Does Modern Anti-Knife Stab Armor ACTUALLY WORK? I TESTED IT

[@scholagladiatoria]

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[@machevellian79]

Good analysis.

[@c-w-h]

I would enjoy backing a project. But I end up never getting the item. Regardless of which I support.

[@c-w-h]

In America. Knifey issues are not really a thing here.😁

[@MarkusMöttus-x7j]

Great idea, too freaking bad it's not available for shipping to Sweden.. Not that I really need this, but I would really like to have one just in case should I ever need one! But I'm of the mind that I much, much rather have something I don't need when I don't need it than need it and NOT have it..

[@machevellian79]

@@c-w-h I'm Canadian they are an issue here. What color bulletproof school bag is selling best in the elementary schools this year down there?

[@Zbigniew_Nowak]

I appreciate that you also show weaknesses and doubts, and not just pure advertising.

[@Trav_Can]

Cool armour. I'm glad you brought up mixing materials like chainmail and Kevlar. But you didn't mention the sleeves. I think something over the forearms would be a great benefit against defensive wounds. Something to protect those veins on the arms. And obviously when we talk about chainmail it doesn't have to be the large heavy duty historical stuff. I was thinking more like a fisherman's glove, or the aprons butchers wear in meat packing plants.

[@O.LEO.N]

Well the current BEST form of knife resistant, if not proof, is an anti shark suit from Neptunic for example. The one from neptunic for example, is made up of what I believe is 4 or 6 mm in diameter, welded, 304 stainless steel rings. And the best part is, it covers THE ENTIRE body. EXCEPT for the face. Which you can quickly fix by pulling up a polyethylene, polycarbonate, or any other hard plastic mask. But other than that, EVERY SINGLE part of the body is covered. EVERYTHING! Now, of course, the only obvious con, is that you can get such a fantastic suit, for $7500!!!

[@brittakriep2938]

German accademic fencers currently use mail over kevlar.

[@DJRockford83]

A newspaper or magazine is a good improvised defence for your forearms as you'll usually be defending against slashes if you're using your forearms to defend

[@Trav_Can]

@@DJRockford83 I'm talking about wearing this nice prefab jacket. Not duct taping magazines on my arms. I could also tape a dictionary to my chest, and it could stop a handgun round. As an American, when it comes to buying armor, it's going to be a Kevlar vest. But if I lived in Britian, I would want this product.

[@The_Judge300]

If you want that, you can already buy that product made with Kevlar fabric, but it costs a LOT. This product is meant to be a much cheaper alternative and first of all meant to protect you against life threatening stab wounds, and some defensive cuts against your arms and hands are almost never life threatening. Adding cutting protection to the sleeves will increase the price of the product by rather much. At least if you want your sleeves to be rather light, flexible and comfortable. But this is the problem with this product as it is already. It is to bulky, not flexible enough and not covering enough of your upper body against stabbing attacks. They should make it with the thin plates only as the protects enough against almost all kinds of stab attacks. They also should make the thin plates cover the VERY open areas Matt talked about in this video. By doing this would they make a product that is less bulky, lighter and more protective for a decent price. I also think it is pointless to make it like a raincoat or similar product. It would be much better if they just made it as a vest that people can wear under whatever they want and then customers would not need to pay extra for that raincoat or whatever that they really don't want to wear anyway.

[@valandil7454]

I have never heard you go through your resume before Matt, it's refreshing to see someone take something like this as seriously as they should thank you 🍻

[@justinh.7846]

I think you did a good job on analyzing the vest and although the knife did penetrate slightly in some tests, you could say that it is good enough if we want to define the goal of the vest is to prevent 2-3 inch or deeper penetration into vital organs and ultimately prevent lethal damage. Side protection is something that I absolutely agree as I see in knife sparring that if two people into grappling range, they will often try to stab each other on the sides. As for head and neck protection, I wonder if it's possible to work around that flaw by plating the sleeves so you can use your forearm essentially as a shield to parry any overhead knife attacks without risking your arms getting cut.

[@Riceball01]

Both sleeves and collar could easily be armored using an aramid fabric like Kevlar. Aramids are very cut resistant but do poorly against stabs, but you're not likely to be stabbed in the arms. The neck, on the other hand, I can see the potential of being either stabbed or cut there so maybe actual plates in the collar might be good. The only down side of that would be that plates would make the collar look too thick and unnatural.

[@O.LEO.N]

Actually, the current BEST form of knife resistant, if not proof, is an anti shark suit from Neptunic for example. The one from neptunic for example, is made up of what I believe is 4 or 6 mm in diameter, welded, 304 stainless steel rings. And the best part is, it covers THE ENTIRE body. EXCEPT for the face. Which you can quickly fix by pulling up a polyethylene, polycarbonate, or any other hard plastic mask. But other than that, EVERY SINGLE part of the body is covered. EVERYTHING! Now, of course, the only obvious con, is that you can get such a fantastic suit, for $7500!!!

[@tobyrobson2939]

@@O.LEO.N third time you've posted this. Give it a rest.

[@The_Judge300]

@@tobyrobson2939 I 100% agree with you. It is starting to sound like a commercial from him/her at this point... And he/she has written (copy-pasted) the same comment 4 times at least by now as well...

[@The_Judge300]

@@O.LEO.N Are you paid money to copy-past the same comment all over in the comment section?

[@silverjohn6037]

One point would be to consider adding some sort of protection for the forearms as holding your arms out is a natural reaction if attacked and having something a bit better than wrapping your jacket (or historically your cloak) around the arm might be helpful to prevent defensive wounds of that sort.

[@O.LEO.N]

Actually, the current BEST form of knife resistant, if not proof, is an anti shark suit from Neptunic for example. The one from neptunic for example, is made up of what I believe is 4 or 6 mm in diameter, welded, 304 stainless steel rings. And the best part is, it covers THE ENTIRE body. EXCEPT for the face. Which you can quickly fix by pulling up a polyethylene, polycarbonate, or any other hard plastic mask. But other than that, EVERY SINGLE part of the body is covered. EVERYTHING! Now, of course, the only obvious con, is that you can get such a fantastic suit, for $7500!!!

[@The_Judge300]

@@O.LEO.N And it is not exactly light to wear above the surface...

[@The_Judge300]

In general will your forearms for the most part get cuts and not stabs, and there are multiple ways to protect against that, that is both rather light and at the same time very effective. And wrapping your jacket around your forearm in multiple layers, can in reality be very effective, all depending on fabric and thickness of course. It is rather easy to make a jacket that is VERY cut proof and still light and rather soft, but it might cost more than most people will be willing to pay for it as you would most likely make it out of Kevlar. You can use Kevlar to make a good and even a very good anti-stab jacket, but that takes rather much Kevlar, making it cost MUCH more than most would be willing to pay for it. Mostly a product that people would not buy for themselves and more a product that maybe a government would buy to their police officers and so on. The product Matt tested here is meant to be a MUCH cheaper stab-free option and even if I agree with them that protection against cuts to the forearms are not that important, are there obvious problems with this product that they need to fix. To bulky and not protecting enough of the upper body.

[@Ithirahad]

HISTORICALLY my cloak? I beg to differ!

[@GVlog88]

A common error is to put your arms out forward like a boxer where they can be slashed to ribbons. You are better keeping your arms in close and throwing strikes from there

[@stevephillips8719]

We issue 'Cut5'gloves tomost of our workers who will encounter sharp edges or knives during their work day. A cut 5 glove is made of soft cloth that is nigh on impossible to cut under normal circumstances. Buy a pair and try it with a new Stanley blade. It feels like the blade is completely blunt. They are NOT stab proof however as the narrow point of the knife can force the fibers apart and slip through. However in a slashing attack they would totally protect your arms. If the rest of the jacket was lined with this material it would add a significant level of protection.

[@tamlandipper29]

And presumably insulation?

[@polymathart]

Petition for Matt Easton to be in the next Kingsmen / John Wick / Jason Bourne / any new action movie.

[@stevenpatton2180]

YESSS!

[@titanscerw]

I second that motion!

[@CubaLibre200X]

Gotta play the Q character, giving main man the stats on his gear

[@squidlybytes]

John Wick has gotta have Ian McCollum, tbf.

[@craigbutcher860]

Matt as Merlin in the Kingsman movies would be perfect!

[@matthewmccalister5594]

I KNEW the foam was going to make a huge difference but wow seeing it tested is still so dang impressive!! I appreciate seeing the testing done with an off-the-shelf kitchen knife, as that is the most likely scenario in real-world UK at least.

[@steffenjespersen247]

Really good sponsored content. Spot on with the good points and where the design is lacking. Sides and neck area really important, many serious stabs in that area.

[@polymathart]

“Fashion” armor that also works would be cool. Similar to how the Household Cavalry have cuirasses that are just for show, but could in theory work. Imagine a 3 piece suit, with a cuirass, or a ballgown with pauldrons. I also think modern gambespns would be cool.

[@silverbladeTE]

The stabs resistant vests with *steel plates* that go around the SIDE of the body, are a bit bulky but best I found at actually being able to stop harm

[@O.LEO.N]

Actually, the current BEST form of knife resistant, if not proof, is an anti shark suit from Neptunic for example. The one from neptunic for example, is made up of what I believe is 4 or 6 mm in diameter, welded, 304 stainless steel rings. And the best part is, it covers THE ENTIRE body. EXCEPT for the face. Which you can quickly fix by pulling up a polyethylene, polycarbonate, or any other hard plastic mask. But other than that, EVERY SINGLE part of the body is covered. EVERYTHING! Now, of course, the only obvious con, is that you can get such a fantastic suit, for $7500!!!

[@silverbladeTE]

@@O.LEO.N yeah that's a bit much for everyday or covert wear ;) The vests you can buy here in UK that actually ARE metal and cover sides and shoulders are about £85 and 1.5mm steel plate, bit bulky and need a larger jacket to hide i wouldn't trust many of the Kevlar vests as they are partial and not backed by any form of plate etc and also have to watch for spurious sellers just selling a "vest" with no plates at all! :(

[@O.LEO.N]

@@silverbladeTE It's not cumbersome at all nude... when the rings are all that small, then it becomes like a frabric. Cloth. You can move like nothing is there. You can literally just wear it, put something over the shark suit, and then BOOM! Oh, and I also believe that a LOT of people would rather be 100% protected from a stabbing by adding a bit more very thin clothing on top of the shark suit in order to not stand out.

[@adwarfsittingonagiantsshoulder]

The UK Police bullet proof vests that are also rated against knifes and spikes / sringes usually have an internal construction made of layers of laminated kevlar (it restricts movement a LOT compared to non laminated kevlar). And the bullet proof vests that are rated against knifes but not against spikes / sringes, have a layer of MAIL over the kevlar. People don't usually know this, because the mail is extremely light (made of small rings of rust free steel) and is cavered by a layer of foam. On the second hand market in the UK, a vest rated KN1 or KN2 is extrremely cheap, and the MAIL inside is incredebly tough !!!

[@AjayBlanco]

Quick word of warning, one reason second-hand Kevlar/aramid vests are cheap is that the material loses its structural integrity over time. This also has an impact on the effectiveness of the mail. And of course mail might trigger metal detectors designed to detect weapons. I'm also not convinced by the product in the video. There are high-quality vests on the market that protect against knives (they are not bulletproof). Some of these vest have the option of inserting a plate, which makes them more versatile.

[@O.LEO.N]

Actually, the current BEST form of knife resistant, if not proof, is an anti shark suit from Neptunic for example. The one from neptunic for example, is made up of what I believe is 4 or 6 mm in diameter, welded, 304 stainless steel rings. And the best part is, it covers THE ENTIRE body. EXCEPT for the face. Which you can quickly fix by pulling up a polyethylene, polycarbonate, or any other hard plastic mask. But other than that, EVERY SINGLE part of the body is covered. EVERYTHING! Now, of course, the only obvious con, is that you can get such a fantastic suit, for $7500!!!

[@adwarfsittingonagiantsshoulder]

@@AjayBlanco Yes aramid gets worn out over time. If second hand UK police armours are so cheap, is because they sell the ones passed the expiry date... most of them are made out of material that is potentially good for still quite some years if the aramids where not dirrectly exposed to UV light (the ones made in Ireland are made out of various kevlar variants from Dupont, not sure about the few german made ones). I think that companies who sell armours have a tendency to give 5 years expiry dates to sell more stuff. It's funny to see how old vietnam flack jacket (not really designed to be bullet proof) made out of an old version of kevlar are still remarcably protective, and on the other hand, some other stuff (I don't remember if it is spectra or twaron or something else) is really rubish after barely 5 years. Also my aramid fiber bowstrings (fastflight II, so also the same family of aramids), when left out in the sunlight, don't even survive one year. But when well waxed and kept in darkness, they are still decent more than 10 years after. For the mail part, I would still trust it in a hundred years to come, as it is very good quality steel. Also, it is impressive how good the mail is compared to reproduction medieval mail made in India... it is incredebly LIGHTER, more pliable, less noizy to move in, does not rust, and is overrall more resistant. Also : me too, I'm not convinced by the product in the video (it was not clear from my previous comment). 🙂

[@adwarfsittingonagiantsshoulder]

@@O.LEO.N 😂 it would be quite a fashion statement to strall down the street entirely covered up in an anti shark suit !

[@KageNoTora74]

*Syringes* has a "y."

[@andrewosborne8993]

I think Bristol Meggit used to make a vest with a layer of modern maille as a stab layer. My old US prison spike vest was just 20-30 layers of Aramid (Kevlar), you could update it with polycarbonate load spreader plates for riots. My UK issue KR3/HG2 MAST (riot) vest was very inflexible. Almost like a cuirass.

[@johnjapuntich3306]

Curious to see what a rondel dagger would do...

[@MartinSchreiber-mc5mr]

and a halfsworded Estock

[@andrewosborne8993]

Rondel will go through, pretty sure it would be difficult to for even a US spike rated vest or UK KR3/KR42 to stop one. I’m not saying a Brigandine is better than modern against sharps but having worn both of or extends periods my ASH Corrinzina was way more practical and had better coverage. But that is 2-3 times the price of a modern stab vest.

[@The_Judge300]

Could be fun to watch, but I VERY much doubt some thugs walk around with rondel daggers ready to attack you with.

[@Matt_The_Hugenot]

Ditto

[@ZeroXSEED]

@@andrewosborne8993 It is hard for any stab vest to pass ice pick test and rondel dagger is basically a slightly wider, more ergonomic version of an ice pick. Common knives stand no chance, and that's the advertised target.

[@kaoskronostyche9939]

Knives will not penetrate as well as they have in your test against flesh. The flesh will absorb a lot of the energy. For the price this seems pretty good but more expensive (and more clunky) vests have more coverage. Almost all the Security Guards in my town wear stab proof vests with plastic plates. I wonder if maille could be manufactured with some new wonder material - mylar or carbon fibre or something - and be incorporated into a parka to give more coverage, less weight and more physical flexibility and mobility. I have been looking around for stab proof/resistant garments for a while. A maille shirt would be the best but pretty heavy if made in steel. Any material scientists here? Possible materials? Thanks Matt. Very good demo and something I have been interested in. Great that you had this opportunity to show us. Maybe some testing of other products? Cheers!

[@bazzzker]

Titan alloys

[@kaoskronostyche9939]

@@bazzzker What are titan alloys?

[@c-w-h]

They declassified a few years ago. Designing clothing that is extremely stab resistant. It was part of the design for camo cloaking.

[@kaoskronostyche9939]

I looked up Titan Alloys and they just seem to be a supplier of steel stock for manufacturers. If you meant Titanium Alloys, I'm pretty sure they would be too pricey to be a consumer item.

[@fizzmoe9846]

If by maille, you’re talking about chainmail, your material science is lacking. Chainmail is exactly countered by stabbing/thrusting. Chainmail protects against slashing. It’s better than nothing against stabbing, but not what you’re looking for

[@thomasp.4649]

Interesting project ! Yes in Germany some special forces use chain mail .( see Sek Kettenhemd) In east Asia the police use U shaped poles or shields against knife attacks. I also think a combination, carbon plates with chain mail is good.

[@machevellian79]

Saw your end analysis, well said. Got stabbed quite a few times, guy went for my back and love handle when I was dealing with someone else one of the times.

[@charlottesimonin2551]

There are several tile patterns that would allow for more flexible arrangements of coverage. Personally I think a double layer of thin plates in a more clever design attached to Kevlar fabric would be best.

[@craigevans2961]

Pretty much what I was thinking in my own comment

[@jwnomad]

What kind of hexagon would you suggest?

[@O.LEO.N]

Actually, the current BEST form of knife resistant, if not proof, is an anti shark suit from Neptunic for example. The one from neptunic for example, is made up of what I believe is 4 or 6 mm in diameter, welded, 304 stainless steel rings. And the best part is, it covers THE ENTIRE body. EXCEPT for the face. Which you can quickly fix by pulling up a polyethylene, polycarbonate, or any other hard plastic mask. But other than that, EVERY SINGLE part of the body is covered. EVERYTHING! Now, of course, the only obvious con, is that you can get such a fantastic suit, for $7500!!!

[@charlottesimonin2551]

@@jwnomad Actually at the moment I was thinking of a patteren that Roger Penrose created. Mathematicians have developed several shaps for covering plainer surfaces. The advantage would be that it might be less detectable and more comfortable.

[@charlottesimonin2551]

@@O.LEO.N I've used stainless steel gloves for cleaning fish. The carbon composite tiles would be substantially cheaper and lighter.

[@Intranetusa]

Interesting. I wonder how good the heat dissipation of the armored clothing is? eg. Is it comfortable to wear in warmer temperatures or does it trap heat?

[@cheyannei5983]

If it's waterproof, it'll trap heat. If you're in a hotter climate, get the vest and ask them to add a bit more coverage.

[@Kremit_the_Forg]

There is no armour in this world that is good at this. Soft body armour (against handguns) isn't breathable. Hard body armour (against rifles) isn't either and it's heavy. The kind mentioned in this video isn't breathable either. Yes, there are those ice/water-plate-backers but those add weight and distribute the weight further from your point of balance. So you'll sweat more.. Wearing armour comes with a free/mandatory "suck it up" card.

[@krzysztofkolodziejczyk4335]

it seems quite effective. they should make coat that include side cover to. unlike walking around in brigandine or mail this looks practical enough to do so.

[@vorynrosethorn903]

Covering the neck should be a priority, if I was to wear a self-protection shirt I'd probably take inspiration from Russian and oriental chain in the early modern period, which used a mixture of plates and chain to optimise manoeuvrability, I'd probably sew it between two linen Russian style shirts (so a high collar to fit mail under to protect the neck) so that it would remain breathable. These types of armour typically had plates along the back and front to given strong protection to stationary parts of the body and were chain on the sides and sleeves. There are a number of other possible designs, Byzantine light cavalry once favoured waistcoats with chain sewn to the inside, and the cheapest least time hungry would probably be to just buy a commercial mail coat and throw a tunic over it like medieval people did, they also did that with suits of armour, which opens up possibilities if we feel like bringing some old styles back into fashion. Sewing mail into garments does however seem to be the way to go, rather than these high tech but inconvenient and unreliable commercial experiments.

[@O.LEO.N]

Actually, the current BEST form of knife resistant, if not proof, is an anti shark suit from Neptunic for example. The one from neptunic for example, is made up of what I believe is 4 or 6 mm in diameter, welded, 304 stainless steel rings. And the best part is, it covers THE ENTIRE body. EXCEPT for the face. Which you can quickly fix by pulling up a polyethylene, polycarbonate, or any other hard plastic mask. But other than that, EVERY SINGLE part of the body is covered. EVERYTHING! Now, of course, the only obvious con, is that you can get such a fantastic suit, for $7500!!!

[@trioptimum9027]

The neck is a major tradeoff. You're right that it's very important, obviously. But it's also tough to do right. People move their necks a lot, and in a lot of different ways. Now, you might be thinking "oh, that's no problem, chainmail is flexible." The problem is... Well, take a three-inch strip of chainmail, and wrap it around your neck. Now go get something out of the top of the fridge, turn around and put it on the counter, and get something out of the bottom of the fridge. Notice how you now have a mail *collarbone* defense and nothing protecting your neck? Yeah. A material that is flexible enough to be comfortably worn close around the neck in regular life is going to be challenging to keep in place high enough to provide good neck protection. (If it's very light, you can just wrap it around, of course. But you won't get stab protection from those kinds of materials.) There are two basic solutions to this problem. You can wear a helmet and drape your flexible defense from the bottom of the helmet (or alternately, simply extend the back and sides of the helmet far enough to provide some neck protection). Or you can build up some kind of stiff defense from below (this can take a lot of forms: you can see flanges serving this purpose on a lot of plate armors, or many modern EOD suits also have something like this). Both of those work well in appropriate contexts... but neither is appropriate for this garment. It's clearly designed for everyday wear, and it's meant to look relatively normal. You can't get a lot of neck protection within those constraints.

[@Tiax776]

I like that medieval helmet. It shows even in olden times, people liked bright colours.

[@JustGrowingUp84]

I agree with you testing a regular kitchen knife. Armour should be tested against what it's designed to oppose. Sure you can take that long rondel dagger from Tod and you'll probably get through it without too much trouble, but this armour wasn't designed to defend against that kind of weapon!

[@Stroggoii]

Nobody's gonna attack you with a rondel dagger but the second most used stabbing implement is sharpened screwdrivers. So testing a stiff square or round sectioned spike is still relevant.

[@JustGrowingUp84]

@@Stroggoii Yeah, I also wanted to see tested a sharpened screwdriver.

[@LokiCDK]

I'd be interested to see how it holds up while a "Bob" is wearing it. Seems like a standing and dynamic target would have pretty good results. Top down on collar bone is scary, access to the kidneys is scary, glad you're calling that out though.

[@GizmoIsMaDug]

Ex CSO here, In my experience it was teenagers armed with steak knives.

[@Leftyotism]

Lol, love your ppe. And for everyone who doesn't know what ppe means, that's short for personal protection equipment.

[@crazypetec-130fe7]

"Cutting edge carbon fiber armor." They might want to rewrite that phrase.

For scientific accuracy, you should have control: you should compare it side by side with material that you know is not stab-proof - perhaps it is the hardness of the wood backing that limits the penetration, not the material itself? Perhaps archery foam would be a better backing for such tests? As to making it contour better to the body - why not borrow the idea from brigandine, and make those plates curve along the curves of the body. It might make it more expensive, though...

[@Leftyotism]

I like how clearly Matt differentiates. :)

[@mariosebastiani3214]

Quite interesting! I'll accept 1 cm of blade in my belly, in trade for the attacker's knife getting stuck in my vest. But 't's not going to happen, since I'm far softer than a wooden log. I really don't like the openings on the top of the shoulders and sides. Some neck protection in the raincoat would be good too.

[@jeroenimus7528]

Interesting to see your review isn't (yet) linked on the kickstarter. Also thank you for your honest commentary, please note though, there is no such thing as unbiased. Though it helped to know your background relating to this particular review.

[@NicholasproclaimerofMessiah]

The tip can only penetrate as deep as the foam is. It needs to be tested with thick foam.

[@vlad3967]

bar the tool - as you said its the most common propable weapon - you've given it the worst chance it had and it still never got over an inch of penetration, even on a downward strike on a solid surface. Thats pretty impressive! Considering one wearing it will be moveing, the angle will not be square, the force will not be as big as a downward Rondel punch AND there will be a piece of fabric first - I'd say it's quite good armour!

[@the_senate8050]

This now makes me curious what say a plastic chest protector we wear under our fencing jackets would do against a knife stab like that.

[@drzander3378]

If you mean a fencing chest protector, I can answer that: absolutely nothing. The chest protector would offer zero protection. I know from experience from when I was light sparring against an opponent with just such a chest protector and no other chest armour. I was using a HEMA 16th century side sword with a rounded and blunt tip. I thrust at his chest with about 30% force and the blade went right through, encountering barely any resistance. Fortunately, I was immediately aware of what had happened and stopped. A pointed kitchen knife like Matt's that was thrust with any amount of force would go through extremely easily.

[@O.LEO.N]

​@@drzander3378Seriously dude? Don't know what YOUR protector was made from, but when I test MY very own polyethylene or other hard plastic material with a knife, NONE of it passes through. Only slight dents. And we're talking full force here.

[@aussiebloke559]

I think that is a pretty positive outcome for the product, side protection added and its a magnificent product.

[@tamlandipper29]

Lots of your videos are good, but given your experience and qualifications I think this is almost uniquely valuable.

[@Rikki-Tikki-Tavi]

So basically, it's going to prevent a stab, but leave a bruise. A worthwhile trade! I wonder how much the jacket weighs?

[@philparkinson462]

Very interesting. I like how the surface design seems to localise the force. Would definitely seem to reduce impact but would be very effective against cuts. Unfortunately many attacks are overarm, where this wouldn't help. Also many stab attacks seemed to be aimed at the legs these days.

[@the_senate8050]

Ah the most defensive of hand protection, the famed red dragon glove! (man are those things ill fitting for me at the best of times)

[@vorynrosethorn903]

I've seen that people wear chainmail as it is still the best in terms of protection to ease (and subtlety) of carry. Do you have any recommendations in terms of the best wholesale chain in terms of price, fit and protection in the context of wearing it under everyday clothing for protection.

[@traccas01]

The knife getting stuck looks like a bonus as you may disarm your opponent.

[@edward9674]

Might want to get some of the neck covered while at it. The big veins there are really vulnerable.

[@wesleylindsay6973]

They do to a certain extent one saved my life. I was a correctional officer for 10 years. The stab vest saved me from an assault with a inmate armed with a 6 inch shank.

[@Templarium]

That was pretty cool! I wasn't expecting it would be so resistant!

[@lincs4life]

Everyone in London, Birmingham and Liverpool Googling the sponsor 😂😂

[@BeepBoop2221]

Only if you're in a gang.

[@lincs4life]

@BeepBoop2221 or own a iPhone, motorbike, expensive car or watch, basically anything of value and if you don't hand it over to a snotty nose sewer rat in North face jacket and balaclava you get shanked up.

[@rileyernst9086]

The main advantzage over a modern maile shirt seems to be the ridgid protection- less chance of bruising and the chance of disarming the opponent when they get it stuck.

[@bluesdad54]

Great video, Matt. very thorough. A+. I must say the gambeson, modern gauntlet and chainsaw helment and face shield were completed wonderfully by the "wellie" boots . I believe that's what you call them? Great video, good review. Thanks.

[@andrewpolonsky2305]

Sides, neck and armpits should be protected at least with some material. What is reasonable to request is some kind of T-shirt, and the collar as a separate products. And obviously these type of protection will leave a mark on the clothes you will use in your day-to-day life.

[@RT-mn2pb]

My product feedback: [1] I agree with all your suggestions, especially where criminal stab attacks occur. [2] Not clear how constraining it is to movement, or if it's hot in summer [3] Coverage gaps. This may not really worse than any other armor such as typical bullet body armor. But, especially for the typically fast, multiple stabs situation of knife use, that's a big deal. If it's not full-coverage for neck and side it's of limited use in my view. Being stabbed under the arm, in the neck, ground, or leg are common. [4] I wonder if the same durable plastic could be used for a light-weight more chain mail like material to allow both better flexibility and coverage.

[@casper1581]

Just here to say I absolutely love your outfit when testing outside.

[@nunyabidness335]

Excellent video, and would you consider doing another showing mobility while wearing it?(bending down, getting up from prone, etc)

[@Matt_The_Hugenot]

Taking hints from ballistic plate carriers modularity is the way to go. Additional plates should be available to attach to the base vest.

[@REDN0AK]

oh cmon. now we have to wait for todd to stab it with a rondel....

[@FortyTwoBlades]

I actually made myself a molded polycarbonate breastplate as PPE when working with my shop press just in case something gives and comes flying at me. The stuff's 1/8" thick like a riot shield. The molding was a bit of a process since you have to dry polycarbonate before heating it to molding temperature or it'll get bubbles and weaken, but I can smack it with the claw end of a framing hammer and not feel a thing. I plan on adding an articulated lower portion at some point.

[@adcaptandumvulgus4252]

From what I've seen woven ripstop nylon like 4,000 denier or higher with some coating treatment on there usually is pretty good for anti-stab

[@rubenskiii]

I got a fault message at first and got worried the video had gotten zapped, but nope watching it now!

[@josedelarosa1042]

As someone who has been attacked with a knife the choice of blade makes sense. I grew up in an exceptionally bad neighborhood. I’ve been attacked with a paring knife, a steak knife, a chef knife and a box cutter. All cheaply made. Well done sir.

[@KyIeMcCIeIIan]

Alternatively, you can buy a hauberk made from butchers mail, AKA mithril. However, there is one major drawback. In butchers mail the rings are so small that you still feel like you got stabbed even if there was no penetration. With plates you don't have to worry about that.

[@KageNoTora74]

Hard plates are effective. Chainmail or mailite needs to be riveted or welded because butted mail (open rings that are linked together with the ends unsecured) can spread with the impact of a stab, rendering the mail ineffective. Butted mail is fine for cosplay, stage theater, television and film but must not be trusted to protect you. Welding or riveting the ends of the rings is extra work, therefore extra cost, but you get what you pay for.

[@davidrose2302]

Great vid. Here in the us we see sharpened screwdrivers used in stabbings. How would the plates hold up against really rigid stabbing tool?

[@soupordave]

They might consider some kind of cap that can be worn under the hood that at least protects the head and neck. Maybe a balaclava or ski mask, or maybe even a scarf that has an armor insert in it.

[@TijmenHatesads]

I wonder if it's made with prepreg CF and vacuum baked to the dyneema. If so, you could make a mold of a torso and create a pre shaped insert for the jacket with folding lines where you want them. Could easily go all the way around, with lapels and under arm coverage too if you really tried. Also glass fiber might do better than carbon when combined with a cut resistant backing. Edit: hexagons are bestagons, as well.

[@poozizzle]

I like that the knife gets stuck preventing further stabs.

[@terminusest9083]

Hi matt. The answer in short is 'no' but it can be. The standards body armour is tested to in the uk is publicly available - i believe its on the defence testing centre website, and in short, the average man can get a knife through body armour. However, the standards are appallingly low. So the bar for what is acceptable armour is rubbish and should be raised - especially since a proper plate breastplate would work without question. Have a quick look on the website and you'll find the testing criterea and the results for the various levels.

[@edwardbirdsall6580]

Might be worth mentioning the fact that very often, without a guard, when fighting with kitchen knives it is common for the people using them to run their hands up onto the blade and cutting themselves. Some times severely. As to the vest I will stick to 3A body armor.

[@starkparker16]

Good thing brave Easton, our intrepid host, has chosen to wear rubber boots that extend high up his shin. I for one wish our daring tester to remain free of injury.

[@KungFuTweety1]

Hopefully they make plates for kids backpacks so they can shield themselves. Needs neck protection built in and sides etc...as you said in the video.

[@Leftyotism]

And maybe instead of using small squares they can make smaller triangles work. Like cutting an X into the square, so it could bend diagonally. Maybe bigger squares instead of 4 triangles per square is cheaper, or less difficult, I don't know. 🤔

[@jintsuubest9331]

Square is most certainly the cheaper one, if not the cheapest one. Imagine this composite panel of rectangle roughly the size of your table. For a small rectangle shape, you will be processing the panel into long strips with dimension being correct on one side. Then you will feed the strips into a machine that will cut the strip at the correct dimension on the other side. Basically more or less how safety razor blade are being manufactured. For triangle you propose, the strip will need 2 different cutter. The assembly with some napkin math will be at least twice as labor intensive as square. For any other shape, there will be significant material waste (assuming large enough production volume)

[@rix3333]

Thx Matt for this Amazing vidéo, as always. I would have thought the foam would allow the blade to penetrate more than the wood but testing shows thé contrary...

[@anthonywestbrook2155]

Firstly, I do think you kept your standards of honesty, and I'm not thinking you're a shill. The innovation of flexing in two dimensions seems wasted, since once it bends, it becomes rigid in the other axis, and a vest isn't going to swap back and forth neatly. I think they're trying to be as stab proof as possible, given some constraints, instead of being less perfect, but more overall protective. I think your audience more than most understands that it's all tradeoffs. Make it a little less rigid in some places to give 80% effect over the easily covered spots you mentioned, rather than 200% resistant in half the area. Also, I'm now gonna search good looking cut resistant scarves.

[@-RONNIE]

Thank you for the video & there is a stab proof jacket over here in the us as well

[@IAmHated284]

i feel like the addition of the jacket is a bit pointless, just the waistcoat plus your garment of choice seems a better bet (maybe thats an option on the kickstarted i havent checked it yet).other than that just kind of echoing what you mentioned in the video as a waistcoat that i can wear under certain clothes in certain situations it would be of some interest to me but only if it had a bit more comprehensive coverage that like you mentioned could be acheived with maille, even riveted 8mm would be plenty sufficient considering its unlikely to come up against dedicated armour penetrating knives like rondels. aside from that a solid test that put it in arguably the worst case scenario (i.e against a solid surface with no give) and it definitely seemed to perform to a level that any wounds recieved would be superficial rather than life threatening. it does boggle my mind a bit that when designing it they didnt just go "lets just copy a brigandine coverage" the people that designed and used those knew what they were doing after all

[@KoolDudeHaMeR]

Nice! Do a test with a dagger, sword, axe and halberd! Compare to the level of protection you'd get from different historical armors. Also wrt. weight, comfort, cost and style 😎.

[@BeepBoop2221]

Smaller plates on the shoulders would keep the flexibility and close the cap. Lose the overlap Something in the arm pits and forearms of the jacket too

[@AlitaGunm99]

So the shoulder is unprotected against the movie trope downward stab into the shoulder, into the brachial artery. Just get a mail vest or shirt; even titanium ones aren't that expensive.

[@n0tthemessiah]

I totally understand that this isn't the designed purpose of the armor and we shouldn't expect stellar results, but it would be really interesting just to see how the material holds up to an axe like a tomahawk or throwing axe.

[@xidarian]

A jacket that protects against rain and stabbing is the most british invention I've ever heard if.

[@randydickinson4864]

16:03 looks like good protection, and it's not battlefield armor. It does not stop everything but gives you an edge in that attack.

[@MrAllmightyCornholioz]

Cool concept. But wearing this in a humid climate would be a nightmare!

[@danielberger1176]

i appreciate the respect to catastrophic failure. i know shad and tyranth were being critical of forged in fire for their minimal safety measures.

[@JD57R]

I wonder why there is less protection along the upper torso, as we would expect from brig. The sides are still an issue, but not as critical as the upper torso. There has to be a way to address the flexibility issue for improved protection in those areas. Maybe more of a scale construction with overlapping plates or a lamilar construction?

[@ycplum7062]

For a proper drape over the body, it really needs to be flexible in more than one direction.

[@TheFman2010]

As long as the knife does not stab deep enough to get to vital organs, then the plates work. In fact, wrapping yourself in layers of newspaper inside your jacket would probably also work -- uncomfortable and ridiculous, but it would work.

[@ianhelyar6383]

I remember slaughtering a bull a few years ago, and when I tried to stick the knife in, I failed! Apparently bull hide is very tough, who knew? Metatron did a video on his everyday wear chainmail, quite a while back. Even high strength plastic/kevlar chainmail would be far more flexible and breathable than scale mail, surely?

[@davefletch3063]

What about a glancing blow possibly slipping in between the plates?. Seems like it is viable considering the chance getting that kind of solid hit is slim

[@tamlandipper29]

Second thought: stopping a strike with a kitchen knife doesn't just protect you. But with heft won't that send the attacker's hand off the handle and down the blade? Advantage to a hard armour over soft?

[@cadenceclearwater4340]

Thanks for the demo this is good to know. But, how is it against rapier, machete & spear?

[@veximmortalis8622]

I appreciate your honesty

[@Donovarkhallum]

We walking on the streets of london with this one 🗣️🗣️🗣️

[@MasoTrumoi]

3 murders by sword was higher than I expected. I expected 0-1 at the most.

[@acethesupervillain348]

Just for a laugh, you should try Tod's giant rondel dagger on this kind of armor to compare it to medieval stuff

[@rileyernst9086]

If it was an undershirt, you could after being stabbed, pull your coat asside and say "Mitherel." To your concerned friemds.

[@timsimmons9995]

Rather than squares, a 8 sided hex design with the same concept might allow for 4x as much flexibility.

[@dillonbuford]

I would like to see light weight aluminum mail sandwiched between the type of kevlar used for cut resistant gloves sandwiched between more normal clothing cloth made into a hoodie giving full affordable coverage but I can't think of anyone that needs discreet stab protection

[@allengordon6929]

2:33 well that's enough proof that the knife side of HEMA (which involves more than just rondels btw) is valid

[@randydickinson4864]

Most gun vests are the same. Even heavy plates are like it with 8×8 side plates with no flex. My heavey plates are very heavy too.

[@ChrisGosling-cq4qo]

If they used scales of different sizes it would increase the flexibility ,smaller plates would conform to tighter curves

[@williamfawkes8379]

Purely for testing and definitely not for fun, would you consider a final test? I would love to see you use a board with a nail in it on the thicker plate. I leave it to you to pick the board length.

[@kwattigor]

looks cool but major coverage issues hopefully they can increase its coverage

[@AvianSolutions]

UHMWPE would be an equal performing and significantly cheaper material. They are all over Alibaba