I think the Wellington duel thing makes perfect sense. It's like comprehensive vs abstinence-only sex education: It's safest not to do it at all, but it's unreasonable to believe everyone will follow that advice, so there are things you can do to make it safer for those who choose to go ahead anyway. Actually, come to think of it, I think I got similar advice from my parents when I was in school - don't start any fights, but if you find yourself in one, make sure you finish it.
It's so pretty! I love how carbon steel can look when it's blued, it can have these blue/purple colours that just makes the blade look so special. I like to blue my knives with cold bluing stuff to try and get that kind of effect :D
Typically, cold bluing solutions try to mimic the more common oxidisation surface treatment that was only developed much later. The results are rather darkened brown, almost deep black in colour. Try using a Bunsen burner instead :)
Very good vid again, just to add that BLUE AND GUILT is also used on firearms, for the same reasons as on a sword. And you're right, it tend to go away by normal use but it's very nice.
I think they pressed it into the shape of wire because wire gives excellent grip but it's easier to make that way and it looks like hand-wrapped metal thread, which is awesome. You should do another video about swords with buttons to release them from the scabbard, I can't find where you had that in your older videos.
The blueing may be a similar effect, but it is a different process, than from what you desrcibe, for guns. guns are usually chemically treated to get the bluing. The way it prevents rusting is the blue color comes from Iron(II) oxide. Iron two oxide creates a mostly impervious film, protecting the metal below from rusting, and the Iron(II) oxide itself will not convert to Iron(III) oxide (rust).
At the Smithsonian, they have an extremely ornate sword which was presented to George Washington, which is beautifully blued and gilt, if I remember correctly. Of course, that sword was never intended for combat, and has an X-shaped cross section, but still, it was quite striking to see when I was a kid.
I have an almost identical sword, but alas no bluing or blade gilding survives and the hilt wire or wrapping is also missing. Otherwise identical hilt and blade with a different pommel nut. Nice to see it almost as it once was.
If you can afford a fine piece for parade you can, obviously, also afford more workaday cutlery for the field. Also, if an officer's repeatedly having to get his steel out (especially quality stuff like this) and set about the enemy to the degree that it becomes excessively worn then everything's gone a bit pear shaped.
Does anyone reading this know of a good, professional restorer in or near the Netherlands who knows how to clean these kinds of blue and gilt blades for a reasonable price? I ask because I just received one of my own in the mail today! I love this kind of decoration. I remember seeing a number of blue and gilt swords in museums as a kid and thinking I wanted one. Mission accomplished! While both the gilding on the hilt and the blue and gilt on the blade are largely intact on mine, there is some old (inactive looking) surface rust speckled on it. I wiped it down with some cotton swabs and some 99.9% isopropyl alcohol, and put some renaissance wax on the blade to prevent further corrosion, but that's about all I dare do to it.
The blueing used to prevent steel from rusting is a chemical (controlled oxidation) process--COMPLETELY different from the blue color imparted by heating the steel to a certain temperature, which imparts no rustproofing whatsoever.
I was under the impression that it was every man for himself, and even when the 1796 poker came out a lot of officers just picked up tulwars, hangers, and cavalry sabers on the field and just used the 96 poker for dress.
There is a French company that sells reproductions of French Napoleonic-era swords with blue and gilt blades at reasonable prices. The blades themselves are only marginally better than typical reproduction sabres, but the blue and gilt work is actually very good. I own one myself.
A Ronk a lot of the time such finish is an acrylic or plastic film of some kind, and not actually a bluing. I assume yours is actually metal, though, since you've probably had it for a while.
Not Pulverman Yes, it is genuine blueing. I am very impressed with it. If the blades had proper distal taper, I would not hesitate to buy more of them. As it stands, they are not bad at all by comparison with other reproductions, but I own enough antiques to have been spoiled by proper blades. My French M1822 LC sabre is longer and heavier, but the handling is infinitely better.
Hey Matt, a couple years ago at a Ren faire, I saw a fight group, and there was a guy with two short tomahawks vs another guy with a sort of hanger length sword. I know your interests tend to lean to the cutlass, sabre, and hanger type swords, but I was wondering if there would be any significant advantage to wielding two short axes vs a sword with a protective hand guard .
I was wondering about a specific scenario. Perhaps an American colonist with two tomahawks against an English soldier with a cutlass on board the deck of a ship. That's what I saw. Looked like two tomahawks of a rather short length (maybe 16-18 inches) and they were being used against a a sort of hanger like sword.
But how do you command your infantrymen to fire by holding your sword up and swinging it down, when a blade decorated in such a way losses about a half of it's reflective surface to the dark bluing, thus making it harder for the infantryman under your command to notice you giving signals with it? :)
Can anyone tell me if the 1796 Spadroon blades were pattern welded, as i have a blade with a Spadroon hilt (shattered) but the blade is pattern welded.
Out of curiosity, what do you mean by officers learning fencing, weren't all officers of the period trained in the usage of the sword or are we talking about a fencing style specifically for use in dueling?
Officers at this time were not taught fencing as regulation. They were expected to know how to use their swords, but many didn't. Also, the regulation sword system that was introduced in 1817 was for the sabre, not for the smallsword.
Thanks, Matt. Appreciate the clarification. You know, I think that this would make for an interesting video topic some time, how much and what kind of training people received when they joined the military historically and specifically, the Napoleonic period. I've heard that it was common for officers to purchase their commissions, so does this mean they joined the Army/Navy and trained on the job or were they expected to know something when purchasing their commissions. Did any officers get commissioned through other means aside from purchasing them, how were the enlisted trained, did they go through some sort of boot camp or just drilled upon joining their regiment. I think that this would make for an interesting video because I find the subject almost as fascinating as the weapons themselves.
The point on that sword looks much more acute than the point on the sergeant's spadroon that you've shown before. Did you suggest in one of your previous videos that the point on the sergeant's sword had been damaged and reshaped?
Considering the condition this thing is in, wouldn't it be more likely that it belonged to someone who did not leave his office very often, and certainly would not be in the field or somewhere near fighting? So the spadroon would have been in a (mostly) dry and comfy envirement...
Impossible to say. Some swords which are known to have seen lots of action are still in collections and museums in great condition. You cannot assume anything about a sword's history from its condition.
Thanks for the reply! I assumed it because of the bladed weapons i have seen in a museum. (former armory of 15th to 18th century infantery and cavalry weapons => so more etching less gilding) With lots of those even i was able to tell that they had seen action by the look of them. But then again, almost all of them were issued weapons mostly for "common" soldiers.
I don't think there is any easy way to tell brass (copper/zinc) from bronze (copper/tin). The colour of both is variable, and depends a lot on surface patination. Bronze is often deliberately patinated with chemical treatments. www.vam.ac.uk/content/journals/conservation-journal/issue-31/the-artificial-patination-of-bronze-sculpture/ And before modern chemical analysis, no-one knew exactly what metals were contained in the ores. A lot of artworks and other metal objects that have been traditionally described as 'bronze' (e.g. the famous Benin 'bronzes') actually contain enough zinc to make them closer to brass than bronze, in modern terminology.
Personally, I much prefer videos about swords that actually were used in combat vs. the gilded fantasy swords Generals and nobles far away from any battle field pranced around with at parties. An obvious exception exists for actual battle swords that were rehabbed, then engraved and gilded. But of course the kind of man who survived a few battles up close and ppersonal both probably wouldn't be invited to many parties, and if he was, his sword would probably still be unadorned and fairly functional. :) Interesting that there in this sword no patina developed. Gun owners would love to know that secret as most blued guns often turn brown with age.
Very likely this was deployed in combat, though. Officers don't typically fight in this period, so there's little drive to have something super high performance for combat.
Michael Eversberg II I acknowledge that. This was after all well past the time of warrior Kings. Noting that some were known to have both a dress sword for ceremonies and parties and a real sword.for fighting. I do however think the blue and gold is quite pretty.
"This car is a terrible model; it breaks down constantly, has five wheels and you break by rolling up the nearest hill. I know everything about it though; the windshield is a newspaper with eye holes and the seats are made of the hides of male latvian lemmings. This car is completely worthless, join me next week for a look at the extra features" LOVE IT. Spadroons are terrible meme
You have a museum quality example there, do not let it out of your sight, do not sell it and do not offer it to fans of Pirates of the Caribbean 1 either.
How's it a piece of shit? It's a small sword you can party with, and get some good slashing in with. As long as it's stiff, and pointy, it's good stoof.
Jeff K not true, obviously you can't add rhinestones and all sorts of things, but in this case it is exactly as useful as a non decorated one. What about this makes it less useful than one without bluing and gilding?
I think the Wellington duel thing makes perfect sense. It's like comprehensive vs abstinence-only sex education: It's safest not to do it at all, but it's unreasonable to believe everyone will follow that advice, so there are things you can do to make it safer for those who choose to go ahead anyway.
Actually, come to think of it, I think I got similar advice from my parents when I was in school - don't start any fights, but if you find yourself in one, make sure you finish it.
It's so pretty! I love how carbon steel can look when it's blued, it can have these blue/purple colours that just makes the blade look so special. I like to blue my knives with cold bluing stuff to try and get that kind of effect :D
Typically, cold bluing solutions try to mimic the more common oxidisation surface treatment that was only developed much later. The results are rather darkened brown, almost deep black in colour.
Try using a Bunsen burner instead :)
why does this video look so good
good job with the camera matt
It's probably the bokeh which is also him trying to get it to focus on the close-ups better.
Gold has never looked bad
The lighting
maybe Matt got a new hair cut
HOLY COW he used gloves when handling a sword. You know it's special. (Even though it's just a spadroon). :D
Very pretty blade.
Can you do a video or video series talking about the different types of sword grips and their pros and cons?
damn good idea. havent found many videos on that topic in my time
I think fantasy authors could still get inspirations out of looking at real swords. This one really is beautiful and kind of majestic.
I really like the new lighting and zoom, it makes the camera look fresh af
That is a beautiful sword!
I still want a spadroon but with an Iberian style basket or swept hilt, stiff blade, and good pointy bit at the end.
That would be a short rapier
French infantry officer's sword, 1882 model
a sidesword?
Nice editing and camera angle
Whoa! This particular spadroon works ideally as a reference for my art project! Thanks for the video!
"good for penetration" *nods*
Eh.
Also "good for thrusting"
If you use those thin, latex gloves you should be able to operate the camera (screen) and keep your blades clean. Just a suggestion.
Very good vid again, just to add that BLUE AND GUILT is also used on firearms, for the same reasons as on a sword. And you're right, it tend to go away by normal use but it's very nice.
I think they pressed it into the shape of wire because wire gives excellent grip but it's easier to make that way and it looks like hand-wrapped metal thread, which is awesome.
You should do another video about swords with buttons to release them from the scabbard, I can't find where you had that in your older videos.
I would love to see a blue/guilded 1796 sabre.
Well.... it just so happens that I have one :-)
one for sale on e bay
The blueing may be a similar effect, but it is a different process, than from what you desrcibe, for guns. guns are usually chemically treated to get the bluing. The way it prevents rusting is the blue color comes from Iron(II) oxide. Iron two oxide creates a mostly impervious film, protecting the metal below from rusting, and the Iron(II) oxide itself will not convert to Iron(III) oxide (rust).
You don't explain how they're different in ur comment
Swords are also blued chemically. But whether done with heat or chemicals the end result is basically the same.
At the Smithsonian, they have an extremely ornate sword which was presented to George Washington, which is beautifully blued and gilt, if I remember correctly. Of course, that sword was never intended for combat, and has an X-shaped cross section, but still, it was quite striking to see when I was a kid.
I have an almost identical sword, but alas no bluing or blade gilding survives and the hilt wire or wrapping is also missing. Otherwise identical hilt and blade with a different pommel nut. Nice to see it almost as it once was.
That Spadroon looks similar to the Therion Arms 1840 NCO sword. Which i own.
Hi Matt, how about a review of the weapons and tactics of "Alatriste"?
Rich the bastard who owned this must have been!
Also didn't see much service or even wore it that much with all the gilding still intact.
Not Pulverman , Yoda descendent be you must.
If you can afford a fine piece for parade you can, obviously, also afford more workaday cutlery for the field. Also, if an officer's repeatedly having to get his steel out (especially quality stuff like this) and set about the enemy to the degree that it becomes excessively worn then everything's gone a bit pear shaped.
@@merlball8520 ye
Yoda?
Such a good video, very interesting
3:30 wow, his green eyes. They're so green.
Something is off with the resolution or compression?
Can you please do some reviews of the film: Gladiator as I have always wondered about the accuracy of the choreography of the film.
Does anyone reading this know of a good, professional restorer in or near the Netherlands who knows how to clean these kinds of blue and gilt blades for a reasonable price?
I ask because I just received one of my own in the mail today! I love this kind of decoration. I remember seeing a number of blue and gilt swords in museums as a kid and thinking I wanted one. Mission accomplished!
While both the gilding on the hilt and the blue and gilt on the blade are largely intact on mine, there is some old (inactive looking) surface rust speckled on it. I wiped it down with some cotton swabs and some 99.9% isopropyl alcohol, and put some renaissance wax on the blade to prevent further corrosion, but that's about all I dare do to it.
Woah that lighting
That smirk you have after saying penetration gave me a good laugh
The blueing used to prevent steel from rusting is a chemical (controlled oxidation) process--COMPLETELY different from the blue color imparted by heating the steel to a certain temperature, which imparts no rustproofing whatsoever.
Idle thought: I wonder if the resurgence in Egyptology during the Napoleonic era inspired a fascination with things in blue and gold combinations.
Skall has pommels, shad has dragons, and you have spadroons
What happens if you forge a spadroon in dragon-fire, and then unscrew the pommel to throw at someone?
And Metatron has Veedios
I thought he had pasta.
TheBaconWizard *meme level 100*
Lloyd has Spandaus.
Would 100cm length (whole sword) be more typical of a smallsword or a spadroon?
Were you using a new camera? it looks different from the old ones.
Matt, is there a standard for French & Indian Wars thru the American Revolution ?
I was under the impression that it was every man for himself, and even when the 1796 poker came out a lot of officers just picked up tulwars, hangers, and cavalry sabers on the field and just used the 96 poker for dress.
There is a French company that sells reproductions of French Napoleonic-era swords with blue and gilt blades at reasonable prices. The blades themselves are only marginally better than typical reproduction sabres, but the blue and gilt work is actually very good. I own one myself.
A Ronk a lot of the time such finish is an acrylic or plastic film of some kind, and not actually a bluing. I assume yours is actually metal, though, since you've probably had it for a while.
Not Pulverman Yes, it is genuine blueing. I am very impressed with it. If the blades had proper distal taper, I would not hesitate to buy more of them. As it stands, they are not bad at all by comparison with other reproductions, but I own enough antiques to have been spoiled by proper blades. My French M1822 LC sabre is longer and heavier, but the handling is infinitely better.
Hey Matt, a couple years ago at a Ren faire, I saw a fight group, and there was a guy with two short tomahawks vs another guy with a sort of hanger length sword. I know your interests tend to lean to the cutlass, sabre, and hanger type swords, but I was wondering if there would be any significant advantage to wielding two short axes vs a sword with a protective hand guard .
The Knight of Jests Have you checked out this channel's posts on "dual-wielding"? Almost every combination has been considered, iirc.
I was wondering about a specific scenario. Perhaps an American colonist with two tomahawks against an English soldier with a cutlass on board the deck of a ship. That's what I saw. Looked like two tomahawks of a rather short length (maybe 16-18 inches) and they were being used against a a sort of hanger like sword.
But how do you command your infantrymen to fire by holding your sword up and swinging it down, when a blade decorated in such a way losses about a half of it's reflective surface to the dark bluing, thus making it harder for the infantryman under your command to notice you giving signals with it? :)
It is beautiful.
New camera?
Did some editing on this one, nice! Next time overlay the pictures in full screen rather than inset =)
5:47 Matt's lenny face...lol
Gorgeous!
Can anyone tell me if the 1796 Spadroon blades were pattern welded, as i have a blade with a Spadroon hilt (shattered) but the blade is pattern welded.
So an officer can have any blade as long as it was strait and 32 inches?
Spadroons are the best cutter can cut through diamond can confirm
Is there any connection between this video and Forged in Fire s04e19?
Very interesting !
"Spurred runes" are my favorite swords
Matt, how much would you say this 1796 model is worth? I have my eye right now on a beautiful model without the blue-gilted blade.
Out of curiosity, what do you mean by officers learning fencing, weren't all officers of the period trained in the usage of the sword or are we talking about a fencing style specifically for use in dueling?
Officers at this time were not taught fencing as regulation. They were expected to know how to use their swords, but many didn't. Also, the regulation sword system that was introduced in 1817 was for the sabre, not for the smallsword.
Thanks, Matt. Appreciate the clarification.
You know, I think that this would make for an interesting video topic some time, how much and what kind of training people received when they joined the military historically and specifically, the Napoleonic period. I've heard that it was common for officers to purchase their commissions, so does this mean they joined the Army/Navy and trained on the job or were they expected to know something when purchasing their commissions. Did any officers get commissioned through other means aside from purchasing them, how were the enlisted trained, did they go through some sort of boot camp or just drilled upon joining their regiment. I think that this would make for an interesting video because I find the subject almost as fascinating as the weapons themselves.
Wait a minute, this is the second spadroon video without a single comment by Mett Euston. What is going on?
Bloody Gorgeous!!
The point on that sword looks much more acute than the point on the sergeant's spadroon that you've shown before. Did you suggest in one of your previous videos that the point on the sergeant's sword had been damaged and reshaped?
he said the point broke off and the in time get rounded
Fabio Varrà +1
Jordan Reilly the spadroon he showed was really the worst of the worst.
All types ofnsword can be bad.
Considering the condition this thing is in, wouldn't it be more likely that it belonged to someone who did not leave his office very often, and certainly would not be in the field or somewhere near fighting? So the spadroon would have been in a (mostly) dry and comfy envirement...
Impossible to say. Some swords which are known to have seen lots of action are still in collections and museums in great condition. You cannot assume anything about a sword's history from its condition.
Thanks for the reply!
I assumed it because of the bladed weapons i have seen in a museum. (former armory of 15th to 18th century infantery and cavalry weapons => so more etching less gilding)
With lots of those even i was able to tell that they had seen action by the look of them. But then again, almost all of them were issued weapons mostly for "common" soldiers.
Is there a blue finish applied to the silver of the grip?
steven walters I imagine dirt and tarnish, but now I wonder
Matches and looks wonderful
No, just age patina.
Matt ,How did they sharpen these Blue & Gilt blades?
I like the blade and the silver on the handle but hate the guard and the pommel, they look disgustingly delicate.
Those are not your messenger notifications you are hearing. That's part of the video
I'm having an interesting read up of the history of electroplating.
I don't think there is any easy way to tell brass (copper/zinc) from bronze (copper/tin). The colour of both is variable, and depends a lot on surface patination. Bronze is often deliberately patinated with chemical treatments. www.vam.ac.uk/content/journals/conservation-journal/issue-31/the-artificial-patination-of-bronze-sculpture/ And before modern chemical analysis, no-one knew exactly what metals were contained in the ores. A lot of artworks and other metal objects that have been traditionally described as 'bronze' (e.g. the famous Benin 'bronzes') actually contain enough zinc to make them closer to brass than bronze, in modern terminology.
typical bluing for firearms is not done with heat tempering, it is a caustic controlled rusting process
prefer the 1796 light cavalry saber personally
Wheres Mett Eusten? :D
Matt don't forget the War of 1812 and the defence of Canada.
The wot
R u trying to trigger the Americans you limey snot
if i shoot with gun what can he do
What?
Personally, I much prefer videos about swords that actually were used in combat vs. the gilded fantasy swords Generals and nobles far away from any battle field pranced around with at parties. An obvious exception exists for actual battle swords that were rehabbed, then engraved and gilded. But of course the kind of man who survived a few battles up close and ppersonal both probably wouldn't be invited to many parties, and if he was, his sword would probably still be unadorned and fairly functional. :) Interesting that there in this sword no patina developed. Gun owners would love to know that secret as most blued guns often turn brown with age.
Very likely this was deployed in combat, though. Officers don't typically fight in this period, so there's little drive to have something super high performance for combat.
Michael Eversberg II I acknowledge that. This was after all well past the time of warrior Kings. Noting that some were known to have both a dress sword for ceremonies and parties and a real sword.for fighting. I do however think the blue and gold is quite pretty.
Someone please make a gif of that ''that should be good for penetration'' at 5:44
If you find this interesting, you might like Forgotten Weapon's episode about Gold Damascene:
ua-cam.com/video/4KM7ySNWuqU/v-deo.html
Would be much cheaper and faster to stamp sheets of silver than it would be to wrap wire.
i don't think so, if u look the sheet is chiseled to look like a thin rope
whit silver wire you only need to wrap thightly around the wood
Not a commercial.
Sometimes it's nice to take a step back and just say "ooooh, shiny!"
"This car is a terrible model; it breaks down constantly, has five wheels and you break by rolling up the nearest hill. I know everything about it though; the windshield is a newspaper with eye holes and the seats are made of the hides of male latvian lemmings. This car is completely worthless, join me next week for a look at the extra features"
LOVE IT. Spadroons are terrible meme
The idea of making such a beautiful sword and then using it in battle and damaging it is horrible D:
scholagladiatoria only talked about spadroons once yahooo yahooo
You have a museum quality example there, do not let it out of your sight, do not sell it and do not offer it to fans of Pirates of the Caribbean 1 either.
very beautiful, very expensive, owner must be very rich and never used it.
wow! My preciouuuuuussssss!
It's a piece of shit, but it's a GORGEOUS piece of shit
How's it a piece of shit?
It's a small sword you can party with, and get some good slashing in with.
As long as it's stiff, and pointy, it's good stoof.
So many in Victorian ear preferred "ecchi"ing
too close...truly
noice
This says spadroon sucks? historycollection.co/war-failures-12-historys-worst-weapons/3/
Watching spadroons on forged in fire and they cut pretty damn well. So much for that myth.
Pretty sure as swords get prettier they are getting less and less useful.
Jeff K not true, obviously you can't add rhinestones and all sorts of things, but in this case it is exactly as useful as a non decorated one. What about this makes it less useful than one without bluing and gilding?
new camera?