15th Century Medieval Daggers: Bollock vs Rondel

Two of the dominant dagger designs of the late 14th and 15th centuries were the bollock dagger and the rondel dagger. Here we look at who used each type of dagger and what advantages each may have had.
Tod's Workshop video on the development of bollock daggers:
• Evolution of the Bollo...

[@Taras2612]

I love how he embraced all the dickjokes and just rolls with them now Hasn’t always been the case :)

[@TheShieldsMD]

I guess our sense of humor finally achieved massive penetration.

[@ManDuderGuy]

GarandThumb has superior comment-section synergy though. It's impressive.

[@2008davidkang]

@@TheShieldsMD Given contexts, the ultimate penetration.

[@DragonTigerBoss]

Butt, penetration, and swinging.

[@Taras2612]

DragonTigerBoss exactly sir, that’s the spirit!

[@storyspren]

"Vestigial bollocks" is a phrase I didn't expect to hear today, but I probably should have.

[@ieyasumcbob]

Matt's delight at the gauntlet pun at about 8:50 🤣

[@rileyernst9086]

Poleaxe: It's a the halberd of the nobility. Halberd: It's the pollaxe of the soldiery. Billhook: It's the poleaxe of the gardener. Makes a great halberd. Guisarme: It's the continental gardener's billhook, makes a great halberd.

[@beardedbjorn5520]

Any chance we could get a video talking about the “antenna” dagger? It seems to be rather under appreciated, and there’s not that much out there about them.

[@antocnl8345]

About your last point on gentrification of weapons associated with "lower status" we can find something which may be relevant, I think, for early-ish occurence, in Hans Talhoffer's Königsegg Treatise from the 1450's as, when covering the various aspects of a formal knightly duel, he gives a list of equipements amongst those we can find two types of messers.

[@thescholar-general5975]

“Vestigial Bollocks” 😂😂😂

[@ottohahn-herrera8618]

they are not vestigial, it's cold in the Scottish highlands

[@dynamicworlds1]

They've tightened up to the main body while there has been a swelling of a shaft nearby awaiting a hand to grasp it firmly.

[@chinggiskhanvevo6589]

Having been to Scotland I can say that they did go vestigial

[@gwtpictgwtpict4214]

@@chinggiskhanvevo6589 Try SCUBA diving in NW England in winter. Came out and needed a pee. Couldn't find anything to pee with. Very confused I was.

[@thelonerider9693]

For anyone on the fence about Todd's stuff, it is worth it, so well made and nice to look at to boot. I couldn't afford a dagger, got one of his small knives, love it. Want a dagger one day. It is well worth the $.

[@TheWirksworthGunroom]

I had seen Tod's video on the subject and yours adds some interesting perspective. In terms of a subject for you to cover: What about the Dirk, in general evolution and in its Naval and Highland forms?

[@LS-sp5hr]

What a coincidence, I just watched a couple of dagger videos on Tod's channel. Good stuff

[@not-a-theist8251]

Yep. Me as well haha

[@thelonerider9693]

Finally got one of his daggers. It is so awesome and well made. Hope to get a another soon. Interesting the sources talked about rondel daggers but the other kind were more common...

[@joshsquatch7474]

Phallic intentions is gonna be the name of my homebrew slaaneshi marine chapter for 40k.

[@not-a-theist8251]

Burn Heretic!

[@CAP198462]

Given the Drukhari predilection for taking prizes from their victims I could see it being a particularly intimidating name for a Drukhari host too.

[@Dennis-vh8tz]

Run away! They're *coming* for us!

[@BlaBla-pf8mf]

Phallic Intentions GSV, the pride of Culture's starfleet.

[@rchave]

You'd have to wonder why the chapter was given that name before they turned to heresy.

[@hatuletoh]

At about 15:50, a first in the long history of the analyses of militaries and weaponry: a bullocks dagger was described as possessed of the comparatively LESS crude design. Yes, I realize that the adjective was used to describe physical properties and feeling in the hand of the hilt/guard, but since that part of the dagger is literally the eponymous bollocks, it seemed a moment amusingly counterintuitive enough to warrant a brief commemoration. If you don't like it, well then...never mind the bollocks.

[@Fatespinner]

So you're making a video that's to be an appendix to Tod's video about bollocks... The real question is whether Lloyd or Shad will make a video about another part.

[@JurgMudveins]

Why not both? All the weapontubers love to talk bollocks.

[@Othurin]

Well, Lloyd has talked at length about long shafts. How's that for another part

[@Khanclansith]

So are we waiting for Shad, Lloyd or Skalagrim to make a spleen to attach on to this appendix?

[@evilwelshman]

I don't know. It depends if anyone has the "guts" to broach the topic. Or the "stomach" to do the research. ;)

[@Khanclansith]

@@evilwelshman well played

[@johndally7994]

It’s been a long time since you talked about books. I wish i could zoom in to see the titles on your bookshelf. Thanks for another great video!

[@ashley587]

Loving these dagger videos from you and Todd!

[@demos113]

I spy with my little eye............ a teeny tiny Corinthian style helmet on the shelf. >___

[@thatchannel195]

Cute

[@scholagladiatoria]

The stories I could tell about my little helmet.

[@thomaswilkinson3241]

demos113 found it. 😄

[@shawn6860]

@@scholagladiatoria If you had a lego collection it would be among the coolest. 👍

[@ArkadiBolschek]

Absolutely adorable.

[@justsomeguy3931]

Good info, as always. I like how you differentiated between who tended to use each, that it was far from absolute, and that over time the overlap increased. Clarifying Tod's video. The bit about the discs on the rondels covering gaps in gauntlets I thought was especially cool. I try to position my EDC gear and battle rattle the same way, for every little bit of protection I can get

[@advisorv]

It's late Matt, I just got back from my HEMA club, De Taille et D'Estoc, where we did some one handed longsword with Fiore.. But I'll watch this, I can't ignore this *knowledge*

[@not-a-theist8251]

Is power The emperor protects

[@CrimeVid]

Thank you Matt ! as a tool user I have real difficulty visualising the Bollock dagger ‘s. grip as being much use on a peasant’s working knife, I’m not saying it would be impossible to use, but certainly difficult and unwieldy. I would like a list of tasks that you think would be easy to perform with a 9” ( minimum) triangular blade and a very small fragile, grip !

[@davidcrisp3832]

Great video.... THanks for the upload!

[@nathanaelsmith3553]

There's a novelty - never heard Mat talking bollocks before.

[@studentdrake]

thats because hes all about the shaft.

[@davidtuttle7556]

Thats because hes more into thrusting and penetrating blades and the context of it all.

[@GamingBear_Q_E_D]

From my re-enactment work, the common people of the 11th Century were all using a Scramasax knife, possible this morphed into or was superseded by the bollock dagger as metal working became more prevalent and the cost allowed the lower classes to afford a previously higher status tool.

[@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367]

seax became the hangers and messer and other big peasents knives... i would suggets bollock daggers arrived from the mediterranian

[@jeansandjumper]

I recently bought the same rondell dagger as shown in the vid from Tod Cutler, can highly recommend!

[@Robert399]

12:31 That's basically all the spots you can get injured in the SPES heavies as well.

[@100dfrost]

Thanks for pointing the versatility of the ballock out. I've always preferred the design of copies I've seen, particularly Tod's, now I will be able to appreciate their potential greater usefulness also, thanks.

[@johnkilmartin5101]

One of the points Todd makes is the handles on ballock daggers were fairly short. If originally they were utilitarian the grip might have the fingers curved around the ballocks with the blade between them. The Dene in northern Canada used a volute knife so they could easily use it while wearing mittens.

[@stephena1196]

It's interesting you say that: I have a bollock dagger (as part of a Medieval costume, I don't fight with it) and I've noticed it does feel a much better grip to use the bollocks as part of the handle.

[@benschwader4537]

Hi Matt, really enjoyed the video, nice addition to Tod's. I'm curious if you've done anything on the Cinquedea or Main Gauches? I am also fond of the aesthetics of the "Swiss hunting dagger".

[@MatthewDoye]

Older rondel daggers must have fallen out of fashion and either passed into the market for used weapons or been given as gifts to retainers, they probably weren't popular for civilian wear as the hilts get in the way so some blades must have been rehilted in a different form. Medieval humour is frequently crude and obvious, the fuest bollock daggers would likely have been a regarded as works of comic genius. In most of the world there's a continuous history of combination large utility and fighting knives from their iron ages to today's gaucho knives, bowies, kukris, etc..

[@G1NZOU]

I see a great analogy between lower class soldiers and bowmen buying or otherwise getting their hands on rondel daggers, the same as modern city dwellers driving 4x4s. It may be designed for a particular use but if people like it then people use it.

[@deloresdodson5042]

The rondel dagger's forward disc might also help prevent the dagger from sinking too far into the opponent and entangling the dagger or the hand armor in the opponent's armor. You talked about how the forward disc helps increase the force of the thrust of the dagger, the back disc could increase the force of the dagger in removing the dagger, so it is not left stuck in something removing the dagger from use - like a orthopedic slaphammer Interesting presentation.

[@Anthropomorph0]

Today on Matts word of the day calendar, "Predominant". ;) Great video, thanks a lot!

[@Tomartyr]

Unarmoured peasants using armoured fighting daggers? Trickledown ergonomics.

[@gusty9053]

Well as a fighting peasant who runs the risk of getting butchered by a burly dude who has some armor or if you are really unlucky, a lot of armor having a rondel dagger might be more reassuring than having a joke dagger :).

[@Omniseed]

Yeah but you don't bring weapons to use on yourself, at least I would think not

[@derrickguffey4775]

In a fight for your life you use whatever you have or can get regardless of class or social standing.

[@chroma6947]

@@gusty9053 Rondel daggers are very inconvenient to carry due to the enormous rondels. Bollock daggers worked and were used for a reason.

[@PXCharon]

Yep, we were right about Matt's house. Small gap between two bookshelves, ALSO packed with swords.

[@thebobbytytesvarrietyhour4168]

Two things: I have before been introduced to the concept that the gentrification of these weapons was tied to the success of the Landsknecht companies in the late 15 and early 16th centuries. Secondly, I have a bollock dagger for sparing that I wear horizontally. I find that the bollocks make it very easy to draw and use in a variety of situations with either the point forward or backwards. I can even draw it with the right hand so that the point is forward by thumbing the blade and bollocks, even at a horizontal carry.

[@Luziferrum]

Wearing the dagger on the right hip I assume?

[@thebobbytytesvarrietyhour4168]

@@Luziferrum Yes

[@kanucks9]

You know the longer you hold the dagger up, pointed at the camera, the more intimidated I become. That rondel dagger is scary.

[@toddellner5283]

"I have no money to reward you for your service, but I have advice to last a lifetime: Your thumb on the blade and strike upwards." -- G. K. Chesterton

[@samarchist74]

Great video. I was wondering about the long-handled flail in close rank combat, did it have a specialist use?

[@mallardtheduck406]

I'm a Maine Gauche, stiletto kinda guy, but those are nice daggers, amazing craftsmanship!!! >P. S. Being a Duck I prefer using my Bill... 🦆

[@shawn6860]

I quacked up reading this. 😁

[@williamfawkes8379]

I just found this comment and its gone fowl.

[@sigutjo]

I'd like to see more videos about other knife and dagger types apart from the ones you and Tod have already covered several times. In other words, what else is out there?

[@DustyGamma]

A serious look at bollocks. Was actually quite interesting. I wasn't at all familiar with different types of daggers from this period.

[@dominikkalab2971]

What about quillon daggers? I feel that they are really overrepresented in modern pop culture, but also feel like the history enthusiasts don't really talk about them. Maybe because they are kinda boring? By whom, how and when were they used and how often?

[@Robert399]

I'd definitely like to hear about that too.

[@G1NZOU]

They seem to be more knightly, and appear before rondel daggers did, more of a classic crossguard like swords from the 12th century, so familiar to fighters using those weapons, and logical design for those smiths who already made swords. Looks like they always stuck around even when rondel daggers and bollock daggers became the hip thing to have. Personally I love the classic design of them but I just had to get a bollock dagger for my collection, they're just so amusing to show off to people who've never seen them before. I think quillon daggers are overrepresented cause modern people see them as familiar, since in WWII all the commando style daggers drew upon that design somewhat.

[@scottekanny7663]

Not sure how I feel about Matt spending half the video waving his bollocks about, but very informative nonetheless!

[@tasnacornelis4775]

From the 5th to the 1st century BCE there was a type of sword in use in France, Switzerland and Southern Germany that has some resemblance to the bollock dagger. In German "Knollenknaufschwert" and French "Epée à rognons".

[@MagnumGreenPanther]

Love mah bollock dagger!

[@davidjelescu7694]

Matt, can you make a video about navaja or the kindjal?

[@jbcox85]

Todd "Cutler", pretty good name for a guy that makes blades.

[@jwilli6]

smashesintothings Definition of cutler : one who makes, deals in, or repairs cutlery Not his last name.

[@garethbaus5471]

Many last names were descriptions of a person's occupation such as Smith, Fletcher, Cooper etc.

[@rayg.2431]

That's what I thought too - "What a great surname!". Then I found out it's one of his brands: todcutler.com/ , the other being todsworkshop.com/

[@umartdagnir]

His real name is Tod Todeschini . Maybe he is not comfortable about his Italian last name, so he named himself Tod Cutler.

[@richardmcginnis5344]

watching the video and looking around your "stage" i see that tiny little helm just to the left your right, where can i find a small helm like that?

[@wierdalien1]

The subtitles could not cope with bollock. My favourite attempt at it was bullet baguettes

[@IPostSwords]

This new camera angle / distance is much more "intimate". Suits the subject of this video very well.

[@mrd7067]

Cutting edge towards the enemy or towardy your ellbow? Was this in manuals? The only ones i found from that time didn`t mention the edge.

[@bloodypommelstudios7144]

Berserk Chapter 331 used the attack to the gap behind the glove. Also included half-swording, grappling and striking with the hilt.

[@fuferito]

"Scola Gladiatoria. We might talk a lot of bollocks, but we're not full of 'em."

[@longrider42]

An interesting face. The Cold Steel Scottish Dirk, which I own, and have for many years. Has the flared pommel disc/end cap. And the some what of a Ballock knife design at the Bolster. A good dirk, its killed many a wild Haggis.

[@robertpatter5509]

What about the 17C Italian Stiletto dagger like the one Tod Cutler sells? He says those were for Duelists, Brawlers and the like.

[@Sceadusawol]

Something I would like to see investigated is the bauernwehr or "nailed" peasant knife. The presence of the nail, to me, seems to suggest a combat application, but I am unaware of any source that actually talks about such a thing. Could this be due to the typically low status of such a blade?

[@gustavhughes4507]

Do you think you can do a video On Baselards

[@phillipnunya6793]

Did you polish the brass on your dirk? Mine came looking pretty rough with some pitted spots.

[@Harbinger359]

By the way...maybe I've missed it, but is there a video focused on spear points? It's always called the king of weapons and I'd love to hear a deep dive on their evolution.

[@btrenninger1]

Matt has statement on the order that for both styles of dagger that one can tell from the hilts that they were fighting daggers and not tools. I would have thought that obvious from the blades.

[@CountArtha]

Hearing the phrase "vestigial bollocks" said aloud gave me a moment of Fruedian Angst for some reason 😅

[@TimorousHam]

You’re right I would definitely be interested in seeing the story of the immediate predecessors of these knives, but going back a few centuries to the Saxon/Viking daggers/seaxes - what this video makes me wonder even more is “why did it take so long to put an upper guard/bolster on knives like this??” I know the seax (and early Dark Age swords) were all about the hewing and slashing, but they must have stabbed with them sometimes? And surely must have encountered the issue of hands slipping up onto blades? I know - understandably - you disliked lots of the weaponry in The Last Kingdom, but the main character’s kinda-seax-thing has quillons, and although not historically accurate it does seem to make much more sense than having nothing to bolster your hand on your fighting knife. So what’s the deal?

[@MichaelFoster1969]

The thing that immediately suggests itself to me about the bollock dagger is comfort while wearing it in a belt or thigh scabbard. A disc would be massively uncomfortable and potentially quite the source of injury if you fell on it. I really don't like to think about how awful a rondel dagger would be to wear as a routine side arm on a daily basis, especially while unarmoured. A bollock dagger seems, to me, to be a daily wearer whereas a rondel dagger might be something you'd get out of a cupboard if you were expecting to have to take on a battle in part or full armour. You don't walk around in full armour all the time, why would you? But a bollock dagger would be bloody useful to have on your person whenever you were wandering about just in case you got into a fight unexpected. You're also far less likely to clonk it into things while going about your day. Also, surely they're far more easily concealed under a cloak etc. The point about gloved vs not gloved is definitely a good one but to me, most of the time with a dagger you're carrying it around just in case. Therefore there's always the compromise between utility in combat and them being a pain in the arse as you move around while not fighting. The bollock dagger doesn't snag on things like a cross guard and doesn't unnecessarily protrude sideways making you endlessly bash into stuff as you edge past it. To me, the bollock dagger looks like a mighty fine example of such a compromise. It stops you slicing your own hand by sliding up the blade if you do have to stick it in another chap, which is harder than it looks, but isn't such a pain in the arse to wear that you're tempted to just lob it in a cupboard. I think I'd definitely want one if I were in such a time period where being constantly armed is preferable but you're also unlikely to be fighting at any given moment. However, if someone were attacking my house and I had time I'd head for the cupboard for the really serious kit.

[@ollistenroos883]

Speaking of different ways of gripping the dagger, do you think they were ever used with an index finger over the guard/bollock style of grip? At least for me with my bollock dagger (Landsknecht Emporium dagger that they apparently don't sell anymore) it feels like the most natural way of holding the dagger and it allows for a grip where the wrist is almost perfectly in line with the thrust.

[@EattinThurs61]

Olli Stenroos It is not a bad way to hold a blade since one get maximum reach with a straight arm but thumb on blade is better for upward thrusts ie. under ribs, belly or kidneys but then towards face and groin index finger on ought to be good. Thumb on blade is a stronger grip I think. Det e' fult att peka finger.

[@EmilReiko]

How thick is that bollock dagger over the back?

[@theJellyjoker]

In 500 years, some future Matt Easton will be seriously pondering the practical use of the Tac-Sac.

[@Shozb0t]

Can you review the Crazy 88 fight from Kill Bill?

[@carebear8762]

So the disk pommel is akin to the tape disk or ball on the end of a hockey stick, so you can grab it more easily in clumsy handwear.

[@mohammedcohen]

...I see that you have a collection of Osprey books on the shelf behind you...

[@JetConvoy]

So basically Matt this is a video on how to most comfortably and practically grip bollocks?

[@alu9652]

Does ebony handle increase dagger's gamage?

[@DavidLC11]

Is that gauntlet too small for you, or are your fingers supposed to stick out so far past it?

[@richevans1270]

The point of bare handed fighting seems the most accurate to me the rondell would be uncomfortable bare handed but still a stronger penetrator. While the bollock far more maneuverable bare handed to either find gaps in between plate or mail although I'd think you could drive a strong bollock through mail or Gambeson .

[@joschafinger126]

I think the bollocks should indeed help with edge alignment -only not so much in a fight. If you used one of those as a tool (whittling, cooking, cutting ropes and, of course, eating), they should indeed be useful. Especially so as their rounded shape makes it more comfortable to put the thumb over the apex of one of them. And who would make more frequent tool-style use of their dagger -bowmen or knights?

[@If-ish]

Interesting thought, I wonder if bollock daggers developed from knockoff rondels. Obviously people would have made cheap copies of early rondels with the flared pommel, then someone cuts off the sides of the disk to make it more practical, then somebody carves channels down the center to make it more comfortable to use and lo and behold you have a crude bollock dagger.

[@mrd7067]

I think most people miss two things. Aviabillity and deployability aka "oh sh.t" deployment in regards to backup&sidearms. I wonder if they used shorter daggers at that time too. The roman pugio should have some sucessors if one thinks about it but seems to have been lost somewhere in the dark ages until pretty much north america was setteled. It would be easy to make a broken triangular bajonett or so into a "hideout"/boot/wherever weapon but i haven`t seen sources for this yet.

[@rob9472]

I found this channel thanks to Tod talking bollocks, There is something satisfying about the cock and ball jokes made possible by these things, I do believe the bollock daggers were primarily carried by less armoured people to show that they have more balls than armour.

[@mitcharcher7528]

Nothing - I mean nothing - is as entertaining as hearing Tod say, “cock and balls” repeatedly.

[@garethbaus5471]

That actually makes sense.

[@M29WeaselDriver]

Is there any certain way these were attached to a belt? Were they simply tied on with a half hitch knot? And if so how was the leather strap wrapped around the belt?

[@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367]

i think those cords are not entirely accurate they eere prpbably more complex in construction... for example real originals ive seen preserved in museums the cord is much stouter and mayny times the traw string in in the back of the sheath so youd slid it on your belt and draw it likea drawstring tight to your liking.. not just rudely tied like a shoelace

[@Shozb0t]

Can you talk about a day in the life of a Medieval blacksmith?

[@slick_slicers]

The evidence of the Mary Rose suggests that it’s likely that many, possibly even most men on the ship carried Ballock daggers, suggesting they would be utility knives or soldiers and sailors alike. Carrying both types of dagger would likely be an inconvenience. The Ballock dagger is a better multi-use knife, so why wouldn’t they be popular?

[@MannenFromNorth]

Marie rose had alot of bollock daggers but none of the blades survive. hmm 🤔🧐

[@torianholt2752]

Rust mate, almost 5 centuries of rusting in salt water.

[@robbikebob]

Wood and bone survived incredibly well but not metals.

[@MannenFromNorth]

jokes don't reach everyone and that's ok.

[@BeetleBuns]

ships have a habit of making people gay

[@arrisdebruin]

A question. Since when did people start to make full tang knives?

[@robertpatter5509]

I'm going to assume Messer blades are full tang. Technically they are not swords. They are made like a knife. Lang Messer I think means Long Knife . Hence sword restrictions don't apply to them. If this is the case then it's at least been since the 1300's.

[@leviethen]

I can’t be the only one who thinks bollock daggers are ugly

[@thomaswilkinson3241]

Ben engledow Matter of Individual taste, I guess.

[@joachimb9305]

Ben engledow I'd agree the rondel is much prettier.

[@moreparrotsmoredereks2275]

Like many things from the Medieval period, they look fucking stupid to my modern eyes. (Much like hose, codpieces, kettle helmets, and long toed shoes or sabatons.)

[@chromarush1749]

Bollock daggers are aesthetically pleasing. And I actually have doubts about it being phallic based personally.

[@ivanharlokin]

@@chromarush1749 I don't. We know that medieval Europeans had a crude and bawdy sense of humour, and anybody that doesn't see the bollock dagger's unmistakable similarity to an erect phallus is just trying too hard to be a straight-laced Victorian lady.

[@robbikebob]

I don't think I've ever heard the word 'bollock' so much! I've heard it more in this video than the rest of my life combined! 😅

[@einarrjamesson9643]

I love that there are just swords basically hidden in a corner by a bookshelf in this man's house.

[@garethbaus5471]

My grandmother used to keep guns like that.

[@Dream_Weapon]

Listening to this on the headphones, making toast in the kitchen at 2 in the morning, crying laughing every time you say it. Dead.

[@TyLarson]

Ballster seems more appropriate as a name for the bollock dagger guard lol.

[@mattakudesu]

I kind of want a bollock dagger. I like the shape of the blade.

[@Skitheim]

Ballsack daggers. Scrotal daggers. Nutsack daggers. Is there a version where one ball is lower than the other?

[@Jediahgames]

Nice

[@a.s.j.g6229]

Jediah Games you were first to comment

[@jasonpollington1375]

What brand is your Scottish Dirk?

[@scholagladiatoria]

They are all from Tod Cutler / Tod's Workshop

[@jasonpollington1375]

@@scholagladiatoria wow, that doesn't look like a 15" blade in your hand as the measurements on his page say. Ive had my eye on that for awhile. Thanks for all the great videos, keep up the good work and thank you for the response.

[@danieltaylor5231]

Why is that glass/crystal decanter behind you empty?

[@TheWirksworthGunroom]

Thirsty afternoon..

[@StygianEmperor]

why no crossguards or other significant hand protection?

[@josephdedrick9337]

other daggers of the 1500s had that.

[@nevisysbryd7450]

Convenience and necessity. The longer the guard, the more awkward it makes daily carry (mind, they did get longer with parrying daggers) . Probably increased the cost, too, due to additional material and work. And you are not going to rely on the quillons of daggers nearly as much as compared to a sword (you are going to catch offending blades a lot less with the shorter dagger blade than with longer sword blades) unless you are specifically using it in that way (parrying dagger, and even they had shorter quillion versions) in the first place, especially considering that you have to come in a lot closer with daggers and thus it is going to cover a much smaller field of potential attacks already.

[@Beardshire]

Why did some have square blades and some have strait blades?

[@raphlvlogs271]

were daggers used with large shields historically?

[@PalleRasmussen]

No, at this point, shields were being phased out as armour became better.

[@nevisysbryd7450]

Daggers are largely a final back-up weapon. Shields are predominantly primary weapons/tools as a set with swords, axes, maces, hammers, spears and so on. You might draw your dagger and use it with a shield if you lose your primary weapon, though. Arguable exception with things like the Scottish dirk, although those are in kind of a grey area between sword and dagger and you would still generally prefer a sword over the dirk unless you could not carry one around due to economics, laws or convenience.

[@Catobleppa]

Dagger and shield might have been used by nuragic people but the context is unclear.

[@DwarfElvishDiplomacy]

I checked multiple times if it is 1st of april during this video

[@daniel__clark]

Hand to gland combat?

[@NicAimo]

2:52 yeah, ballster, sounds appropriate

[@joejoelesh1197]

I have not been keeping up, but is that a baby I heard in the background?

[@equesdeventusoccasus]

The Geneva Convention, specifically bans tri-edge blades. I understand why, but what sword or most likely dagger was common enough that it makes an appearance in literally the rules of war?

[@Warpwaffel]

The answer is bayonets. Every regular Soldier got one. Of course not all bayonets were tri-edged, but they were pretty popular in some militaries.