrary, the ruling elites of the Southern Dynasties were Sinitic, but the populace was mostly of native Baiyue descent.
why were early Chinese swords so narrow?
maybe, it was fashionable back then, or because they didn't like broader sword, for the purposes they usually performed, but I'm probably talking bullshit.
Iron was hard to acquire and thus expensive
@@DiscRover yeah, that was a reason too, though, the Vikings did not need to worry with that, as they bought Frankish swords.
My guess is armour technology haven't catch up yet.
Maybe it is a navy sword and to be use to fight on ships and beaches
What sucks most about LK Chen blades is that copper alloys and Iron alloys shouldn't ever be combined! The blade will rust of the hilt if any sweat, blood or other conductive moisture gets in the hilt.
Cool!
Sexy blade.
Thank you.
It's a ceremonial hidden hilt.
Khyber swords were not originally guardless so that theory is not exactly correct. I would not exactly rely on 19th century khybers to think all of them had hidden hilts considering most were unfinished products during the time of war. We have to go before the Victorian era to examine what khybers looked like hilt wise.
Needs bronze with vertigre
我都没见过这种剑
Why not put incised texture in the wooden portion of the grip? Even cut rings would do.
I can't see a real cavalryman using this as a weapon. It is as dangerous to the user as it is to his opponent.
Tang dynasty 700 to 900 ad dis
**looks at that bill** Well, someone knocked that together in a hurry.... I guess that's probably pretty authentic. I'd have gone for a pocket or cleft weld for the rear spike, but admittedly it's easier to do a lap weld in wrought iron than mild...
This is a spadroon
Finland mentioned! TORILLE!
Sassanid konekdet vit tang dynasty en turki nomads vos alis vit tang dynasty
the hidden hilt also makes it easier to wear.
Just because it's ancient doesn't mean it's right. In other words, it could have been seen as a poor design even then.
I am early again. Lol.
Obviously hidden hilt blade isnt a chinese weapons. Haha. It belongs to Xianbei or Donghu tribe in the north and north east of modern day china.
These are the sinicized ancient turko mongol speaking tribe with powerful army.
You becoming a sales rep for LK Chen?
They are getting a lot of free exposure from your "review" vids.
I wonder how much their sales have increased from the free advertising you're giving them?
Man you are talking way to much. It took you more than 5 minutes just to show us a blade of this sword. So irritating. Stop listening to your vica, please, ald cut thos videos in a half.
Btw to those Americans,thats something mu lan would actually use if she ever existed
sure
Dw not all Americans believe Hollywood
Byzantines? They called themselves Romans and the called the capitol Constantinopel.
yeah, we call them Byzantines since the early renaissance, because we needed to differentiate from Classic Romans of old
Many states in medieval Europe called themselves Roman. The Byzantine Empire may have started as simply half of the Roman Empire, but their culture became much more Greek over time.
@@InSanic13 sure, that is the problem
@@maximilianolimamoreira5002 Byzantines no longer existed by the Renaissance, and was the "sick man of Europe" post-crusades. It was a city state by the 15th century, hanging on by a thread. It was invented because European writers then found it embarrassing to associate the glory of the Roman Empire with the sad rump state that couldn't get any help from their Christian allies to stop the Ottomans from conquering the city in 1453.
@@martytu20 that's cause the catholics betrayed them
Chinese swords really do lack of sex appeal. But I understand the hunt for content