The loose brass fitting isn't a flaw, it's a feature! With the right motion, it becomes a projectile in a sort of modified "end him rightly"!

@FENomadtrooper

3 жыл бұрын

A front pommel? Tell me more.

@crossbowboltlaunchers2456

3 жыл бұрын

I am rolling on the floor. This joke ages really well

@thearcanehunter2736

3 жыл бұрын

That would make the weapon the most OP of them all. The actual back pommel is lacking, but that can be fixed.

@reeso7539

3 жыл бұрын

Looks like the chinese invented the prototype of ending someone rightly

@normang3668

3 жыл бұрын

End him rightry.

Couple history tips: 1, the ring pommel was designed to tie a rope around it and your wrist so you don’t loose your blade on horse back or cut your finger when thrusting. 2, the major enemy of the Han army was always the Xiongnu people, which are nomadic tribesmen from the north, since iron mines are lacking there and many raiders don’t have the money to afford armor, (many still use stone arrowheads) armor piercing isn’t really needed for most part. Nice video tho!

@burnzy2639

3 жыл бұрын

The rope with the ring is an interesting way of preventing thrusts from hurting the user. Cheaper too.

@jessieguo7823

3 жыл бұрын

Using ring and rope to prevent slippery hands is always the thing I heard from Chinese weapon community, but I do question whether it was true. To me it really looks like an explanation people come up with later, trying to tie the Kongfu performance with military martial art together. I do think the cloth tied on the ring of Dadao (said to be a symbolic representation of this rope and ring thing) is for performance aesthetic purpose, and even if it's true, it doesn't solve the problem of risking injuring your finger when thrusting.

@jiamingzhang147

3 жыл бұрын

Jessie Guo The cloth on Dadao is for decoration and performance (and good luck) purposes, since it is a double handed weapon, it doesn’t make sense to tie it to one hand. In my opinion Kongfu performance could be compared with western dueling instead of military martial arts. I see your point tho, too many inaccurate movies blurs the true way of fighting.

@jessieguo7823

3 жыл бұрын

@@jiamingzhang147 Oh I see! That makes so much sense now.

@jxmai7687

3 жыл бұрын

kknews.cc/zh-hk/culture/r85k3x.html Check this out in Chinese, but lots pictures and details. also the cloth could be use as warning of danger. In Dao technique, stabbing is not easy to protect yourself, it may not be recommended at all.

In regards to "armor penetration" abilities of this infantry sword, I'm reading a lot of assumptions from people who claim this Han infantry dao was designed to fight unarmored opponents. First, swords are very rarely meant to be used against armor anyways - even later era European swords are meant to avoid armor and attack unarmored parts of the soldier. You get much more armor penetrating abilities with ranged weapons and polearms than you do with a single handed sword. Second, the dao was a secondary/backup weapon and not the primary weapon to fight the Xiongnu. Crossbows, bows, and polearm weapons were all much more important than the dao in fighting the Xiongnu, and all of them had armor penetration potential. If you read about the major battles against the Xiongnu, the Han era writers talks about the importance of crossbows and polearms (eg. ji-halberds) and I haven't really read any accounts that mention the importance of the dao in these battles.

@xiuyuan6607

3 жыл бұрын

Crossb and pole arms have always dominated ancient battle field. They were the AK 47 and mortar. Swords and Dao were like pistol. They are always auxiliary weapons.

@choiettech

3 жыл бұрын

Considering that the armour of this era weren't like European or later styles in Chinese history, you could very well stab through the armour and penetrate it.

@Intranetusa

3 жыл бұрын

​@@choiettech No, armor of this period included lamellar and scale made of iron, steel, bronze, and rawhide...which isn't that different from armor of later periods. Swords aren't going to stab through any of those types of small-plate armor. Swords even have a difficult time stabbing through chainmail, as Skallagrim's earlier videos show that the vast majority of sword stabs, even with swords with thin points, are stopped by chainmail. Swords are even often stopped by padded cloth or glued cloth armor (eg. gambeson and linothorax) too, so most swords in general perform pretty poorly against even lighter armors. Swords would be used against unarmored vulnerable parts of the body and not really used against armor.

@choiettech

3 жыл бұрын

@@Intranetusa kzread.info/dash/bejne/nK5txNCBj7y1qMo.html I'm pretty sure if spears can break through armour like this, it wouldn't be too impossible. Plus chainmail is different to lamellar armour. It would certainly protect you from cuts but a thrust would more powerful to penetrate the armour.

@Intranetusa

3 жыл бұрын

@@choiettech First, spears are very different from swords because spears are rigid (and thus better at penetration) while swords are more flexible. Skallagrim actually does armor tests with spears and swords against riveted chainmail where the rigid spear is effective at penetration but the swords do little to nothing: kzread.info/dash/bejne/q5iexqSNhpvAkrw.html Second, chainmail and lamellar will both protect against any cuts from swords, but lamellar armor is far superior to chainmail in protection against stabbing. You can see this by watching Skallagrim and other videos on lamellar armor tests against arrows and crossbow bolts. Skallagrim's cheap lamellar armor stops a ~976lb draw weight, low powerstroke crossbow bolt, but these crossbow bolts penetrates deep into riveted chainmail armor with padding: kzread.info/dash/bejne/ioGImMqjp7yefrQ.html kzread.info/dash/bejne/gWinsMWoqrLYm7g.html Finally, the link you provided is a low quality Chinese entertainment show that doesn't use historically accurate armor, weapons, etc. If you read the comments, I actually posted a comment on that video a few years ago about how bad the reproduction is. The armor they use is inaccurate leather (when it should be rawhide, bronze, iron, etc) and the people using the weapons seem to be acrobatics wushu practitioners (which is not for combat and is more of a performance art). There are other comments about how bad the show is and how clueless the people are sometimes.

Surface prep is everything when gluing anything together with any type of glue. Clean, but somewhat rough. Smooth is bad. Glue needs something to bond to. My guess is they didn't prep the brass fittings properly and that's why most of the glue is stuck to the fibers of the wood and not the brass. Clean off the old glue then hit the surfaces of both the wood and inside faces of the brass with 120 grit sandpaper to rough them up a bit (without ruining the fit) then clean with alcohol. The more edges for the glue to bond to, the better.

@Landogarner83

3 жыл бұрын

Actually that is not true. If surface prep and glue choice are right, it makes no difference if the surface is polished or rough. (source: adhesives seminary by the Fraunhofer Institute) Actually a rough surface can be worse if the glue is too thick. The really important part is that both surfaces are completely clean and you choose a glue that can adhere to both materials. I found that often the easiest way to get metal surfaces clean is to remove the old surface by grinding. Higher grit sandpaper works better and faster for metals. The problem in this case is that the fittings are brass. Brass is notoriously difficult to glue because very few glues will hold on to it securely. Also most copper alloys will oxidize quickly which is bad for adhesives. To glue brass you should use 2K glues like epoxy or PU and prepare the brass surface immediatly before glueing. Preparation is: general cleaning -> degreasing -> grinding -> degreasing and then gluing.

@Vivi2372

3 жыл бұрын

@@Landogarner83 bingo, at least where gluing wood is concerned (I've never glued metal myself). People often think you need a rough surface because there's more surface area for the glue to adhere to but you're really just creating small gaps that aren't as well joined. Clean and smooth with no more glue than needed to do the job is a lot better and you get joints that are stronger than the surrounding wood when you do it right.

@user-dm1mm6ou1c

3 жыл бұрын

i thought its kinda the same when you put locktide on screw. Clean the screw first with something like acetone or ethyl

@Dennis-vh8tz

3 жыл бұрын

With ebony and other oily tropical hardwoods, the natural oils can prevent glue from bonding, it's often recommended to clean the area to be glued with alcohol or another organic solvent, then wait just long enough for the solvent to evaporate before applying glue.

@appa609

3 жыл бұрын

Aladine might also help. Get that surface chemically activated

The arsenal ledger he mentioned at 1:01 is a document written on wooden slips that records the number of various weapons stored in a Jun (an administrative division of the Han dynasty, its area is anywhere between a modern-day China's province and a city) level arsenal in 13 BCE. The full name of the ledger is 武库永始四年兵车器集簿, which translates to Weapons and Chariot Registry (of) Arsenal Warehouse (in) Year Yongshi 4 (13 BCE). Here are some of the weapons listed in the registry and their numbers: 537707 Crossbows, 11181 of which belongs to the royalty. 11458424 Arrows for Crossbows, 34265 of which belongs to the royalty. 77521 Bows. 1199316 Arrows for Bows. 142701 Leather Armours, 379 of which belongs to the royalty. 587299 Iron Lamellar Armours. 98226 Leather Helmets, 678 of which belongs to the royalty. 102551 Shields, 2650 of which belongs to the royalty. 615416 Various Forms of Spear and Lance. 99905 Jians, 24804 Daggers, 156135 Daos. 7174 Various Forms of Chariots.

I'd love to see you test wavy flamberge/kris type blades... It'd be interesting to see how more surface area per length and the uneven wave of the edge affects cuts and thrusts

@nimbusws5946

3 жыл бұрын

He has an old video testing a kris but that was years ago. Agree, would love to see him make another or similar video.

This is basically the most primitive Chinese Dao you can get. At this stage, Dao was just separated from Jian (double-edged sword), and became a massive-produced side weapon for normal soldier s. So, its design was similar to Jian in many ways (straight, extremely light-weight and flexible).

@DarkwarriorJ

3 жыл бұрын

This is primitive, but, perhaps just being biased towards straight swords here, but I sorta like this design better. What disadvantages does it have vis a vis later daos? Edit: It's a shame it doesn't have a guard. That's, like, the one thing it needs to be just as cool as the average straight-sword to me, precisely for the thrusting performance.

@markuskristensen2433

3 жыл бұрын

@098765 Craper the sword is not curved my friend

@DarkwarriorJ

3 жыл бұрын

@098765 Craper Hmmm... True, that is a serious consideration, especially when dealing with more than one enemy at a time, and with the fact that people don't die nearly as fast as in Hollywood.

@DarkwarriorJ

3 жыл бұрын

@098765 Craper Or his shield, or his armor, or a tree that got in the way xD

@mayz-7822

3 жыл бұрын

​@@DarkwarriorJ Later Dao were more rigid and relative heavier, but still relative lighter than many medieval swords. Too much flexibility is a big problem for the cutting-predominant blade. The Infantry Dao is relatively good for cutting, since it's short. but the much longer Cavalry Han Dao is too flexible. In the video, Skallagrim couldn't get a very good cut because it‘s hard to line-up. But to be fair, I think it might have something to do with the steel LK Chen used: since the smelting technology wasn't so good back then, the blade might be more rigid than the modern reproduction Interestingly, staight blade didn't seemed to be a very big problem for ancient Chinese. Until Tang dynasty (618 to 907, around 400-700 years after Han dynasty), most of Dao were still straight blade, though the slighlty curved Dao gradually became prevalent in later period. As for the guard, some argue that it might have some sort of small stopper made by organic materials (such as the materials used for warpping the hilt) to prevent soldiers to cut their hands, not a guard, but at least served some purposes. I think that it's mainly because it was way easier to produce without a metal guard. the excavated Han Dao was basically just a piece of sharpened metal (us.v-cdn.net/5022456/uploads/editor/o6/uw3erawkn0vy.jpg). It was very easy to massive produce, an very important factor if you want to arm ten thousands of soldiers. And soldiers could make some customizations themselves to make them more usable.

nice video. I might have to get one of those cavalry swords and try it out. It's a very different design that I'm used to.

LK Chen himself made a video talking about the overwhelming number of orders and issues caused by the pandemic so that might be the cause of the quality drop. You can find the video by looking up Reflections in times of a Pandemic on KZread by kkcheungus1it should be about 12 minutes long.

@Hephera

3 жыл бұрын

not really an excuse unless they drop the price...

@franknbeanz147

3 жыл бұрын

yeah if quality is dropping that bad drop the price as well if your gettin sloppy on your work

@lkchensword2276

3 жыл бұрын

In fact this is an early prototype we submit to Mr. Skallagrim early this year for review. For current version please see kzread.info/dash/bejne/paN_0pOtY8XKeco.html This current version use cotton cord wrapping for better grip and solve the bronze wood bonding issue with an alternative glue.

@The_Judge300

3 жыл бұрын

@@lkchensword2276 The swords are still garbage. Specially the "cavalry sword". There would hardly be anyone that could use such a flexible sword from a horseback in a good way. That flexibilty would make it close to impossible to make a clean cut from a moving horse. And the average foot soldier would have huge problems using the shorter sword well too, because it is to flexible and to unforgiving. You should make them both stiffer and not rip off people with the 2 "rubber" swords you make and sell now. Have pride in what you do and don't just focus on fast and easy money. I don't even understand why you sent something of such poor quality for a review.

@Intranetusa

3 жыл бұрын

​@@The_Judge300 You should do more research before calling these swords garbage simply for being thin and somewhat flexible. These swords are thin because they are based off of historical examples, not because the maker is trying to save a few pennies by using less steel (which is extremely cheap nowadays). The Han Dao is almost the same price as their Han era jians ($40 difference), and their Han jians are excellent and have gotten great ratings from Skallagrim and Scholagladitoria's review videos. The fact that the swords are made of the more expensive process of being pattern welded high carbon spring-steel that allows them to be flexible yet retain its straightness under stress means they are not simply trying to make a quick buck. If the maker was really trying to make an easy buck, they would have made these swords out of thick mild steel like mall ninja swords, and they would just bend and stay bent without springing back to true. Maybe the maker got the carbon proportion incorrect and the blades really should have had higher levels of carbon (which would make them stiffer and less flexible), but that's not a quality issue and more of a historical interpretation issue.

"I'll take about that later" face expression is so good xD

This knife, ancient Chinese name: huan shou dao its ring object is used to wrap half a meter long square scarf, usually this scarf tied around the neck, when used with a scarf wrapped around the hand, so that the user's hand, with the handle of the knife fixed. That's why all huanshoudao sno.s a hand guard. With a scarf through the iron ring handle and weapon fixed, chopping time will not be caused by violent vibration caused by loose hands, this is an extremely simple method of profiteering, born in China's Spring and Autumn Period cruel siege war. My English is not good, I hope you don't care

@peterm4675

3 жыл бұрын

could you write the explaination in Chinese?

@rotoruaboy

3 жыл бұрын

@@peterm4675 I think he was trying to say that back in the days the common infantry practice is to tie a piece of fabric on the ring at the end of the handle and then wrap the rest of the fabric tightly around one's hand, this helps to properly affix the weapon to the user's hand (the blade truly becomes an extension of one's arm), thus a handguard was not required for thrusting attacks. From a manufacturing/logistics point of view, this approach saves precious metal and shortens the time required for swordsmiths to produce such weapons. From a usability aspect, this also prevents the user from losing his weapon in the heat of battle, especially when they are exhausted and lost the ability for fine motor control with their hands and fingers, having one's hand tightly tied to the weapon's handle can guarantee a certain degree of control even when their fingers are fatigued.

@viki9641

3 жыл бұрын

You are quite right.

@GenericHandle01

3 жыл бұрын

@@rotoruaboy @VIKI thank you both for your explanations. I have seen this technique before but never thought of it as a general practice. (to be fair I saw it in a movie called "The Grey" with Liam Neeson)

@viki9641

3 жыл бұрын

The mobilization of ancient China depends more on the tricks. This determines that the ordinary soldiers are not professional soldiers, they do not have sophisticated equipment, but the scale of the war is very large, often with the nomadic people for decades of tug-of-war, which means huge equipment consumption, so the birth of huanshoudao is the inevitable result of large-scale war in ancient China, winding fixed hands, so that the liberation of the other hand, so ordinary untrained people, relying on the combination of shields and huanshoudao can still be effective combat.

The dao needs some brass dowels to stop things falling off.

I left the same comments in Scholagladiatoria's video as well, basically: The Han switched to the dao because it's more more efficient (easier to make, easier to train, easier to maintain) for a large infantry force. The infantry at the time was also awfully under-armored, making a slashing weapon viable. If you dig around, you'll find that the lowest of the Han infantry were not armored, and if a foot soldier was lucky, he would get a very modest chest piece that only covered the torso from below the shoulders (granted infantry were given shields).

@hwasiaqhan8923

3 жыл бұрын

That is the case in the early Han dynasty where average soldiers were lightly armoured, the crossbow and bow infantry were likely unarmored.

@Zander10102

3 жыл бұрын

Were they really that hard up on resources that they couldn't afford to provide armor? Or was it a result of the military doctrine of the time?

@lairdcummings9092

3 жыл бұрын

"Tactical" isn't the word you want. "Logistically efficient" is where you want to go. Possibly even 'strategic.'

@lairdcummings9092

3 жыл бұрын

@@Zander10102 cutting corners on equipping soldiers is as old as armies. Even cheap equipment begins to add up when you're talking about thousands of soldiers. Considering these were intended for low-status troops, there's not much purpose to spending more.

@wor575

3 жыл бұрын

@@Zander10102 such was the case with a lot of ancient civilizations where the non-elite infantry were either unarmored or armored with the bare minimum. such units were commonly referred as "light infantry", although the term is not official. in most cases their main protection comes from a shield and some sort of head covering, either a skull cap or a legitimate helmet. even the Greeks and Romans had those, with the hoplite and legionary being more of elite/heavy infantry. even during the middle ages you have foot soldiers who can only afford a gambeson

Your best review yet. Informative and no low brow hyperbole, just very thorough and well versed.

The insight you offer is amazing, sir. Very appreciated.

These swords were manufactured for peasant conscripts. It was basically a long knife with no user considerations. Only families with wealth could afford swords with embellishments and a jeweled guard and scabbard. As per your instructions, we should all hold off from purchasing these two a mentioned in this review. Glad to see a new video post regardless! :)

I've bought the infantry dao as my first sword recently and had a similar problem with the guard. I've only cut with it twice and its already come loose. When I messaged LK Chen about it he was very kind about it and suggested to add more glue to it. Still enjoy it just didnt expect it to get loose so quickly

Perticulary good video, it feels like youve gotten better at constructing the video, the format is perfect. I enjoyed it greatly, keep it up!!

I'm glad to see you doing so many different types of swords

I once had a nightmare about ridiculously flexible blade. It was a jian sword, and I was supposed to be fighting with it, but it started flexing like it was made of paper. It just didn't hold still or stiff at all. It reminded me of those Indian blades that are more like whips. It still made some cuts, but was difficult to use. Well it was only a dream, but a really weird one... That long Dao in that slow motion reminded me of that.

@angeliquewu8318

Жыл бұрын

There are flexible Jian that cut extremely well though. Idk if this is on the Western internet, but there’s a sword called the Tangxi Treasure Jian, it is one of the 8 great mythical swords of China. The way to make it was lost, but since there are some records about it, this one Chinese sword hobbyist spent half a century (literally 50 years) trying to recreate that specific sword, and he succeeded in making a sword that fit all of the descriptions/requirements. It can slit through a metal stick, cut through bamboo, stab cleanly through a metal drum, and cut a stack of coins in half. All the while, it is extremely flexible, able to bend 50 degrees. However, just because it is flexible doesn’t mean that it flops around. It is still a proper sword.

Great Review as always. Good job!

I always ask myself why isn't there a sword that looks this way or that way... Skallagrim shows me every time, that it actually existed.

I have bought a long Katana from them and couldn't be happier with the value I got for the money..The steel is excellent pattern welded steel, scabbard is beautiful and well done. Sharpness is cutting competition ready right out out the box. Details are mostly spot on. I could easily see that sword going for 1,000's from a custom maker. They offer it for under 500$ if I remember correctly.

Thanks for the review, your testing has just shown why the dao got stiffer over time.

I'd like to commend you on the skill inherent in detecting the slip of your hand on that thrust, and having the reaction speed to unclench your fingers and avoid cutting yourself. I'm not any kind of swordsman, but to me that seems like something that would be very difficult to pull off instead of instinctively doubling down and trying to tighten your grip. Excellent video, as always!

Mmm nothing better than waking up and drinking coffee to Skal talk about... Well, anything.

Honest as always, thanks!

For thrusts you can palm the pommel to drive in the thrust and use it as the primary force for the thrust instead of using just hand grip, which protects your hands from slipping and just grip to guide and swing the sword.

I feel like the Heavenly Horse Dao would greatly benefit from harder steel and different heat treatment to get the proper hardness to be usable. If one was not bound by the limitations of replicating the original, I would simply suggest widening the blade by a centimetre or so and reprofiling the distal taper so as to make it more rigid while also enhacing its cutting potential.

Thanks for the information

You wearing your knitted helm was adorable.

Just recieved my own infantry dao! Can confirm they've upped most of the things Skall pointed out here. From a first impressions standpoint, the only things I see are some minor gapping in the brass fitting on the tip of the scabbard and a noticeable glue residue around some of the fittings,.which shows they've added more glue lol. But the belt attachment is now attached using cord as well as glue and it seems super secure! And the handle is a bit more polished! Only actual complaint is the belt attachment is too small for any of my belts!

Sick choices! Have a great day, Skall!!

8:01 I want that hat! 10 year old me is jumping up and down chanting "Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I?"

@johndododoe1411

3 жыл бұрын

Looks like a bicycle helmet...

I just received the new versions and everything seems much better. I'll give an update after I get some cutting time with them

Do we know of any cases of people tying strings from the ring on the bottom to the index finger (kind of like a bow sling) in order to prevent slippage and give more leverage?

@Skallagrim

3 жыл бұрын

I don't know, but that's an interesting idea.

LK Chen must be crammed with order, the details are drastically different from their older swords

@hanliu3707

3 жыл бұрын

I brought his phoenix jian a few yeards ago, the scabbard have the same issue, I heard it's fixed now. I hope he would improve the crafts on these dao.

@crawlFace

3 жыл бұрын

@@hanliu3707 Sorry to confirm... nope, not for me. My phoenix is actually shocking in bad quality. Truth is it's "hit or miss" at that relatively cheap price range.

@Wingzero90939

3 жыл бұрын

crawlFace Did you get the updated version?

@crawlFace

3 жыл бұрын

@@Wingzero90939 My Phoenix came a couple if weeks ago :( I was pretty heart broken over it.

@Wingzero90939

3 жыл бұрын

crawlFace Wow I wish they would establish at least a waiting period like Albion Swords or Lockwood Swords.... also maybe require a deposit. At least some form of quality control otherwise it just goes downhill pretty fast. You might want to try emailing them back and see if they can send you a replacement depending how banged up yours is... they did that with A few other people who got messed up swords.

To prevent the hand sliping on to the blade, perhaps thay used a cloth loop from the ring pumel to go around the wrist.

Man! I musta been early! Catching a Skallagrim review only 23 minutes after he posted it.

still loving my lk chen white arc

I'm sure im not the only one who would like to see these properly sharpened for testing, Even though they have a good profile manufacturers seem to air on the side of caution when it comes to sharpness, These light nimble swords live and die by the sharpness of the blade, Would be excellent to see a test with the blade sharpened to terrifying level.

I like the grain pattern, but I can see your point

I would try gluing with JB Weld. I've had good results with adhesion under those conditions.

My name is Han Dao, and I'm the fastest sword in the world.

@user-ho4ko2iu8o

3 жыл бұрын

汉道？😂

@liaoh1661

3 жыл бұрын

this is 环首刀（ huan shou dao 。and（han jian）is wrong name ，That sword in history is called “jian” （剑）mean sword，no special name

@omariscovoador7486

3 жыл бұрын

After the rapier of course 😂👌

@Aldersees75

3 жыл бұрын

Rin best girl

@boo5214

3 жыл бұрын

@@Aldersees75 simp

You should do a review of the “Chinese Han Dynasty Folded Steel Jian” from kultofathena. I want to see the test cuts and quality of blade.

For thrusts you could tie a hand loop to the ring and hold the loop between the thumb and the index finger and grip it along the hilt. If that description makes sense to you.

Right up there with the Uruk-Hai mass-produced cannon-fodder blades, when it comes to equipping the masses.

Love your vids

Is there a way you could test the zatoichi straight blade from musashi .I bought it and I'm quite happy with it nice fit and finish but I haven't abused it and it's my first sword to collect and I'd be really happy to see you're opinion.and it's been a bit since you reviewed a budget sword of that price

Looks like they perform very well. Sucks about the pieces falling off.

I really dont want to be the 70th commenter, but i must still say this: Yet another good content skall

Your arguments for a quick mass production of swords all fit too for the Katana, specially because it didn’t even have a ring pummel at the end.;)

I love that royal armory dao.

Hi Skal, I want to ask you what's your opinion about the scissor blades from Dirk Gentlys Season two. Especially if it could really be used Love your videos ✌️

@Skallagrim maybe the ring-pommel was used for a lanyard, so that your hand doesn't get on the blade while cutting?

@dongf2618

3 жыл бұрын

it is indeed, there are pictures of that

I wonder if it is possible to wrap more of the cord near where a guard would typically be in order to form a jerry-rigged "cord guard" - where there is a bulge of cord material that prevents the hand from slipping into the blade when thrusting.

Hey, Skall, that's some really cool stuff. I was wondering if you would look into possibly reviewing some Eastern European swords? Maybe a shashka? If not, that's alright too. Love your content, been here since forever.

Hey Skallagrim, been a fan of the channel for a long time, love your work. Was wondering, could you do a fight scene analization for some of the scenes in the two Zorro movies, especially the first one?

As a means to keep your hand from sliding up onto the blade, have you considered putting your pinky in the ring? Yes I know some later models had the ring filled in with some ornamentation but it seems the most expedient solution to me.

I love your channel and knowledge of swords but i was wondering if you knew anything about frost cutlery's pirate of the caribbean 28" cutlass as in useable and practicality for a cutlass

Mr. Skall make a Video about the Razmafzar Team and have interviews with them.

Good stuff

Hi Skall, been watching your videos. I am curious to ask, what's the martial arts you are practicing called? is it HEMA? Also if I were to start would you recommend finding a school? where can I find one? Where should I start? Would love to hear your thoughts, or you can even make a video about em.

Should be possible to fix. A better glue up with a bit of roughening on the inside of the bolster should do. Use a center punch to dimple the bolster a few times will help it hold to the wood. If you're not worried about historical accuracy then a bit of brass plate, or even rod, brazed to the bolster should work has a guard.

Seems to be machete like in its preformance. Tie a lynard on the ring to keep your hand from sliding up and it could be a great bush wacker

I´ve went over some of your older videos, and I must say your beard got a lot better looking. Do you take better care of it or does the density improve with age? Looks more dense, and it has a better shape. 10/10 Beard points for you sir.

I think in the ring on the back of the handle passed a piece of silk or a loop of rope that served as a stop and protected the hand from slipping.

The old saying is Han Jian-Tang Dao. The pinnacle of this type of Dao was reached in the 6/7th century. Here's hoping LK Chen will start do Tang Dynasty weapons as well.

could it have been a loop sling mounted at the ring, which bound around the wrist, to prevent slide. I wondering if there was any kind of textile band wrapped into the ring and around the hand or a glove attached to the ring preventing slide to the blade

Ni hao Skallagrim 😁 Is it possible that with all of the interest in their products lately that they are just speeding up production to the point where it has outrun their quality control? I certainly hope not. I was seriously considering getting one of their jians. Seriously , you will be wearing hanfu in your next video😁

the short one really reminds me of my type 30 bayonet just a little longer and no guard

Do you think they ever customized these by adding guards? These are really impressive for the time period they were made in.

Just a quick thought. For thrusting how comfortable would it be to wrap one or two fingers around or through the ring pommel to stop the hand from sliding up? It seems like an odd idea and I can't say I am aware of it being used on Chinese swords, still there is the fact that rings are are often used on European swords for fingers and in the case of the karambit. I have no idea if that the intended purpose still I was wondering if it might help as opposed to death gripping the weapon. I am of course refering to the pinkie and ring finger obviously not some weird and stupid reverse grip.

@cks6368

3 жыл бұрын

I agree If you look at the historical oringinals There are always some room left, size of a finger, even if the ring is heavily decorated So i believe its is plausible that the soldiers combined the cloth tying method and this method to prevent it from slipping

@dongf2618

3 жыл бұрын

use lanyard probem solved

I would imagine that exploiting the ring for some leveraging lanyard would help pull the blade forward when thrusting, as well as keep fingers away form the edge

I picked up the Tang dao I ordered last night. Personally I prefer the Tang dao design. (Actually despite being called the “Tang” dao this particular form of Chinese sword first emerged in the 5th century CE during the Northern Wei Dynasty) Historically speaking the Tang dao is based on and derived from the Han infantry and cavalry dao design, with a blade length that is intermediate between the two and hence a more general-purpose sword weapon that can be used both on foot and on horseback. The Tang dao has 2 design and 1 material improvements compared with the Han dao. It has a hand guard which makes it more useful as a thrusting weapon. It also has a longer sword hilt but is still relatively light so potentially can be used either one-handed or two-handed. When people make replica Han Dynasty swords today, generally the same quality of steel is used, but historically Han swords had a lower carbon content than Tang swords and the quality of the blade was not as advanced. So the Tang dao basically has all the advantages of the Han infantry/cavalry dao as well as the Han jian but virtually none of their drawbacks. The Tang dao is a very versatile general-purpose sword weapon, it is effective at both slashing and thrusting, it can be used either one-handed or two-handed, and it can be wielded both on foot and on horseback. It is an improvement upon the basic Han sword design. One could even argue that ancient Chinese sword design never really surpassed the Tang dao.

@chenyangli1154

3 жыл бұрын

Ok just an update: since making the last comment here I have learned more into this topic. While it is certainly true that the dao was generally more effective on the battlefield and the Tang dao was an upgraded version of the Han dao, the Han jian (double-edged sword) remains very important in Chinese culture for ceremonial purposes and martial arts. In fact, the Chinese People's Liberation Army today still uses Han jian for certain formal ceremonial settings. Most Chinese martial artists, historians, hobbyists and collectors would agree that both the Han jian and the Tang dao are the two most prominent and famous hand weapon designs from ancient China. This is partly why after getting the Tang dao from the Swords of Northshire, I have also ordered a Han jian from LK Chen to add to my Chinese swords collection.

@DarkwarriorJ

Жыл бұрын

The main drawback of the Tang dao compared to the Han one that I can think of is weight. Tang dao have a normal weight compared to other swords of their size, whilst Han dao are wtf levels of minimalist and light at a glance. The Tang dao generally looks like the perfect kind of dao to replace the jian, whilst the Han infantry Dao looks like a 'I want my sidearm to be as encumbering as a glock even though I could be carrying a SMG' type of weapon xD

Hey Skall, maybe you can chat with Swordsage about the flexibility of the cavalry sword? It seems strange that something mass-produced for field use would be that flimsy (esp when such equipment would typically be made more robust to stand up to abuse and lower need for maintenance). Matt Easton was reviewing this and he mentioned the overlap in time period with thrust-centric swords, so it's not like the historical folk didn't know about the value of a stiff blade. There might be some obscure way they use it that makes a flexible blade desirable.

I wonder if you could tie a loop in that end that catches the wrist from sliding forward when thrusting?

3:15, Damn that's a nice looking cut

Any chance that at thong could attach at the ring pommel and go around the wrist to help with the thrusting?

Skal, do you think given the sword's extraordinary flexibility, it could be used in the way seen in some Chinese action movies, like in Reign of Assassins for example, where the blade hits the opponent's sword flat and basically bends around it to strike the body?

Very interesting

Perhaps the extreme light weight for the cavalry sword is offset by the horse's velocity?

Left a like for a not “it’s awesome” review of anything!

The flexibility of the LK Chen blades has me rather intrigued as to how the traditional alloys differed and whether they might be stiffer (if less springy)

I just saw Scholagladiatoria's reviews of the same swords. He had no problems with bits falling off and his scabbards were solid. His only real beef was thinking the brass bits were too square and sharp to be user-friendly but after some cutting tests he said that was not a real problem. I'm thinking the whole "current world situation" is impacting quality control- some will be fine, others not so much, and you got some of the "not so much" ones

@lkchensword2276

3 жыл бұрын

In fact this is an early prototype we submit to Mr. Skallagrim early this year for review. For current version please see kzread.info/dash/bejne/paN_0pOtY8XKeco.html This current version use cotton cord wrapping for better grip and solve the bronze wood bonding issue with an alternative glue.

Would a wrist loop tied to the ring on the hilt help to stop your hand sliding in to the blade. The loop on the sword might have had such a use?

You should really do a heavy test review on the Mutiny by kailash blades!!!! I just purchased one and i want to know the kind of abuse it can take before i take it out to the woods.

Just an opinion on my part; No guard and a ring pommel, attach a braided cord to wrap around my hand to keep said hand from sliding.

SKALL, Although they are very different swords in many ways and separated by hundreds of years... I can't help but notice a somewhat similar profile between Vikings single edged swords/Langen seax like your berserker from Albion and this type of straight dow. Certainly the Vikings single edged are heavier and wider and the Dow lighter & narrower. but I'm curious since you've handled both if you felt any similarities and cutting and use between the two types?

Hey skal I am looking to start hema but I have a dislocated left shoulder. Not my dominant shoulder. I really want to do longsword so will that be a problem since I will be using 2 arms? Should I instead do Saber or smtng one handed with my main arm?

@kylestanley7843

3 жыл бұрын

For now, definitely start out with a one handed sword like a saber, arming sword or a rapier held in one hand. Using a longsword actively utilizes both arms and shoulders for different purposes, so you'll aggravate the shit out if it you try that.

@Wingzero90939

3 жыл бұрын

You definitely should focus on rehabbing and fixing that shoulder. That being said you can always do one handed sword of any kind...

Perfect for the Bear Cavalry.

Perhaps the ring pommel is for you to hook your pinky into to prevent your hand from sliding up when thrusting.

@scottmacgregor3444

3 жыл бұрын

That would be an excellent way to break a finger. Your grip is less secure because you have fewer fingers gripping the handle, and if your grip slips you have all the weight of the thrust putting lateral force on one finger exclusively.

Upgrade that short one with a bit of a guard and a kydex sheath and it's looking pretty appealing.

if the sword doesnt have a guard, have you considered looping your pinky through the hole at the bottom? im not sure if this would affect your technique but it would stop your hand from slipping

On scholagladiatora's Facebook page, I post a Bushcrafter's video on lanyard holds. Different way to have your lanyard setup so you won't have to worry about slicing your fingers when thrusting.

The double draw of terror!

Couldn't you make a ring pommel during forging by keeping some extra material at the end of the tang and splitting it down the middle and forming it into a ring? I think you might end up with a really solid construction that way. Pommels can come lose after much use and many years after all. But a ring pommel formed out of the tang itself should theoretically stay in the same spot forever.

The Cavalry sword reminded me of Bayonetes and I'd be interested in seeing a review from you on a Bayonette and maybe think of a new way to use them

@clothar23

3 жыл бұрын

Bayonet = A military knife intended to turn a rifle into a ad hoc spear. Bayonetta = A okay action RPG that is often compared to Devil May Cry.

@StryderK

3 жыл бұрын

Purge Blade #231 Bayonetta is not an RPG. If you say hack and slash, then you got something.

Please do a review of a chinese dandao saber

Love the sword reviews!! Don't want to get those swords.thanks for saving me money.I'll stick to long swords.what books on longsword do you recomed?? I'm a beginner and need help.J