Bronze to the Limit: Destructive Testing of a Ewart Park Sword

[@dashinvaine]

You should bury it in your garden, to confuse future archaeologists.

[@mikaeleriksson1720]

+dashinvaine I think future archaeologists will be well aware of the practice of making replicas in our age. Or they will just assume it's ceremonial. One of the two :p

[@Chaser10100]

You read JAM, didn't you?

[@alexwolski3344]

+Daniel Weiss The only reason future generations wouldn't understand what we did in the modern day is if the internet goes down. I'd rather kill myself then have the internet go down.

[@Ickdaogda]

+Alma Shade i need to

[@JollyRogersBoy666]

+Mikael Eriksson we could bury them all over the place, a few hundred a year over a decade or so would create a huge layer of swords in the earth

[@Nomaran]

I honestly think this is one of your best videos. You had an actual sword maker request you test that blade, what an honor! I also learned a bit of history about bronze weapons so it's win win win for all three parties. Thanks to both you Skallagrim and Neil!

[@Pellaeon159]

"I send my sword to mr. Skallagrim because he knows how swords are used..." Cut to Skall bashing trees with it... :D

[@24934637]

I don't really see the point of 'testing' a sword by using it for a purpose that it would NEVER have been used for in real life

[@holygreedo5699]

@@24934637 swords were weapons so they were expected to slice through flesh and cut into, through, or break bone. Bone is much stronger than people give it credit. If the sword cant do serious damage to wood without being destroyed than it was probably made wrong. And shields are made of wood.

[@prometheus9096]

@@24934637 I'm no expert but i think plenty of sword were actually used to chop wood too... Warfare isn't all about fighting men vs men. Fortifying, carving poles, cutting rope, sometimes even chop a bit firewood in the camp. I know they had specialized tools for that (like axes) but i don't think they had it all the time with them (its weight that u must carry after all). So i think Swords got abused as multi purpose tool more often than we think...

[@24934637]

@@holygreedo5699 Fair point about bone and the wood of shields.

[@24934637]

@@prometheus9096 I may be wrong but I suspect that any soldier, knowing full well that his weapon is his life, would look after it, and not use it for chopping firewood.

[@BakaIsFree]

He seem like such a kind old man.

[@user-zk9sc3kk5x]

***** The man who created the sword.

[@Sumaxi]

***** Just fixing weapons that previously have the intent to kill. Kindly old man.

[@Sumaxi]

***** I feel bad for people.

[@cloudparter]

***** lol Older *.

[@LordVader1094]

+stink stinky I thought it was the exact opposite with gun owners. I thought it was more along the lines of "guns don't kill people, people kill people".

[@pleasebepatientihavesevere1980]

Blacksmith seems like a bro, I'd drink a beer with him.

[@zanderelam4351]

Don't blame ya I would to

[@joaogomes9405]

+Lethargic Leper Quite literally the Bob Ross of swords.

[@Zanemob]

please be patient i have severe autism Funny, I have autism... It's not down syndrome...

[@jimslater8685]

All blacksmiths are bros

[@nathanielheidemann3112]

actually he would be a redsmith

[@slamblamboozled1245]

Hand made bronze sword- aprox £300 Mass produced folding knife- £100-£500 I think knife makers are taking liberties...

[@joachimsingh2929]

IMHO over 100$ you're dealing with high end super steels with titanium housing and a ballbearing opening/closing mechanism. And the tooling for a sword that's just poured in to a mold with cheap material. Quite a big bit of work but he should be able to complete a few swords in a day.

[@ss5gogetunks]

@@joachimsingh2929 there's more to these bronze swords than just casting, and casting is a more involved process than you make out. But still, the point about modern super high end knives is a good one.

[@sammy13ificationable]

@@joachimsingh2929 also who tf is paying $100 for folding knives. The only blade I have that's THAT expensive is a reproduction WWI M18 combat knife. $100 is fuckin bonkers for a folding knife

[@mcwiwi5915]

@@sammy13ificationable Folding knives over $100 are very common. Today's most common folding knives in the knife community probably are knives like the Spyderco Paramilitary 3, the Benchmade Bugout, and a couple others. It's mostly $90 to $200 for a folder with good steels. After $150 you get into titanium or carbon fiber handles, ballbearings, etc

[@sammy13ificationable]

@@mcwiwi5915 yeah I'm still not about it. I'll stick with my fixed blades. At least I can easily churn those out for dirt cheap with recycled spring steel

[@kasonr.3624]

My god, that blade is so beautiful... Bronze is the best-looking metal, hands down.

[@Skallagrim]

Choobers Mcdougalls If you think the rough version is beautiful then you're going to love this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r56aoYadicSFm8k

[@smokingunstudios6474]

Kason R. Bronzes pretty but I like your silver finish like is on steel

[@Leftyotism]

@@Skallagrim WHOAH 😲

[@tonymaurice4157]

@@Skallagrim I keep reading that there was a super bronze made with tin in ancient times that made the swords almost as strong as steel.

[@Tevatron044]

​@@tonymaurice4157probably not a tin bronze. Most likely was an alloy of meteoric iron and copper to make a nickel bronze. A nickel aluminum bronze used today for propellers is stronger than low carbon steel

[@ghosthazard8338]

The Bob Ross of swords.

[@ribbit6845]

GhostHazard "Now if we just apply a tad bit of a happy pommel here...Perfect."

[@sharpieprime3141]

Turin Turambar the fuck you talkin shit fo

[@BigPuddin]

@Turin Turambar That's some absurdly unwarranted hostility there, buddy. Comically so.

[@conn0rized292]

Are we talking about Neil or Skall?

[@metatronyt]

Fantastic video, thanks Skallagrim

[@chadthundercock4982]

Metatron!

[@agentspaniel4428]

Hello again

[@Dealvinisme]

Metatron!

[@mrmoth26]

Greetings Metatron.

[@theblancmange1265]

The cc for the camera guy is also fantastic. "S&S yup" sword chops: [applause]

[@Braeden123698745]

12:03 the only word readable in a Canadian newspaper: "Sorry"

[@Chroma710]

OMG xD

[@mormonboy25]

how did you catch that, there is also shovel and trunk. wonder what that article was about XD

[@moongirl786]

Lol, are u Canadian? If not, I can tell u that stereotype is 100% true, at least where I live in southern Ontario :P

[@etiennearsenault3733]

Braeden Hamson you can aldo read shovel

[@Tempusverum]

Wow, I had no idea bronze makes such beautiful swords! They look like glistening gold. Bronze is underrated as a weapon metal.

[@saltypork101]

+Robert Olin Just the concept of it is really nice. Because you can always melt it down and remake it from exactly the same material, the idea that you could use the same bronze to cut with through multiple generations, is kind of magical.

[@Tempusverum]

+saltypork101 It is indeed. Compared to steel, bronze can be re-cast over and over with relative ease, so I imagine many of them doubled as family heirlooms in addition to being functional weapons. And, they're singularly attractive. I think if they were sold at shopping centers, many people would be willing to buy them for wall-decoration.

[@kanecobe]

+Robert Olin if you look you can buy bronze mirrors hence the amazing reflection it had at the beginning.

[@Leafia_Barrett]

If I were to purchase a weapon that was purely for looks, I'd probably go with a bronze sword. Steel may be a superior material, but god, the mirror sheen that the bronze can have is gorgeous.

[@jayeisenhardt1337]

Buy a few mirrored bronze shields, make a death ray.

[@twobitmage]

Might be a good place to ask: is it true that one of the disadvantages of bronze is that it's harder to make a longer sword? I remember hearing that once in a history documentary but of course that doesn't mean much since there are so many crappy documentaries out there.

[@Skallagrim]

I'm not an expert on bronze but I think it would be very difficult to make a very long blade stiff enough.

[@11Sparky111]

***** Yeah I imagine if you got the point stuck even a little and it pried accidentially, unless it was very thick and thus impractically heavy, it would just bend real easy.

[@TeHPHoBoS999]

I'd imagine so. When you look at larger swords, they tend to do a lot of flexing, especially when you look at the even larger ones like the Zweihander.

[@Skallagrim]

PHoToS999 Exactly. And bronze is not springy.

[@twobitmage]

That makes sense. Sidenote: I had a physics teacher go on a tangent once on how myths about magical swords like excalibur probably came from the transition from bronze to iron and steel. Seeing that weapon chip out from parrying made me a believer in that theory. Imagine your trusty bronze sword getting severely chipped by this other guy's sword made from this mysterious silvery metal. I'd go around screaming witchcraft too. If I wasn't stabbed to death that is.

[@lancerd4934]

Great to see the part with Neil at the beginning. It's lovely to see a true craftsman talking about his passion. One nice thing about a bronze sword was that if it did get damaged to the point of destruction, it was relatively simple to melt it down and re-cast it compared to iron, which couldn't be melted up until the 13th century (and was never cast into swords, afaik). That said, i think I'll stick with steel swords for now - I reckon our ancestors made the right choice in making the switch :)

[@josephdedrick9337]

ehh, roman era swords disagree, and you never melt the iron down to make a sword at least normally, you soften it enough to work it then you work it with a hammer until it reaches desired shape, its stronger that way.

[@douglascoe323]

Bronze works really well. The only reason the weapon makers went to iron, then steel is because they needed an edge(sorry 'bout the pun) when it became common for soldiers to use bronze armor. Our ancestors knew about iron and could even sometimes work with it earlier than the iron age. Bronze was easier to work with and more useful, that is until they realized they could make harder weapons that could defeat bronze. If you were alive at the time, you probably would have seen a lot of pushback against the use of iron, citing the known advantages of bronze(just like you do today with any new technology). However, the final arbiter was likely the battlefield and bronze fell into disuse.

[@bohdanvondabelsky5972]

Man speaks softly but hammers heavily.

[@HolyKhaaaaan]

+Alfredo Diaz Speak softly and carry a hard hammer.

[@jackolyte325]

Thats what she said

[@miked6813]

+hasan gezer about me

[@thecatalog7188]

+Mike D L

[@Dreadepic]

Knowledge... is power.

[@Odood19]

I think the biggest lesson learned here is that the basic gladius shape is one of the best a swordsman could hope for. Bronze definitely has its merits, the most obvious being its resistance to magnetic paladins.

[@deepsouthredneck1]

The romans seemed to have great success with them, but they fell out of wide use to the spatha once the romans learned better metallurgy.

[@Odood19]

LogicBeforeFaIth You are right; the use of the spatha did mark an advancement in swordsmithing technology. I wonder what the Romans would have made had they mastered titanium smithing.

[@deepsouthredneck1]

Odood19 Titanium is not a very good blade steel, because it's not very flexible. Good ol carbon steel is the way to go even today.

[@clonemarine1]

Connorcj1 Even with a mace, you want a range of flexibility. If a substance is too hard, it could just shatter.

[@Odood19]

Maybe a carbon fiber shaft for a mace would increase its effectiveness.

[@mattmanbrownbro]

Damn, what an honor to be mentioned by name by a well-known and talented blade smith. I would be overjoyed if I were in your shoes.

[@stannisthemannis8694]

The biggest flaw of bronze swords is that you can't "unscrew the pommel to end them rightly"

[@ryanmulherin2682]

that made my day!

[@Cookie5345535524]

I don't get it

[@vicount3944]

you must be new , go watch that video to get your initiation !

[@tautvys92]

This joke is getting overused. And yet, it still gets me to this day. Every time. Good job, Sire.

[@powerofanime1]

I wouldn't call it overused until it stops getting to me, myself.

[@nopushbutton]

Those polished swords are so pretty. I don't think I could bear to use them!

[@Dreadepic]

They look class tbh!

[@Gabdube]

Well, if it's of any comfort to you, celtic swords likely weren't used for blocking or parrying. The blades probably wouldn't get much damage in battle, they weren't supposed to touch another blade. They were meant to be paired with a large centergrip shield, probably in an open ward stance, leading with the shield.

[@nopushbutton]

Gabdube Huh. Cool to know.

[@leighjordine4031]

@@Gabdube a blade of any kind is meant for a human being.

[@hannibalbarca7220]

You may need to when the Sea Peoples are coming

[@janegeary6013]

Even going up against a steel sword armed opponent, the blade would still work for parrying and chopping into the opponent. The damage seen in the vid is inconsequential, it can be fixed in a few hours between battles. I think I underestimated the material, and kind of want a set of bronze kitchen knives now...

[@Matthewjohnwilson]

With the amount of views this video got I really hope it helped Neil out. This was a really well done test putting the blade up against a bunch of different challenges. This is a great testament to the quality of his blades.

[@Traderjoe]

Amazing! I think that if a bronze age warrior had met up on the battle field against a Gladius wielding opponent, I think the fight would go a lot better than expected, even though the bronze sword would be badly damaged, I suspect he wild hold his own until it completely failed or, until the Gladius was embedded so deeply within the bronze that the bronze wielder might be able to wrest the embedded sword from the others hand. Neil work is amazing!

[@rich1051414]

Well, I personally was surprised how well it could actually perform, but obviously the alloy worked or they would not have went to the ends of the world to collect copper to make it. Iron obviously was better, but it appears to me that most of iron superiority comes in only when facing bronze weapons.

[@michaz4546]

william woods wow dude, why do u call non-roman civilizations barbaric? Some of them were far ahead of romans in areas like science, education, engineering, social equality etc etc They could not stand against the power of roman numbers and what you already mentioned - organizational.

[@clarkliberty1110]

Michał Sekretny That is a generic term in the same way we refer to the various Native American tribes as indian

[@queef3057]

In other words, the wrong term.

[@michaz4546]

***** Why dont you read and process my comment once again? Why do you ask me if you can get this kind of information from many web based sources. "polak, please", what does it mean? I recommend treating others with more respect, otherwise you can get disrespected in a less verbal way.

[@raindog951]

Damn! Those polished Bronze swords are beauftiful......

[@k0vert]

They really are. Absolutely beautiful.

[@runakovacs4759]

Like a mirror.

[@nystagmushorizontalis]

I have to say one thing Bronze swords, when polished are extremely beautiful Tho I'm a big fan of bronze colours som maybe that's why

[@PyreVulpimorph]

Excellent videos testing out both the khopesh and Ewart Park swords. People really don't give bronze enough credit. As you've demonstrated, even ancient historical alloys and manufacturing techniques hold up very nicely to abuse and the edge still retains it's sharpness. The Bronze Age didn't give way to the Iron Age because iron was superior, but because it was _cheaper_. Early wrought iron actually had inferior mechanical properties, but the ores for it are about everywhere, you just needed a hot enough furnace. Copper and especially tin are significantly rarer, and complex, interdependent trade networks were necessary to support the manufacture of bronze. When those trade networks became disrupted, the cost of bronze skyrocketed and iron found its economic foothold. The rest, as they say, is history. Modern bronzes have come a long ways, too, just as steel has. Phosphor bronze, which is really still tin bronze but fully deoxidized with phosphorus, has vastly superior properties to the ancient stuff due to it's purity, and it's actually used as _spring_ material! Also, historical wrought bronzes were limited to 10-12% tin because of the buildup of copper-tin intermetallic crystals that were in fact quite brittle. A cast bronze will have a lot of these brittle crystals, but they can be re-absorbed into the bulk alloy with proper heat treatments. So, a modern bronze could potentially have up to 15.5% tin in it and be significantly stronger for it, but the necessary heat treatments to achieve this concentration tend to be cost prohibitive. TL;DR, a modern bronze sword can have a hard spring temper and still be incredibly tough, at least as good as medium-carbon steel that's been quench hardened.

[@bipolatelly9806]

Pyre Vulpimorph Awesome comment! Now I know!

[@Lyzrinn]

Necro answer, but how do you "re absorb" those brittle crystals back into the alloy ? I'm probably going to be casting bronze for this purpose so I want it to be as strong as possible.

[@RedesCat]

so those swords are like the iphone 6, very popular but bend easily

[@RevolutionV12]

lol

[@HellGod67]

+RedesCat They are popular?

[@justAguyDs]

How dare you disgrace the bronze sword by even placing it within the same sentence as an IPhone 6.

[@Zen-rw2fz]

their are no videos about explaining how to torture the swords

[@eatdatshoplifter4459]

+Sahil Husain i hope your joking

[@hemmydall]

Bronze might be weaker, but you could still beat an opponent that is using a steel weapon with it. Just don't expect the bronze to last long past the fight.

[@linkxsc]

+Ryan Showalter why? it doesn't corrode like the steel does?

[@hemmydall]

+Linkxsc No, cause the bronze will take a lot of damage or break faster then steel. Each block or parry against steel would leave gashes into the weapon.

[@linkxsc]

Ryan Showalter You said past the fight. Assuming oyu with your bronze sword won the fight (probably not by parrying against a steel sword with it, but w/e), the bronze sword would be both easier to heat up and repair (or just recast), and last longer against corrosion. Whereas steel was much harder to reuse. Yes in constant fighting, it would get destroyed quite fast, but outside of fighting, will last much longer than a steel sword (unless we're talking modern corrosion resistant steels... but hey, they never managed that shit in antiquity too much)

[@hemmydall]

+Linkxsc Right, but you can only repair an edge so often before you need a new sword. Plus if the sword makes contact on any decent armor its going to take a lot of edge off from that as well. So yes, in a duel or something its likely fine, but beyond that would be asking for your weapon to get destroyed or become close to useless. Still, after the first kill you could always pick up the steel sword. =)

[@domgia9248]

+Linkxsc Assuming you won the fight, you could simply just pick up the steel sword. Tada!

[@LouisianaAstroRambler]

7:32, The people that actually get mad over you stabbing a damn tree must not understand nature too well. Hell, deer and wild hogs do more damage to trees than that. Deer rub their antlers on trees to remove the velvet from their rack, and hogs rub their entire bodies against trees when they start itching lol. Hell, a group of hogs will rub a tree to the point that the bark will fall off.. Anyway, I just thought that was funny haha..

[@Skallagrim]

Yep, good point.

[@LouisianaAstroRambler]

***** Its just sad how touchy and oversensitive people are these days. Its got to the point that Its almost pathetic lol.

[@osamabinliftin1981]

Skallagrim your not aloud to stab a tree but the government can remove the Amazon rainforest with less people giving a fuck

[@fetusdeletus9266]

TheLedgend27 you need to throw a tree farther than a catapult at the haters and the government

[@tuttran5405]

I find it funny that people have to clarify that the wood they're chopping/cutting is dead. All wood is dead cells. It's the soft innards that are still alive in living trees.

[@Exploder11]

Could you try your bronze against an iron sword? From what I recall, iron was considered inferior to bronze, and only took over due to cheapness, while those who could afford bronze continued to use it until steel came about.

[@Skallagrim]

I don't have an iron sword.

[@Exploder11]

Then you need to impress a black smith who will make an iron sword and give it to your for free! :)

[@JonesCrimson]

Major Diarriah I once offered thirty blades for a man's daughter, and now my son is of marrying age. Do you think he has any daughters to offer to my son?

[@MariusThePaladin]

Uh, it's not that. It was more like that the early metallurgy doesn't know how to made iron as hard as bronze, or even harder, but the Hittites was the one who discovered how to do it. It was still the same iron that was softer bronze, but they could make it almost as strong as steel. And after some times, their secret spread. The process were know by more and more. According to what I have read/watch a long time ago, atleast. Modern discovery might prove that wrong. Modern iron sword would totally be harder than the bronze sword.

[@olympian3]

@@MariusThePaladin exactly. Iron (and possibly steel even) would’ve been known to a few, supposedly even as far back as 3000-5000 bce. These ppl would’ve had a massive personal advantage against the very hierarchical (and probably corrupt) Mediterranean Bronze Age society. But widespread knowledge wouldn’t have spread for thousands of years.

[@broceratops1337]

i just saw a documentary on netflix and Neil Burridge was featured for his expertise on bronze swords. i jumped out and exclaimed to my friends i know that guy from the Skall's channel. needless to say everyone was impressed (not really but still thought it was cool).

[@AbyssmalAngel]

I know an Elven Sword when I see one.

[@emiliolepe9292]

AbyssmalAngel uh no

[@victorbruant389]

You need iron or steel. Leave the fancy Elven stuff to the Elves.

[@Jim-Mc]

The Tuatha de faded into the ground and were conceived by later inhabitants to be faeries. Similar to the Aesir. They likely used bronze if they existed, so, kind of.

[@scottalbrittain1523]

@@Jim-Mc its a skyrim reference

[@achijatheizzetbard]

Love the sacrificial offering to the gods of metal ending. Great vid Skall!

[@newhampshirebound8551]

It's even softer than I expected. Extremely interesting. You've intrigued me to revisit some history to understand the implications. I appreciate the channel and the great explanations of different swords with the history perspective. Great stuff man.

[@HansenSWE]

Who can deny the beauty of a high-polished bronze blade?

[@Observer29830]

It's very considerate of you to use dead trees for those tests. I assume it's because you either foresaw or were harassed by 'tree-huggers', so to speak, but it is a very good deed you did.

[@Skallagrim]

No harassment necessary, I do give an actual damn about the environment. :)

[@RyllenKriel]

***** Good man!

[@KnightlyNerd]

Oh god, Niel is so right; Most archaeologists don't have a goddamn clue what they hell they're doing with weapons and armour when it comes to using and testing them fairly.

[@lancerd4934]

***** Some were. Napoleonic and Victorian military swords in Britain were issued with blunt edges for safety and to make them last longer in peace time (since metal scabbards blunted sharp edges, necessitating resharpening every 2 or 3 days if marching around). They were only supposed to be sharpened prior to battle, but on some occasions men were rushed into combat with blunt swords. I have a historical account somewhere of British cavalry having to fight with blunt 1796 pattern heavy cavalry swords, and resorting to using them to bludgeon the enemy cavalrymen off their horses...

[@clonemarine1]

lancer D But those are really just exceptions. Typically, swords are sharp.

[@lancerd4934]

Daniel Allan I have heard that said, but I suspect it was an attempt to explain the presence of blunt swords in inventories. At least in the British army, cavalry never went into actual combat with deliberately blunted swords, and there were many, many complaints made that swords were too blunt to be effective because carrying them in steel scabbards destroyed the edge before the enemy was met. A good example of this is from an account by Capt John Blakiston of the Madras Engineers in 1829. He said of the native Indian cavalry: "This was the only time I ever saw heads fairly cut off. Such a thing could not be done by our cavalry swords in their usual state; for, however good the material may be, the constant drawing in and out of an iron scabbard soon blunts the edge; whereas those of the native horsemen are capable of inflicting a wound of ten times the depth." So yes, a blunt cavalry sword can make a decent bludgeon, but it will always be improved with a sharpened edge.

[@lancerd4934]

Daniel Allan Correct. The Indians during the period I mentioned would store their swords in rolls of oiled cloth to protect them from the humidity, and the Japanese had a different set of fittings to store their blades when they weren't in the war fittings that most people are familiar with. Scabbards are really just a way to carry a sword safely and conveniently, they aren't really meant to be the things the sword is kept in all the time. That relates more to long term storage though, and on campaign it would be normal to keep the sword in its scabbard so that it is protected from the elements and so you can grab it quickly and the parts don't get separated and lost. In addition, no edge damage is going to occur if the sword is just sitting in the scabbard overnight, it mostly occurs while drawing a sheathing as it is the movement of the edge against surfaces that wears it down. The only practical reason you might have for leaving it unsheathed at night would be if there was water in it and you were trying to dry it out.

[@lancerd4934]

***** Well metal scabbards are ever so smart and shiny :P Seriously though, they do have some important advantages. Metal doesn't rot, stretch, wrinkle or warp with changing temperature and humidity like wood and leather do. It is much harder to break and was probably cheaper to make once machinery able to stamp sheet metal came along, since you didn't have to worry about stuff like sizing the wood and leather, fitting them together, or stitching and gluing them, and attaching metal fittings - all done by hand.

[@simvlacrvm]

I've always missed a professional who understands swords both in reality and historically. thanks, man, i'll now watch all your videos!

[@BobofWOGGLE]

"Before anyone posts 'eco-terrorist' comments, that tree is dead" Yes it is. You know why it's dead? BECAUSE YOU STABBED IT!!!!!!!!11!

[@haloownu]

The opening with Mr. Burridge was honestly adorable. Also It must have been a nice compliment to Skalla

[@JohnPinkrton]

Something about this man just makes me want to hug him, is that just my drunkness talking?

[@JennyDarukat]

ZiePe Yeah he just sounds so.. friendly, wow @_@

[@rickc2102]

It all depends on how long you'd hold the hug...

[@charlesw5919]

Wow, THE Neil Burridge!!! This is awesome. The polished bronze swords are just absolutely stunning. They look as if they are made from gold.

[@tselby1885]

Hey Skallagrim. I was wondering, how did you hold the sword? Seeing as the handle is so small. Some archaeologists have suggested that holding it with a finger over the 'guard' would have been the most secure especially as it seems to have been more designed for cutting than stabbing and parrying so hand protection/stopping fingers sliding onto the blade was less of an issue

[@Skallagrim]

Tim Selby Holding it with the index finger over the guard works quite well.

[@mudflap1264]

***** How long is the typical Iron sword? I'm going to forge a sword soon and I'm leaning toward the 3 feet length... Just want to hear your opinion.

[@whynottalklikeapirat]

+Tim Selby the real explanation is that Britain was completely overrun by an army of angry bronze age dwarves, which is why the small handles. They won and mated with the big gals so after a few hundred years the need arose for the bigger handles as people slowly grew back to regular size.

[@jeremyhunter2319]

+Lord Minty three foot is massive. This is a while ago, though, did you get round to it?

[@bumblebee7838]

+Tim Selby Bullshit.  All bronze words I ever came across handled very well based on wide pommels. Celtic, Egyptian, Persian, Indian and Chinese bronze swords are very much alike in this. Also every "archaeologist" that actually works in archaeology is also aware of the hand sizes of the people in these graves. Imagine a 1.55 m guy with hands like a 10 year old child. And those were just the mighty celts. Save to assume that their Scythic or Dacian counterparts were even smaller.

[@L3one3]

Thank you for posting this! I've been playing with the idea of forging my own axes and woodcutting tools, but was concerned about its ability to hold an edge. Now I know it's worth the effort to experiment with.

[@notingles]

"That tree is dead" Well, and someone made sure it stayed that way.

[@ptolemythienphuc1202]

Thanks for your experience: In Ancient to Medieval Age, Bronze beated Iron, but Today, Perharps Bronze can still beat Steel if that type of Bronze is: - High Tin Bronze (88% copper + 12% tin), while previous original Bronze contain 90% + 10% tin - Aluminium Bronze (83% copper + 10-11,5% aluminium + other elements) Fact: Stainless Steel are more difficult to rust, but it's softer than regular steel because Stainless steel contain less carbon to be added more Nikel and Chromium, which make it rusty slower. Ultra-high Carbon Steel is the hardest steel, because it contains more carbon (approximately 2,1% carbon) to make it much harder, people use it to create knives, ballistic vest, vehicle frames, hammer head, axe blade, wrench, crowbar, screwdriver... Hope my shared info will be useful!

[@brokenblade5063]

i mean i know u are experienced but arent u suppose to use some arm protection when u were doing this testing? 10:40

[@Skallagrim]

Unnecessary for a controlled cut and parry like this.

[@sighahnyde2215]

Still requires a lot of trust between you guys. I wouldn't be caught within 100ft of my gf while shes swinging a sword lol

[@Zamolxes77]

Perhaps you have the wrong gf then ...

[@brokenblade5063]

Zamolxes77 hahahha if giving a wallet to a woman is like giving a machine gun to a monkey can u even start to imagine what it would mean to give a sword to your girlfriend? End of mankind?

[@brokenblade5063]

Zamolxes77 nah they would need a better sword "with a higher Hardness" in order to break my SWORD :3 a bronze one wont do it, Maybe an Adamantium sword would do the trick but i wouldnt bet on it XD

[@johndownham226]

Excellent vid!!! Entertaining and very educational (rare feat that) I work in bronze myself, and have long felt the need for such a graphic demonstration of its inherent strengths - our warrior ancestors trusted their lives on bronze swords for centuries. I understand that bronze swords were actually equal or slightly superior to the early iron swords. Iron initially surpassed bronze because it was more available and more easily made into swords. Of course when somebody chanced to infuse the right amount of carbon into that iron… well, that was all she wrote for bronze. I would really like to see an equivalent testing of bronze vs an IRON sword! (hint.. SK) Big respect to Skallagrim for the tests and vid! Ultimate appreciation and awe to Neil Burridge for your inspired art and dedicated craftsmanship. Thank you both, gentlemen!

[@olympian3]

the bronze wielders were the 1%, kings priests etc. everybody else had to use stone, wood etc. and it was them who were probably our actual ancestors. Lol

[@johndownham1076]

@@olympian3 - read a little more closely, my friend - "warrior" ancestors...

[@Magician12345]

it really feels like we saw some experimental archaeology here. its very plausible i think that a well seasoned fighter in the bronze age may have gotten into the habit of just changing his angle of attack as his weapon bends. instead of what we assumed before which is that a fighter would run away to re bend his blade and THEN go back to battle.

[@SetuwoKecik]

Or use a bronze spear instead.

[@sarowie]

big thanks to Nill - it shows a great thrust in his own workmanship when he takes the effort to send a blade to a destructive test. For me, this test showed one thing in particular: A well made bronze sword those the job.

[@NinurtahRS]

*Forest* Shit, Skall's coming!

[@DanielWallace]

This is one of your most interesting and generally best videos. Thank you very much and also thank you very much to Neil for providing the sword.

[@SchlrFtrRkMystc]

I recently got my own Ewart Park Bronze swords also made by Master Neil Burridge and did my own weapon test on a flesh target as well as a quick lesson on basic use. If anyone here liked this video I highly recommend my own. Understandings about Bronze Age Swords Part 1 Basic Use and Test vs Single Chicken

[@Ostsol]

Such a wonderful honour! A great demonstration of the capabilities of bronze weapons, too.

[@Archeopterix2680]

I have all new reverence for bronze.

[@alessiopellegrini4019]

as an archaeology student i have to thank you cos i never found a video about bronze age sword test.. i've always been curious about bronze properties and limits so thank you for sharing this video!

[@ALegitimateYoutuber]

This brings up an interesting idea and that is, was it worth using steel from certain tools and weapons that need to be made and supply people in large numbers. Thus would it have been more practical for an army to have steel swords and armor, or things that are meant to pierce armor. But for things like normal arrow heads that aren't meant for armor and common man weapons like spears. Would bronze have been a smarter choice, because it's cheaper which is good also repair, maintenance, and supply are easier to do. Or is steel just that much better for those things, that bronze wouldn't have been as practical? Also would bronze work during the steel age if used to make cheaper plate armor or provide some worth while protection if made into chain mail? Because if you don't want to die but can't afford steel or iron armor, why not bronze if it can help prevent death though not as well as iron or steel.

[@Eonet99]

I think it had a lot to do with people's mindset; they believed that steel was better than bronze in all cases. Usually weapons were supplied by lords and kings, so you didn't really have to worry about owning a one. During the medieval period they used warhammers against armored opponents. If hammer can crush steel armor, imagine what it would do against bronze.

[@sugarnads]

Bronze is more expensive than steel. It was much harder to find the raw materials. Then the mixing of the tin and copper... Iron is everywhere basically.

[@5peciesunkn0wn]

As sugarnads said. Bronze is *expensive* because, while copper is in a lot of places... tin isn't. Meanwhile iron is everywhere. So the cheap tool metal was...iron. normal iron with very, very, very little carbon in it (aka not steel) is similar in many ways to bronze. Just not as pretty or heavy lol

[@fuge74]

damn, great job skallagrim, i really appreciate what you did, this was interesting, thorough and odd. despite well knowing that bronze was a war material for several thousand years something in the back of my head kept saying, "it will bend, it will break." glad you could show us how sturdy they really were.

[@TabbyTora]

Mr. Burridge seems like such a nice man.

[@pommel47]

Great bronze stress test video. Birch is a hard wood, so I was very impressed. Mr. Burridge makes exquisitely beautiful finished products.

[@almostalways]

His voice puts me to sleep. ASMR and swords, odd but welcome mix lol

[@zacharyadams3772]

This video actually really drove home for me the arms race that happened between the bronze and iron ages. Bravo.

[@MrRohran]

Hey skall, i get that damaging your opponent's shield (enough to even bite in) would be a good thing as it would eventually get destroyed, but isn't it bad for you if your sword gets stuck in his/her shield? I mean you'd be totally open and he/she could just pull your sword back with the shield and disarm you right?

[@Skallagrim]

Of course it is, that's why you don't deliberately attack your opponent's shield. But it's going to happen anyway because they will do whatever they can to make sure you hit the shield rather than the body.

[@MrRohran]

***** So shields pretty much screw with you right?

[@matthiasofgondor]

TheTrueRohran I do viking age reenactment specifically, so we are absolutely shield fighters 80% of the time. Its about manipulating the shield to your advantage. just like receiving blows upon a longsword closer or further to point of control, along flat edge, hanging blocks, etc, the shield is a tool that the user must become skilled with. Glancing a shot off a rounded surface of a shield ( in the case of large greek shields; or norman heater shields, will neglect an edged weapon an oppurtunity to bite into the shield. Intercepting a blow before full generation with a flat face of a plank constructed shield such as viking round shields or even later dueling bucklers, robs the shot of power and allows you to further manipulate the strike. I know this is a long comment but bear with me, since we do blunt combat demos with the Vikings! Vinland, I try to remind people about sharps VS shields fairly extensively especially with spears. I would gladly accept ( and as the shield user will be actively trying to make it happen) a thrust onto the flat face of my shield unless my shield is (damaged) increased chance of penetration, (my opponent is of massive build and wielding a VERY stout long spear with two hands, (risk of penetration of shield)). Why? if I can force that spear into my shield and make it stick fast, which, it will, shields are often made of lighter softer woods for that reason, i can then manipulate my opponents weapon to end the combat. phew. I need to start making videos myself! quite a mouthful. hope the information was useful however!

[@MrRohran]

Thank you! Don't worry about the long comment, it was full of good info and i enjoyed reading it; you should certainly do videos!

[@pyr666]

nope. if your sword is in their shield, you have better leverage than they do.

[@evilparadigm]

You have a very good knowledge base in all aspects of the weapons you show and use. It really is a delight to watch your videos, even from someone who has a lot of prior knowledge. By the way your blocks and mobile guards looked really good and your safety measures didn't leave me wincing like some other videos. Two thumbs up!

[@Blackinght11]

Neil sent a note with that blade: "Wreck my shit up"

[@StutleyConstable]

I work with steel but I am no bladesmith. However, what I know of bronze indicates even a severely bent blade could be restored easily to its original condition. Unlike steel blades you could work a bronze blade with a campfire, a hammer and a small anvil. By heating the bronze you would soften the metal, radically reducing the effects of work hardening. Once you straightened the blade you could return it to the fire and soften it again. After it cooled all you would need to do it hammer the edge to restore the hardness. I'm probably oversimplifying the process and I doubt just anyone could get it right, but I'm fairly sure it would be possible and worth doing. Very good demonstration, Skall. I really like this kind of video and I look forward to more.

[@armageddonknives]

as a knifemaker i am shocked how well that sword held up

[@Kharazidusk]

Just came across this video. This old fella seems so nice and kind. Brought a smile to my face. :)

[@kaunas888]

Seems to me that the Bronze sword is perfectly capable of doing what it needs to do...until it meets a steel sword, which is why iron and then steel replaced bronze.

[@seigeengine]

kaunas888 I don't even see it being a problem against someone wielding a steel sword. Steel is simply tougher stuff that would stand up better over battles overall, but in a battle between someone using bronze and someone using steel weaponry, the decisive factor almost certainly wouldn't be the material of their weapon.

[@IanDresarie]

seigeengine at least if the fight doesn't last a hour, but I guess a 'normal' fight would be decided way before the bronze sword would cause any troubles. ^^

[@seigeengine]

IanDresarie A normal fight would be decided in seconds, or at most, a few minutes.

[@IanDresarie]

seigeengine being a swordsman myself, i know :D

[@Nick13ro]

+Owneador1337 Actually I think Daniel has the patent on the whole gold-silver-bronze-iron progression idea.

[@UnintentionalSubmarine]

Wow... just watched this, and I must say this impressed me on several levels. Ian seeing the value of the test and seeking it out. I know of many (not necessarily swordsmiths) who would probably shy away from hard testing of their fine crafted things. Mr S.Grim for holding no punches. Especially on the parry test. But most importantly the sword itself. Damn that thing was good. Much better than I have been led to believe bronze would be as a sword material. I have never truly believed bronze is soft (even copper is reasonably hard in human hands), but this was still better, and I can see why it wasn't so easily replaced with iron. The common idea is that iron was hard to work, and thus more expensive, but this test suggests that iron was perhaps not even an upgrade initially (when ironworking was still young), not was only a fair upgrade for a good while. A real eye-opener. I thank you for this.

[@MBKill3rCat]

This is probably a rather stupid question, but I'd very much like an answer - if wood holds up that well to a metal blade, why did people not wear wooden armour? If they used wooden shields, why not?

[@MBKill3rCat]

***** An axe would perhaps smash a wooden shield to splinters, but could it not also get lodged into the shield, making it difficult to retrieve? As for war hammers and maces, I think it unlikely that leather or even mail (to some extent) would protect you much more.

[@Skallagrim]

Wooden armor would be hard to maintain because there would be a lot of damage accumulating and you can't hammer out a dent or replace broken rings as you can with metal armor.

[@MBKill3rCat]

***** That's a valid point, and thanks for the quick reply, but would it be too labour intensive to simply replace the armour? It certainly isn't resource intensive. Arguably, the amount of effort required to mine the raw metal ore, refine it into usable metal and then produce the actual armour would be greater than that required to produce wooden armour, wouldn't it?

[@MBKill3rCat]

***** I imagine an inch or three would probably be enough to protect against most blows, albeit not stop them completely.

[@nokah6511]

People probably used wooden armor, but how are one supposed to know whether that piece of wood that you found in a marsh somewhere, was used for armor or if it was used as building material? Wood also deteriorates over time making it even more difficult to determine.

[@billmelater6470]

Would heating and quenching like you would cast brass, soften the bronze in such a way to let you repair the bend better and re work harden it to a more "like new" condition? I've never worked with bronze.

[@pahkthecahinhahvahdyahd5577]

Mr.Skallagrim has a nice ring to it

[@TemenosL]

Wow, he seems like such a nice man, and makes great swords it seems. Suddenly I want one. Thanks for the share, Skal.

[@Rynax-]

Hey Skall I have a question: You know in The Lord of the Rings, when the Elves reforge the shards of Narsil into Anduril? I understand it's all fantasy, but realistically speaking, is that possible? To reforge a shattered blade - I'm guessing it wouldn't be very structurally sound...? Your input would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

[@lillydalton7445]

Maybe i just never saw it right but i was always under the impression they melted the broken blade down and used that to forge a new blade out of the old.

[@guidofawkes3054]

the elves are the best craftsmen of blades in middle earth...the dwarves of jewelry and gems...ahem anyway realistically no it would most likely (from my laymen's point of view) be weakened but if the reforged the whole thing and retempered yeah it would probably be fine but if they just heated it up with a zippo and hit that shit back together with a roofing hammer then no it wouldn't hold up.

[@telemnarnumenorean8557]

I'm pretty sure that Tolkien took the idea of reforgeing the blade from edda (Sigurd's sword, gift from Odin reforget by Regin ). Also, Narsil wasn't normal sword and was broken only into two pieces, not ten like in movie :)) Of course, without elvish knowlege of magic and with normal sword.... trying something like this wouldn't be a good idea.

[@chiquilio]

gotta love the voice of Neil

[@assassintwinat8]

Dude, that damaged edge is scary. That's gonna tear like serrations. Ouch

[@ryanblack3686]

There is nothing more sweet than the sting of serrated bronze.

[@Sterl500]

I cringed at the thought of one of those beautiful polished blades being stress tested like that. I'm glad he sent you an unpolished one. Neil, if you read this, I'd like to say how much I admire your work, just by seeing the two polished blades in this video. In fact, I'll just run on over to the linked video and express just that. Another great and informative video Skallagrim. Can't wait for the next.

[@johanpettersson8039]

what did you soak the newspaper in?

[@Skallagrim]

+Johan Pettersson Water.

[@johanpettersson8039]

+Skallagrim if you want you can soak it in candle wax, but it will probably be a lot harder to cut

[@janegeary6013]

+Johan Pettersson I think he's trying to make an arm analogue. Dowel being bone, soaked newspaper being flesh. Waxed newspaper might not be representative of flesh.

[@johanpettersson8039]

Ok

[@wyatiscool]

+Pumpkin Dude yes

[@PrdBlackWatch]

You're really taking off, Skall! I cannot keep telling you how much I adore your content.

[@at9670]

That's quite interesting... But the most interesting stuff i saw about weaponry is the Silly Putty Shotgun Rounds, that's just terrifiyng.

[@Gulliolm]

Taofledermaus? That was really fascinating

[@at9670]

Gulliolm Yup, that guy has some interesting stuff on his channel. ***** Are 17 euros for a steel Butterfly knife a good deal?

[@TheRomanRuler]

at9670 It is not bad deal, so depends on what you consider as "worth it". But i would always, always buy regular single piece knife, preferably M/07 "Sissipuukko" or "Querilla knife". Very simple, can be used both as tool and killing weapon- or in fact, it is just nice to have it, i don`t plan to kill anyone (perhaps....)and i already have Puukko to be used as tool.

[@at9670]

TheRomanRuler No, thanks, i'm not planning to kill anybody, just want to learn some tricks with the Butterfly knife.

[@TheRomanRuler]

at9670 Of course i am not planning to kill anyone either like i said, just like to have it, like you like to have your Butterfly.

[@rafaeluzcategui8378]

Very pleased with this and with Mr. Neil's interest on sword testing. Love the old school leaves that job to the young spirited ones who are reviving western martial arts and not just the archaeologists who made a discovery.

[@theconqueror1111]

It seems like a Chopping version of the Stabbing/Thrusting gladius.

[@WEWILLNVRREST]

I hate to bring another subject here but that first part with Mr. Burridge total ASMR. Also great video Skalla!

[@VelikiHejter]

Oh no! My OCD is kicking in! I feel uncontrollable urge to repair that blade! My eye is twitching!!! Please take a small hammer and repair it.

[@ivyssauro123]

Bronze swords are badass This is one of my favorite of your videos, i always come back and re-watch it!

[@ysmjurfnjord8090]

More primitive, stone tomahawk! Fire hardened wooden spear!

[@MrKaable]

I agree! Awesome request! :D

[@Mongelli88]

Fire-hardened wood would be awesome!

[@nofearofwater]

Better yet, flint hand knife! get on it skall!

[@DtrainTheGreat]

Large rock!

[@powerofanime1]

Wow, that's a hell of a compliment Mr. Burridge gave you!

[@HonorabilisMagister]

ofcourse that tree is dead, you stabbed him multiple times!!!!

[@warewolf435]

Quite viciously, and in an unprovoked manner, one might add.

[@Plankensen]

How do you know the tree did not insult Skallagrim's forefathers? Maybe it's a katana-cultist tree hell-bent on the removal of straight swords and pommels.

[@Arcanai21]

Awsome test i am really suprised how well the bronze sword held up compared to its modern rivals. Really liked the historical intro.

[@OmarSlloum]

Skallagrim teaches our children how to kill trees!

[@MrUndercat5]

This video really changed my opinion of bronze as an ancient weapon material. I had always assumed bronze to be to soft and flimsy to make an effective sword. But your tests clearly demonstrate the terror of the bronze age.

[@verward]

"mister skallagrim" lol

[@pamtnman1515]

This is useful and interesting, thank you. I have always wondered just how tough bronze weaponry was. Lot harder and better edge holding than I ever thought.

[@TheOllecool]

Neil seems so nice haha if he sees this cheers mate :D

[@ericmotta1]

+MajesticRage your "cheers mate" fits with your profile pic lol

[@TheOllecool]

ericmotta1 Hahaha yeah :D

[@JMorrall89]

This really put the attributes of bronze into perspective for me! Didn't realize that the difference in hardness (compared to steel) was so great. Thanks Skallagrim.

[@Lanmanfly]

gods of metal. Fuck yea, double meanings!

[@Metal00m]

The Ewart Park sword is generally understood to be used for a cut and slash motion. The 'leaf shaped' end is so slashing while pulling back is more effective. With bronze weapons, you really wouldn't use it to clash with other swords, you'd ruin the blade very quickly. Hide and wooden shields are decently affected by it though. - Hope this information is interesting for anyone, had a lecturer who was an experimental archaeologist who specialised in bronze; and a good one at that!

[@CaptainDijango]

That guy in the intro sounds like he Is really sad :/

[@CaptainDijango]

Not Sure I don't know if I can agree with you about this man voice... For me he sounds like he just cried or about to cry.... I don't know, maybe just my imagination

[@damianskrok1731]

Come to think about it, he really does sound like he's about to cry, but he's just calm and speaks very softly, almost as if he had a sore throat

[@conker690]

He really wants Skallagrim senpai to test his sword

[@CaptainDijango]

***** i live in Europe too .... yet in my country if someone looks at you the wrong way you will be crippled

[@rekkaus]

Really? I do live in europe and work in military. No one have crippled me or I have not crippled police or so during my freetime so you might have not totally understand concept? Or did you mean that if police stop you for speeding and look you wrong way you beat them untill they are crippled? Or at bar when time is up and they start to ask you walk out you have time to time made some of the workers crippled for rest of they life??? I have a feeling we live totally differend part of europe.

[@warpdriveby]

The varying chemistry and methods of working bronze produce an enormous array of properties. It absolutely heals my heart to see another smith who knows you can't just cast a bronze sword, you have to forge them/work harden them to create a blade that's quite similar in concept to differentially tempered Tachi/Katana. Si Bronze, can be hardened into high carbon range, by forging hot until its 80% done, and then working the edges out cold. It is FAR more painstaking, time consuming, and mistake fraught than forging steel.

[@Tomken8d2]

Humans a very good at devising devices to kill each other. That said, it broke my heart to see that beautiful weapon abused. At least it wasn't polished...

[@poiuytrewq11422]

Wait wait wait, I've heard of pacifists and tree huggers, but never in my life have I heard of a sword hugger...interesting...

[@Tomken8d2]

poiuytrewq11422 A well crafted sword is a work of art best kept in its scabbard and drawn just to polish and admire.

[@poiuytrewq11422]

Tomken8d2 Then whats the point? Swords are made to kill and fight, not to show off.

[@Tomken8d2]

poiuytrewq11422 It takes skill, time and craftsmanship to make one by hand. It's a work of art. Maybe one day we'll stop killing each other and it will become an important reminder of the savages we used to be before we grew up.

[@poiuytrewq11422]

Tomken8d2 We will never stop killing, it's not human.

[@donjuantuno7447]

Abusing a tree = Ecoterrorist Abusing a dead tree = Necroterrorist