Medieval Swords According To Cracked! These Articles Will End Me.

[@RealSeanithan]

As a native English speaker myself, I've only ever seen "gah" used as an interjection to express frustration, disgust, or consternation.

[@KeyClavis]

Well... that's what it means. Sort of. Less disgust and more annoyance and exasperation. It _is_ used for disgust, consternation, or shock/surprise on occasion, but it's predominantly frustration, annoyance, or exasperation.

[@Tanzenergise]

mostly used by valley girls.

[@fibanocci314]

I've seen it used to express being overwhelmed by positive feelings. Possibly in a sarcastic or ironic way?

[@pearljaime2]

You all wrong. Gah is a norwegian supermodel. A sword befits him, just like the knight, samurai and jedi.

[@camsterdam3896]

Perhaps if it was used during climax?

[@FENomadtrooper]

"Don't leave a comment" Got it! I'll just leave this as a reminder note.

[@DeHerg]

Just remind me, did he say to like the video or not? Meh, already did, might as well leave it there.

[@juninja22hero]

@@DeHerg did he say not to do something? I forgot because the video was really fascinating, and I forgot to check until I watched the full video. Oh well.

[@randomdude4505]

The elbow down is not only a modern thing, but a super modern thing. It became military doctrine after after the introduction of modern body armor in the early 2000s. I was an active duty Marine from 2001 to 2005 and there was no issue of having a "chicken wing" until after plate carriers became commonplace. That's because prior to that when shooting a rifle you stood at more of an angle to present a smaller target. With a plate carrier you want to stay face on so the bullets will strike the plate. When standing at an angle it is more natural for the elbow to be up where when you're standing face on it's more natural for the elbow to be down and it presents a smaller target.

[@publichearing8536]

so you would face the enemy to protect the uncovered parts (side from armpit to hip) instead of still angling like old tanks did?

[@randomdude4505]

@@publichearing8536 Yes, where before you would stand in a way to make as small of target as possible. Interestingly, before 2003 I had range officers check to make sure my elbow was up enough because I would pull my arms in for more stability in the offhand position.

[@publichearing8536]

@@randomdude4505 thanks!

[@somerando1073]

Speaking as an amateur bladesmith and military historian. The fuller doesn't so much make the blade stiffer, as it does to help retain some of the stiffness it would have had if that extra material wasn't removed. To phrase it differently, if you put a fuller into a blade, it won't be as stiff as the blade was before the fuller, but it will be stiffer than if you removed the same amount of material but in a way that just flattens the center ridge.

[@TGPDrunknHick]

construction I-Beam basically. instead of having huge amounts of mass you use as little as possible while retaining most of the integrity of the structure.

[@somerando1073]

@@TGPDrunknHick Yes, pretty much.

[@adambielen8996]

Yes, this is absolutely correct. But also if you instead hammer in a fuller you can make a blade wider using less material.

[@somerando1073]

@@adambielen8996 Yes, though looking at the end result they end up being the same thing. Either you start with less metal and hammer it in, or start with more and grind it in. But the final blade will be identical regardless of method used.

[@mattgen8525]

Having a fuller does make a blade stiffer but not that much but it does make them better at resisting bending stress which can: 1) Improve blade durability 2) lesser chance of breaking or bending

[@mycroft3322]

Speaking of trigger discipline, my trigger discipline with the like button is very poor

[@NovaZero]

lol premature liker

[@MegaPokefan97]

"Gah" is an interjection. A meaningless word to be used in a reactive way to various stimuli

[@spyrofrost9158]

"Gah"? "Fah?" Bah!

[@WNH3]

@@spyrofrost9158 Ha!

[@joshcline8764]

​@@spyrofrost9158Well done.

[@canadianninja1756]

Meh…

[@joshuakarr-BibleMan]

Zoodikers!

[@janwitts2688]

I'm a highlander.. a claymore can mean a sword with a basket hilt and a two handed great sword.. we decided long ago that we don't care and highlanders have carried these (including a case or two in ww2) and used them in combat under that name.. we also call a the short stabby thing either a dirk or a dagger.. its our heritage and our right to name our killing cutlery

[@alexmashkin863]

My heart's in a Highlands, my heart is not here...

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

Highlander. Is it true...there can be...ONLY ONE?

[@DioDCynic]

Bro, I also love that show.

[@sherryzmezzo]

I support your right to name your cutlery.

[@scottybreuer]

Here we are! Born to be kings! We're the princes of the UNIVEEEERSE!

[@Dugong-Hussar]

Metatron, if you need help blink twice

[@douglascolquhoun8502]

I love all of Metatrons rants.

[@Seriously_Unserious]

As I've studied PR and done websites for a couple of news companies, I can shed some light on what probably happed on the point at 10:55 that metatron raises. The author of the article may have actually written about how Metatron showed it is possible, to acknowledge a counter argument, and point out that his research shows it's impractical, but the editor cut that part of the article, but left the sources in, making the writer look dumb. That can happen if the editor feels the article is too long and cuts things he thinks are unnecessary extra points, which can accidentally lead to the author looking dumb. Or it can be an editor who doesn't like the author and intentionally cuts things that makes the writer look dumb. Either way, that's probably what happened, is some points got cut from the article, making the remaining points and sources not fully add up.

[@johnmiwa6256]

Gah is a Klingon delicacy, best enjoyed live.

[@magnusnilsson9792]

it's like gummiworms best fresh.

[@kittehgo]

Spelled Gagh

[@censoredbybigbrother1175]

So I wasn't the only one thinking of Klingons when hearing "Gah!".

[@brianmead7556]

Gah is a hunky Norwegian male model.

[@huntforbigfloptober1333]

This thumbnail out of context is hilarious because it implies that Metatron is angrily demanding I buy that analog tv for him 😂

[@LenaFerrari]

Please do make the "let me be a little pedantic" shirt. I'd buy it

[@kohakuaiko]

I'd buy several and give them as gifts ❤😊

[@Nobody-d8p]

Yes! Perfect metatron merch. I'll get 2.

[@rob_over_9000]

@@kohakuaikoyou could also animate them and give them as gifs

[@FuzzyAngyl]

I'm sorry Metatron please forgive me... tbh it is muscle memory when I'm doing it....I clicked the LIKE button before u even spoke 😢. I absolutely love u. I would never do anything to purposefully make you angry. 😂❤❤❤

[@swankelly]

Delete this comment! haha

[@Fuckyoubloodymoron]

So a like AND a comment... You are just the worst, aren't you?

[@Fuckyoubloodymoron]

Now look at what you made me do!! That is ANOTHER comment because of you!

[@Fuckyoubloodymoron]

I hope you are proud of yourself.

[@baronvonboomboom4349]

Lovin the new intro Raf!

[@javiercamacho1998]

It is very nice. A nice combination of channel history and overview of channel content.

[@operator-chan1887]

The elbow going down when shouldering a rifle is actually only correct form when using a pistol grip. The recoil of a straight-stocked firearm is better aligned with your shoulder with your elbow up. This is how it's done even with modern straight-stocked rifles.

[@Dowlphin]

My thought was: In what way would a raised arm become a target for a rifleman anyway? Since he led to the topic from swords, it sounded like a rifleman would be directly facing sword attacks.

[@The_Friendly_Fire]

I thought it might be that. When I tried holding an imaginary rifle having the elbow up was far more comfortable and natural, but when i added an imaginary pistol grip the elbow suddenly dropped as my wrist disagreed with that position.

[@pv6212]

Thanks!🤠👍🍻🥂🗽⚔📯🪖🍀Keep up the good fight! HOOOAAAH! (Army exclamation). Cheers! Paul Veneziano

[@pv6212]

@@orion-qt6jl I am a "sigma"? Assume that is a compliment.

[@metatronyt]

Thanks! Very generous of you!

[@mythguard6865]

@@pv6212in this context yes

[@pv6212]

@@metatronyt Glad to help, Raf!

[@0num4]

"Sigma" is something akin to a male who does not need external validation, a "lone wolf" sort of guy. Not exactly a common archetype within the Army. Thanks for your service, brother. ⛩️⛩️⛩️

[@xGreenMtnx]

How has this man not hit 1 Million Subs yet

[@metatronyt]

Thanks Appreciated! 🙏🏻

[@CBonduMiel]

Tbh he deserve 1 million sub, at the very least Let's make it our goal to make him get there 😊

[@xGreenMtnx]

@@CBonduMiel yes

[@CosmicG777]

I'm leaving multiple comments so that Metatron will be more pressured to do more of these videos.

[@CBonduMiel]

@@CosmicG777 good.

[@sevenproxies4255]

I think the issue with the turkey elbow when shooting is that when shooting with matchlock guns in this period, you'd often be in a formation of gunners, so having the elbow to your body to present a smaller target didn't really affect the likelyhood of you getting hit. In a modern setting, solders aren't really massing in giant formations but are divided into squads and fire teams, shooting from the best cover they can find, so the way your elbow is held DOES affect the likelyhood of you getting hit.

[@Jimbotheone]

The standard way of firing a rifle without pistol grip is to stand diagonally with elbow out because it is the most natural position to stand in. Elbow out will create a bowl in your shoulder for the buttstock to rest in, and it is much more comfortable on the wrist. This is how people were taught to fire rifles during and before WWII. It is with pistol grips on rifles and with chest armor that it is taught to stand square against the target with elbow down. Most soldiers in most militaries do not have plate carriers graded for protection against enemy small arms fire. For such soldiers, whatever shooting form works the best for them is what they should use.

[@sevenproxies4255]

@@Jimbotheone Yes, turkey elbow shooting feels most comfortable even for someone taught not to do it. So avoiding to do it is purely to present a smaller target profile as well as ensuring that most of your target profile is taken up mostly by your plate carrier so if you get hit, the ballistic plate will catch it rather than another part of the body. Of course it's all a game of statistics and trying to nudge them in favor of your survival as much as possible.

[@Hathur]

Trigger discipline goes back to AT LEAST WWII.. at least in western armies like Canada, US, UK etc. My grandfather fought in WWII with the Canadian army, and trigger discipline was hammered into recruits... if nothing else but to prevent training fatalities. I'd have to imagine even in WWI many armies enforced / taught it to troops to keep friendly fire accidents down.

[@johan.ohgren]

WW2 is still within the modern firearms period for most cases. The old west in US did not have the same standards of firearm safety.

[@gibbeldon]

I could imagine WWI being different in that regard. Modern weapons like machine guns were still relatively new and hadn't seen much action yet. If I remember a statement in a documentary correctly soldiers at that time were still trained in walking in formation. Seeing how many losses that produced in the beginning of the war people realized they had to abandon traditional warfare pretty quickly and approach things differently.

[@me.ne.frego.]

That's true, but there's hundreds of pictures of combatants from any place and in any situation with finger on the trigger MUCH later than WWII, and crazy hip firing in real combat too. Even décades ago specific hip firing techniques were teached, normally in special forces.

[@johan.ohgren]

@@me.ne.frego. yes, but those were usually in very specific circumstances like jungles and dense vegetation where you had no visibility and only option is blind suppression fire.

[@me.ne.frego.]

@@johan.ohgren Never underestimate the power of combat panic, poor training or disregard for the rules. You can see modern combat footage of soldiers using their guns very poorly, most light weapons are damaged or destroyed by their users, not the enemy.

[@matthewconner7800]

A fuller does not make a sword stiffer than a sword of the same overall thickness that wasn’t fullered. It DOES make it stiffer than a sword that was made lighter by simply having a thinner overall blade. Basically, like an I beam used in a large building, the profile enables a lighter length of metal that is stiffer than if you saved weight by just forming a thinner length of metal that has the same mass.

[@the36lessons11]

It's the same as, "Bah!", a statement of disgust or derision. "Gah!", is most likely an interjection coming from, "God Almighty!", back when people refrained from saying the Lord's name in vain. Fun Extra Example: "Gadzooks" is actually a very vulgar term referencing the nails used to crucify Jesus, "God's Hooks".

[@j.anthonybattaglini6650]

"Gah" is probably a word used by out of touch writers in order to sound more "hip"

[@shinobi-no-bueno]

​@@GoouttouchgrassJiminy Crickets mister

[@FENomadtrooper]

Zounds! I didn't know that about gah.

[@rhawkas2637]

Or instead of cursing "God damnit!" or something similar. Where you have enough control to not swear, but not enough to just keep your mouth shut. =P

[@emilwittenhoffhvid6688]

I would love to see a collab between you and Skallagrim

[@nagamata]

I am also not a bladesmith, but how I conceptualize the fuller's effect on a blade's structural stability is similar to how the structure of an I-beam allows it to handle way more stress, and to resist bending and warping.

[@shinobi-no-bueno]

Is that even a part of it? I always thought it was just weight reduction

[@Heulerado]

That part seems a bit weird to me. I assumed that _given the same amount of material,_ an H shape is indeed more rigid than a flat shape. But the wording of both you and Metraton seem to imply that you can make a particular piece of material _stronger_ by _removing_ material. That makes sense for an I-bean because a column of such thick metal may collapse under its own weight, but in the weight range of a sword? That just doesn't make sense to me. More material more rigider.

[@juanixinauj]

If you get an I beam and fill the missing material, its profile becoming a rectangle, it will handle more stress than the I beam, resisting more bending and warping, but it will become heavier. Think of it: there's more material to take the loads acting on it.

[@darrinrebagliati5365]

Part of it is surface area, part of it is the angles resisting torsion in a different plane. While removing material weakens the blade overall the combined effects of surface tension and triangulation more than make up for the loss. Some fullers were hammered in to not lose the strength but took careful tempering to overcome the hardening turning it brittle. And I think they look cool. Some blades had multiple fullers.

[@johan.ohgren]

​@@HeuleradoYou also need to consider where you remove/add material. In a fuller you make a groove along the mid, whilst on beams you add strength at the outer parts, leaving the midsection reduced.

[@davidscanlon6929]

claidheamh-mor is the Gaelic irish or scottish for great sword, my irish is rusty but mor means big or large

[@fatherofjman2475]

Thanks for what you do metatron. My long hours at work are made much more bearable with your content. Stay blessed noble one.

[@Toxked]

Cracked is a joke website. The had a magazine, not sure it it's still in print. At its core, the issue is they were never funny. At one point the were a competitor with Mad magazine. A better joke would be "the key with folding swords you need to remember to iron them too."

[@Jinkypigs]

In this case, at least they are not TOO inaccurate

[@fibanocci314]

That was funny!

[@Tim_the_Enchanter]

"Gah!" is an interjection that is probably derivative of "Gadzooks!" Where is Schoolhouse Rock when you need it?

[@kimknute6777]

😂 good one

[@KornPop96]

I was thinking "God" as in "oh my God". Maybe "gosh" or even "gadzooks". They're all basically interchangeable expressions.

[@burnburn645]

@@KornPop96 gadzooks wtf? hebrew??

[@DoctorPhobos]

​@burnburn645 Hebrew? Gah! More like Middle English.

[@jerotoro2021]

Yeah, "gah" is more likely a euphemism for "god", since the use of the word "god" as an interjection was considered offensive in many societies, and the euphemisation actually added some humor to it. It's similar to the classic meme use of "fffuuuuuuu", cutting off the last bit of the word to make it funnier while also making it less offensive to those who take offense at the full word.

[@robertmosher7418]

As far as rifle marksmanship and the shooting arm being in a more stable position by tucking it to your side, that only began in the 80s when the US military began switching focus to CQB and CQM rather than the old spray and pray method that had been used since armies began clearing buildings with firearms. We began to teach soldiers to "get behind their chest plate" and make themselves as small and compact as possible. This has had a profound impact on marksmanship as it puts the shooter in a more balanced and stable position and allows for him to shoot for longer periods before becoming fatigued. You can find police and military training videos showing the shooters with the chicken wing arm. My step-dad was taught to fire his rifle like that while he was in the Navy Special Warefare school becoming what is now Naval SWCC as he prepared to go to Vietnam and ferry Navy SeALs and Green Berets up and down the Me Kong delta. Infact if you decide to purchase a trophy for a shooting contest, the little guy with the rifle on the top of the trophy will have his shooting elbow elevated to shoulder level.

[@Almenhorst]

gah

[@DevonHberman-im6bx]

Glad someone said it

[@thsea]

I swear you get funnier and funnier😅 please, who ever he's talking about, never stop giving this man grief, it gives me life listening to him complain about you 😂

[@ErikPT]

He can't keep gettign away with this!

[@sihilius]

24:14 No, the fuller is not making the sword stiffer. A fuller is always a compromise between getting weight off of a sword and keeping it's structural integrity. In other words: It's a method for making a sword lighter while not reducing it's stiffness too much. You are never gonna gain stiffness or strength from removing material.

[@juanixinauj]

I came to the comments section only to see if anyone had tackled the issue already. I'm not an expert, but I've studied structures, and I fully agree with you. There are people, though, who tend to mix the concepts and say precisely that you remove material and you gain strength, even at university level, sadly. And just to expand a little, the removing of any material is done in such a way, at least ideally, that keeps the portions of said material that are taking "most" of the load, or stress. So, a more efficient use of the material is made, you could say. Like the case of an I beam, with flanges placed horizontally, and bending loads trying to curve the beam downward.

[@PeregrinTintenfish]

Don't think of it as removing material, think of it as changing shape.

[@Dowlphin]

@@juanixinauj You agree with him fully, but I agree with him even fuller.

[@sihilius]

@@PeregrinTintenfish Ok, I give you that much, that depending on if you forge or grind the fuller the results vary a bit. What I wrote above applies mostly to grinding a fuller, which as far as I am aware, was done historically too. Now what happens if you forge the fuller instead of grinding it? Forging the fuller mostly happens when you rough shaped the blade already. At that point you forged out either a hexagonal or rhombus shaped cross-section. If you now hammer in the fuller, you are essentially widening the blade, but the maximum thickness over the cross-section gets less in case of a rhombus shaped blade and stays about the same in case of the hexagonal shaped blade. Now besides the additional forge scale (which isn't gonna be much) you don't lose weight in the forging process, which means, unless you weren't planing to save weight in comparison to an identical blade that only differs in not having the fuller, you are not saving weight here. But you are also not adding stiffness, cause for that you'd need to add material onto the flats of the blade, not remove it. So what you'd need to do for adding stiffness is adding (by forge welding a piece of flat or square material on, for example) ridges to the blade, just like the ones you can find on Bronze Age swords. If you don't believe me, you can actually try this out using erasers. Simply file in a fuller (using a rasp will save you time, if you have one at hand) on it's flats and have a secondary, unmodified eraser for comparison. Then carefully try bending each of them with your hands. You will notice that the one with the fuller bends with less force applied than the other one.

[@juanixinauj]

If we consider the fuller as a reshaped cross-section of the blade (no material removing), then the blade becomes less stiff to bending in this case: the flat of the blade is placed horizontally, and it's bent downward. However, the blade becomes stiffer if you do the same, but with the flat of the blade now vertical. Metatron did say "removing material from the sword", so I will blame him for the confusion. =P (You still can think of it as removing the material during the design phase, because you know the effect of such removal, but still create the fuller by reshaping the blade. Ha!)

[@legoartis]

I'm just commenting to let you know we got you! No comments! No likes! Totally support you here!

[@motocross_cooper]

Hey Metatron, I'm sorry that i can't remember where I saw/ heard this. But, Some time ago (I think it was in a documentary about early film making). And they mentioned how: The reason that *"Shwing"* sound became sort of a common thing, Wasn't actually in purpose. But, It instead was an unintended consequences of the types of swords that early hollywood film makers were using in films. As you mentioned, There are certain swords that had metalic scabbards. Mainly late 1800's & early 1900's military sabers, short swords and side swords. And in fact those are the exact types of swords most commonly used in Hollywood during the early era of film and feature length movies. Because, The cheapest way to buy s whole lot of swords for film props, Was to buy obsolete U.S. Amry surplus equipment. So that's what most hollywood film studios did. They would buy cheap army surplus, And in the 1930's, 40's and 50's there was an enormous number of old WW1 era swords being sold as army surplus. Which were those types of sabers with metalic scabbards. And the the whole *"Shwing"* sound was just sort of a funny coincidence.

[@StefanoUrsella]

I learned the whole "blood groove" Misconception, from Alberto Angela's documentary when he was talking about WW1 bayonets, it's incredible that even historians like him fall in those misconceptions 😢

[@maryjohnston4296]

Claymore- aka 2 handed sword cruciform with pommel Scottish origin . 1400-1700 AD aka basket hilted sword, broad bladed . Wt- 4.9-6.2 lb. or 2.2-2.8 Kg. I have a friend that has one- she used it to kill snakes- when she lived near a swamp. It felt heavy to me :) Love your videos. I always learn something interesting, and new.

[@cjmurphy7967]

The thing with putting your elbow down with guns is modern because it pretains to pistol grips on modern rifles. Even as recent as ww2 people would chickeb wing their arms because thats the most comfortable way to shoulder a grip like that.

[@backonlazer791]

23:47 That is correct, it does also help with rigidity of the blade. The same reason why fluted armor was fluted or why cardboard is wavy. Helps to keep them light but stilll retain rigidity. Some also say it helps to reduce air resistance but I would like to see some actual testing on that part. It's not as if I think it doesn't have an effect on air resistance, I just think the effect is most likely negligible. However, do note that adding a fuller is not as simple as "makes the sword stronger and lighter" as it's also a tradeoff. It's stronger than a blade of equal mass but if you imagine an identical sword without a fuller the one without will be heavier but also stronger. So it doesn't _actually_ make it stiffer, it just helps to retain the stiffness while making it lighter. In some cases it can make it seem stiffer since it needs to support less of its own weight, so it doesn't bend as much under its own weight. So yea, it's a bit complicated and I'm sure someone could explain it better.

[@SamyT1994]

Your video really made me interested in the metallurgical aspect of swords, with the materials, manufacturing processes and all the myriad of technical aspects that come with that. Thanks for inspiring me !

[@brittakriep2938]

I am german, Brittas boyfriend, born 1965. I live in an area, full of ruins of medieval castles, celtic remains ( oppidum/ oppidi?) and , not far away , relicts of fortified borderline between Imperium Romanum and Germania Magna. So as little child i have seen historic relicts, and thought, life in castles was like swashbuckler movies ( Mantel - und Degenfilme) in TV. In 1971 i saw Lichtenstein castle, and was happy: First castle not destroyed ( didn't knew , this is a fairytale castle of 1840s). Now , over 50 years later, after reading books, magazines, visiting museums of all sorts ( Roman, celtic, allemanic, medieval content, weapons, home region history....), castles, palaces, monastries, fortresses, Westwall, Atlantikwall, Ligne Maginot, Stone age sites, reconstructions, real relicts, town walls. I spoke with hunters, collectors, target shooters, Reenactors, museum/ castle staff ( lot of this persons are surprisingly uneducated), security guards etc.. So, being a factory worker, no accademic, i think, i notice when someone tells nonsens. And: I refuse to watch all this modern ,Fantasy' shit.

[@Jeffersoniananti-federalist]

"Perhaps your opponent is a Muppet" should go on a t-shirt or mug.

[@The_Gallowglass]

Gagh - is a Klingon delicacy made from serpent worms. Although most Klingons preferred to consume it alive, it could also be served stewed or cold.

[@dredlord47]

Claymore means "Broadsword" in Scots Gaelic. "Chicken Winging" your arm with regards to firearms is more about having a less stable platform for aiming from. Which doesn't matter with a smoothbore matchlock. In German and Old Norse the fuller was, in fact, called a blood groove.

[@bobrobinson1576]

Fullers do not make a blade stronger. They make it lighter without undue loss of strength.

[@Dowlphin]

I agree fuller.

[@justguy-4630]

I fuller agree.

[@steakwolf]

Great video as always, some constructive feedback, when explaining things like parrying and the cross guard, use sword as a visual aid, I think it would help 🤷

[@XxKINGatLIFExX]

Been watching for years can't believe i hadn't subscribed. So changed that for you man, I'm currently building a scutum from scratch

[@SAMURAINUTS]

Im loving the clickbaity titles and thumbnails that give me 0 context before i click the video. Such a great thing youre starting to do

[@PC_Simo]

18:30 I just always think of ”Claymore”, as a proximity mine. 😅

[@brandonliming9612]

Dude - your video titles and content are on fire 🔥. Hah, seriously entertaining and educational.

[@midnitelite7210]

I just love listening to Metatron. He calms me down so much.

[@NEKRWSPHERE]

I will solve the "Gah" mystery for you, Metatron. It's Klingon food that looks like magnified maggots crawling around. And probably it is magnified maggots crawling around 😂

[@kohakuaiko]

I'm pretty sure that is "gaQ"

[@NEKRWSPHERE]

​@@kohakuaikoSo... why is Klingon "q" a capital one?🤔😝 (I'm also being told another working theory that it's "Russian for "hectare"). The mystery deepens...

[@josephahner3031]

About the firearm handling bit in the middle there. I'm a US Army veteran with some experience in modern firearms training and also a history buff who loves dipping into older military manuals. The practice of tucking one's elbow into one's side while raising a firearm to fire or maneuver was only adopted very recently with the US Army's adoption of the Interceptor Multi-Threat Body Armor System in the year 2000. Prior to this soldiers were taught to stand in a manner so as to reduce the profile presented to enemy fire, sort of angled with one shoulder towards the enemy and one's arm sticking out for increased stability. Body armor with ceramic SAPI plates covers more area when perpendicular to the enemy so now soldiers are trained to stand with their chest towards the enemy, weapon straight forward with the elbow tucked in at the side. For the Sengoku period, your handling with the "chicken wing" stance is historically accurate.

[@douglasyoung927]

I've been a bladesmith for more than 10 years now. Yeah, the fullers only help to redistribute material and widen the blade if they are forged in. Historically they were usually forged part of the way and ground the remainder of the way (this is how I prefer to do it as well) but very often modern makers are milling fullers in after the rest of the forging is done. Simply adding a fuller to a sword doesn't increase stiffness necessarily because it is removing material. However, if you're going to make a lightweight sword, or you're making a heavy sword lighter, using a fuller will help you retain some of the strength and stiffness. The fuller is essentially making 2 mid ribs, rather than just having a very thin flat blade. It behaves more like 2 narrow but thick diamond blades mashed together, instead of behaving like a thin flat spring. The fullers also increase the serface area for the same volume of steel. The relationship between surface area and volume and shape are not insignificant when you're trying to calculate the physical properties of a material. It essentially changes compression and tension forces within the materials. The best example of this is in bows. A bow made from a single D shaped stick is going to have a lot more serface area that gives it more internal stress because the wide rounded D shaped belly has a lot of compression reletive to the amount of stretching that happens on the opposite flat side of the bow. A flat bow is going to have very little compression and it is going to have a similar amount of movement front and back of the bow when it is drawn, so the internal stresses are comparatively low. In bow terms, the D shape will produce more strength and speed for its given volume but it will undergo a much higher internal stress and shock. So if everything else is the same, the sword with a fuller will have more surface area and will experience more shock and stress, this will manifest in the form of higher stiffness in the thrust and a wider blade with a shallower edge angle than the otherwise identical sword without fullers. It's important to know that there are always ways to design around this problem and many different sword designs have been equally as successful.

[@greymalkin9228]

By about a minute into the fight, all swords are heavy lol

[@smallshadow3856]

"It's sucking!! It's sucking my sword in!!" Good stuff mettatron. That quote will absolutely NOT get taken out of context 😂👌

[@ulfhedtyrsson]

"Oh my gosh, it's sucking! It's sucking my sword in!" -Metatron c.2024

[@nicejobcongrats]

22:25 "Top 10 quotes of 2024 to immediately use out of context"

[@susandolan9543]

The sword going "shwing" is known as a "Singing" Sword. When Frodo draws Sting from it's scabbard it made that "shwing" sound. In the news paper comic PRINCE VALENT his broad sword was called The Singing Sword.

[@PeregrinTintenfish]

Didn't they make a movie or show from Prince Valent?

[@susandolan9543]

@@PeregrinTintenfish ... Yes, they did. Robert Wagner played Prince Valiant.

[@brianerickson6775]

@@PeregrinTintenfish Both. @susandolan9543 is correct one version starred Robert Wagner(1954). The second one(1997) starred Stephen Moyer. The animated series ran from (1991- 1994) and starred Robby Benson.

[@juliannicholas2357]

"Gah" is a late-medieval interjection made popular by the Taiwanese Celts before the Revolution. Scholars occasionally marvel at its etymological evolution from the Proto-Indo-European root, "Fyz" - which has since been lost.

[@Prospro8]

The fuller's groove not only makes the blade lighter but also more flexible. It means that the outside edges of the blade are hard, for cutting edge, but the centre is softer, more flexible. Hard doesn't mean rigid which becomes brittle. The fuller strengthens the blade, lightens it and yet allows spring.

[@_B_B_B]

Interesting moment. I found it very convenient to have a fuller on the practice sword. It helps a lot to maintain the correct angle of movement of the sword when swinging. If you swing correctly, the sword makes a characteristic whistle. If the angle is not correct, there will be no whistle.

[@old_account189]

16:34 Its also called chicken wing, when your arms it "out of cover". But the way you are demonstrating IS better for the reduction of recoil. It was used up until ww2. With a musket you need more strenght, it is heavier, bulkier and packs a bigger punch, so you hold it that way.

[@Bridgercraft]

Bladesmith here! Regarding fullers; You're not necessarily removing material to create the fuller, they were often forged in rather than ground or scraped. This means you can use less material to begin with and use the fullering to draw the blade out to the desired width. The end result is still a lighter blade, it's just an order of operations thing. The stiffening is due to an overall increased surface area. I'm a little dubious as to exactly how much stiffer this makes it but it does have some effect.

[@victorro8760]

What matter is how much material there is to resist bending and how far away the material is from the center. If you bend a sword, one side will compress and the other will stretch. If the sword is thicker, then bending it to the same degree will compress and stretch it more thus it will resist bending more. A cross-section with a fuller has a more efficient mass distribution just like an i-beam. Compared to a diamond cross-section, a cross-section with a fuller has 2 ridges on either side instead of one which means more mass far away from the center to resist bending. one could say it has a better strength to weight ratio but I imagine it sacrifices cutting performance due to the bevel angle being larger by necessity.

[@AssassinWarPigs]

Somehow without understanding what "gah" is, you used it perfectly

[@alzeebum]

Random gun guy here. The elbow up/down thing is a difference between long guns without or with a pistol grip. With a pistol grip it's natural and easy to keep your elbow in but as you open up your hand and tilt it forward to grip a traditional long gun, your elbow naturally comes up. People who have little to no experience with traditional long guns, which includes modern hunting rifles, just mindlessly repeat the "keep your elbow down" mantra when it doesn't apply.

[@Tomichika]

Must say your hair looks so amazing!!! And great vid ❤ sorry for your sanity Raff, we love you 🦖

[@ravenmorrigana1093]

18.5 minutes in, and I can't think of any time i've heard Metatron be this generous and kind to a Cracked article.

[@dogmaticpyrrhonist543]

Claymore is an anglicisation of the Gaelic for "big sword". What counts as a big sword, obviously differs on context. There's a solid argument that what was meant at the time is basket hilted broadsword.

[@DamianTheAlien]

In the original Klingon, "Ghah" is meal of serpent worms. Best served live according to connoisseurs. Also, Cracked is a humour website along the lines of the Mad magazine. Perfect for this segment. Japanese blades were folded because Japanese bloomery smelting made for poor quality steel. You would not fold quality spring steel unless you wanted a particular aesthetic pattern.

[@Kargoneth]

A fuller stiffens a blade both because: 1) it reduces the area of the edge-perpendicular planar cross section along its length compared to a blade with a shape equivalent to filling the fuller with metal, and 2) retaining thicker metal along the rim of the fuller allows that portion of the cross section to behave similarly to an I-beam, increasing the number of spines on the blade by one. Multiple adjacent fullers will act as multiple I-beams that have been welded flange-face-to-flange-face. Fold a sheet of paper in a zig-zag and it becomes stiffer along the plane perpendicular to the centerfold and zig-zag edges of the sheet.

[@PC_Simo]

”Gah!” is an interjection; most likely onomatopoetic, in nature; like: ”Ugh!”, or: ”Bah!”.

[@crwydryny]

Interesting point regarding firearms. Holding the elbow up was commonly taught in militaries right up to recent times (I have a British training manual from the 90s when the SLR was being phased out which describes holding your elbow in line with your shoulder (I believe I was in reference to snipers I'llhave to dig the book out) Apparently the switch from "pigeon winging" was to support the weight of the rifle and prevent injuries to the arm which are more common I modern CQC compared to older wars where battles were often fought at ranges of around 500m where the raised elbow provided better accuracy by creating a hollow into which to tuck the rifle which isn't possible with the elbow down

[@PeregrinTintenfish]

Metatron, you made a mistake. Most fencing treatises are Renaissance!

[@sergeykomarov2203]

First of all, I want to say that your humor is of the highest class. Your medieval clothes look like denim dyed indigo, was it possible during the Middle Ages? Please, please make a video of how the ancient Romans dyed their clothes. They had red, blue, orange colors and so on? I mean bright colors, not faded ones.

[@Gershom_Nokhri]

Claymore comes from Gaelic "claidheamh mòr" and means "big sword." I'm sure the two- handed sword was historically called a claymore to differentiate it from an arming sword.

[@melancholoid]

Awesome Vid! Thank You very much for Your Work! Greetings from Germany

[@Raven-flight]

Fullers, lots of debates a ground one removes material. However, it leaves an I beam type of structure, therefore pushing the stress axis towards the edge (think how a cylinder is stronger than a flat structure) If However it is heat forged in, you are just pushing material towards the working edge (retaining the cylinder concept) but also further compacting the crystalline structure of the metal closer together creating a denser and stronger section more able to dissipate impact force along the blade rather than concentrating it at point of impact.

[@victorro8760]

The crystalline structure changes when the blade is heat quenched and becomes uniformed when tempered.

[@carolynbrubaker1619]

I wouldn't comment, but you make me smile and laugh out loud...Besides it's a great format to teach with.

[@joeln8158]

One point regarding elbow high or low with firearms. I was under the impression that keeping your elbow low was so it wouldn't interfere with the guy to your right. In a situation where you have a bunch of guys standing shoulder to shoulder, the guy holding his elbow straight out is not going to be popular. Even today, when birding you hold binoculars with your elbows down partially to be courteous to those around you.

[@thrrax]

Keeping the elbow on a 90 degree angle when shooting rifle type fire arms is designed for better stability while standing or crouching, with no additional support for the weapon. This greatly reduces the chances of the recoil causing the stock to slide from its positioning. Even in modern military they will still teach you to shoot like that for more stability, especially if you've never fired a rifle before. In modern days, with combat being more urban centered, it's better to keep your elbow closer to your body, kinda like a 45-30 degrees angle. Also looks cooler in movies when moving as a group.

[@jacobdill4499]

For the fuller, it isn't just to make it light. It is also makes it easier to make a good looking sword since you don't need a nice even ridge along the spine of the blade.

[@oldmangimp2468]

This is an excellent video. I look forward to many more, just like this one.

[@PC_Simo]

17:00 Also; considering that those 15th century firearms weighed like crazy, I would imagine a raised elbow being a pretty good idea, for increased stability. Especially, with the recoil / kick they must have had. It’s not, like these modern, plastic, toy-weapons that you can probably hold and aim, with a single pinky-finger, and that have nigh-0 recoil / kick, when fired. 😅

[@stevenharris9877]

The first time I heard of a blood groove, was in a very odd murder mystery from the 20s. The killer used a glass knife that he broke off at the hilt, and it has a 'blood groove' to insure the victim bled to death.

[@fibanocci314]

Intriguing

[@brianerickson6775]

Regarding Sai. Sai were sharpened, only during times of war and when the wielder was wearing armor (minimum breastplate). However, this was extremely rare. In battle, a sai would be considered a secondary weapon.

[@Altom941]

With regards to making cast iron swords, I recall reading an article on the blog called "A collection of unmitigated pedantry", that stated that apparently in China there did exist a technique that would allow one to make a good sword from cast iron. But IIRC that technique required a prolonged (over several days ) heating to decarborise the sword, which was very labour and fuel intensive and therefore did not spread that much. Incidentially, if anyone is seeing this comment I cannot recommed that blog enough. It is amazing.

[@jegsdinogod5091]

In terms of the arm being out with the rifle, aka chicken winging, you only keep your elbow down with a pistol grip. For a traditional long arm grip it's acceptable to keep the elbow out for ergonomics.

[@LamiNalchor]

Very well said. The "overcorrection" is an absolute problem.

[@andyaknoby5007]

OH...give me all the ninja turtles and the "i'm a little pedantic" t-shirt and I will stop

[@magnusnilsson9792]

Dibs on Raphael because he has the Sai's as his primary weapon.

[@andyaknoby5007]

@@magnusnilsson9792 nope! I asked first!Ha!

[@SethAbercromby]

Complete layman here, but I can imagine the fuller making the blade stiffer results in part from the 'double diamond' coss-section it creates. a diamond shape is fairly rigid on its own, so the two of them stabilzing each other might allow the blade to retain much of its stiffness.

[@TheKerberos84]

About the filler grove. I try to explain it as good as i can. The least amount of force get's transmitted in the middle of the blade. You can see this principal used in H-Beam in Construction for example. The part in an H-Beam that holds the "I" together, contributes very little to the strength that a H-Beam has.

[@juanixinauj]

I call it a I beam, but I guess we speak of the same thing. Such beam is good at resisting bending, not so much torsion, but I'd say I'd generally agree with you. What your comment made me think about is, is that middle part of the sword taking less load? I guess that supports the idea of parrying with the edge, as in that case the answer to my question is "yes" (similar to the I beam case). But taking the blow with the flat, in this case that middle part of the sword would be contributing the most to resisting the loads of the blow. However, it wouldn't be a great contribution to its strength, as there isn't a great "lever arm", in contrast to the comparatively longer "lever arm" from the flange of an I beam to the "center" of the web.

[@TheKerberos84]

@@juanixinauj Hi, English isn't my first language. The way i have been told, is to look how the forces in a Object "flow". There are several Programms that can very accurately display that. A lot has to do, how the forces/loads are orientated in an object. For example if you use a Sword to hit an object. (Impact Point). The Edge has to withstand the most compression forces. (Cross section) If you go up the blade to the middle. The loads/forces get less until you reach the exact middle. If you then go up to the shoulder you get stretching forces. The highest at the edge of the shoulder. If you would turn the word 90° and try to do the same. The blade would bend(plastic deformation) a lot. Since there is very little material to withstand the load, in this orientation.

[@We.are.all.human.]

Swords is what got me to your channel back around 2015-2016 ish.

[@We.are.all.human.]

My everyday all day hip knife is an Esee 5. It weighs a pound. A 2 pound sword would sing in the wind. My favorite wood chopper is a cheapo dime store ax that weighs 3 lbs, it gets used an hour a week.

[@LovePikaMusic]

Ah, yes, the video where you demonstrated drawing a sword from your back was what got me into your channel, nice to see it referenced again)

[@NikovK]

The elbow-up posture is superior for forming a pocket and a shoulder-to-stock connection. Its typically used when firing in the old standing posture where the chest is largely perpendicular to the direction of fire. Modern shooting from the military is adjusted for shooting with body armor, which made that perpendicular stance bad. You now want your trauma plate parallel to incoming fire to put it over as much of your chest as possible. Accordingly the 'chicken wing' is being trained out of anyone firing in body armor. However, if you are not firing in body armor, it is a superior posture. Your drill sergeant will not accept your argument, however. There's some similar anachronism in modern movies of WWII with soldiers carrying rifles in 'low ready' and not 'high port'. The muzzle of rifles used to be held high since bringing the longer, heavier weapons down to the enemy was much easier than raising it up. It is also still practiced in maritime operations, since shots into the air are far less dangerous than shots into the ship.

[@Bilskirnir3124]

Let's get Metatron to 1,000,000!

[@Septembersrain1984]

I suppose staying guilty has never felt better. You’re the best!

[@jarongreen5480]

It's funny because you actually used "gah" in its proper context.

[@brockblades]

I’m not a sword maker but I am a knifemaker. You are correct about the fullers. They are used to reduce weight but can also serve as giving strength, similar in the way an I beam works

[@bethelhanley5439]

It's important to remember that great chunk of what people expect in terms of sound effects actually comes originally from radio, where exaggerated sound effects are of course necessary as they take the place of visuals. Hence the "coconuts" horse sound effect, and the "schwing" sword drawing. For reasons this carried over into the talkies. It's like the exaggerated "thwack!" effect in fist-fights.

[@reactionaryprinciplegaming]

Sorry, Raph, you get the sais. If you wanted the katanas, you should have been named Leonardo.

[@therrdon1841]

I went through US Army Basic Training in 1973. At that time, we were TRAINED to "Chicken Wing." Of course we were also trained to fire the Colt 1911 one handed. There may be good tactical reasons to draw the arm in, but I get a steadier grip with the "chicken wing."

[@Lohgoss]

For those interested the German period term for greatswords is Schlachtschwert (Fünff Bücher von Kriegß Regiment und Ordnung... ; Leonhart Fronsperger 1555) lit. battle sword.