Wood slat armor vs felling axe.

I initially intended to add this to the original video. It turns out that is not an easy thing to do. So here it is as a standalone.

[@wingardwearables]

I like your videos a lot! Wonder how an antler tipped warclub would do--will need to watch more to see if you already tested that. The test results in your video could have just as much to do with the backing of the armor (straw bale) than the armor itself. That axe does great on a standing tree because the tree is structurally rigid and subjected to the full force of the chop. In your test, the force of the chop is going into both the wooden armor and a substantial volume of straw bale. If this armor was backed by a stiffer material to simulate a human torso or limb, the axe might do better against the armor. But wood is an underrated material and it's performance continues to be impressive.

[@MalcolmPL]

Cheers. You’re right about the bale taking some of the impact from the panel. If I were to nail it to something rigid like a stump I could chop right through easily. I consider the bale to be a decent backdrop for the tests, it’s got a good amount of give to it, but it’s also fairly stable. A bigger reason why the armor did as well as it did, is that it’s only loosely attached to the bale, when it is struck it can bounce. Which disperses much of the force.

[@junichiroyamashita]

I read that southern USA natives often used wooden masks as head protection,often combined with helmets,and other somewhat aztec looking gear. Ever heard any of that?

[@MalcolmPL]

Unfortunately I have nothing useful to add to that. My native history is good for the great lakes region and gets sketchy the further you go from there.

[@junichiroyamashita]

@@MalcolmPL that makes me wonder,how are things between native groups? What is the feeling between northern and southern american natives?

[@MalcolmPL]

@@junichiroyamashita There isn't much interaction. What there is is mostly a feeling of "we're all in the same boat." I've got cousins who went to protest at standing rock. I've heard of Cherokees protesting with us up here, and Sioux out east with the Mi'kmaq. The old enmities are "mostly" gone, replaced with a sort of friendly rivalry. We make fun of the Ojibwes for talking slow, being bad at lacrosse and making cornsoup wrong. That sort of thing.

[@isaweesaw]

Great testing! Btw, is there any evidence of padded armour in this region and period? Impressed the slats held up against axe cuts but I suspect you'd still break bones underneath with the sheer force.

[@MalcolmPL]

Other people such as the Haida wore doubled moosehide vests under their slat armor. This works very well. I have heard of another garment over here that was made by quilting two deer furs together. But I can't elaborate on that. Re broken bones. The blow that snapped the splints would have broken bones. I think the armor would have prevented a break in the other blows. Though it wouldn't have done your insides any good.

[@isaweesaw]

@@MalcolmPL Deer skins stuffed with thatched hay, with this slat armour on top does sound pretty formidable. Could probably stop most "small arms" of the day it's a shame all this stuff degrades so easily. I'm sure nobles of the region would have had some pretty unique armours like this.

[@wyattw9727]

I think the biggest thing you should experiment with slat armor is the treating of the wood itself with available north Atlantic resources. Different washes, drying methods, soaking, etc types of treating can have vast performance boosts compared to the untreated materials. Likewise the possibility of hidden armor, spacers, reinforced backings, etc.

[@MalcolmPL]

I don't know of anything I could treat it with that would make a difference. In terms of the precolumbian, we've got walnut oil, animal fat, tar and hide glue. Oil is what I treated this panel with. I don't know what difference tar could make, and hide glue would make it harder to cut but wouldn't do much to prevent splitting. (unless I put on a very thick layer.) Re, hidden armor. I'd like to do some of these. Add some underarm panels for instance, cheek plates for the helmet, rerebraces, etc. Some leather components would also be nice, underarmor etc, and I'm curious about the idea of quilting the slats between leather, or laminating them like a shield. But leather is expensive, and 2020 was hard financially. Besides, I don't feel good about using more than just scraps on something that is essentially trivial.

[@Jumanji1st]

@@MalcolmPL to prevent splitting, you could glue a thin layer of fabric onto the slats. like it was done with viking shields in later periods. This would make it only slightly heavier, but a lot more sturdier and unfortunately of course a bit more cumbersome, since the mobility would suffer.

[@MalcolmPL]

@@Jumanji1st I think you might have missed the point of the project.

[@Jumanji1st]

@@MalcolmPL i was just referring to the comment you made yourself, where you said, that just putting hide glue on would not do much to prevent splitting. I just wanted to add, that thin layer of any fabric mixed with that hide glue would prevent the splitting quite well. Even though this might not be the way it was originally used (even though i don't see a point why it should not have been.) And since this video was stand alone and i did not watch the video, it was meant to be added to, i am pretty sure, that i have missed the point of the project :D. Never the less. I really like the video itself and will watch the other ones too.

[@MalcolmPL]

I apologize for my derision. The project was to recreate precontact Iroquoian armor. Cloth was not used in the period, thus is not an option here.

[@Honeybadger_525]

What type of wood did you use for the armor? Do we have any idea what kinds were used historically?

[@MalcolmPL]

This panel is red oak. I think ash would have been used historically. It's similarly strong to oak, but a little bit lighter and easier to work, though I have no evidence for that.

[@Honeybadger_525]

@@MalcolmPL I've seen examples of wooden slat armor made of thin rods of willow constructed by native Americans in the region I live (Northern California) such as the Pomo tribe. Link: www.pinterest.com/pin/764556474216605197/. I imagine the springy wood of a willow might perform differently than hardwoods such as oak? Curious if you've ever tested something similar?

[@MalcolmPL]

I’ve tested pine, spruce, maple, oak, hickory, ash and mahogany. Willow might perform well. With the softer woods I’ve tested the panels failed by snapping rather than being cut. So elasticity might be more important than hardness.

[@leoscheibelhut940]

Those blows look like they might break bones! Broken ribs are a painful hindrance but much better than the death blow the axe cuts would deal to unarmored warriors. If you ever go further with these tests, I'd like to see you place beef or pork ribs behind the armor. Tests against period black powder muzzleloaders would also be interesting and probably explain why the use of armor faded quickly after contact with the French. I think you have done an excellent job of recreating the Iroquois armor.

[@MalcolmPL]

I don’t actually think it would break bones unless it struck over the collarbone, the vertical slats do a good job distributing the force and preventing the blow from striking a single rib. As for your suggestion, I don’t have the disposable income to justify tests like that.

[@leoscheibelhut940]

@@MalcolmPL Completely understandable. You might be able to get just bones, no meat, a few places give them away or very cheap for dogs. Whether it would protect from broken bones all or most of the time, you have reconstructed armor that I would happily wear in battle than go without. Fantastic work, especially that you kept trying to make improvements in the design of the slatted armor.

[@MalcolmPL]

@@leoscheibelhut940 Old bones don't work for tests, they get harder and more brittle when the body dies, in order for a test like that to work well you have to get a whole set of ribs, which are pricey, and it also has to be fresh. It's just not worth my time, money and energy relative to how much information I would get out of it.

[@leoscheibelhut940]

@@MalcolmPL You are certainly correct that you need fresh not old bones. A whole set of ribs would certainly be pricey.

[@موسى_7]

I was thinking of a ballistic gel dummy

[@KartarNighthawk]

When the Thule Inuit reached Greenland they had either wooden slat armour (albeit of a Siberian descended design) or the ivory plate you discuss in your antler armour video. Watching this video, and the antler one, it's not hard to see how those armours would have done a good job of protecting the Thule in the back and forth raiding with the Norse that's described in both culture's traditions.

[@MalcolmPL]

Agreed.

[@KartarNighthawk]

@@MalcolmPL If you ever want to deeply upset the Norse fanboys who infest much of the online community of arms and armour enthusiasts a video exploring that confrontation in more detail would probably do it.