Tod's Stuff Wallace Collection 16th century bastard sword review

[@kattnet]

To confirm, the grip is made of waxed cord around a wooden grip. This is how the antique sword is currently and there is no evidence that leather was ever used over the cord on this piece.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Great thanks!

[@Gloin79]

finally a pommel worthy of staying on the sword

[@Luke_Danger]

But but... ending them rightly!

[@TheBlindedLeader]

Idiots

[@Gloin79]

blasphemer!

[@neilwilson5785]

Well, OK, but ending rightly really means a rondel dagger through the eye-slit. Chew on that observation, weak, pale, meme-hunters!!

[@LordEvrey]

Talking about Memes: "end him rightly" is a misstranslation, which has been fixed for quite a while. The original german source translates to "end it quickly".

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Funny you mention that Tod is not known for swords. I always thought of him as a bladesmith. Either way the man can make a great looking sword. Thanks for showing it off.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Aldito Hernandez lol. Why is that? This channel is great!

[@sumanngon]

What a work of art! First time I comment on your video just because of the sheer beauty of the sword handle, scabbard and the pommel design art. I actually like the blade geometry!

[@dordfnord6055]

Awe inspiring, stunningly awe inspiring! It feels like getting a glimpse of Excalibur, Anduril, or some such legendary blade. Kudos to Tod for his craftsmanship, and many thanks to Matt for not being selfish and sharing this masterpiece with us. Cheers!

[@hunt4life56]

That has to be one of the most BEAUTIFUL swords i have ever seen!!! I would love to have one in a left handed version!!

[@earthman4222]

That is truly beautiful. Tod is brilliant. So, if you could have one sword, any sword...

[@joshmallett5718]

The "naked" back of the scabbard and hilt hit me more than I could have ever foreseen. Efficiency in time and weight considerations... very nice indeed!

[@SoulTouchMusic93]

the combination of the hollow grind and satin finish make this thing look amazing!

[@grinofthegrimreaper]

this sword is jaw-dropping, hands down the best looking long/bastard sword I've ever seen made today.

[@MattsGreatHall]

Really great video, mate. I love to see the amazing work of craftsmen like Tod. Well done.

[@ChePennyDK]

Absolutely gorgeous work, kudos to Todd! And thanks for showing us Matt :)

[@sideofguac]

Wow Mr. Easton, it's been Schola-fest this past week. What is this, the 6th or 7th substantive video this week, plus you introduced many of us to Metatron? Share, like, long-since subscribed. You are the best

[@Theduckwebcomics]

That sort of blows Albions out of the water... and onto a new planet.

[@Theduckwebcomics]

I don't know man... As long as he has the blade in the correct proportions and weight, and the steel at the right temper and fit firmly into the hilt he's done all that Albion does right there. -I don't know if he has at that but I'm sure Matt would remark if he hadn't. Everything else is what makes it so much better and more expensive. ...as well as not having the economy of scale that Albion does, that will add a lot to the cost.

[@DoktorWeasel]

I haven't handled either, so I couldn't comment on that. But he certainly does much more interesting decoration, Albion tends to be pretty sparse, and don't really do complex hilts at all. I think he does re-hilt and do scabbards for Albion blades though, so you can get kind of best of both worlds. Also for the total purists, Albion does modern machining, I /think/ Todd does old school manual blacksmithing.

[@NoahWeisbrod]

Most Albion swords are pretty minimalist: no frills, all functionality. It's not wrong per se, but it's not representative of these kind of show-off pieces that were popular among the absurdly rich.

[@edi9892]

Albions were meant to handle like authentic swords and look authentic. However, they were always minimalistic in decorations, but the fittings are absolutely neat. IMHO the Albion kingmaker is the more beautiful sword. When it comes to decorated swords I say TEMPL does the best job.

[@NoahWeisbrod]

Aldito Hernandez oh yeah. Peter Johnsson swords are NICE. I wish I had that kind of money.

[@Yeknodathon]

Thanks, pleasure to hear the homage made to the artisan and discussion of the feel and aesthetics of the sword; brings it to life for me!

Man this is high end sword. The blade is just magnificient by it's simplicity and perfection. I don't know if Tod reads those comments and I assume not, but this is a perfect work. The work of a Master.

[@aanler]

What a poor reproduction! The blade doesn't make the cool historical metallic swiiiing sound when you pulled it out of the scabbard! :D

[@noLuckyStrike09]

aanler You have to shout that yourself for RP purpouse

[@villehammar7858]

And it's sharp! Medieval swords were not sharp, they were clumsy edged clubs! :D

[@ze_rubenator]

"Medieval swords were blunt" Yeah, no.

[@chrisallen5854]

Guys, read his comment fully please. Click the 'Read more' button.

[@sebimoe]

These peened imposter replicas...

[@tangsoodoarnis4life]

That is truly a beautiful sword that you have shown; I love the collection of Tulwars in the back round.

[@viktorkachovski5252]

This should be on pornhub under category Swords and Hardcore.

[@TheLiamis]

Viktor Kachovski nah it would be under fingering.

[@dizzt19]

I don't know if it's the polishing but the hilt looks so clean and bright that I can't stop thinking about plastic toys with aluminium coating. Anyway, thanks for showing it off, it looks great :)

[@Evan-rj9xy]

You know, it took me well over an hour to watch this whole video because I went off on a 45 minute tangent just looking at all the stuff that Tod has made lol XD Thanks for the recommend Matt, I didn't know that Tod had a youtube channel.

[@davidmacdonald910]

Todd's videos are some of my favorite on the subject matter, as he is gregarious entertaining and genuine. The only thing I don't like is a ,seemingly, continuous lack of footage when displaying blades all the way down to the point or tip. It seems as though after viewing hundreds of videos of Todd's, And surprisingly other videos on similar subject there seems to be the lack of footage all the way down, when running down a blade, all the way to the tip. Whether this is an editing issue or otherwise it seems that we are disappointed repeatedly by not seeing the points of the weapons we all appreciate.

[@patrickkelly5590]

I have several pieces from Tod and I quite lust after this one. Beautiful.

[@bmxriderforlife1234]

ive been looking at Tods items for awhile, really been thinking of ordering a few things and every video on his wares you do just makes me more interested. i think im gonna start with a crossbow and a couple daggers.

[@minuteman4199]

I first saw Dr Capwell on this channel, but since then I have seen him on quite a few medieval history videos, some going back quite a few years.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Yes, his good works extend back to the beginning of this century.

[@normtrooper4392]

What a lovely sword. I do especially love the work done on the scabbard.

[@ryanb1874]

Dang, a real medeval hollow gring too, Can you please show it's cutting potential...

[@SebastianSzukalski]

Lovely sword. Been waiting for this since seeing a glimpse of it in your previous video. Totally lived up to expectations. The way he does really nice fittings and scabbards etc with his swords is something more people need to do. I can only think of a handful of people doing that to the same level, Fletcher and Johnsson most notably. Some of Mateusz Sulowski's Munich longswords seem similar is tooling quality too. And Patrick Barta too of course. Side ring is reminiscent of 5 ball spadroons, though of course this is much earlier (edit: you mentioned that). Not sure if I missed it, but did you mention the accession number for the original in the Wallace collection? EDIT: A479 I linked it to James G. Elmslie so maybe he will comment.

[@paulbecket7399]

It was kinda a my understanding that the hollow grind also increased the surface area thus improving the stiffness and strength of the blade as well as making it lighter.

[@mikapesonen2434]

I think the finger ring, would work better as a blade catcher..but I'm no expert by any means. Pretty cool to see what they would look like all shiny and new.

[@ajcox6549]

C'mon people! Why am I the only one commenting on how pleasing the ball sections are?

[@jackbessant1936]

Tod made my scabbard, really nice stuff

[@The1Helleri]

You noted that you thought the stamps used to mark the leather may have been wood. Can't say I've ever used a wood stamp. To me it seems like it would not be hard enough to keep giving crisp marks over time. It also seems like end grain leaving pricks and scratches inside the mark would be a problem. With tooling leather I usually use steel or brass stamps. With thinner and more elastic leather, I have filed the sawn end of antler tips in order to make a stamp (metal stamps tend to tear right through it or be too low friction to really bite on the material and permanently deform it). Were wood stamps used historically? And if so what kind of woo did they use? Also did they fire harden them or treat them in some way?

[@Robert399]

I like how the camera keeps taking the sword out of focus to give us a really good look at your chin instead.

[@scottmcfall4561]

A stunningly gorgeous piece of art.

[@roystonito]

Can't wait to be back in my home England to go see the original in the flesh. Was Tod allowed special access for close up HD photos and dimensions maybe not given in the museum, or did he follow what was available to him online and from public access? Utterly stunning!!!

[@JKYSDidYouSee]

Thank you for helping to differentiate bastards from long swords, they're my favorite type of sword, and its kind of hard to find them because a lot of people just call longswords bastards.

[@BigZ7337]

Beautiful sword, any chance of a cutting test video?

[@scholagladiatoria]

It has already been sent to its new owner now.

[@John_14v6]

So this wasn't a purchase for yourself? :(

[@wilhelmscream6919]

A complete novice here so apologies if the question is somehow silly but i was wondering whether over the course of the history of the sword and the techniques used to make them have there been any developments that are objectively basically always better than some other way of making one. Whether in the blade, hilt or the guard. For the sake of context- let's assume that time and resources are not an issue so we don't need to equip an army of beggars with cheap and easy to make blades. The mention at 8:18 of the blade being "hollow ground" sparked this question in my mind.

[@discochoir]

Great vid Matt. Amazing sword Todd. Love that blade shape and the overall style. :)

[@ThatBlueBadger]

Would the maker be able to switch around the finger/side rings for left handed users? I would assume so, with you saying it was quite the high end sword.

[@MrGeek91]

Might be one of nicest swords iv ever seen.

[@kiltymacbagpipe]

I see you using what look like metal hooks to hang your swords. Any concern with corrosion from different metals reacting with each other?

[@NDOhioan]

They could be painted or something...

[@Akiralisk]

I wonder if there were finger rings of the shape that's used here on the reverse side. Ordering a bastard sword from my smith now, don't want to get confused on the issue/ Does anyone know?

[@LutzDerLurch]

I thought those grips were produced by gluing leather around a hardwood core. And whilst the leather is still wet, it is tightly wound with rope/cord. This ensures it is flawlessly glued. And when the rope/cord is removed after everything has dried, it has effectively tooled this texture into the leather.

[@kattnet]

There are multiple methods used in assembling a grip and even more varieties of grip covering.

[@LutzDerLurch]

Yes, undoubtedly. But the texture of this grip looks like the archetypical leather-wrapped-with-cord-whilst-drying kind. I may well be wrong, but from the video it looks like it.

[@kattnet]

The antique has waxed cord over wood and no evidence that there was a leather covering. The replica mimics that same treatment.

[@LutzDerLurch]

Ah, so you know that specific specimen in detail.

[@Josh-rs6bj]

There's a set of maximilian plate armour in the German Museum in Berlin, that is accompanied by a sword with exactly the same hilt. Absolutely gorgeous!

[@brandonhughes1438]

Why the brass on the back fittings? Protection from rust, other?

[@garethlamb6923]

That is a beautiful sword. I am curios as to why the finger ring was not made to properly finger the guard, but the blade shape would help more with cutting than thrusting, and fingering the guard is usually done to help with point control and thrusting. It probably was mainly for aesthetics, unless someone had small hands.

[@kattnet]

One theory, and one that I believe, is that the finger ring supports the counter-guard; and this bar protects the thumb at the back of the hilt. In this case, vital functionality is still very much preserved; just not in a way that we might originally have expected. There are many examples of swords that have an inaccessible finger-ring due to it being blocked by a plate or bars or the blade being too wide for the ring to accommodate the finger. Cutlers made the choice to keep the finger-ring on these swords for a reason. It seems logical that it would be to support the other hilt parts.

[@MannulusPallidus]

Thought: If the original was rehilted at some point, it's very possible it did have one of those longer German grips and perhaps a longer, matching blade. Maybe some Italian gentleman bought it on vacation (or took it off some dead German gentleman) because he liked the hilt, and had it rebladed and a shorter grip made for the existing pommel.

[@gordonsalive9998]

I'm looking for hooks for my wall like yours it has to be large enough to hold the sword far enough away from the wall to accommodate the large rings on the guard of my dsa 16th century two handed long sword I live in UK btw.

[@kyleflanagan963]

At the risk of bringing in "tainted" non-historical elements to this, I would LOVE to see Tod recreate some of the better swords from The Witcher 3. Not the best historical combat in the world, sure, but I've never seen swords that look better in a video game. Some of the semi-complex-hilted longswords are just gorgeous.

[@0326jlc]

Well he is an armorer for the series so did you get your wish?

[@th_blck_knght]

I don't know how it feels, just what it looks like, but I would suggest the handle could be leather that's been temporarily bound with cord when it's been glued on, leaving a cord-like texture on the leather? I know Peter Johnsson and Niels Provos atleast have used such a technique.

[@hubert_c]

paliandro that's what Albion does, and Matt has a Ringeck so he would recognise that construction.

[@justsomeguy3931]

That's the coolest looking sword that's actually practical that I've ever seen. I prefer it when fantasy swords look like that.

[@Tananjoh]

Co-incidentally, I recently looked up some stuff on swords with finger-rings and found an old thread on Swordforum international where Matt Easton wrote: "I even have a picture of a 13thC falchion being 'fingered' (pardon the expression ) somewhere" www.swordforum.com/forums/showthread.php?23241-Index-Finger/page2 Little did 2003-Matt know what innuendos the future had in store for him...

[@Alefiend]

Beautiful piece of work, and I suspect it's an absolutely brutal cutter.

[@JohnnyDogs1978]

Would've been a shame back in the day seeing something with hundreds of hours of master craftsmen in it get swung at something similar. You'd kind of wanted to kill your enemy for making you destroy a work of art.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Well, remember that this was a period with great disparity of wealth. Someone who could afford a nice sword could afford lots of them and keep a tradesman in work for his whole life.

[@JohnnyDogs1978]

scholagladiatoria Yes, I often put my thoughts and rationale onto someone 500 years dead without thinking too much. I bet the armorer, even if on wages would have great pride in work like that I guess.

[@me2people]

When I (qualifications being a lot of KZbin hours spend on Lindybeige and Matt's videos) look at this, is strikes me as something worn in places where you're not expecting a fight. It's a short blade that won't get caught up on things, and the wide blade with a hollow grind strikes me as being very good at dispatching unarmored opponents. Perhaps your theoretical craftsmen can sleep well thinking of this as an object worn in civilization, not necessarily on campaign.

[@christopherdrekr1078]

Would a left hander not only need turn the sword around in the hand ? Its cermetrical why would you need a left handed version on a sword that's same on both sides apart from the cross guard ?

[@rogerlacaille3148]

A truly beautiful sword!!!

[@robertusaugustus2003]

That sword is absolutely beautiful

[@Duzzies-101]

What advantage(s) does a stiff scabbard have over a floppy leather sheath?

[@scholagladiatoria]

Protects the blade better.

[@maxpayne5941]

Maybe it looks short because of wideness of the blade? Imagine it being thinner, would you call it a long sword?

[@shrekas2966]

this is just masterful craftsmanship. i wonder how it performs.

[@axebearer]

Appreciate the metric, Matt. :D

[@davidmacon1138]

Can you use it with full articulated finger gauntlets?

[@PieterBreda]

Swordporn. My day can't get any better

[@Fridrik-]

Sword porn with all that talk of putting the finger in... Just saying

[@ramisabreur7961]

Very awesome sword ! Matt can you please do a video about medieveal mounted combat and how one handed swords were used against armoured opponents (both in mail and plate) Thank in advance and have a good day ! :)

[@edi9892]

What do we know about swordgrips? Most reproductions are wood with leather wrapping. Does it really represent the past? When did people start to use cord and wire wrappings and why?

[@Ken19700]

Maybe he'll bring the messer from his website to you for review one day, or that rather gorgeous pattern welded Saxon.

[@ron948]

So is hollow grind a prefect way of forging a sword or are there other types grind a sword both for cutting and thrusting?

[@scholagladiatoria]

A hollow grind means a lighter or stiffer blade with a thinner edge. The disadvantage is that the thinner edge is more fragile.

[@CzornyLisek]

Edge grind is not about forging at all rly. Generaly cross section(I rarely see/hear cross section being called grind) well there is many end each have advantages end disadvantages.

[@tazelator1]

Correct me if I´m wrong, but I think with double edged blades it doesn´t matter whether you´re right- or left-handed.

[@RMATFL]

There is a finger ring on the hilt and asymmetric side rings (One side for the thumb side and the other for the back of the hand). That definitely suggests which hand the user prefer.

[@Fishhunter2014]

I'm curious, what's your favorite sword type in the Oakeshott typology?

[@TardyTardigrade]

What blade length generally denotes a Bastard sword so as to separate it from a Longsword? Also, what is the blade length of that particular sword?

[@Rasmus1603]

You know it depends on the Type of the sword. Usually a longsword starts At 35 to 36 Inches. And a Bastard sword a little shorter. They may start at 31 to 33 or even 34 inches. This one here as Matt said is about 31 and a half inches long

[@TardyTardigrade]

Thanks for the info 👍 I must have missed the part where he stated its length 😕

[@HebaruSan]

I wonder if you could learn more about whether the hilt and blade were an original match by using the sword dynamics system that the Medieval Review channel was talking about some months back. If the diagram looks typical, then it would make sense to suppose they were designed together, less so if something is noticeably off. /watch?v=FkPC4jWCsI0 /watch?v=0tEc7vgjDfY

[@roberttauzer7042]

O.O What a spectacularly fabulous sword - DO WANT!

[@WMcKay3645]

What do you think of the BBC documentary Swords, muskets and machine guns?

[@0hn0haha]

I don't think I could find it in me to throw that pommel at someone.

[@WColdblooded357W]

Great job on that sword. It is quite beautiful!

[@hazzardalsohazzard2624]

Based on the size, which is it a Longsword and not a side sword? 79cm seems too short to use in two hands to me.

[@scholagladiatoria]

That's longer than a lot of katana blades.

[@edi9892]

A sidesword would be a onehanded blade. A bastard sword is a onehanded blade with a grip long enough to put both hands on it. A longsword tends to have a longer blade and grip.

[@xiezicong]

Harry McCusker It's just an inch longer than the Agincourt Bastard Sword by the Windlass Battlecry series, if Matt Easton measured correctly. And that's pretty awesome

[@melchaios]

A side sword has a 1 handed grip, a complex hilt, and it has a narrow blade. Narrower than an arming sword, but not as narrow as a rapier. You could say it's sort of a transitional weapon between an arming sword and a rapier

[@Robert399]

because it has a two-handed grip

[@mihjq]

An idea for a video: how to recreate a historically accurate handle. I'm an amateur knifemaker and some day I'll want to make a replica of renaissance quillon dagger and other projects too. You mentioned in the video that You don't know how the handle was made but for me that would be the most interesting thing about this sword. Consider putting together ideas for different styles and different periods. This kind of information is usually omitted, and You have certainly handled and inspected closely hundreds of blade weapons. I personally would be interested in different periods and cultures, of course. Don't hurry, the project I mentioned has been put off for quite a long time. Just give some thought to it. Thank You for interesting stuff, bye.

[@erichusayn]

What a beautiful sword! Any idea how much that one would have retailed for?

[@Ghoulza]

why does finger ring sound wrong when Matt says it.....

[@Ragesauce]

That blade is wider than I am long!

[@tyrannicfool2503]

What is the difference between a bastard sword and a long sword?

[@DextraVisual]

It wouldn't be a bastard sword in my house. It would be my favourite son.

[@MagnusMoerkoereJohannesen]

Oh my god, Matt! That long pan across the entire sword from 17:25 on is pure porno! Mark that as NSFW! :D

[@timbirch4999]

What's that noise in the background at 7.50..? Does Matt have a pet crocodile or something?

[@CarnalKid]

Someday I want you to look at Dr. Capwell and shout "Your name is Toby!!!".

[@242sighting]

I think I did this when he came to my 5th grade class. I... did not make a good impression.

[@seamusinmusic]

I'll be honest. I am probably not gonna watch too many more of your Tod stuff videos. Nothing wrong with it, it just prefer not feeling like i am being sold something. It is a very nice sword, and you did a very nice and informative review.

[@muskyelondragon]

Beautiful sword and scabbard. Looks very expensive. Very very nice piece of hardware.

[@Ken19700]

Maybe the finger ring is really just thumb protection.

[@Hadrexus]

what's hemar?

[@scholagladiatoria]

HEMA - Historical European Martial Arts

[@casonastudios1228]

a little bit off topic: do you have sources for leather Skabberts in the 14th C?

[@beachmaster3486]

Could these kinds of swords burst the rings of mail, or was the idea to have the point stab the opponent through the armour without destroying the rings? What about thrusts against mail from horseback?

[@hamilcarluxemburg5266]

Bon Gorrison Proper riveted mail does not burst. They would do little more than weigh you down if they did.

[@StairwayToAsgard]

Hey Matt, were historical swords sharp near the hilt? I don't see why it would need to be sharp there.

[@SpecArch96]

StairwayToAsgard Watch his video, "Sharpening on Historical swords" or something similar in title. To summarise his answer in that video, yes, but Baroque and later, no.

[@TheOhgodineedaname]

Is the blade forged rather than ground?

[@Tullio238]

I thought a cutler was a maker of, well, cutlery. I presume that it meant something else in the medieval period then? I suppose it would make sense now that I think of it since they didn't use forks as we do

[@kattnet]

Cutlers made hilt parts and assembled the final sword. Bladesmithing was an entirely different craft in the guild system.

[@noLuckyStrike09]

Matt do you have any swords on that wall that you know of, were used and actual killed people?

[@scholagladiatoria]

Not for certain, no. Though there are a couple of swords I have that it is fairly likely. Without absolute documented proof though, I cannot say for certain - I can only say that they were carried by people who engaged in combat.

[@noLuckyStrike09]

scholagladiatoria Kind of an odd thought :-) though also very unique to own something like that.

[@chetdelarm]

Great sword. Tod's work is masterful. BTW the link to the original appears to be broken.

[@ChumblesMumbles]

I had a suspicion that Easton was a pommel man.

[@RafaelusOptimus]

I know it's a good historical reproduction and I don't doubt the craftsman's ability either; but indulge my question: The hilt seems quite thin as compared to the base of the blade; in any other structure that is supposed to receive the beating a sword gets in combat; I'd be afraid it snapped if it hit a target stiff enough. I am no expert, obviously, and I follow your and many other sword-nerd channels (Skall, ThengThrand, etc) and I don't recall seing many swords with such a thin hilt compared to the blade width

[@LordEvrey]

Here's a photo from Wikipedia of a historical sword without the comfy hilt: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Spatha_6th-7th_century.JPG/220px-Spatha_6th-7th_century.JPG So, basically, the "thin hilt" part is just the sword maker removing unneccessary material. There is not much steel under there in the first place.

[@CzornyLisek]

It hi carbon stell, to be fair steel used to sword making is almost spring steel. European swords can bend A LOT due to hi quality of european end middle east steel. No risk of damage rly. If we talk about japan sword made traditional way with local steel or anything from cheep steel. then Yes any higher force can destroy them. Watch cutting contests with traditional katanas they bend end snap like nothing. It's not because smiths are bad but because Japan end generaly that part of world don't have locally hi quality ore for hi quality steel.