If you'd like to grab a sword or two from my collection, here's a chance. Ad revenue keeps going down, so I have to sell a few things to cover expenses. Pics, details, and contact info here: docs.google.com/document/d/13qtVMFE0YdN2r04OjiYcw_u0D5ZGTQ6mJODqcj58yFo/ And if you feel like helping out you can join as a channel member or patron. Thanks, folks! www.patreon.com/skallagrim ua-cam.com/channels/3WIohkLkH4GFoMrrWVZZFA.htmljoin By the way, since several people have mentioned a video that Shad put up which apparently also touched on crossguards: I haven't seen it, and this is coincidental.
Have any daggers? I want to replace my dirk which is kind of cheap ( yet sentimental) Its a small dirk but im looking for a longer dirk as mine is so short it barely counts as a dirk.
Sorry to hear that you ad revenue is down. I wish I could help by buying one of your swords, but I can't afford to unfortunately. If could, I'd a much larger weapons collection than I do, sucks being poor, or at least relatively poor with expensive interests/hobbies. Regarding your ad revenue, have you considered doing daily uploads or at least uploading on a regular set schedule like every Monday and Friday, or something like that? Metatron swears by daily uploads, he said recently that after a couple of weeks to a month after switching to daily uploads he saw a marked improvement in all of his analytics, presumably including ad revenue.
@@Riceball01 I've been trying to increase the uploads to 3 times a week but my videos are pretty time consuming to make, so it's a tough grind. This week I can only manage 2.
@@thekaxmax One could put a star of david at the point where blade, crossguard and grip meet and inscribe verses of the Quran on the guard or blade for a multicultural vampire hunter longsword. Or one could just dual wield a stake and a sickle instead. The latter setup is likely somewhat nonsensical from a HEMA perspective but perfectly in line with common vampire lore.
Crossguards are meant to be held close to your face for cool promo shots and poster art when you are larping as immortals from the Highlander franchise.
I had several times the argument about the passive protection of the guard. After sparring with both longsword and katana, I found the disc guard more protective when I "fucked up" and didn't expect the sword to slide to the hand. I find the cross guard to have more control than protection (which is super useful obviously)
Have you ever practiced with a bigger disc guard, those were more popular pre-Edo, also I often wonder if different varieties of tsuba would offer better control than what is often seen now.
It seems like the cross guard would not need to be as protective with the hand and forearm if in armor. Then, the controlling element makes more of a difference.
Shad made recently similiar video on same topic, its incredible to me how he annoys about how his YT career will end. Well, now I see clearly why he struggles, in comparision of those two videos, I personally find your much more informative, even you talk a lot, youre putting big amount of informations into it without unnecesary wording on top of that, no clickbaits, comfy surroudings intead of infatile plastic castle. No sponsorship, no talking how you dont have enough money. Keep it up, this is quality, I always learn something new about swordmanship without practicizing it.
I am unsure how much of it is everyone's standards raising vs shads own quality slipping (both for sure though) but shad's vids are so low information density that they feel more as a premise for him to show off his toys than anything actually informative. His stance and arguments in favor of AI and use of it also highlights his lack of effort and self improvement. "Look guys, I am a real artist. Prompting a model over and over again and then plastering my wife's face over everything and then asking the model to fix my lazy cut and paste job is real art guys, I swear!"
@@shdowdrgonrider I found him less and less watchable with his desire to follow the YT algorithm to stay afloat. Also struggling for money and then destroying 1000+ usd katana is kinda bold move. 😀
I stopped watching shad quite a while ago, so i can't quite compare the videos.... However i don't know if saying Skall does well isn 't exactly correct. Don't get me wrong, i really enjoy his style and content, but i really think that more calm and informative videos like this one deserve so much more than they get. Just compare the view count for this vids with some of his older works. I think he have seen a better days as well, it's just he has great attitude towards it and mos things he does. And shad is.... well... shad.
Shad's complaints and videos about algorithm and money are a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. I guess he has become pop-entertainment channel he always wanted to be?
Instructor: I know you only have kenjutsu experience, but if you want to try a longsword, go ahead. Knock yourself out. Student: *Proceeds to assume a roof guard and literally knock himself out* Instructor: That's not what I meant!
@@Sk0lzky good thing that these swords weren't made for modern events without hand equipment, since in war time, they definitely had protective gloves, and in peace time, good enough, while being wearable.
I have been to couple of tournaments in HEMA and i can tell you the guard saved me some really nasty hits on the hands. In free sparing most of the cuts are coming in weird angles not by the book and the guard does catch a lot of nasty hits. As you mentioned it is not full protection but it does catch part of the hits. I would send you pictures of my bend and punished cross guard with deep cuts XD
I saw this old video of an Italian Medieval historian and fencer showing the use of an Arming Sword. The way he used it was facing the opponent with the cross guard facing him, as in the cutting edges are pointing sideways, so is the crossguard with your thumb in the middle of the cross. He said there's a reason these swords where double edged, also he showed how articulate and agile that kind of guard was, border like Filipino style flicks and backhand twirls with your wrist, your hand and fingers interlocked in the guard for leverage. Another thing rarely mentioned is the crossguard really helps with indexing, as in edge alignment for the cut (I've used a Katana for years and was surprised how much easier it is align your edge with a crossguard. Also surprising hand protection when you collide with a shield or even falling flat on your face on the ground, the crossguard protects your hand (depending on angle). And I do agree with cracking your head with the crossguard when you are use to a Katana, I lesson I learnt painfully first time picking up a longsword 😂
Another great video. I love the concise, articulate presentation of practical information, combined with helpful visuals. Skall's personality and style come through well, and are enjoyable, without the incessant and unhelpful extra commentary that some of the other similar channels use.
Now that I think about it... Being a filthy edge parrier myself I never gave it much thought and it took me a good while too before I realized how often my blade just slipped to their knuckles/thumbs. Luckily my friends found siderings to be the solution for their worries. It actually turned the hand hit situation the other way around for a few weeks. Rather than go for the material solution, I went for the distance and footwork approach. Has worked for me so far. A happy ever after for everyone. TL;DR: Siderings were indeed the solution for some peeps I know
One of your best videos, from a reasoning standpoint. Much enjoyed. =) I'm one of those people who dislikes the cross guard because it gets in the way during certain necessary movements. "Being more careful" means being slower and less precise; it's not worth the trade-off to me. What I very much enjoy is the front half of the cross guard, with the back half of it (the bit that gets in the way but is defensively almost never used) removed. I do have to be a bit more careful where I use a false cut or a long guard, but that's a small price to pay for the increased range of motion. The "correct" way to hold a sword with a simple guard is to choke your hand down on the grip just a bit; your hand should not be touching the guard. Choking up reduces your range, endangers your sword hand/arm, and significantly impedes your movement if you don't do what I do and remove the back half of the cross guard. You do lose some control of the sword by choking down away from the guard, but a properly balanced sword accounts for your sword hand being in that position. Also you should have a long enough hilt, in the case of two-handed weapons - the pommel should nearly reach your elbow to achieve maximum leverage without the hilt/pommel getting in the way of certain transitions... there's an ideal hilt length for each swordsman based on their forearm. Most medieval people were roughly 5' in height, so a "perfect replica" of a two-handed sword has too short of a hilt length for a modern 6' high adult - roughly 1/6th of the needed hilt length is absent. A side note... The blade is also shorter than it should be by 1/6th, btw - a two-handed blade needs to be long enough to dig its point into the ground while in hanging guard while still able to catch a horizontal strike at stomach/hip level from a heavy weapon. If the sword blade is too short, there's a weakness in the defense that cannot be overcome except by backing away rather than staying in range to fight back. As the incoming blow rises toward the chest, the guard and blade (the L) catch the weapon and your arms raise. Any pressure from the blow gets shunted upward as your hands raise above your head, harmlessly. A lot of these heavier weapons have prongs or axe heads that extend well past the shaft, so this method of blocking is the only effective defense that won't reach past your weapon. Even with this defense, you need to boldly step into the enemy attack so that you don't get weapon hooked and then skewered. It also greatly reduces the impact of the blow into your weapon, since the business end of the heavy weapon is where it's moving the fastest. We too often think of swords fighting other swords, and it's a lot of fun to practice it. But longer swords were sidearms, not primary weapons. They are best suited to face unarmored crowds, who want to mob you and disarm you. Medieval swords were mostly for keeping the peasantry in line. Samurai were used to enforce rule over farmers. More important to sword training, back when it was life and death, was how to handle yourself against spears and other primary battlefield weapons. Duels did happen. But a lot of them didn't involve swords at all, as the duelists wore armor and so needed better weapons than swords. The ones that did happen with swords were precisely because swords aren't good against armor - the duelists didn't want to accidentally maim/kill the other and start a feud/war, so they used swords and wailed on each other's armor until satisfied that one man outfought the other. The role of longer sword as a way to defend yourself against an unarmored crowd (and/or slaughter them) circles back around to the topic of the video and to my other comments - the typical revolting farmer would be armed with a heavy staff, a spear, a club... something heavy enough to threaten an armored man, and so your defensive movements became very important. The guard was essential in catching blows from these kind of weapons, so that the peasants would fear you and could be quickly dispatched in one thrust/slash so that you could thin the attacking crown quickly.
Speaking of Jian, the Jin were the first really to have the Jian hand guard serve the purpose to stopping another blade. The guard became beefier with Song, Ming, and Qing.
That's also around when they started becoming more of a civilian self-defense thing than a battlefield weapon, isn't it? I also couldn't help but notice that the Han jian looks very similar to a gladius, spatha, or xiphos.
@@seanheath4492 well, what's weird is that during the Han dynasty, they had complex sword hilts and a culture of fencing schools to teach swordsmanship as a gentlemanly pastime. But the strange thing is that the complex hilts were only used on blunt training swords. So they knew the advantages of passive hand protection, but chose to use less protective sharps.
Great video Skall! It's very in-depth but easy to digest, it has great staging and camera work that keeps it entertaining but is very informative and has also practical examples and real-time demostrations, and even then is fun and has plenty of charisma. I think I really couldn't ask more for a video os this nature, for real, very very well done!
Wow, great video! The demonstrations you gave were very clear and made the advantages and disadvantages of each guard very easy to learn and remember. Thanks!
Two points i'd like to add because they get overlooked ALL the time. 1st: Medieval swords most often dont need passive hand protection, thats what gauntlets are for. Post-medieval swords have typically more complex hilts to make up for the lack of gauntlets. 2nd: Katanas dont need a big tsuba since the main job is to protect the inner part of the hands, since the gauntlets (here it is again) tend to cover less than medieval ones. As long as the gaps between the blade and the gauntlet are covered, that's all that matters. As for active hand protection, there are other strategies especially working with the blade (position) rather than the guard, as seen in kenjutsu etc.
Also worth noting is that larger tsubas did exist historically and can be found on the collectors market. The Japanese liked their swords to have modular parts, so tsuba could be swapped out for a larger or smaller one depending on the occasion. Musashi even writes about large tsuba, although it was to complain about them much like George Silver complained about rapiers.
That's true IF you're wearing the gauntlets, but these swords were also worn in civilian life, not just for war. A lot of the manuals studied in HEMA touch more on the civilian use of them, not the military use.
@@xanderh2404 yes, thats why i said "most often", not "always". Also, keep in mind, swords have been designed for military use, and then carried over for civilian life. I am, however, not aware of any medieval sword design, that was primarily intended for civilian use. So the argument "manuals studied in hema" has nothing to do with design choices, but merely what some people back then and we do now out of the military designs. Thats why, in my opinion, you cannot evaluate a medieval sword in a civilian context without acknowledging thats not what the design was intended first (dont get me wrong, i'm not critisizing Skall, i'm aware he knows about that. It's just a general statement since probably many sword or weapon enthousiasts forget about it). Their simple hilts are perfectly fine in their original context, so "lack of hand protection" would be an unfair judgement. Statements like "less optimal for unarmoured combat than complex hilts" and alike are absolutely fine since it implies that it is technically not used as what the design was intended for.
What a great video, genuinly very informative. And you came up with some REALLY interesting points, of which I hadn't thought about before. (I've been following this channel for a really long time now, so I kinda feel the need to make it known when I really like something.)
Eu tenho que dizer esse é o melhor canal sobre espadas e afins de longe. Sabe "sugar o que funciona, mas da uma cuspida pra não ficar só no elogio". "Vai afundo além da superfície" usando termos menos obscenos.
I'm a fan of functional fantasy. In the realm of hilts, I love the foreward swept hilts. A lot of interperetations of the Scottish claymore seem to have that crossguard with the foreward swept hilt and I'm just in love with that.
Agreed. There are also situ's like with the Circassian checker where the philosphy is geared toward being light as well as unsheathing & cutting fast in one fluid motion before ones opponent can attack. Thus no guard is needed.
I often parry with the cross gaurd, or at least the corner of gaurd and blade. It allows much more control and you can step in further past your opponents point.
Simple cross hilt is a good compromise between having built-in hand protection without restricting your options for adding hand protection. As is a disk guard. No matter how good your gauntlets are taking a full hit from an axe, mace, polearm or even heavier long sword is really dangerous, but if it skips off the guard first it's no danger at all
7:04 I did manage to stab through a Schiavone's basket hilt with my Langmesser during sparring, not last Sunday, but the Sunday before. Though, I wouldn't even try aiming for it. It was pure luck, I tried stabbing the shoulder and my opponent moved his blade just in the path of mine
There is no such thing as the "perfect" sword but I too have noticed in recent years the long sword being treated the way the katana was treated in the 80s and 90s as this mythological perfect sword. They each have their pros and cons and both are effective weapons that have been used in real battlefields of history. I'm always glad to see your comparison or debunking videos because they tend to be fair and informative. You point out the negatives as well as the advantages.
unless he did stab test against living animals (wild hogs or something) then he doesn't actually know, and would be regulating information by others who also never tested it, but yes, the "official facts" are that it's only to reduce weight, and nothing else, it's as though they have never heard of an feature being muti purpose.
Good video! I know there has been a recent video that poorly tried to address the topic of discguard vs crossguard, by the usual "you tuber", making an argument of projection and active defense, completely ignoring that a) you have a differenr system to parry within kenjutsu b) you can orientate the guard (and the blade) differently and c) you have a larger passive "brim" over your wrist which is good paired with the proper grip to gurantee some degree of defense especially on the side. I know recently in HEMA circles hand snipes have been discussed a lot lately, which implies a lot. This video was much well versed and offered a better overview. Thank you!
He also acts like all you have to do with the most basic form of the crossguard is to change the angle of it and then your hand will be fully protected forever. When no, then hand is still plenty vulnerable on a horse when not wearing platted gloves. It's why the Prussian cavalry got fed up with the m1811. Keep in mind it's very similar to the 1796 British Heavy Cavalry Sabre. The hand guard was majorly beefed up with the m1852 and the design trend was kept up with the m1879 and 1889. Never mind that the British and French designed hand guards for naval cutlasses that either need to take alot of punishment or to provide a flat surface at the front with multiple bars or half-basket protection attached to that.
You mean that same recent video in which a katana was used for parrying as if it had been a longsword, and surprisingly that test "proved" how a crossguard is far superior than a tsuba? Like if one used a cavalry sabre with rapier techniques to prove that its blade shape and guard is inferior to a rapier...
Yeah, I don't know if that "You tuber" is who I think it is. But as someone who has little to no sword experience I couldn't help question that if you have to move it to get protection then doesn't that just mean it's a different thing entirely? Like, I don't think either is superior because historical logic suggests like most things if it exists then it did it's job well enough. So, wouldn't they just be doing a job maybe even the same job but because the weapon came from an entirely different culture of fighting it would work just as well? Anyways, I am real tired of people straw-manning and would like to see them Steel-Manning like Skallagrim did here.
What about a ring guard cross guard combo? At that point its basically a simplified cup guard. Not as defensive as a basket hilt, but more versatile while being more defensive then either just a ring- or just a cross guard. Plus you avoid (some) risk of thrusting that you get with a design like the one at 8:47
"A simple cross guard can give you a false sense of safety" Which is what happened with the Prussian cavalry when they were wielding the m1811 Cavalry Saber. Not that they were a bad sword, but rather the sword is demonstration that sometimes changing the angle of the guard isn't enough to save your hands from serious injury. Hence the m1852 was introduced when they realized the issue of a basic bar styled guard. Keep in mind the m1811 had a d-side guard extension like with the similar looking British 1796 Heavy Cavalry Sabre.
While I think it's correct to say that sword guards usually became more protective as the 19th century progressed, you have a few facts wrong. The British 1796 Heavy Cavalry _Sword_ (the 1796 HC's blade was straight) had a bowl guard, not a D/side-ring, and the British 1796 _Light_ Cavalry Saber (which the M1811 seems to have quite faithfully copied) only had a knucklebow and rear quillon. Also, I couldn't find an example of an M1811 with a hilt that wasn't near-identical to the 1796 LC's, let alone an indication that such a thing was ever _typical._ I know very little about Prussian swords, though, so that might just be due to weak Google-fu, and I'd appreciate any citations you might have that proves that's wrong.
6:12 Seki Sensi have mentioned that DON'T hold the katana too close to the guard becasuse some expert may still able to attack your hand But you are almost touching it.
@@Ose-here i think it's an inch or 2 below the guard, well, just put your hands where the bumps are, and you're fine, it's crazy that katanas literately have markers for where to place your hands, and people are still confused
Ochs is my go to guard because i like to fient the thrust for redirect then lunge in another thrust, works most of the time, and i can say ive never bruised my forearms 😅
8:08 you say they but you have spread this and been a decent bit of a factor in this so you should include yourself at least yourself from the past. Good video
Another one is blade retention. The guard is where you rest your hand when ur wearing a katana. Someone can try to grap the handle and take it out, but good luck on that. A crossguard on a longsword would be even easier to prevent someone taking ur sword out. just push down on the guard. then punch, or stab with secondary. Without a guard you could just quickly put two hands on the sword and the user can't prevent you from drawing their sword. Not really an issue now, but for an every day carry retention would be important also pretty sure katanas have dif size guards, at least mine is either bigger, or u have massive hands lol. (still same problems with it tho)
i always think an overlooked point to the long crossguard is that it works really well when bashing against a shield or person without hurting your hand. Maybe better on a one handed sword, but still it works quite well on a longsword i have found
14:14 Think all this is part of why I tend to go more for sloped quillions like on Scottish swords. Well that, the extra trapping capability, and feeling a bit more connected to my ancestors. Course that can leave the hands more vulnerable than straight or curved in some regards but there's give and take for everything.
You should make a series of plywood (or some other cheap material) discs and figure out the ideal balance of protection and maneuverability. Obviously a 10" disc would be like a buckler and offer a ton of protection, but the drawbacks on offense would probably be pretty severe. There has to be a goldilocks zone for this sort of thing.
In my experience, a cross guard helps a fair bit if you use it for fighting with sword and shield against another sword and shield - it protects your hand when it slams into the opponent's shield, whether that happens because you wanted to punch at the shield for some reason, or because your attack got blocked. It won't always take all the power from the slam (though it can, especially if the opposing shield was edge-on), but it takes enough hurt out of it to make it not hurt through your mail mittens. You can also brace the back side of your shield with it, but that is... of questionable use for anything you're likely to do in a fight at best.
Your style is so dope. I need to start dressing deliberately again. Also, sorry for insulting you a few years ago. I was wrong and the comment would have been unnecessary regardless.
One thing you didn't mention is the German longsword tradition's thumb on the flat grip, which turns the quillons 90 degrees, and provides a lot more passive protection to the top of the hands and arms.
8:27 The sword in your right hand. I can't remember who made it. I want to say something like Albion. Anyway it has been in your videos for a long time. It was like seeing an old friend.
@@Skallagrim I'm honestly surprised that I got the maker right. Thank you for all your videos! I've been watching again recently, and still recommend your work to people interested. 🤘
Ring guards offer a surprising amount of protection for how small they are. It's like a 360 nail guard. Always gets into the context of the weapon and what it's for, with the Han straight swords with virtually no guard, bows and crossbows had already dominated the battlefield since the Win Dynasty and of course polearms were a go to. Your sword is a backup weapon. In non war use straight swords were often a dueling and aristocratic activity, and in a duel it doesn't really matter what your weapon is as long as both people have roughly the same weapon, so the sporting nature of duels doesn't really drive innovation. And the majority of battlefield innovation at the time had more to do with bows, crossbows, and cavalry, innovating a better sword is just not really worth your effort when sword combat is rarely a deciding factor. Like modern armies come out with new combat knives every once in awhile but the focus isnt even on guns anymore but drowns, missiles, and detection technology. The tech that's more likely to change the outcome of a conflict than a slightly better rifle.
Curious if that could be a benefit of the cup Dao guard. A enemy sword could cut into the rim, so you have the all around protection of disk guard with some of the trapping of a cross guard
I was expecting you to point out complex hilts interfere with 2 handed grips. Otherwise you confirmed my crossguard suspicions. I have a little bit of fencing training so I haven't actually used a crossguard just complex hilts.
14:30 I'm a bit confused by this technique. I could understand if you were just supposed to catch the blade under your arm and grab the quillon. It seems plausible to do that in one swift motion. But it looks like Fiore takes it a step further by dipping his forearm under the blade and then grabbing the quillon. If you could do this, you'd certainly have decent control over the opponent's blade. My question is, "how do you get there?" It seems like it would be difficult to do against a fully resisting opponent. But he's the master, not me, so...
It...just looks so much better with a crossguard. Rule of cool applies for real world stuff too, aesthetics matter! I know it's not the reason, but if the pros and cons balance, it's a good enough one.
Great video! As a noted fan of the yatagan, why do you think they typically lack any real hand protection (except for the blade sticking out further than the hand where it meets the grip)? Most images I've seen of the yatagan being worn (usually shoved through a well-dressed gent's sash) do not show a buckler being worn. I would think having a bit more of a hand guard, even if just a messer-like nub, would be extremely useful, both for protecting your hand and keeping your yatagan from slipping through your sash and falling on your toes.
Seeing how sword design went from short crossgurads to longer crossguards Ive always assumed it was developed to protect the wrist. Letting your wrist become exposed when it leaves the safety of your shield would have been quite dangerous since it's an easy target for your opponent to snipe. You can always cover your forearm with a vambrace, but it's much harder to armor the wrist joint, but just adding a few inches of iron to crossguard would be a simple way to cut off one of your opponents's easiest lines of attack to one of your most vulnerable targets.
This might be a silly question but is their an upper limit for how much guard is useful? Only I saw a sword depicted in a painting once while visiting a castle in France. The hilt was essentially a "heater shield" and the sword was a two-handed greatsword. While this wasn't designed for the battlefield but for judicial duels and while the event in the painting was of the last judicial duel in France the painting itself was painted between 1780 and 1788 (part of a series showing the development of the rule of law in France) and so I don't know how much artistic licence was involved. I had wondered if such a design is even practical.
Thank you, Skall! I am always curious as to how protective gauntlets are (acknowledging differences between mitten and fingered gauntlets). Will they actually stop all but the biggest hits/weapons?
The answer to that is no, no matter the context or type of gauntlet. Obviously, not all gauntlets are equally protective, but due to the complexity of the hand and how it interacts with weapons, it's impossible to protect the whole hand all the time, and there's _always_ a risk of injury, even with the best modern mitten designs against blunt trainers wielded by a respectful sparring partner. The risk was far higher in historical combat, where the gauntlets offered less coverage and faced both weapons and techniques designed specifically to exploit those gaps (eg, rondel daggers and jabbing back through the cuff of hourglass gauntlets). Plus, depending on what you mean by "biggest," there are a number of weapons (eg, the pollaxe) that could break bones through almost all gauntlets by sheer blunt-force, even with reasonably compact swings.
If you'd like to grab a sword or two from my collection, here's a chance. Ad revenue keeps going down, so I have to sell a few things to cover expenses. Pics, details, and contact info here:
docs.google.com/document/d/13qtVMFE0YdN2r04OjiYcw_u0D5ZGTQ6mJODqcj58yFo/
And if you feel like helping out you can join as a channel member or patron. Thanks, folks!
www.patreon.com/skallagrim
ua-cam.com/channels/3WIohkLkH4GFoMrrWVZZFA.htmljoin
By the way, since several people have mentioned a video that Shad put up which apparently also touched on crossguards: I haven't seen it, and this is coincidental.
Have any daggers? I want to replace my dirk which is kind of cheap ( yet sentimental) Its a small dirk but im looking for a longer dirk as mine is so short it barely counts as a dirk.
No daggers right now, sorry.
@@Skallagrim Thats ok, I figured as much. Though Id take a stab at it lol
Sorry to hear that you ad revenue is down. I wish I could help by buying one of your swords, but I can't afford to unfortunately. If could, I'd a much larger weapons collection than I do, sucks being poor, or at least relatively poor with expensive interests/hobbies.
Regarding your ad revenue, have you considered doing daily uploads or at least uploading on a regular set schedule like every Monday and Friday, or something like that? Metatron swears by daily uploads, he said recently that after a couple of weeks to a month after switching to daily uploads he saw a marked improvement in all of his analytics, presumably including ad revenue.
@@Riceball01 I've been trying to increase the uploads to 3 times a week but my videos are pretty time consuming to make, so it's a tough grind. This week I can only manage 2.
It's clearly designed to ward off vampires, hence why it's shaped like a cross
What about Jewish or Muslim vampires?
@@thekaxmax One could put a star of david at the point where blade, crossguard and grip meet and inscribe verses of the Quran on the guard or blade for a multicultural vampire hunter longsword.
Or one could just dual wield a stake and a sickle instead. The latter setup is likely somewhat nonsensical from a HEMA perspective but perfectly in line with common vampire lore.
It’s even right in the name!
@@thekaxmax then put pagan logos on it, dont let them steal the logos though!! o wait.
@@thekaxmax crosses still work on them
One good thing about training for jian is the emphasis on actively protecting your hand.
Crossguards are meant to be held close to your face for cool promo shots and poster art when you are larping as immortals from the Highlander franchise.
There can be only one ⚔️
How did you know I did that
@@thetruth1862 because I sensed your quickening.
@X2Magneto Well be careful and don't loose your head (Music starts) Heeeere we are born to be kings , we are the princes of the universe!!!!!!
@thetruth1862
Who waaants to liiive foreeeverrr🎶
I had several times the argument about the passive protection of the guard. After sparring with both longsword and katana, I found the disc guard more protective when I "fucked up" and didn't expect the sword to slide to the hand. I find the cross guard to have more control than protection (which is super useful obviously)
Have you ever practiced with a bigger disc guard, those were more popular pre-Edo, also I often wonder if different varieties of tsuba would offer better control than what is often seen now.
@eagle162 not yet, but its clearly a good idea to compare
The better with this two worlds is a Katana with Cross and Disk 🍷🗿
@@giulyanoviniciussanssilva2947 Double-edged katana with cross and disc
It seems like the cross guard would not need to be as protective with the hand and forearm if in armor. Then, the controlling element makes more of a difference.
The demonstrations in this video are top notch!
Your videos with demonstrations and models are awesome :)
Shad made recently similiar video on same topic, its incredible to me how he annoys about how his YT career will end. Well, now I see clearly why he struggles, in comparision of those two videos, I personally find your much more informative, even you talk a lot, youre putting big amount of informations into it without unnecesary wording on top of that, no clickbaits, comfy surroudings intead of infatile plastic castle. No sponsorship, no talking how you dont have enough money.
Keep it up, this is quality, I always learn something new about swordmanship without practicizing it.
I am unsure how much of it is everyone's standards raising vs shads own quality slipping (both for sure though) but shad's vids are so low information density that they feel more as a premise for him to show off his toys than anything actually informative.
His stance and arguments in favor of AI and use of it also highlights his lack of effort and self improvement. "Look guys, I am a real artist. Prompting a model over and over again and then plastering my wife's face over everything and then asking the model to fix my lazy cut and paste job is real art guys, I swear!"
@@shdowdrgonrider I found him less and less watchable with his desire to follow the YT algorithm to stay afloat.
Also struggling for money and then destroying 1000+ usd katana is kinda bold move. 😀
I stopped watching shad quite a while ago, so i can't quite compare the videos.... However i don't know if saying Skall does well isn 't exactly correct. Don't get me wrong, i really enjoy his style and content, but i really think that more calm and informative videos like this one deserve so much more than they get. Just compare the view count for this vids with some of his older works. I think he have seen a better days as well, it's just he has great attitude towards it and mos things he does. And shad is.... well... shad.
Shad's complaints and videos about algorithm and money are a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.
I guess he has become pop-entertainment channel he always wanted to be?
I feel a good portion of it is just him blaming social consequences on "the algorithm" and doubling down further
Instructor: I know you only have kenjutsu experience, but if you want to try a longsword, go ahead. Knock yourself out.
Student: *Proceeds to assume a roof guard and literally knock himself out*
Instructor: That's not what I meant!
Instructions unclear, plunged the crossguard into my skull and lobotomized myself.
I am constantly amazed at how many people into swords do not understand how complex hilts work and their unbelievable value.
Just have them participate in a bloss event once or twice without sufficient active hand-protection prscitce, they'll learn xD
@@Sk0lzky good thing that these swords weren't made for modern events without hand equipment, since in war time, they definitely had protective gloves, and in peace time, good enough, while being wearable.
Excellent video Skal. You made me ponder all the pros and cons of a cross guard. All well explained too. 👍
"BUT I REGRET NOTHING"
Never change Skall, never change. lol
I have been to couple of tournaments in HEMA and i can tell you the guard saved me some really nasty hits on the hands. In free sparing most of the cuts are coming in weird angles not by the book and the guard does catch a lot of nasty hits. As you mentioned it is not full protection but it does catch part of the hits. I would send you pictures of my bend and punished cross guard with deep cuts XD
Yup, it definitely protects. Just not as much as some folks seem to think, and it's more about active defense than passive protection.
I saw this old video of an Italian Medieval historian and fencer showing the use of an Arming Sword. The way he used it was facing the opponent with the cross guard facing him, as in the cutting edges are pointing sideways, so is the crossguard with your thumb in the middle of the cross. He said there's a reason these swords where double edged, also he showed how articulate and agile that kind of guard was, border like Filipino style flicks and backhand twirls with your wrist, your hand and fingers interlocked in the guard for leverage.
Another thing rarely mentioned is the crossguard really helps with indexing, as in edge alignment for the cut (I've used a Katana for years and was surprised how much easier it is align your edge with a crossguard. Also surprising hand protection when you collide with a shield or even falling flat on your face on the ground, the crossguard protects your hand (depending on angle).
And I do agree with cracking your head with the crossguard when you are use to a Katana, I lesson I learnt painfully first time picking up a longsword 😂
Another great video. I love the concise, articulate presentation of practical information, combined with helpful visuals. Skall's personality and style come through well, and are enjoyable, without the incessant and unhelpful extra commentary that some of the other similar channels use.
This was well put together!
Reminded me of working with some friends who swore by parrying with the flat and had a ton of frustrations with hand hits.
Now that I think about it... Being a filthy edge parrier myself I never gave it much thought and it took me a good while too before I realized how often my blade just slipped to their knuckles/thumbs.
Luckily my friends found siderings to be the solution for their worries. It actually turned the hand hit situation the other way around for a few weeks.
Rather than go for the material solution, I went for the distance and footwork approach. Has worked for me so far.
A happy ever after for everyone.
TL;DR: Siderings were indeed the solution for some peeps I know
One of your best videos, from a reasoning standpoint. Much enjoyed. =)
I'm one of those people who dislikes the cross guard because it gets in the way during certain necessary movements. "Being more careful" means being slower and less precise; it's not worth the trade-off to me. What I very much enjoy is the front half of the cross guard, with the back half of it (the bit that gets in the way but is defensively almost never used) removed. I do have to be a bit more careful where I use a false cut or a long guard, but that's a small price to pay for the increased range of motion.
The "correct" way to hold a sword with a simple guard is to choke your hand down on the grip just a bit; your hand should not be touching the guard. Choking up reduces your range, endangers your sword hand/arm, and significantly impedes your movement if you don't do what I do and remove the back half of the cross guard. You do lose some control of the sword by choking down away from the guard, but a properly balanced sword accounts for your sword hand being in that position. Also you should have a long enough hilt, in the case of two-handed weapons - the pommel should nearly reach your elbow to achieve maximum leverage without the hilt/pommel getting in the way of certain transitions... there's an ideal hilt length for each swordsman based on their forearm. Most medieval people were roughly 5' in height, so a "perfect replica" of a two-handed sword has too short of a hilt length for a modern 6' high adult - roughly 1/6th of the needed hilt length is absent.
A side note... The blade is also shorter than it should be by 1/6th, btw - a two-handed blade needs to be long enough to dig its point into the ground while in hanging guard while still able to catch a horizontal strike at stomach/hip level from a heavy weapon. If the sword blade is too short, there's a weakness in the defense that cannot be overcome except by backing away rather than staying in range to fight back. As the incoming blow rises toward the chest, the guard and blade (the L) catch the weapon and your arms raise. Any pressure from the blow gets shunted upward as your hands raise above your head, harmlessly. A lot of these heavier weapons have prongs or axe heads that extend well past the shaft, so this method of blocking is the only effective defense that won't reach past your weapon. Even with this defense, you need to boldly step into the enemy attack so that you don't get weapon hooked and then skewered. It also greatly reduces the impact of the blow into your weapon, since the business end of the heavy weapon is where it's moving the fastest.
We too often think of swords fighting other swords, and it's a lot of fun to practice it. But longer swords were sidearms, not primary weapons. They are best suited to face unarmored crowds, who want to mob you and disarm you. Medieval swords were mostly for keeping the peasantry in line. Samurai were used to enforce rule over farmers. More important to sword training, back when it was life and death, was how to handle yourself against spears and other primary battlefield weapons. Duels did happen. But a lot of them didn't involve swords at all, as the duelists wore armor and so needed better weapons than swords. The ones that did happen with swords were precisely because swords aren't good against armor - the duelists didn't want to accidentally maim/kill the other and start a feud/war, so they used swords and wailed on each other's armor until satisfied that one man outfought the other. The role of longer sword as a way to defend yourself against an unarmored crowd (and/or slaughter them) circles back around to the topic of the video and to my other comments - the typical revolting farmer would be armed with a heavy staff, a spear, a club... something heavy enough to threaten an armored man, and so your defensive movements became very important. The guard was essential in catching blows from these kind of weapons, so that the peasants would fear you and could be quickly dispatched in one thrust/slash so that you could thin the attacking crown quickly.
Speaking of Jian, the Jin were the first really to have the Jian hand guard serve the purpose to stopping another blade. The guard became beefier with Song, Ming, and Qing.
That's also around when they started becoming more of a civilian self-defense thing than a battlefield weapon, isn't it? I also couldn't help but notice that the Han jian looks very similar to a gladius, spatha, or xiphos.
@@seanheath4492 well, what's weird is that during the Han dynasty, they had complex sword hilts and a culture of fencing schools to teach swordsmanship as a gentlemanly pastime. But the strange thing is that the complex hilts were only used on blunt training swords. So they knew the advantages of passive hand protection, but chose to use less protective sharps.
Very thorough, well said, informative and fascinating! Thanks Skallagrim
Ive always questioned the actual passive protection of cross guards. Thank you for covering this topic Skal
Great video Skall! It's very in-depth but easy to digest, it has great staging and camera work that keeps it entertaining but is very informative and has also practical examples and real-time demostrations, and even then is fun and has plenty of charisma. I think I really couldn't ask more for a video os this nature, for real, very very well done!
Bro that khopesh/kreigsmesser thing is truly a one of kind awsome thing you have to keep forever...but if you dont I want dibs.
Wow, great video! The demonstrations you gave were very clear and made the advantages and disadvantages of each guard very easy to learn and remember. Thanks!
Two points i'd like to add because they get overlooked ALL the time.
1st: Medieval swords most often dont need passive hand protection, thats what gauntlets are for. Post-medieval swords have typically more complex hilts to make up for the lack of gauntlets.
2nd: Katanas dont need a big tsuba since the main job is to protect the inner part of the hands, since the gauntlets (here it is again) tend to cover less than medieval ones. As long as the gaps between the blade and the gauntlet are covered, that's all that matters. As for active hand protection, there are other strategies especially working with the blade (position) rather than the guard, as seen in kenjutsu etc.
He's made those points before
Yup, I pointed out in this video that the passive protection doesn't matter if you're wearing sturdy gauntlets.
Also worth noting is that larger tsubas did exist historically and can be found on the collectors market. The Japanese liked their swords to have modular parts, so tsuba could be swapped out for a larger or smaller one depending on the occasion. Musashi even writes about large tsuba, although it was to complain about them much like George Silver complained about rapiers.
That's true IF you're wearing the gauntlets, but these swords were also worn in civilian life, not just for war. A lot of the manuals studied in HEMA touch more on the civilian use of them, not the military use.
@@xanderh2404 yes, thats why i said "most often", not "always". Also, keep in mind, swords have been designed for military use, and then carried over for civilian life. I am, however, not aware of any medieval sword design, that was primarily intended for civilian use. So the argument "manuals studied in hema" has nothing to do with design choices, but merely what some people back then and we do now out of the military designs.
Thats why, in my opinion, you cannot evaluate a medieval sword in a civilian context without acknowledging thats not what the design was intended first (dont get me wrong, i'm not critisizing Skall, i'm aware he knows about that. It's just a general statement since probably many sword or weapon enthousiasts forget about it). Their simple hilts are perfectly fine in their original context, so "lack of hand protection" would be an unfair judgement. Statements like "less optimal for unarmoured combat than complex hilts" and alike are absolutely fine since it implies that it is technically not used as what the design was intended for.
Though I've never trained fencing, I always had kinda similar thoughts about crossguards - you really made me feel smart by this.😃
That was really good! Very well reasoned and explained.
SKALLS FOR THE SKALLTHRONE
Love the theorycrafting deep dive videos.
Outstanding production!!
So to sum it up in one sentence, a crossguard is amazing, if you know how to use it effectively.
As usual, I'm enjoying your videos. Keep up the good work!
What a great video, genuinly very informative.
And you came up with some REALLY interesting points,
of which I hadn't thought about before.
(I've been following this channel for a really long time now,
so I kinda feel the need to make it known when I really like something.)
Eu tenho que dizer esse é o melhor canal sobre espadas e afins de longe.
Sabe "sugar o que funciona, mas da uma cuspida pra não ficar só no elogio".
"Vai afundo além da superfície" usando termos menos obscenos.
I love when you make videos like this
I like the look of side rings on a longsword but you've convinced me now I'm just always going to walk around with full gauntlets!
wow, never thought about that topic this way. Thank you!
Back when did "sparring" got good enough at grabbing guards they got removed. Fiore (don't know how to spell it) would be pleased I think lol
I'm a fan of functional fantasy. In the realm of hilts, I love the foreward swept hilts. A lot of interperetations of the Scottish claymore seem to have that crossguard with the foreward swept hilt and I'm just in love with that.
This is the kind video I was longing for.
Thanks for this new video!!! 😊
Agreed. There are also situ's like with the Circassian checker where the philosphy is geared toward being light as well as unsheathing & cutting fast in one fluid motion before ones opponent can attack. Thus no guard is needed.
I often parry with the cross gaurd, or at least the corner of gaurd and blade. It allows much more control and you can step in further past your opponents point.
This is what makes me love really clever sword fights. The slightest movement can change the entire dynamic of the fight. 7:47
Simple cross hilt is a good compromise between having built-in hand protection without restricting your options for adding hand protection.
As is a disk guard.
No matter how good your gauntlets are taking a full hit from an axe, mace, polearm or even heavier long sword is really dangerous, but if it skips off the guard first it's no danger at all
Amusing🤩 excellent analysis
That sword throw was awesome, not sure about the practicality, but looks cool
Think you'll to a video on the partisan or glaive, two types of medieval polearms I don't think it enough attention.
Good point of view.
7:04 I did manage to stab through a Schiavone's basket hilt with my Langmesser during sparring, not last Sunday, but the Sunday before. Though, I wouldn't even try aiming for it. It was pure luck, I tried stabbing the shoulder and my opponent moved his blade just in the path of mine
correct!!! on the wrist position with a crossguard to maximize a good parry withot the thumb is hitten GOOD MAN GOOD!!!!
You could also use the points of the crossguard to go for a murderstroke :D
Edged tsuba!
not recommended, if they catch it, you just handed them your sword.
Your demonstrations are always quite good, but this video really puts the spotlight on them. Good stuff!
Excellent, cheers.
Given me lots to think about.
There is no such thing as the "perfect" sword but I too have noticed in recent years the long sword being treated the way the katana was treated in the 80s and 90s as this mythological perfect sword. They each have their pros and cons and both are effective weapons that have been used in real battlefields of history. I'm always glad to see your comparison or debunking videos because they tend to be fair and informative. You point out the negatives as well as the advantages.
It's cool how the evolution of the cross-guard changed with shield and armor improvements.
Neat little effect to trim the video in chainmail.
Can you please do a video on the purpose of fullers? I think that would be a great topic as a lot of people don't really understand it.
unless he did stab test against living animals (wild hogs or something) then he doesn't actually know, and would be regulating information by others who also never tested it, but yes, the "official facts" are that it's only to reduce weight, and nothing else, it's as though they have never heard of an feature being muti purpose.
Good video! I know there has been a recent video that poorly tried to address the topic of discguard vs crossguard, by the usual "you tuber", making an argument of projection and active defense, completely ignoring that a) you have a differenr system to parry within kenjutsu b) you can orientate the guard (and the blade) differently and c) you have a larger passive "brim" over your wrist which is good paired with the proper grip to gurantee some degree of defense especially on the side.
I know recently in HEMA circles hand snipes have been discussed a lot lately, which implies a lot.
This video was much well versed and offered a better overview. Thank you!
He also acts like all you have to do with the most basic form of the crossguard is to change the angle of it and then your hand will be fully protected forever. When no, then hand is still plenty vulnerable on a horse when not wearing platted gloves. It's why the Prussian cavalry got fed up with the m1811. Keep in mind it's very similar to the 1796 British Heavy Cavalry Sabre.
The hand guard was majorly beefed up with the m1852 and the design trend was kept up with the m1879 and 1889.
Never mind that the British and French designed hand guards for naval cutlasses that either need to take alot of punishment or to provide a flat surface at the front with multiple bars or half-basket protection attached to that.
You mean that same recent video in which a katana was used for parrying as if it had been a longsword, and surprisingly that test "proved" how a crossguard is far superior than a tsuba?
Like if one used a cavalry sabre with rapier techniques to prove that its blade shape and guard is inferior to a rapier...
Yeah, I don't know if that "You tuber" is who I think it is. But as someone who has little to no sword experience I couldn't help question that if you have to move it to get protection then doesn't that just mean it's a different thing entirely? Like, I don't think either is superior because historical logic suggests like most things if it exists then it did it's job well enough. So, wouldn't they just be doing a job maybe even the same job but because the weapon came from an entirely different culture of fighting it would work just as well?
Anyways, I am real tired of people straw-manning and would like to see them Steel-Manning like Skallagrim did here.
What about a ring guard cross guard combo? At that point its basically a simplified cup guard. Not as defensive as a basket hilt, but more versatile while being more defensive then either just a ring- or just a cross guard. Plus you avoid (some) risk of thrusting that you get with a design like the one at 8:47
"A simple cross guard can give you a false sense of safety"
Which is what happened with the Prussian cavalry when they were wielding the m1811 Cavalry Saber. Not that they were a bad sword, but rather the sword is demonstration that sometimes changing the angle of the guard isn't enough to save your hands from serious injury. Hence the m1852 was introduced when they realized the issue of a basic bar styled guard. Keep in mind the m1811 had a d-side guard extension like with the similar looking British 1796 Heavy Cavalry Sabre.
While I think it's correct to say that sword guards usually became more protective as the 19th century progressed, you have a few facts wrong. The British 1796 Heavy Cavalry _Sword_ (the 1796 HC's blade was straight) had a bowl guard, not a D/side-ring, and the British 1796 _Light_ Cavalry Saber (which the M1811 seems to have quite faithfully copied) only had a knucklebow and rear quillon.
Also, I couldn't find an example of an M1811 with a hilt that wasn't near-identical to the 1796 LC's, let alone an indication that such a thing was ever _typical._ I know very little about Prussian swords, though, so that might just be due to weak Google-fu, and I'd appreciate any citations you might have that proves that's wrong.
6:12
Seki Sensi have mentioned that DON'T hold the katana too close to the guard becasuse some expert may still able to attack your hand
But you are almost touching it.
I remember seeing a similar thing. where you're supposed to keep your hand a bit lower from the guard
@@Ose-here i think it's an inch or 2 below the guard, well, just put your hands where the bumps are, and you're fine, it's crazy that katanas literately have markers for where to place your hands, and people are still confused
Sick khopesh!
Thank you very much!
Ochs is my go to guard because i like to fient the thrust for redirect then lunge in another thrust, works most of the time, and i can say ive never bruised my forearms 😅
8:08 you say they but you have spread this and been a decent bit of a factor in this so you should include yourself at least yourself from the past.
Good video
Great video!
Another one is blade retention. The guard is where you rest your hand when ur wearing a katana. Someone can try to grap the handle and take it out, but good luck on that. A crossguard on a longsword would be even easier to prevent someone taking ur sword out. just push down on the guard. then punch, or stab with secondary. Without a guard you could just quickly put two hands on the sword and the user can't prevent you from drawing their sword. Not really an issue now, but for an every day carry retention would be important
also pretty sure katanas have dif size guards, at least mine is either bigger, or u have massive hands lol. (still same problems with it tho)
i always think an overlooked point to the long crossguard is that it works really well when bashing against a shield or person without hurting your hand. Maybe better on a one handed sword, but still it works quite well on a longsword i have found
I love that messer
14:14
Think all this is part of why I tend to go more for sloped quillions like on Scottish swords. Well that, the extra trapping capability, and feeling a bit more connected to my ancestors. Course that can leave the hands more vulnerable than straight or curved in some regards but there's give and take for everything.
Show us more of that cup hilt!
Clearly to help dry off underwear after a battle near a fire camp.
Peepoop slip was a classic squire to handle and clean for his master.
You should make a series of plywood (or some other cheap material) discs and figure out the ideal balance of protection and maneuverability. Obviously a 10" disc would be like a buckler and offer a ton of protection, but the drawbacks on offense would probably be pretty severe. There has to be a goldilocks zone for this sort of thing.
Cool video Skalla grim👍
In my experience, a cross guard helps a fair bit if you use it for fighting with sword and shield against another sword and shield - it protects your hand when it slams into the opponent's shield, whether that happens because you wanted to punch at the shield for some reason, or because your attack got blocked. It won't always take all the power from the slam (though it can, especially if the opposing shield was edge-on), but it takes enough hurt out of it to make it not hurt through your mail mittens.
You can also brace the back side of your shield with it, but that is... of questionable use for anything you're likely to do in a fight at best.
Skall and his girl constantly hitting on each other. Get a room you two!
Kidding of course. Great vid
Your style is so dope. I need to start dressing deliberately again. Also, sorry for insulting you a few years ago. I was wrong and the comment would have been unnecessary regardless.
One thing you didn't mention is the German longsword tradition's thumb on the flat grip, which turns the quillons 90 degrees, and provides a lot more passive protection to the top of the hands and arms.
Loved this video 😅
This video is a good illustration of how the crossguard is not "free" defense. It requires technique and intent to be useful as you've shown.
Glad to see that sword still in use.
Which one?
8:27 The sword in your right hand. I can't remember who made it. I want to say something like Albion. Anyway it has been in your videos for a long time. It was like seeing an old friend.
@@keaganwheeler-mccann8565 That's the Albion Liechtenauer.
@@Skallagrim I'm honestly surprised that I got the maker right.
Thank you for all your videos! I've been watching again recently, and still recommend your work to people interested. 🤘
Ring guards offer a surprising amount of protection for how small they are. It's like a 360 nail guard.
Always gets into the context of the weapon and what it's for, with the Han straight swords with virtually no guard, bows and crossbows had already dominated the battlefield since the Win Dynasty and of course polearms were a go to. Your sword is a backup weapon. In non war use straight swords were often a dueling and aristocratic activity, and in a duel it doesn't really matter what your weapon is as long as both people have roughly the same weapon, so the sporting nature of duels doesn't really drive innovation. And the majority of battlefield innovation at the time had more to do with bows, crossbows, and cavalry, innovating a better sword is just not really worth your effort when sword combat is rarely a deciding factor.
Like modern armies come out with new combat knives every once in awhile but the focus isnt even on guns anymore but drowns, missiles, and detection technology. The tech that's more likely to change the outcome of a conflict than a slightly better rifle.
Great video
That makes sense.
Curious if that could be a benefit of the cup Dao guard. A enemy sword could cut into the rim, so you have the all around protection of disk guard with some of the trapping of a cross guard
I was expecting you to point out complex hilts interfere with 2 handed grips.
Otherwise you confirmed my crossguard suspicions.
I have a little bit of fencing training so I haven't actually used a crossguard just complex hilts.
14:30
I'm a bit confused by this technique. I could understand if you were just supposed to catch the blade under your arm and grab the quillon. It seems plausible to do that in one swift motion.
But it looks like Fiore takes it a step further by dipping his forearm under the blade and then grabbing the quillon. If you could do this, you'd certainly have decent control over the opponent's blade. My question is, "how do you get there?"
It seems like it would be difficult to do against a fully resisting opponent. But he's the master, not me, so...
Sweet, very informative
Worth noting that the circular guards don't have to be that small. Some miaodao for example seem to have pretty large ones
How about a hybrid of crossguard plus disk-guard. Also embed magnets in the cross guard to make it harder for the opponent to pull away their blade.
It...just looks so much better with a crossguard. Rule of cool applies for real world stuff too, aesthetics matter! I know it's not the reason, but if the pros and cons balance, it's a good enough one.
Have done a bit of sabre combat and with 10thc sabre the guard is quite minimal and I found them quite fine for blocks
Great video! As a noted fan of the yatagan, why do you think they typically lack any real hand protection (except for the blade sticking out further than the hand where it meets the grip)? Most images I've seen of the yatagan being worn (usually shoved through a well-dressed gent's sash) do not show a buckler being worn. I would think having a bit more of a hand guard, even if just a messer-like nub, would be extremely useful, both for protecting your hand and keeping your yatagan from slipping through your sash and falling on your toes.
Seeing how sword design went from short crossgurads to longer crossguards Ive always assumed it was developed to protect the wrist. Letting your wrist become exposed when it leaves the safety of your shield would have been quite dangerous since it's an easy target for your opponent to snipe.
You can always cover your forearm with a vambrace, but it's much harder to armor the wrist joint, but just adding a few inches of iron to crossguard would be a simple way to cut off one of your opponents's easiest lines of attack to one of your most vulnerable targets.
In short... as usual... if you are going to use these "defensive tools", LEARN, PRACTICE, SPAR, REPEAT!
12:45 I've actually recently used it in a grapple like a shovel handle lmao
This might be a silly question but is their an upper limit for how much guard is useful?
Only I saw a sword depicted in a painting once while visiting a castle in France.
The hilt was essentially a "heater shield" and the sword was a two-handed greatsword.
While this wasn't designed for the battlefield but for judicial duels and while the event in the painting was of the last judicial duel in France the painting itself was painted between 1780 and 1788 (part of a series showing the development of the rule of law in France) and so I don't know how much artistic licence was involved.
I had wondered if such a design is even practical.
I'm a bit interested in assymetrical lengths on the guard, but obviously there's a limited range of stuff where the blade can still be double sided.
Awesome.
15:31. What is it. It's disgusting and I love it
That's his bespoke complex-hilt khopesh longsword
Thank you, Skall! I am always curious as to how protective gauntlets are (acknowledging differences between mitten and fingered gauntlets). Will they actually stop all but the biggest hits/weapons?
The answer to that is no, no matter the context or type of gauntlet. Obviously, not all gauntlets are equally protective, but due to the complexity of the hand and how it interacts with weapons, it's impossible to protect the whole hand all the time, and there's _always_ a risk of injury, even with the best modern mitten designs against blunt trainers wielded by a respectful sparring partner. The risk was far higher in historical combat, where the gauntlets offered less coverage and faced both weapons and techniques designed specifically to exploit those gaps (eg, rondel daggers and jabbing back through the cuff of hourglass gauntlets).
Plus, depending on what you mean by "biggest," there are a number of weapons (eg, the pollaxe) that could break bones through almost all gauntlets by sheer blunt-force, even with reasonably compact swings.