Warhammers - a few facts

[@VelikiHejter]

I know this from smithing, although I'm just an amateur, if hammer is made entirely of quality steel it will transfer a lot of vibrations to your hand making your palm numb and sore afterwards, while if you buy really expensive hammer , which I advise to anyone who wants to get in to the blacksmithing, it tends to be made with the softer core which will absorb much of the impact and is thus more comfortable to work with. Maybe this is part of the reasons why only the impact surfaces were made of harder steel.

[@lmack3024]

Radovan Dragović I wonder about making+shaping the hammer from low-quality steel, then case-hardening just the outside?

[@Fabianwew]

@@lmack3024 Low quality and softer steel is not hardenable.

[@DETHMOKIL]

@@Fabianwew Case hardening adds carbon from organic materials like leather, from the outside inwards. It's a very traditional way to give even Iron a hard steel working surface. Its a very old folklore thing to not grind an axe too far because you'll get past 'the good steel' down into the soft iron that cant hold an edge. A hammer wont have that problem. Lots of videos of it being done.

[@R17inator]

I always liked REAL warhammers like these over the needlessly oversized door-openers they call "warhammers" in most fictional works.

[@longdongsilver4444]

It's not a warhammer just a hammer. Teo handed huge hammers are warhammers. Like battleaxes. Not the same with one hand

[@tankermottind]

I want to see someone try to build furniture with a warhammer.

[@0hn0haha]

Challenge accepted.

[@sameerthakur720]

Furniture made of wood or human bone?

[@georgeangus5814]

Throne of skulls maybe?

[@Theduckwebcomics]

In the Fremantle arts museum in Perth (Australia), they used to have a very beautiful fully steel horseman's warhammer, with a fluted handle, and the flattened square face was split into four parts (smaller squares), while on the reverse side was just a hooked spike.
They also had what was described as an "infantry hammer", which had what looked like a very large wood axe handle, about 2 and a half feet or even 3 feet long. The head was large and cylindrical on the face, with many small spikes, like a tenderising hammer used in cooking. The rear face was a spike. The head was quite q bit larger and heavier than the horseman's hammer.

[@longrider42]

The "spike" on that type of War Hammer is called a ravens beak, and was designed that way so it has much less of a chance of getting stuck in armor. Knights who used War Hammers often carried two.

[@scholagladiatoria]

+James Hart Raven's beak is a translation of 'Bec de Corbin' which was used in some French sources. It is not very common in English sources though.

[@Spiritof48]

Even a normal axe of the type we use today to chop wood is too heavy as a weapon .

[@capitalistraven]

Great video, very balanced and educational. Viking age axes used the same technique of forge welding the sharp part of the blade onto the main body of the axe to make best use of the expensive high carbon steel.

[@LordIsaacofGlencoe]

this looks like a promising channel, you just got a new sub.

[@yerk3]

So war hammer combat would have looked more like the hammer fight scene from Old Boy than what we see in most movies?

[@SirVilder]

If you be strong enough to use a fantastical polehammer with a massive head, you might as well just punch your enemies. Your fists ought to be able to incapacitate somebody if you were that strong.

[@Leo.23232]

Also, force is velocity x mass. So having a smaller weapon will be lighter. If its lighter you can swing it much faster appling more force. So having a light weapon will hit hard due to velocity being a major factor to force. Not only that but pressure. Force/Area so a smaller hammer head will increase the pressure causing more damage. These two factors is what makes a bullet more effective than an arrow. More velocity less area - result is much more pressure causing penetrarive properties.

[@Decimaster321]

Lensius Force is acceleration times mass. You're probably thinking of kinetic energy, 1/2*mass*v^2. So doubling velocity would have a greater contribution to the kinetic energy of a strike than doubling mass.

[@meareAaron]

Lensius now your enemy would be durability
well seeing as you would hit harder with the lighter weapon
you would need to add reinforcements to the structure of the weapon to use your full force
because the stock weapon would break
so that means lighter isnt always better
sory for my english XD

[@jesush.christ9931]

meareAaron lighter isn't always weaker

[@meareAaron]

my point was that you would still need better material and that a stock weapon wont always be better

[@XDemonOfFateX]

I only found you today, but I find the quality of your videos quite impressive; you've earned a new sub. I look forward to more content.

[@FelineElaj]

Finally, an excellent video about blunt weapons! It's hard to come around one, given the popularity of swords.
Thank you, kind sir!

[@Arbaaltheundefeated]

To be fair, most of the people who use sledgehammer-like weapons in fantasy settings are also heavy set, musclebound brutes the likes of which would never ordinarily be seen on a battlefield, which obviously would let them deal with the increased momentum and weight more easily, hehe. Or a Dwarf, with the combined advantages of a much lower center of gravity, and usually a pretty damn high muscle-to-weight ratio too.

[@syystomu]

Yeah, plus it's fantasy, so there's a bit of leeway when it comes to realism as long as it stays internally consistent. (Although personally I prefer more "realistic" fantasy where the unusual elements are limited.)

[@Facehate666]

and usually the hammer heads are massive!

[@JustClaude13]

For a defensive weapon on the street I was thinking of a hickory cane with a stainless steel grip in the shape of a leaping ram. Very decorative and very similar to a war hammer in form.
Probably not strong enough for use against plate armor, but very few muggers wear full plate anyway.

[@stevenkennedy4130]

The smaller ones are indeed for horseman. Longer ones are footman's. Thanks for the share!!

[@squamish4244]

Wait, so Robert Baratheon's warhammer as depicted in so much fan art may be slightly too big? :D
Also, people were complaining about how the Mountain moved too slowly in the fight against Oberyn on the show, as in the books he is described as very fast. This may be a case of fantasy license by GRRM, as the Mountain was supposed to wield a greats word with one hand. Well, he did on the show, and it slowed down even the world's third strongest man. I don't think lack of fight training was the culprit here, but reality.

[@jang3975]

in the books no one says that the mountain is fast, only that he's fast for being that big...
and it's really huge, by the description and comparison of different charachters can be deduced that Gregor Clegane (book version) is tall aroud 2.40m (7'10") and with a huge corporature...
no man can be that tall and big in the real world without some serious health problems...
so it's not that absurd that he uses a greatsword of a normal man with one hand (or more probably as a bastard 1 hand and a half sword)...
for robert's weapon, it's called a warhammer but probably the description and usage make it closer to a big two-handed maul...

[@squamish4244]

Yes, I agree, my issue was with people complaining about how the fight looked like crap on the show based on unrealistic expectations. The Mountain is a fantasy man-beast archetype, in 'reality' to be a strong warrior he would have to be more like seven feet tall and not eight, and not that fast with the greatsword, if it was heavy even for the massive dude they got to play him. Maybe he was sloppier with his sword than he could have been given more fight training, I don't know, but anyway, I am amused by how this guy thought the fight was good, and he is the closest thing we'll get to actually knowing how it might have gone down in real life, vs. the wannabe experts on UA-cam.

[@christopheredberg6162]

Jang Wait, so if you for example use training methods that will increase your body length you will be more prone to illness and other health problems?

[@cloudybrains]

Christopher Edberg No, he is saying that in order to measure 7 feet you need to have serious health problems. Generally it is a problem with the thyroid gland I think. It makes you very tall (although not necessarily larger) but since humans aren't really supposed to be that tall it has many ill effects on your health.

[@JLJhippotype]

@@cloudybrains not the thyroid. The pituitary gland.

[@bakters]

I just want to add a few maybe less known uses of warhammers, yet very popular ones.
Polish nobility used to carry warhammers a lot as walking sticks. According to sources, they used them as every day exercise tools, which strengthened their arms and supposedly gave them an advantage in swordmanship. Beside that they used it for self defense and as a way of avoiding excessive dueling.
Warhammers are much more deadly than sabres, so it could discourage some people from a challenge.

[@bakters]

Well, Poles considered them more deadly than sabres, because they passed laws preventing people from carrying them. They circumvented the ban by using a very similar weapon, which probably didn't exist elsewhere, but it worked pretty much the same (obuch, obuszek, whatever).
Sabres didn't kill all that often. They created surface wounds relatively easy to treat, and they knew how to do it.

[@edi9892]

I totally agree with you. One cannot understand a sword by looking at it. One has to wield it (and make test-cuts). I think that in cutting the kinetic energy is more important than the momentum, but it is plausible that the inertia of the pommel reduces the recoiling, while striking.

[@edi9892]

In the forward movement the centre of mass is moving in the same direction.
The acceleration is easy as the centre is close to the hilt.
On impact, the pivot point changes and the heavy pommel has suddenly to accelerate. This would explain swords breaking at the tang close to the pommel instead of close to the blade.

[@MrShivshank]

i think the langet would actually stop the handle from breaking from a missed attack. this might be kinda far out there but i worked building houses for a time and ive seen large framing hammers have the head snap off after a missed hit or misuse where the force of the blow would hit the handle an inch or so below the head and the handle would snap.

[@FranksFilmEcke]

We have lot of caligraphs and carpets with Weapons on them also some Warhammer models.
Burg Bodenlaube located in Bad Kissingen.
They show a Staff from 70-130 cm

[@DeathEnder7]

I used to come out of sparring with a sprained forearm and wrist on my left arm. This was when I had the sword balanced at the cross. I had not been hit on the arm I had just blocked powerful blows that then impacted on my down the bass of the sword into my left arm. I have since change the balance so it is 2-3 inches out for the cross and have since had such a sprain. So I actually believe having a more weighted blade is to help impacts rather than more powerful blows a Lindy suggest.

[@TheOneLordApraxia]

Good video, no frills. I like it.

[@DeathEnder7]

On a counter to that, if the balance was more blade heavy then then the wrists and forearms would be under strain to control impacts as well, although the weight my nullify some of this. The blade is more cumbersome and slower to wield. I find somewhere in the middle is best but I like the middle ground with most things and some people would my like a weighted blade or lively one. Sword balance in the end really comes down to the users preference.

[@PJDAltamirus0425]

Define balanced. What is proper balance depends on the purpose of the weapon is question and the armour is has to face

[@bakters]

It's in the historical sources. People were dying often from a warhammer hit, and generally surviving a sword cut without as much as a nasty scar.
It makes no sense to even speculate about it. It's a verifiable fact.

[@airnt]

langets are largely to improve tensile strength, so that the wood doesn't split and break.
in particular pollaxes in use bend quite dramatically and it makes them much more structurally sound. also original langets are quite often quite thin. this makes them still usefull tensially, but not as 'armour' for your shaft.
also in mounted combat the engagement is much more dependant on a commited blow or thrust and having a heavier weapon forces the enemy on the defensive. (as can be seen on the right bottom of one of the Uchello pantings, where a sword wielding rider is in a 'schoolhalt' and extending the sword to parry the blow of a warhammer (which wielder is coincidentally having both a lance and a couched sword glancing off his armour but passing under his besagew.

[@Konrad19april]

In XVI c. in Poland there was something like two-handed warhammers called "czekan" or "nadziak". It survive time as "Ciupaga" - part of traditional clothing in West Carpathian mountains.

[@hanson666999]

*droll* I am salivating at the sight of that Warhammer ... cheers for the video dude, I found it interesting and enlightening.

[@LordPindar]

One more advantage such weapons might have over swords is that, in comparison they are much more affordable, easy to manufacture, ans don't get as ruined when your beating stuff with them

[@lukapetrovic184]

The hammerhead can actually break through mail, I have a wooden one at home and it did break a piece of iron and a piece of steel which were pretty thick

[@t2av159]

such a brutal effective weapon

[@MadNumForce]

That "magic" could be achieved with a sliding mass inside a hollow steel shaft. It would rest in the handle, hold there by a relatively weak coil spring, but when swung, the weight would travel towards the head because of centrifugal force. It wouldn't really make the hammer lighter, but easier to initiate the swing for a given impact mass. It may handle quite wierdly when the weight returns in it's resting position though.

[@javilorenzana]

Thor's hammer, as most of you probably know, is not a warhammer, since warhammers weren't around when the myth started - but that's probably the shape most fantasy warhammers draw from.

[@jordan2170]

+Peter Schmidt Maces were around. Warhammers took a bit longer.

[@jordan2170]

+Peter Schmidt Sure they probably did use hammers sometimes. Just not warhammers as we know them. We can tell they aren't as effective because of how popular maces were.

[@HappyChonger]

Excellent video, with many good points, but I have to say a sledge hammer makes an excellent weapon. Hold the head in the palm of the right hand and left hand about a foot short of the other end. The unweighted end becomes very responsive while the hammer end can deliver crushing blows.

[@Melohalo]

He quoted Lindybeige.
I like this guy immediately.

[@DeathEnder7]

I believe this is one of the time Lindy is using his brain rather than having actual use of the sword. A balanced weight in the handles allows for more nimble wrist movement and therefore quick blade movement, which intern can create more powerful blows. However I've noticed that parrying blows is effected, as there is no weight in the blade to counter the force of the blows; that force is transferred more to you hands.

[@dinosnider6809]

A sharpened shingling hammer (with matching axe head) is a nice modern improv.

[@carebear8762]

20-something ounce head with an 18"-ish handle? So it's a framing hammer. :) Home Depot, America's source for medieval weapons at reasonable prices.

[@midnightgreen8319]

Well done video! Great content on this channel!

[@LaserTSV]

Thank you for another interesting video!
I remember watching a cable TV series years ago that talked about the warhammer. If you look up "Conquest - Weird Weapons of the Middle Ages - Part 2" on UA-cam the narrator (Peter Woodward) talks about the warhammer and shows it getting stuck in plate armor.

[@DeathEnder7]

There could be any number of reasons why the Poles banned them, too conclude that they considered them more deadly is ridiculous. For example they were probably more common and more concealable than a Sabre. Again the Sabre kill ratio has to be put in perspective, the Sabre would be a weapon used by the wealthy, not as common and most likely used for dueling; and the wealthy could afford good medical care to treat wounds after such fights.

[@scholagladiatoria]

But wouldn't you want the force to be concentrated into a smaller area rather than a larger one? You could just weild a hot air balloon on a stick :-)

[@fredeagle8766]

the heroes of old used clubs. mighty great crushers. Herakles grasped the knobbly bole of an old olive tree, to brain his foes. good against all Hydras and sea serpents, too.

[@PJDAltamirus0425]

Deadly as in force generation, warhammers are no doubt deadlier. Quicker , more maneuverable, and more technique versatility is what swords have over axes and hammers. If Europe had used adopted gunpowder weapons much later than they did then I bet there would be more warhammers in museaums than swords

[@paulwalsh7134]

Warhammer..... wooo: For Sigmar.

[@Luciffrit]

I thought that warhammer head looked alittle large to tell you the truth. Even the pole hammers depicted on tapestries seemed a smidge smaller. The poles weren't very much longer either, just enough to cover knee to shoulder in length, with a crooked spike on the bottom of the haft.

[@bakters]

Constitutions issued in 1578 and 1601 and decree of the Parliament issued in 1620. I could quote, but it's in old Polish anyway.

[@TheCFTube]

Mail wasn't heavily used when warhammers became popular. Mail was a dark age armor that was labor intensive, only a few examples existed in the high medieval period. Charles Martel obviously used a warhammer in the dark age, but spears, axes and swords dominated. Maces, morning stars, warhammers and polaxes were developed to combat plate. The idea would be to cause a concussion, leaving the knight alive to be ransomed, or incapacitated and use the spike to penetrate.

[@Meeko1010100112]

Mail was in wide use until 1400, at that point plate armor began appearing. But for the majority of the medieval ages, it was Chainmail. It may have been hard to make, but it was easier then to find chunks of iron or steel big enough to make a plate that big out of.
Plate armor lasted a very short time compared to chain sadly. 100 years compared to 1000 (if you count the Romans and the byzantine soldiers equipped with mail). Then guns showed up and armor in general declined.

[@TheCFTube]

Brigandine plate was used by William the conqueror in 1066. Full plate was around soon after. Maille was completely gone by the hundred years war. Full plate lasted well into the renaissance until musket improvement made it obsolete. So well over 600 years of use.
In fact, gunpowder weapons were in use in the 1350s during the hundred years war when Milanese plate was dominating. You did not need large pieces of metal. Metal welds together when heated glowing red, plate had a very long history, well into the gunpowder age.

[@HaNsWiDjAjA]

Christopher Felix
William the Conqueror's milites used brigandine armor? Could you perhaps cite some sources on this? I am aware that some of his knights might have worn lamellar or scale, but never brigandine.
Plate armor only started to appear in Europe in the late 13th century, and then only as bits and pieces worn over mail with more and more body parts being eventually shod in solid steel as the practice gained wider acceptance. The full body suit of plate so commonly associated with the Middle Ages wasnt around until the mid14th century, what most scholars would call the Late Middle Ages.

[@zhoupact8567]

I like warhammers. They seem usefull, and look good

[@dimitrizaitsew1988]

2:18
In the painting he's deflecting a sword, not a lance.
He's also striking with a beak of the hammer, not the flat.

[@Bikerbob59]

Good video. Thanks for sharing.

[@neuroleptika]

Cool channel! Subbed!

[@paaatreeeck]

When it comes to fantasy, my personal approach is if it has magic, anything goes as long as it's cool in some way.

[@puppyenemy]

Just looked up that San Romano painting, that warhammer knight is really in a pickle! Not only is a lance passing him by his elbow, beneath his rondel, but another knight is trying to stab him in the gap of his armpit beneath the rondel as well, and a third knight thrusts his sword towards his head! Luckily for him, the first two attackers seem to graze off from his armour without damage, and the third attacker is deflected by his arm/warhammer. Then you have to consider the horses in motion, the warhammer will most likely land on the third knight I mentioned, and the other two knights will ride past behind him since they are coming straight from his right side. You think he came out of that battle alive?

[@SeemsLogical]

Hey Matt, what kind of warhammer is that you have? It looks like a corvus warhammer by lord of battles but an older model. I like your model much better than what KOA has shown on their site.

[@dmill6103]

I've been trying to figure it out myself too, any luck?

[@gallowglass3764]

I must be a few years too late. I think that shop is closed down. Shame. I love the look of that hammer...
Edit: I found a few that look exactly like that one, but there is a spike on the top. Not a big deal, but I can't help but love the minimalist look of that weapon. Aw, well.

[@francois1473]

A nice thing to look up might be: Lucerner hammer

[@venator5]

:)

[@TheSavagePellucidar]

Super interesting, thank you.

[@Gormancraft]

I'll have to disagree with your point about them being more deadly than sabres. The fact is, if that were true, I don't think there would be many sabres around. Swords are costly and time consuming to manufacture. I could see however how a brutal weapon like a warhammer might add to the intimidation factor, especially already coupled with a sword.

[@corinfletcher]

I've got a warhammer that's of a similar design... I love it.

[@corinfletcher]

I could definitely punch through plate with mine. Not gonna test it on my own, though!

[@GoldKitsuneBrony]

Lol Runescape's Granite Maul fucking brick of granite the size of a cinder block on a pole.

[@deathbyastonishment7930]

But it swings so fast 😏

[@brianfuller757]

That's an impressive piece. When you try to do actual research about warhammers. You find mostly fictionalised oversized ones.

[@PaladinDusty]

I love your videos. Could you recommend a book that talks about the types of things you discuss in your videos? I am looking for something that talks about the properties of weapons and armor, such as certain weapons vs certain armors.

[@maximebv]

Marteaux de Lucerne are awesome.

[@Lucky-38]

Would be a nice tool in a zombie apocalypse!

[@NYWAORCANZ]

Can you do a video on what weapon work well against the shield and can over come a enemy's shield?
How protesters could or might be able to over come the riot cop with his shield and armor.
What have you noticed about the protesters in Keiv, Ukraine?How have they been able to over come the riot police so well?
I ask this as this shield concept is basically the Roman model as the Riot Cops today are the new Roman soldiers and we know how effective and scary the Roman armies once were.

[@peeweerota]

I've heard the langets mentioned for the ax, spear, and now warhammer commentaries as a way to stop blade weapons from damaging the shaft. Was it also added as an over-strike collar design?
I can imagine any swing to hook a shield damaging the shaft without reinforcements to protect the wood. I can also imagine a lot of misses, especially against plate armor or ones that smash into other weapons, damaging the shaft near the head.

[@bathysphere1070]

Very interesting!

[@sunnyboyswitzerland]

Awesome Video! I love the fact that you also look Lindybeige's Videos and give references. I also love the fact that you always have the weapon you are talking about in video itself. Looking at the hammer during the video and imagining how it would be used made this video informal and abit creepy. Keep up the good work!!!

[@edi9892]

Is it true that the centre of percussion is ideally a few inches before the shaft?
Lindy Beidge mentioned it, when he was talking about kukris/falcatas/kopis.
However, he had no explanation for it.

[@AluVixapede]

I've heard that a few select American forces in Vietnam used Tomahawks; I'm not sure if this is myth or fact, but supposedly they could puncture modern steel helmets with the spike point of their tomahawks ~ If that's true, then a war hammer like that seems like it could easily do so thanks to the added mass.

[@SpiritWolf209]

Some american soldiers have, and still do use tomahawks. But it was never a standard issue as far as I know, more of a "if you want to buy it yourself and carry it you can," kind of thing.

[@MrBeard17]

Some soldiers carry the newer tomahawks made of highly durable and light weight plastics and metals, but its more of an attempt to look badass as opposed to being functional in today's warfare.

[@tomjennings4464]

Estwing 24 ounce framing hammer makes a good weapon.

[@tomjennings4464]

:)

[@PJDAltamirus0425]

No, I watched his video and Lloyd explicitly stated that you want your sword to be blade heavy and gestured to the very end of his dark age blade

[@andersbenke3596]

What would an original warhammer be worrth? Almost invaluable, in the 'It belongs in a museum!' sense?

[@edumasterorco]

Great videos! Would you do a video about doing the glissard with the longsword?

[@Wunel]

I imagine a chimpanzee would not have an inordinate amount of difficulty wielding a sledgehammer. Now there is a thought.

[@bromixsr]

Yeah, but not much of a thought. What would you expect a chimp to do? Wield it with expedient mastery? Most likely they would look at it, chew on the handle for a while, and then go away.

[@Wunel]

They are capable of using other, more dextrously demanding, tools with reasonable proficiency. No reason why they couldn't be taught to swing a hammer in the general direction of an enemy.

[@TheChaoslusterhall]

Cool😎

[@Bluebuthappy182]

Been looking through your channel for a few days now. Man how many weapons do you have at your house lol

[@johnbyrne1022]

Cool video...I was wondering, would the use of the softer metal for the middle be partly to stop if from cracking as well as saving on cost?

[@SavageInsight]

Could a sword cut through a spear or hammer shaft?
Some historic points suggest larger swords could cut halberd shafts in Renaissance but period steel suggested by others could be brittle.
What sources and experiences do you know/have?

[@jasonshourick743]

I was wondering about Thor's Hammer (not the marvel one). The hammer being mainly an anti armor weapon how is it that it gain such cultural importance in a periode dominated by mail without plate armor.

[@angel-rq4fz]

Obviously it penetrates the Helmet .

[@ThaetusZain]

I thought they'd be smaller to be honest.

[@kaziglubey4455]

I kind of think that Halfthor Bjornsson could rather easily use a sledgehammer as a weapon. One handed, even.

[@Einomar]

Nope not effectively, he would be gimping himself. Can you imagine how fast and hard he would be able to swing a normal warhammer like the one matt is holding.

[@dmill6103]

Whered you say you got that one Matt? I can only find one similar by arms and armor for a little under 400 dollars, that head design is lovely.

[@ApophaticCartesian8]

I'm not 100% sure if it is the same one that Matt has in this video. But it looks identical. You be the judge.
www.arms-armor.com/products/war-hammer-detail_145

[@dmill6103]

@@ApophaticCartesian8 I'm inclined to agree with you, do you have any idea how they make their weapons? If they're "battle ready"? I might have to get me one

[@jacobstaten2366]

A sledge hammer would be a lot easier to use than that stupid thing in the Thor movies.

[@CarnalKid]

I think a WSM competitor maybe could use a sledge hammer as a weapon. They are roughly 3-4 times stronger than a normal man in pretty much any test of strength. So, something like a 6lb sledge would be doable, I think.

[@lucasriley874]

+CarnalKid Oh, anyone can swing any hammer they can lift... but the balance is so bad that it'll take them forever to recover from the swing, prolly be dead before anyone could get the chance to try a second one. Doesn't really matter how strong they are. That's why larger hammers were not effective weapons.

[@CarnalKid]

Lucas Riley A warhammer is 2-3lbs and all the weight is at the head, it is not an amazingly nimble sword balanced toward the grip or something. They could easily squat 3 times what you could (probably), so why not swing a hammer only twice as heavy with the same effectiveness?

[@lucasriley874]

"it is not an amazingly nimble sword balanced toward the grip or something."
Exactly the point I just made.
Doesn't matter if they are 3 times stronger, if they try swinging a hammer around with double the weight at the end they'll have zero defence after a swing and die pretty fast in battle. Thats why it wasn't done.
If you want to know the physics behind it get a physicist to explain it to you, they'll do a much better job of it.

[@CarnalKid]

Lucas Riley "It just won't work, I can't explain why". You see why that's an awful answer, right?

[@lucasriley874]

yup, and like I said, the physicist will give you a better one, go find one pls.

[@Atkrdu]

I disagree about using the sledgehammer as a weapon, especially if it's not one of the heavier varieties (like a 20-pounder). I'd think one in the single-digits would be a good weapon, but it should still have a stabbing point & a hook that can pierce as well as catch (to drag people off horses, trip them, and move weapons or defenses). Basically, a short pole-hammer with a durable handle.

[@floydkeimiii303]

The recovery time on a weapon like that would be pathetic.

[@TheGreatAmphibian]

Atkrdu
Yes, you think a bunch of stuff. But why should anybody care? You haven't given the ***reasons*** for your beliefs.

[@TheGreatAmphibian]

Floyd Keim III
The problem is worse than that. Perhaps I'm the only person here who has used a sledgehammer, but getting the head to a decent speed requires a long swing. That's easy when the target is the ground, but if you're swinging at a head or shoulder then you'd only have a few inches of swing. (Unless you get insanely close to the target and raise the hammer suicidally high.) You'll deliver - if you hit, which will only happen by a fluke - a rather gentle buffet.
The other problem is that sledge blows are very slow, especially in the first stage. If you're fighting a mobile attacker who is facing you, it's almost impossible to imagine a blow landing. Instead you'll be creating a window of almost two seconds where your movements will be predictable making you an easy target. If I had to fight with a sled, I'd reverse it and use the haft to jab.

[@Atkrdu]

Floyd Keim III Actually, I was thinking of using it in short jabs or chops.

[@Atkrdu]

TheGreatAmphibian Well, I was going for conversation- not salesmanship. Then again, I DID mention things within the context of a video reference- maybe that clarifies my reasons?

[@chainmailcanada5256]

The taper of the hook, when piercing plate, curls the metal inward like a can opener. It does not get "stuck". The 4 metal curls produce a wound that could not close like putting a spigot in an enemy. The hammer head usually had 4 spikes. This was to permit damage without glancing. If you encountered a foe in plate armour you would aim for the elbow, shoulder, knees. Once disabled the prisoner and the armour would be sold for ransom

[@thomasbaker9492]

I have this actually 4 of them...gr8 weapons...4 defense.

[@Snyder0317]

Good video. Thanks. How much does that hammer you have there weigh?

[@panamajohn2003]

Where did you get this Martel. (War Hammer)?
I googled "Eastern European reenactment supplies" and came up empty handed.
I have not been able to find a brother to your Martel.
Where did you get it?

[@dmill6103]

Any luck in finding it?

[@TimboXLP]

I sold a hammer that looked exactly like this... It showed up on this channel :D

[@edi9892]

Since you keep referencing Lindy Beige, please make a vid. about the porpose of pommels. Nowerdays people believe that only tip-heavy weapons, like a sabre, can transfer energy efficiently. L. B. compared hitting with a balanced blade with holding a hammer at the wrong end.

[@KairoStark]

So... Marvel lied to us and Thor's hammer wouldn't be a good weapon...

[@66Hellion]

its important to remember that b4 the gauls and Britons were conquered by the romans and interbred. the men their were larger in build. this is where the term barbarian comes from the romans saw gauls and Britons as large brutish heathens. thors hammer would have been similar to a masonry/blacksmithing hammer with a shorter handle. shorter handle less leverage. and easier to swing with raw muscle.

[@66Hellion]

Hellion my bad I misspoke on the barbarian origin its actually Greek

[@ramiabiakar2391]

Thor's hammer was very specific in its mythology:
-It could strike as hard as Thor wanted
-It would always hit on a throw
-It would always return to Thor's hand after a throw
It's quite possible that Thor was attributed a hammer as weapon only because he was he had control of the lightning.
Speaking outside mythology: why bother swinging a dull and overly heavy hammer, when you could do with a perfectly fine axe?
Even warhammers were actually picks (like the one shown in the vid), with the second hammerhead serving for balance purposes.

[@KairoStark]

Jersey Streicher
Well it was actually a bad joke. As far as I know, warhammers weren't as heavy as they look like (maybe 2 or 3 kilos at worst) and they were used against heavy armor to smash where the axes couldn't penetrate. Yet still I'm no expert. That's why you'd bother to swing a dull and maybe overly heavy hammer, instead or wielding something far more dangerous like a flail, who can hit you, your enemy or that guy who was passing right there...

[@ramiabiakar2391]

KairoStark
"they were used against heavy armor to smash where the axes couldn't penetrate."
-This statement isn't actually very sensible.
Pressure is described as force/unit of area.
The greater the force, and the smaller the area the greater the pressure and the chance to defeat a barrier (like during driving a nail in the wall, or piercing a plate with a pick).
If take two identical hafts, and two identical amounts of steel, to make two different heads (one completely blunt, and the other one with a spike) there is NO chance that the "hammer" would perform better at anything (except maybe cracking nuts or driving nails).
BTW: I never saw a piece of cracked armor in a museum, dented and pierced - by all means.
"instead or wielding something far more dangerous like a flail, who can hit you, your enemy or that guy who was passing right there..."
-Just because some weapon existed, and actually saw real use (unlike the fantasy based combat sledgehammer) it doesn't mean that it was particularily popular or successful.
While two handed flails (basically only slightly modified agricultural tools initially designed for threshing) saw a lot of use, especially during insurrections.
There are very few museum examples of the one handed "haft + chain + spiked ball" flails

[@nicktaco2818]

i was wondering did the warhammer go out of use when the halberd came in for the halberd is a mix of spear-hammer-axe

[@Raurie4]

see? this is what i ment, everyone tells me a war hammer is a two handed weapon, but it's not.

[@Raurie4]

i kinda figured, just no one believes me when i say there are one handed versions.

[@Raurie4]

i haven't actually had the chance to do a search and to show someone the picture so... ya.

[@den2k885]

Well, D&D 3.5 have base strenght scores that can reach 18 for a human, which means being able to lift overhead 150 kg of weight, and the LIGHT load id 50 kg, which doens't hamper movement speed at all.
Of course it is exagerated, of course it's fictional :D