Are back scabbards a good idea? REPLY to Skallagrim, Wearing a Sword on Your Back Works, BUT...
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- A reply to Skallagrim's video on the problems with wearing a sword on your back: • Yes, Wearing a Sword o...
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Posted this on Skal's video but I'll mention it here too.
One thought about the possible origins of the back carry trope. A few years ago I was choreographing a fantasy short film wherein the main character needed to run, jump, clamber over rocks and trees, etc. extensively before drawing his sword. My original intention was to have the sword on his hip, but as you pointed out there was no way to do these stunts without holding the sword in place with one hand (it kept spilling out or getting in the way). Sprinting with one hand stuck to the hip just didn't play very well on camera though, because it always pulled focus to the sword when that wasn't supposed to be the point of the shot. So eventually we moved to a back scabbard, which tolerated the stunts much better.
My thought is that maybe people think back scabbards are super cool because they see them in movies, but maybe they exist in movies simply because they are so practical IN A MOVIE CONTEXT. And if another context, like your fantasy adventure, has you sprinting, scrambling, and tumbling often, then it might be a practical way to carry a sword for you too.
Todd from Todd's workshop said exactly the same
thats why they say, pains in the ass are the mother of invention... or necessity, however you feel like saying it :) Its similar with modern tactical equipment as well.. being able to sling a rifle to your back when running, climbing, manipulating things, carrying things, is a huge bonus. also, modern military studies show that having weight on your hip is astonishingly more tiresome than having it on your back or chest. That is why police officers have been shifting from duty belts to chest rigs and the military has already been doing it for a long time.
that makes sense. jeanne darc was released in 1900, and robin hood and his merry men in 1907. hollywood officially merged with la by 1910. (thank god for google, huh?)
lotr by tolkien was published in 1954. did anyone have a sword on their back in middle earth...?
plenty of time for generations to be influenced by the film industry even if it wasnt historically accurate.
@@maximusjoseppi5904 now that I think about it maybe an adjustable shoulder sling is the perfect middle ground. In can hook around your belt and wrap around your shoulder and have a button or sliding system so you can sit the sword wherever the hell you feel. In a big city and want to keep your expensive sword from being stolen just adjust it to your waist. In the mountains or traveling in your band for days, adjust your sword to your back so it’s less cumbersome and it’s not swinging everywhere. Honestly just a simple sling system feels like the perfect middle ground that adjusts to fit all situations.
It's actually older, there was a British show from the 80s called Robin of Sherwood. The character Nasir a Saracen carried two scimitars sheathed on his back.
I gotta say Shad, that opener actually make me LOL. Respect.
Oh boy, are you planning to make a response to the response video next, Matt?
Shad: I'm king nerd
Me: he has a castle in his garden, that's right.
@@Grandude77 Having a castle does not make one a king. What makes one a king is victory.
I like the video on the cold open. It was awesome!
Matt, give Shad some pointers in keeping a straight face while saying things that could potentially be interpreted in a different way. He's not quite there at your British stiffness yet.
I’ll be honest: I go to these kinds of channels because of how wholesome and polite the UA-camrs are with each other. I love that Skall, Metatron, Shad, and Matt are just chill nerds who don’t create needless drama.
You sir, have earned a like from me. Same reason I enjoy these channels as well….. well…. That and because I’ve already studied a majority of the battles of wwi and wwii. So I basically use these channels to brush up on the history that predates NATO and the conglomerate that predated NATO before WWII.
Side note. If you study enough history, you start to notice patterns, where in politicians always repeat the same mistakes of the past. Politicians make poor historians, but historians, in my opinion, would make excellent politicians.
Yep. Because they don't treat it like a popularity contest. Once somebody does that, they gradually become opportunistic and unbearable.
Agreed. This is the kind of conversations that are focused on trying to investigate and understand one another.
Weapons and platform systems histories are complex subjects to study.
These guys have knowledge, humility, humor, and their nerds. Like the rest of us lol.
Ok, fine... you can have the title of King of the Nerds. I'll reserve Edgelord for myself, just in case. ;)
Your back scabbard is smart and well made, but one thing that bothers me about it is that it's partially open. One of the functions that a scabbard fulfills is to protect the blade from the elements. This offers a lot more protection than nothing obviously but it can still easily allow moisture in, and much more than could enter through the gaps between the guard and the mouth of the scabbard. Water could pool in the bottom, although on the upside there is more air circulation which would help dry it out to some extent, I guess.
Ah, I just got to the point in the video where you talked about that.
The sword frog is a good point, that has the same advantages as simply sticking a scabbard through a belt or sash (easy to adjust position, can be taken off quickly to carry by hand). The only DRAWback (hurr hurr) is that you *have* to hold on to the scabbard while drawing the sword.
Depending on the type of chair a back scabbard may be easier to sit down with, yes. At the same time I don't think it would be relevant in many situations. If you're in a tavern or some other public place chances are you're not even allowed to bring a big-ass sword in there (be it history or fantasy). In fact in such a confined space it would be useless anyway. You'd want to carry a shorter blade, which is easy to wear on the hip, sitting or not. If you're out travelling by yourself and want to sit down on a tree stump of whatever the side scabbard wouldn't get in the way, and you could take it off anyway to rest.
I take it you're not a fan of the Naruto run? :D
18:43 You were kind of cutting your own backpack there, weren't you?
Fair enough though, I suppose you can combine a backpack and a back scabbard if you really want to.
19:49 With this particular scabbard there is another problem that I wanted to bring up but couldn't really demonstrate because I don't have anything that can be set up this way. Which is, you're basically carrying a steering wheel on your back. If someone grabs the handle and the scabbard they get a lot of leverage and can use it to take you down. The other issue I'm seeing is that you can do very little to prevent the sword from being taken off your back. Just raising one arm the way you did would not deter a determined attacker/thief from using both hands to take it.
I do think weapon retention is a serious problem. That's why duty holsters for pistols have locks that prevent someone else to access the weapon. A back scabbard may even attract shady individuals who are looking for easy targets. However, holster retention systems are operated on the hip, not behind your back... Trying to unhook something behind your back during an adrenaline rush... doubtful.
28:30 Depending on how you draw from the hip the armpit may be somewhat exposed, but much less so. Also, you now have the sword between yourself and the opponent. When it's on the back there is nothing in between.
By the way, you ended up giving away bonus material from the Patreon-only cut. Naughty, naughty... :p
You couldn't have known what would be in the final version though.
45:30 It looks like my rising cut when drawing connects while your blade is still facing backwards, which means arm = wrecked. To be fair though, I was using a much shorter sword that draws faster. For the final upload I actually added a section where I compared side to back draw and timed it. The difference was only about a quarter second, but it's enough to cut the arm before the sword is ready to attack when drawn from back.
I think we can agree that the only truly convenient way to "carry" a sword is by having a summonable magic version that you can just materialize into your hand from a pocket dimension or whatever. :) And thanks for the response. Overall we mostly agree, it's just about the nitty-gritty details.
Amen to pocket dimension swords.
Love both of you guys, would love to see you 2 and metatron do a little podcast thing
@@BE02Raziel Amen
based
Summoning my weapon has always been my preferred method of carrying. Plus you have the added benefit of selling your sword to an unsuspecting merchant and then summoning it back to you once out of town.
Oz, I'm glad you did the second theft attempt when Shad was busy talking, because my main criticism with the first attempts was that a thief wouldn't steal from someone standing in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do but be aware of their surroundings, a thief would steal from someone in a crowd whose mind is busy with something else!
yeah and buckle won't help
@@favkisnexerade I'd disagree, if someone's sneaky and dexterous enough to undo a buckle mechanism without you realizing it then they'd probably be able to just grab a sheath and just pull it out of the loop, right? If they get their hand on the thing and start pulling it out then you might just be fucked either way.
If you're wearing the Shabbard, then that's not an issue, is it? They'd have to undo the entire thing and then pull up without you realizing someone's fiddling with a thing on your back. And if they don't do that then it's tied to your back, so they're not getting around that easily.
@@dracocrusher it does add an extra step to drawing out though, idk if it's worth it
@@shadpant9255 I'd imagine in most situations if you have to fight someone then you'd have it drawn anyways? Like when are you going to be charged by someone you don't see coming so unexpectedly that you don't have time to undo a button or strap?
So happy this was brought up. I had the same criticism; most actual pickpocketers in real life make heavy use of misdirection and attention management of their marks.
So, well done, Oz! For science
I actually think that 40:10 thing that Oz did only adds to validity of Skall's point about stealing, since at that moment Shad had 0 awareness about it opposed to the tests at around 21:00 mark. So good job, Oz!
I agree. It was my thought that it would be easier to steal the sword from the back then the side as long as the person is not alert or expecting something to happen. All the thief would need to do is wait for the person to be distracted and not as alert and then try and grab it. In that case they are more likely to succeed stealing from the back compared to the side since you hands and arm would naturally be closer to stop the theft. Plus you would have better leverage trying to stop something being grabbed from your belt.
Thief just grabs the hilt and a part of the scabbard in the small of your back. They leverage down, pulling you off your feet. Your fall draws the sword for them. Before you can react you’re on your back with a sword in your throat 🤪😅
Point, but to be honest, if someone wanted to steal your sword, they'd probably have a knife to your throat from a blind spot rather than just hope you didn't have reactions fast enough to grapple them as they fled
@@stevetherush1193 that depends on how much they want to commit crime. Stealing using coercion is robbery instead of theft. If you're caught as robber you are typically charged with a greater penalty than a thief (when the same value is stolen). Pickpockets and thieves are more common than muggers.
@@tribunemetellus6846 then why not just track you and steal it when you put it down? I'm just saying...no way someone is taking your sword from your person and expecting you to just stand there, they expect a beating at the very least...and if you do catch up, maybe a real fight will happen, since they have a sword now
Oz makes a good demonstration of the power of distraction when he captures the sword while Shad is distracted with talking to the camera.
Oz also makes a compelling closing argument to the video. For the sake of completeness, he should have had a sword on each hip, a sword on the front, and a sword on the back to protect against attacks from all horizontal directions. For extra protection, he could wear a crotchard with a sword between his legs and a helmard with a sword on the top of his head.
"We can't debate who's favorite color is right. It's green by the way" "No, it's red, Skallagrim!" THAT was the part I was waiting for. Knowing Shad and Skall's favorite colors and that Shad was TOTALLY going to bring that up once he got to it. You two are the reason I got into swords and melee weapons in general, that I recently began to expand to other types and picked up a three-section staff to add to my collection thus far.
Also I have to agree with Skall, Green > Red.
It's blue, with yellow.
Green is Red's compliment not the other way around so Red>Green.
Green and red looks good together. So does blue and yellow. And purple and orange. And black and pretty much any other colour. But green does sit on top.
@@comradebork As a Swede, I can't officially disagree with that. But in private I can say it's the dark reds, like burgundy or maroon.
you are all wrong, black is the king.😊
I think what we've learned out of this, and probably the most important part of the videos. Don't put a shorter sword on your back, back scabbards are for larger weapons.
Also, yes, if you compare everything to those toothpicks skall carries with him as opposed to a longer blade, sure you can draw, swing, do whatever faster - to some extent.
The flash can't beat the speed of shad replying to skall's vid
🤣🤣🤣
You have just been putting out videos left and right this week Shad. All I have to say is good job to you, Oz and Nathan.
Shad, you're Shabbard is amazing, just in case you need to hear that.... Maybe Skall should have one for his testing too? I think the exposure to the Elements would be one of the biggest issues for an adventurer, that and the fact that it's damn hard to caress your big Pommel if it's above your head....
And the next Witcher game better include a Shabbard instead of a regular one where the blade morphs in!
As for rain and moisture getting in the scabbard, there's records of wooden scabbards swelling and trapping the sword, or for like 19th century steel scabbards, the blades rusting to the scabbards, freezing them in place
that's why you maintain the blade
@@sakesaurus maintain the blade all you want, but if the scabbard swells up, an oily blade isn't gonna save you
If the wood's the problem, change the material.
The commissioned shabbard for example, (the one Shad wears the entire video, not the one he made) is leather. The frongy bit that guides the sword in can still be made of wood, and should keep the sheath straight enough, if i'm understanding how physics and leather works that is.
Test it either way! Validate or debunk me, i wish to know.
@@DZ-1987 the lockwood's scabbard is woodcore. In the medieval period, you couldn't exactly make the scabbard out of polymer. Most scabbards were woodcore and leather scabbards. And I'm pretty sure his backscabbard is woodcore, otherwise it would begin to lose shape since it's so long
@@tylerreed610 Mm, that's a thing is it? Alright, fair enough. And noted.
personally i like the idea of a back scabbard in a fantasy setting i've been brewing for a while. there's a "special forces" type group who primarily patrol and enforce a very wet swamp region, they carry a swordstaff as a primary weapon but also have a short machete like blade they wear across their back both for utility and if the combat gets too close for their staves.... why this particular combo? they can wade damn near up to their waste in water and not have to worry about their metal weapons getting submerged and the protective oil getting washed off.
I can't believe that Shad didn't mention the most obvious reason for Shabbards. You can carry _at least_ one more sword, possibly two, if one isn't too long. In addition to two swords on each hip, that's _six swords,_ opening the possibility for hextuple wielding, if you have six arms, or an abundance of options, if you have only one or two arms, or even just fewer than six. Obviously, you'll need hands to go with those arms, and, also, you can hextuple wield while having _more_ than six arms, in which case the extra arms won't need hands. Clearly, if you have more or less than two hips or shoulders, that'll throw off the numbers.
As an adventurer, removing the sword in the scabbard, being able to run, having a huge sword, being able climb and wade, are bigger advantages,
but having it stolen from behind, harder to be intimidating and trouble sitting is a much smaller problem since adventurers find themselves in chaotic, rapidly changing environments that are quiet and not full of other humans
I am an exercise physiologist and I try to insert some useful information in the comments when applicable. Couple things: not criticisms, but helpful information. Swinging with both arms is biomechanically beneficial. By not swinging your arms, you are affecting your balance in a way that will ultimately slow you down (part of the reason why you swing the opposite arm to the opposite leg). How much does this matter? Depends on the situation but if your balance is affected, other musculature has to work harder thus bringing on the onset of fatigue sooner. I genuinely believe the back scabbard would be more beneficial for adventurers who need to be able to escape a situation as fast as possible.
Yep. I’ve had folks do this before to prove the point…. Run while swinging the same arm as the foot that’s striding. Left leg, left arm and right leg, right arm. It hilarious and basically impossible. Even just walking like that is very awkward and energy inefficient
40:28 Oz NEVER disappoints me. I knew he would try to do it off-script.
The "casual" intimidation attitudes/poses deserve a separate video. I really would like to see OZ performing his own examples.😂😂
feels like shad has quite some experience with acting/roleplay
Team Oz!
@@apollohateshisdayjob9606 He should use the tagline of "All Natural Oz-someness"
It seems like this:
Longer Swords/Great Swords, it's best on the back (With Shad's Scabbard design)
Short Swords and Longswords, can be better on the hip, since the length of the blade isn't a problem.
Length of the blade seems to be the deciding factor, as Skallagrim never used anything longer than an Arming Sword it seemed. As Shad points out in his video many times, length of the sword matters just as much.
Just as Skall mentioned in his video. It was literally his closing argument for that video on when he can see a back scabbard being usefull.
@@antonakesson quite literally I paused not 10 seconds before
Gotta love the back and forth between Skallagrim and Shadiversity.
Running w/o arms: apparently running with the arms uses about 10% less energy than running with arms still. Not sure how that affects immobilizing a single arm, but even if it's 5%, surely that will make some difference.
Also as another comment says the arms are also used for balance while running or during other various activities on their own. (As in you don't put much mental or physical effort into this natural body balancing system).
when running with arms down it is also harder to breathe correctly, so you may end up in better shape after the sprint.
The main things the arms are used for is balance and helps breathing which improves distance running.
Slightly off topic, but this is why it doesn't really make sense for humanoid fantasy races that have tails have better balance because of the tail. Our arms are just so good at that that a tail wouldn't make much of a difference.
@@AnotherDuck tails make a huge difference when changing direction. But your right it wouldn't affect 2 legged humanoids balance much as you want to maintain balance around the center of gravity.
4 legged animals on the other hand get massive improvement for high speed turns.
We need more Skall-Shad collabs! =)
🌸😹I cannot say that I did not see this coming and it shall be interesting to see your take and it is astonishing how swift your reply was.😹🌸
The reason I made a (very bad) back scabbard was that my plastic practice longsword was (esp. when I was a kid) waaaay too long to have at my side- getting the tip high enough to walk meant putting the pommel in my armpit.
The reason you want your hands free when running isn't speed, it's balance (and the fact that you'd have to slow down to get the same level of balance, esp. on difficult ground or when you're afraid of falling).
Could I note that if somebody gets close enough to steal your sword that way, they definitely got close enough to jam a dagger into your neck. I'm not saying it's not a concern, it's just that if the area you're in is inhabited by people who steal stuff that way, you're going to need to have awareness no matter what type fo sword.
"Could I note that if somebody gets close enough to steal your sword that way, they definitely got close enough to jam a dagger into your neck."
But if they are only interested in stealing the sword, why would they murder you? A capable thief does not mean a murderer too. Also a sword on ones back with Shad's scabbard is a way easier target then the sword on the hip either in view or so damn close to the victims hand. Not impossible just a difference in probable succes to the thief.
@@antonakesson His point was more that you should be on your guard anyways when you are in a crowd of people; in an area where open daylight hit and run thefts are enough of a problem to worry about it. You don't not lock your car in LA when going in for a quick macwhopper, but you can leave your car unlocked with your children and your dog in it in small town north-nowhere, while you do all of your shopping for the week.
@@antonakesson I'm saying that if you're in a bad part of town, you'll want to be alert either way. Even if the guy doesn't want to murder you, you have no real way of knowing that, usually.
@@robertlewis6915 Well, you never said "in a bad part of town" you just said "it's just that if the area you're in is inhabited by people who steal stuff that way" which could be the city center and market area for instance. Sure, if you go into a seedy part of town knowingly then it is a given that one should be on guard but that wasn't what you said.
@@potetnamnbaknamn895 Wouldn't a hip mounted sword be best then since you could just rest your hand on it? I never said never to be alert of one surroundings just that Shads back scabbard opens up for easier theft.
Upvoted just for the frog. Very cool idea, makes so much sense. Also, awesome mic! Based on the huge wind in the background.
Now I kinda want Shad to analyze the validity of Oze's front Scabbard, lol. And how would you call it ?
I too would like to see Shad analyze the front scabbard. Couldn't it be actually more useful in fantasy setting than back scabbard :D
I feel like every good point skallagrim makes mostly just applies to smaller swords and the main advantage of a Shabbard is carrying bigger swords.
i absolutely agree that comfort and preference would be an important factor.
The biggest thing I got from this was that Shad likes big swords and Skal likes smaller swords
"Ozz.. tistic... content..."
Lol. Why do I get the feeling that he's not the one who thought of that.
Yeah, that skit was great. And the idea isnt actually as dumb as one might think at first, pirates wore several flintlock pistols on their chest in a somewhat similar fashion as having multiple guns was the only way for being able to shoot rapidly more than once back then.
This brings to mind; the comparison between standard Assault Rifle Mag placement (Magazine in front of the Grip) & Bull Pup Rifles (Magazine behind the Grip)
There are always tradeoffs - making back scabbard more secure against sword falling off or being stolen with a holding loop / strap, on the other hand makes drawing out process even longer (the second major issue pointed in @Skallagrim video).
(Note that you would not have clip-on closing in medieval times, I think).
Another problem with back scabbards is accidently hitting things/people behind you.
The stealing tests were a 180 to what I was picturing. I was thinking of thieves in town using ambient sound and the crowd to make their move. A purse snatcher doesn't look for prey in secluded areas, they go where there are lots of people both as marks and as cover.
Its so fun to hear two friends talk about something they are passionate about
Now we just need Schola Gladiatoria, Metatron & Lindy Beige to round out the discussion
Front scabbard could actually work ... Oz might have stumbled upon an golden idea
Looks stupid but who cares if it works. It should work.
The leather loop theft-protection will slow down your draw speed even more, though, and I feel like it might be quite the significant speed reduction, too.
Adding to the security question: it gets a lot harder when you are surrounded by people, not even a dense crowd but just a regular busy street, to make out any individual footsteps or be aware who is going to do what. So in that case it would be even easier to steal the sword out of someones back scabbard.
I don't like to watch Skal's videos anyway, so getting the whole picture with just your video is excellent!
I have a question. Could armor be a potential issue with the back scabbard, I’d imagine that if you are wearing some kinds of shoulder guards maybe even just bulky armor it could keep you from reaching back properly. I guess though an adventurer probably wouldn’t be wearing the much armor that would interfere with it.
Mm, my understanding with shoulder armour is that... while it does limit complete arm movement, its not really impactful. You just can't raise your elbows sky high, but you can still pull things out.
Try it, just imitate the movement of pulling something from your back. You'll find that your elbows aren't pointing to the sky.
Matter of fact, if you do point em up, you'll be reaching for the other shoulder.
There is a lot of sword and just general stances that require your hands to be up. If the armour completely limited that arm movement, its not good armour.
Good question, mate.
You should get the company that made that sheath a copyright
To the point of someone stealing it, if you're used to it, it would be kind of like your eyes ignoring your nose. Also, if you're not expecting your assistant to steal the sword, you would absolutely lose it or get a real nice gash in your hand every time.
Question: isn't the point of a sidearm or arming sword, to have fast easy access for emergency and a war sword for when you know beforehand combat is imminent?
It seems like Skallagrim is trying to put a sidearm into a back scabbard and Shad is trying to put a war sword into a side scabbard. Neither is meant for the other.
Imagine if Dante kept the Rebellion on his hip instead of his back. It would be ridiculous. Bigass swords should just be kept on your back in general.
I think an adventurer would wear their gear in different ways depending on the danger level they considered themselves in. So, they'd probably go for the most convenience in terms of day to day utility in 'green' areas, i.e. where they know they're safe. Then they'd have weapons more accessible in areas where danger level is amber, so probably switch from back scabbard or packed items to having them readily available, and then when they're in the red they'd have the weapon drawn, ready to strike/fire. So, you could see a barbarian wearing his great sword on their backs in the green areas, on their belt in amber, and in their hands in red.
The sword steeling is definitely a problem, in a busy town where people are naturally walking behind you makes the back scabbard more vulnerable to theft.
This.
I seriously can't understand how they can ignore it.
The guard example is totally wrong. It is plausible, but of course a guard will be someway careful while on a watching turn, moreover, they usually run in couples and so on.
But walking with a back scabbard on a busy road or sitting in a tavern with tens of people passing by your back, is just shouting "oh yeah, steal this".
Thrives steal your wallet from your pockets and you can't feel it, imagine this 😅
In a city, battlefield, etc. there may be more noise etc making it easier to sneak from behind. Helmet may also limit vision and hearing
runners: theorycraft the perfect hand movement for running.
Skall: just hold onto sword.
just a lil joke
An adventurer carrying a large sword in a back scabbard would almost certainly have a short sword, dirk, or maybe a gladuis/machete carried on a belt for playing with, resting a hand on, or drawing in tight quarters.
its so cute that he left oss being silly stealing the sword in the middle of shad explaining. funny
I feel in terms of intimidation, Skal's got a point. Like sure, the handle sticking out of the shabbard is clearly visible. But it's not only about saying "I've got a weapon", it's also about "Notice how, right now, my hand is already on my weapon's handle/pommel?" It carries across the idea that not only do you have a weapon, you are currently considering using it.
You could do something similar to holding your belt though, by holding your chin like people do when their more skeptical, or thinking on what was happening. And just the act your arms are raising would intimidate. Plus, it would be easy to just move your hand from your chin to where you have the back scabbard and SWING
I guess it's an argument for people below 2 meters. I can't walk through normal doors w/o bowing down. I shudder imagining a sword sticking out of my back even higher. Every second will be leg day that way.
So question Shad,
How would you go about having more than two, long sword scabbards on your back?
My idea is that its a harness system with multiple angled side holsters?
So each scabbard is placed between 2 ring holsters. Each on is layered. Lets say we have 3 layers enough for 6 scabbards.
Next we angle each rings the top layers would be closer to the shoulders/neck, the second would be just off from that point like a bit more to the left or right, the last one would probably be a tad more off to the side where drawing it would look like you drawing from your arm pits.
I know to any Medieval Historian, this might be impractical or blasphemy. Just want to see what this would look like.
The amount of difficulty, wearing and drawing a longer blade on the side, is proportional to the wielders height. Since I have no idea about yours, I can't judge how hard it would be for a person of average height and thus arms length. The taller you are, the higher your belt will be situated as well.
When it comes to back-sheathed weapons, I like how Monster Hunter does it with the Light Bow Gun. An LBG is a solidly built gun that uses discardong sabot projectiles, and when it's sheathed, it's carried with the muzzle pointing down, offset to the dominant hand's side, with spare ammo pouches on the waist accessible by the other hand.
When the hunter draws the LBG, it simply swings down under the armpit of the dominant arm, and is held from the stock by the dominant hand, with the non-dominant hand supporting the muzzle. When the hunter wants to resheath the LBG, it simply slides back into position against their back.
My headcanon is that the hunter has either a rope or small guiderail hung over the shoulder, attached to a point roughly 2/3 between the end of the buttstock and the center of mass, but closer to the center of mass.
I think it’s the stealing it off your back that is the killer blow. And putting some kind of latch on to stop someone stealing it will really slow your draw time, maybe even leading to failure under conditions of pressure. Both not having a sword at all or failure to draw leading to said killer blow.
I can't stand drop-leg holsters. But in certain situations and context, they make sense.
Even with all it's pros, I still think that the back scabbard shouldn't be used as the primary method of storage.
The back scabbard should only be used exactly when it's advantages can be used, otherwise you'd look for a convenient time to swap it back to a regular scabbard for security/protection from the weather, and also potential thieves.
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In the end the back scabbard is still just a novelty.
I think it's main use should be with video game characters, which constantly runs, jumps, crawls, etc.. This is the best use for the back scabbard in my opinion.
Props to Oz for catching the villain monologuing and stealing the McGuffin.
Another point to consider is the intimidation factor. I would feel more threatened by a side carrying swordsman with his hand on the handle ready to draw compared to someone back carrying.
lol nerd fights on youtube are so amusing, nice vid shad its nice to see a fellow aussie do vids, and talk about swords better then most. keep up the vids and nice work
Shad you actually draw faster than I do from the back as I am holding onto my Hammerhead and spinning my shaft forward to my chest only then getting a firm grasp of my weapon.
With a helmet and like a fully armored person I think that the back scabbard is more intimidating. But I feel as though with the hip sheath takes more facial expression like. “Look at me and my very small sword!”
Why do I imagine a bandit trying to ambush someone who quickly draws the sword from their side and surprises them with the skill and swiftness, and sheathes it on their back with a menacing stare, leaving the bandit entirely confused. And when the bandit goes to ask why, the adventurer just draws it from their back and sheathes it on their side again, then pulls a very confident pose like Skall.
If you fall backwards and you have hard steel on your back...your knight days will be over.
26:38 Back scabbards are the rolled up shirt sleeves of the sword world, gives you a practical look while looking stylish 😂
The shabbard is intimidating because it looks like you're battle ready
back scabbards are just his scabbard slung around the back. You'd wear it this way when traveling on horse back or walking long distances. You'd wear it around the waste if you were heading into battle or on guard duty.
Skal and Shad are gonna have to duel for the title of fantasy meme lord
Shad on his ever-expanding quest to be the King Chad of the Nerds... ;-)
That buzzing sound in your ear, Shad; if it's a whirring sound, like, BEEEEEEEEEEEEP... that might be Tinnitus
With the intimidation poses, he sticks his sword foreward, I can easily grab it EVEN WITH HIS HAND ON IT, and push... preventing him from drawing. That's way more unlikely to happen with the shabbard.
0:46 "Do I really have to explain myself?"
56:30 Oz, that is why you keep a spare dagger on the front.
I just wanted to say I enjoy all the effort, research and passion you put into subjects like this; at this point I'm happy to say that Side Scabbard vs Back Shabbard does come down to a matter of personal preference, but now there's one subject relating to this which I'd be interested to see you cover;
The viability of arm-based sheathes for smaller blades (both forearm and up to your shoulder).
My biggest concern with a back scabbard is the large lever the sword handle becomes. That is not as easily abused as with the front scabbard. We need more probleming solvers like Oz and his Oz-tistic musings.
in cramped conditions and rooms, it is logical to use a shorter and more maneuverable weapon - a large two-handed sword. And there should always be a second weapon on the belt
What about rust? With an open scabbard, the sword is more exposed to rain
I think, for adventurers, your back is better having a backpack/ bag than a sword. unless you have a cart but i think most of the times its easier to carry your other things in a bag.
How about a large sword on the back scabbard for dragons and a small sword on the side for self-defence?
Instead of the strap with a snap over the guard to stop people from stealing it you can put pegs over it that swivel right next to the grip that you push out of the way when you go to draw. I would say two of them and don't make it easy to or hard to do so.
Let's ask ourselves, who historically had to do all these adventure-y things: Running, climbing, carrying things, doing manual labour on a daily basis all while being armed? Our naval friends, be they mariners, privateers or pirates. Yet we only ever see them carry their blades on the hip, even those who wear bandoliers who couls bound a Shabbard. Perhaps opting for a shorter blade is way more convenient than coming up with a back scabbard for a longer sword.
They’re also on a ship. You could just house the weapons in the armory. The only threat to a ship is another ship, so ambush isn’t possible. There’s always time to prepare for boarding action.
Purse cutters work in crowds. It is easier to pickpocket in cities, streets with people.
Also there are some videos of people robbed of their guns because of unconcealed "small of the back" carry and yes good retention holsters help in this situations. Draw cuts (Battojustu and its Euro or other tradition equivalents) is done with relatively short blades Katana usually had from 26 to 30 inches. Longer blades are slower on the draw.
I still love back scabbards honestly
Just something I noted while watching... a draw from a side scabbard is more of a defensive stroke (to block), whereas the draw from a back scabbard is definitely more of an attacking (striking) stroke. Not saying that the opposite is not possible, just noting the general feel of the stroke.
Shad to Skall:
"The Shabbard is viable Skall! Search your feelings, you know it to be true...."
I guess a front scabbard could make an impromptu shield.
42:45
I lost it there.
Exactly if he's talking about repositioning your blade we all do that! Where the back Scabbard can be drawn in a hallway. And yes I literally mean both versions of the back Scabbard. The only difficult to type drawing can be resolved by requestion that my partner hand me my blade as the big sheets is spring loaded demanding only one style of draw, or in Chad's case that he draw it slow and early.
I wonder if you could add an oiled fur liner to act as a rain guard, something short and only a small bit of oil so it doesn't cause suction.
the front scabbard is genius actually, a very high IQ move. keeps your big sword close at heart... without penetrating said heart of course.
i wonder how also carrying a bow and quiver would affect your choice of how to carry your sword
I'd reckon that if someone were to sneak up to steal your sword, it probably wouldn't be in an area with no noise pollution to mask their approach and presence. It'd probably be far easier in a city environment where there are tons of voices and ambient noises, music or w/e to distract the hero's senses, and then weaving through the crowd to vanish from sight as fast as possible.
You could probably make a back scabbard for a battle axe using the shabbards design.....
What about a scabbard that fits/hooks into a sword frog as shown in historical pictures. When you have to fight, you can use the scabbard on your off-hand for defence as much as a second sword or dagger.
A kind of defensive scabbard. Built like a club or mace, even some points of sorts on the heavy side of it. Brilliant idea I guess.
I read it as "black scabbards" and was just so confused
The back scabbard has the biggest drawback for the simple reason that all side scabbard draws are not drawbacks but drawsides.
These two need to have a legendary battle.
Honestly my thoughts are both are good specially together. A fast arming sword on the hip and a longsword on the back. Quick pull off the arming sword incase a surprise attack. Longsword if I have time and consider it more viable in the situation.