Which Sword Should You Buy 3: Non-European / Fantasy (+ Outtakes)
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- čas přidán 30. 01. 2021
- Part1: Antiquity & Early Middle Ages
• Which Sword Should You...
Part 2: Medieval & Renaissance
• Which Sword Should You...
This is a mini series of recommendations, to answer this common question. These are reproductions that I either have personal experience with, have seen positive reviews of, or can suggest based on other designs from the same maker.
Separated into era as well as price range (budget / mid range / high end). Part 2 is about non-European swords as well as fantasy and "tactical" designs. I also included some bloopers / outtakes for fun.
Playlist of my reviews and other sword-related videos:
• Swords
What I recommend in this video (anything from Kult of Athena and Swords of Northshire is an affiliate link, the others are not):
Devil’s Edge single-edged qama
www.kultofathena.com/product/...
Condor Dynasty Dadao
www.kultofathena.com/product/...
Hanwei Warlord Dadao
www.kultofathena.com/product/...
Masahiro Damascus Thunder God katana
www.kultofathena.com/product/...
Traditional Filipino Weapons (TFW) Ginunting
www.kultofathena.com/product/...
LK Chen Silver Swallow miao dao (two-handed saber)
lkchensword.com/shop/ols/prod...
Swords of Northshire nodachi
shrsl.com/2rc57
Cobra Steel (modern fantasy blades)
www.kultofathena.com/?s=cobra...
A.P.O.C. “tactical” designs by Angus Trim
www.kultofathena.com/brand/ap...
Zombie Go Boom The Executioner 2.0
www.kultofathena.com/product/...
Zombie Tools The Spit
zombietools.net/collections/b...
Longship Armoury fantasy swords (NOTE: When I recorded this video I overlooked that the listed price is a 50% deposit, so it's actually twice that)
longshiparmoury.com/shop/
www.kultofathena.com/brand/lo...
Ultra high end: Fable Blades
fableblades.com/
Historically accurate daggers & maces: Tod Cutler
www.kultofathena.com/brand/to...
My opinion of Windlass Steelcrafts in general
• My Opinion of Windlass...
My opinion of Hanwei
• My Opinion of Hanwei (...
An introduction to sword collecting (where to look, what to avoid)
• How to start sword col...
Background music:
opengameart.org/content/rpg-a...
opengameart.org/content/rpg-a...
** Support the channel **
Help fund future videos, get bonus content and other rewards:
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/ @skallagrim
Books about history and/or martial arts, swords, knives, video/audio equipment, and other stuff I recommend (as an Amazon Affiliate I earn commission through these links):
US - www.amazon.com/shop/skallagri...
Canada - amzn.to/2HeOCMA
Other ways to support the channel by shopping through affiliate links:
Kult of Athena, my favorite online store for reproductions of historical arms and armor, fantasy swords, etc:
ww4.aitsafe.com/go.htm?go=kult...
Where to get HEMA gear and practice swords:
www.woodenswords.com/?Click=1799
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** Music **
Intro song:
"Illuminate" by Vindsvept
vindsvept.bandcamp.com/track/...
Outro:
"Highland Storm" by The Slanted Room Records
theslantedroom.github.io/stev... - Zábava
Can you do a similar Video on non sword reproductions like Polearms, Axes, maces, warhammers etc.?
I second that notion
I third this?
I forth this
@@thomusroye5667 fourth*
Yes! Axes!
Im nowhere buying a sword anytime soon but how could I not watch this.
Yeah me too but it's good to have this video when we do end up getting enough to buy.
A halberd guy I see 🧐
@@procow2274 Nahhh, trusty old machete although swords do be looking real nice doe
@@procow2274 disgusting halberd main
I bought the Qama
Crazy? Hmm, I wonder how one could destroy a ZT blade? You would have to shoot it with a substantially potent cartridge, I would assume...
oof
Good thing no one is willing to attempt something that crazy, right?
ya, it would be a shame to see someone do that to such a cool sword, especially the reaver cleaver, which is my favorite of all of them. Yup. would definitely cry if I saw someone do that.
@@nosrin1988 .......
Fuck right yeah ....
Isn't there a do not shoot this item label edged into the blade?
So why would you shoot it?
I inherited a cerimonial saber from my grandfather's army graduation, class of 54' brazilian artillery. And i aim to never "play with that". thanks for the video skall, i need to buy a sword to have fun cuz this one is to the shelf.
12:00 Skall: "No rambling. Do not start rambling!"
Why not? Isn't that why we are here?
I suppose he figures Shad has the "rambling weapons guy" thing covered lol
@@BigGayIncorporated I don't know who rambles more: Skall, Shad, Lindy, Matt... It's tough competetion
@@LuxisAlukard Given that I only watch the first two in that list,I went with Shad lol
I think skall rambles the least out of them honestly
I'm not here for that, because if Skall manages to keep on topic, he has a somewhat down-to-earth approach.
Skall does a new version for buying recommendations, i watched the older versions, comparing prices of the swords and quality, and after a long time i said: "Ok i'll save up to have nice looking sword that will last for a long time and even be a family heirloom and stuff"
My weird ass brain: "what if you use that money you save to make yourself a forge, get the tools and materials to make your own blades, gather some experience as a blacksmith and improve those blades and make money out of it?"
Me: "...a'right let's do that"
By now i have half a forge, a hammer and someone that sells coal, this is going to be fun.
People send skal swords all the time they make
If you wanted he could review your blades and who knows
You might start a business
I wish you the best mate
You absolute madlad!
Good job mate! Good for you that you actually have somwhere to build that forge.
Failure is an investment
How’s the sword making going
🎵 I like big swords, and I cannot lie 🎵
🎵 You other brothers can't deny 🎵
When a zweihander comes chopping in I’m gonna cleave yo chin
8:10 Pretty much indestructible, eh?, as if you would need to SHOOT ONE whit a high power cartridge to break them, I just can't imagine what kind crazy person would do that, I just can't fantom who would do such nonecense
anyone who would go to those lengths to test the strength of such a fine piece of craft can only considered to be a true barbarian in my books, and clearly doesn't understand the sheer sophistication behind the construction of a blade.
Any chance of getting a list of recommendations for larger swords?
I have no clue to whatever you may be implying, good fellows.
Surely, no one has ever done such a thing.
Forged in Fire has shot blades before......most survived nicely (edge on, not the flat), but the whole point is a torture/extreme test
I think it's very disappointing. I was looking for a sword to parry bullets with like Jedi do with blaster shots, guess I'll have to keep looking. :(
More outtakes please. You could start a whole channel with material like that.
Absolutely
I love the few fable blades swords I own. Highly recommended. I am not filthy
rich. I just saved for them as a goal. I got thier LotR inspired swords so far.
And you never went super crazy on a Zombie-Tools weapon, right Skall?
Surely you never went as far as to shoot one with a high power cartridge, right Skall?
I imagine the ultra high end stuff were very expensive because the smiths would be trying to make the design workable & usable.
If that is the case, considering they would take on any request, it might be worthwhile for people who are eager to have their fantasy design be made into real sword.
That's correct. I take pains to make my artistic swords as real as possible, and attend to details of form and function and design. They take me months to make, in some instances over a year. And I am quite choosy what projects I accept. Thanks for watching my portfolio 👋😃🗡
Todd's cutlery, but you forgot Todd's Work shop (my favorite of the two mainly because of the crossbows I can't afford); oh B.T.W. did you ever do a review of that Rondel dagger you featured in your "First impression: Arming cap, rondel dagger, A&A riding sword, Sinclair hilt" video you made posted on Sep 1, 2016
?
The APOC broadsword was my first sword and let me say that thing is an absolute tank.
I got the APOC katana. Love it. It's my EDC. I don't like the scabbard, too much rattle.
@@MrMetonicus you do not EDC a fuckin katana bro
@@ProfessorShnacktime - You do in Texas.
@@MrMetonicus another great thing about Texas
there's like $16 difference between the "Condor Dynasty Dadao" and the "Hanwei Warlord Dadao", but for that extra $16 you actually get a proper distal taper on the Hanwei.
Yeh but the condor is easier to customize
I like this little series sharing your thoughts and experiences on loads of different swords and whatnot
I find it very nice and informative
Thanks =)
Skall should really get his own Brigandine...
Your outtakes are so nice to see! XD
I saw The Mariner on the thumbnail for this video and I was like "Hey!, I've made it, My work is on Skallagrim" haha :-D Keep up the great work and my congratulations on the success of your channel. It's awesome.
You were cited in a former video, that's how I knew your existence
Veeeeerrrryyyyyyyy interesting - have to admit I never look at the fantasy and tactical sections, but, thx to you I'm gonna remedy that!!
P.S. Lmao for the outtakes!! Have a good one and stay safe man
Love seeing the piece raise immediately
Really enjoyed this series of videos!
Can definitely vouch for Fable Blades! I have a beautiful single handed leaf blade that I picked up a little over a year ago. The fit and finish as well as the handling is absolutely magnificent! Not to mention, Brendan Olszowy is a hell of a nice guy, and was a real pleasure to work with! As soon as I can, I'd like to get another piece from him.
I'm torn between longship and fable right now. Fable is definitely more expensive. For a more simple design do you think fable is superior to longship?
@@Benable7 I can say this. I owned a sword made by John Lundemo ( Odinblades ) before he got into Longship. In addition to glaring fit and finish issues and a four year wait time with almost no communication, there was a serious problem with the heat treatment. The fit and finish on my sword from Fable Blades is perfect. Brendan is capable of creating some extremely difficult blade geometries as well as some of the most beautiful furniture ( fittings ) I've ever seen. Not to mention Brendan is a real pleasure to work with. Always patiently answered my questions and never left me waiting and wondering.
@@erikcarlson172 Thankyou for your support Erik, I love that you love your sword! :-)
I've been wanting the paul chen dadao for quite a while so it's nice to see you recommend it.
That Miao Dao from LK Chen is absolutely gorgeous. Very minimalistic design, but that just adds to it in my opinion. Looking forward to that review in the future.
I'm so glad you included tod Cutler. I plan on getting either the breughel messer or bauernwehr asap
these outtakes gave me a good chuckle.
I'm just waiting for skall to test the last weapon all the way to the right on the Zombie Tools website...
The outtakes make every video!!!!
Please do a review on Thai dual swords (or just thai)swordsmanship. Apparently we use a lot of rotations in the fighting style.
Really enjoyed this series. Hope to see more like it soon covering polearms, axes and other fun stuff.
Cheers
The outtakes are gold
the end is on point.
Question: Is there any chance that you’re going to review anymore Zombie Tools? I notice that you review Katanas from time to time. Could you review the Apokatana or zakasushi? Maybe the Reaper 3? Tanto possibly?
My girlfriend and I recently got a Tod Cutler macehead as a "project gift" for our friend who does woodworking and he loves it.
That He-Man blade was sweet, that took me back.
I enjoy the rambling!
Fantastic video, thanks a lot. Would be cool, one day, to do this kind of video on Arabic swords, scimitars for example (or maybe you did, and I missed it...).
Fantastic work, by the way!
Haha, your outtakes are charming as hell.
Skall you should do a video about the most badass/intimidating weaponry/armour you can find I.E things like the griffon bourguignotte
Nice - but again: Will there be a modern Era (so Sabers and Cutlasses) video? Because I myself have taken a liking to sabers (compared to these most other swords - except the longsword and maybe the Kriegsmesser! - look clumsy!)
I think I can recall Skall saying he's not interested in 19th/20th century sabres, he's only reviewed a couple, which, if I remember correctly, found rather disappointing. So, Matt Easton's your guy.
For 19th/20th century you can often get an original sword for the same price as a high quality medieval reproduction. Modern swords are a little more complicated, though, because those originals are often pretty low quality (military contracts, given to the lowest bidder) and the modern repros are typically not as well made as a good medieval one. You won't really find a 19th century dueling saber for the same quality as an Albion, for example. In my experience, 18th century swords onwards are build for reenactors who need something pretty, durable, and blunt/safe. I'd suggest checking out the "modern" swords section of Kult of Athena. It's a decent selection and pretty representative of what is available more broadly.
13:33 the most magnificent quality content here.
feel like with a lot of these you'd be better off just buying a higher end machete (only like 80-100 bucks usually) if you want something cheap that cuts well, unless you specifically want a shortsword for the additional decorative purposes. Though, even some modern machetes have a bit of a 'archaic' look to them.
This video series is awesome! Thank you for taking the time to help people like me (who are looking to buy a Quality sword) out!
Have you ever heard of “Kingdom of Arms” swords? I was wondering if you would recommend them, as I’m looking to possibly buy their “Strider Sword”.
I can't wait till the day when I have enough money to buy myself a really nice expensive fantasy rapier like the one at 9:49
You gotta go really crazy on Zombie Tools blades huh?
You mean like...
*inhales*
SHOOTING IT WITH AN ASSAULT RIFLE?!
Great video mate, really enjoyed it. I might use some of these designs to make 3d models.
Now I am definitely gonna buy that APOC Cutlass. Pirate’s life for me🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️
Coincidentally, I ordered an APOC Tactical Cutlass a couple of days ago. It'll be interesting to try out. I'd tend to agree with your observation (in another video) that anything with Angus Trim's name associated with it is worth a look. From experience I'd say the same of Michael Tinker Pearce.
Nice recommendations
Please add more outtakes at the end in the future xD
Thanks for making this video.
nice vid, nice outtakes lol
Loved the little Raiden from MK pop up for the katana
That Fantasy Rapier looks like a weapon Artemis Entreri or JarlAxle would use.
Kaer Morhen Forge does custom Witcher III swords that are pretty high quality as far as I know. They are pretty expensive, but you can get them with a customer back scabbard that is actually functional, custom engraving, and if you want too, silver plating.
After watching this I went to the websites recommended. I have never bought a sword before. I have 2 in a cart right now. Great video.
I would like to see you test the Apoc stuff, been thinking about buying one
Nice video 👍🏻
Shoutout for the Todd!
Tod Cutler's stuff is excellent. Even the budget line is great. I have several pieces & they are all fantastic.
If I ever hit the lottery, I'm going to spend more than I want to admit with Fable Blades
I have the APOC cutlass and it handles nicely. Haven't done tatami cutting, but I have tried it against fallen trees and it came through unscathed. The balance is similar to a historical cutlass or hanger, and can easily be used with sport and dueling saber or single-stick techniques (probably messer, too, but I am less familiar with that weapon). My only problems with it are the "guard", which is squared metal with fairly sharp corners, and the edge, which out of the box was barely present. To be fair, though, the one I got was a "show piece" CAS used to display the sword at conventions and it had already been abused when I got it.
I can also second the recommendation for the Tod Cutler daggers. I have the bollock dagger with the Kult of Athena sharpening service. The edge isn't shaving sharp, but that type of dagger is a thruster and it has a wicked point and a very stiff spine. I wouldn't feel safe against it even with rivetted mail. The scabbard is simple stitched leather, but better than the scabbards that come with most daggers on the market. If in the market for a dagger, Tod Cutler is the first and only maker I would recommend.
Really enjoyed this series. Any chance you would do another series for armor/shields?
I like how you put fantasy and tactical together lmao
*What a well-spiced Delivery! Delicioso!*
Hey skall there are a bunch of Chinese made traditionally forged Japanese swords being sold on amazon and I was wondering if it would be interesting to check them out. You seem to have warmed up to Japanese swords and some of them (the main brands I’ve seen are Handmade Sword and Shi jian), and I think you should include more budget Japanese swords due to how common they are on the market. Love the videos
I very much enjoyed this video and I was excited to see the Tactical Cutlass. I have an original Angus Trim version, but he called it a Tactical Cuttoe, so getting the Tactical Cutlass would give me a match. Or so I thought. The shape is the same, the length is the same, and the APOC grip slabs are better. But the Atrim Cuttoe has distal taper and is very noticeably lighter, better balanced, and more nimble. The APOC blade would be worth the extra cost had they gone to the effort to remove some of the meat and actually follow the entire Atrim blade design and not just the superficial appearance.
A video about steel swords for hema sparring in a similar style to this would be very welcome
I’ve had a custom swords of Northshire nodachi for years and can agree it’s a really good sword.
Now THAT is the best bleep I've heard in a long time.
I long since want the Cobra Steel Kinjal, but every time i check CoA homepage it´s sold out.
The Zombie Tools all look fantastic, but they are hella pricey.
Yes, there is a wide range of ramblings. But the outtakes are always fun to watch because of that.
And on the super high end - Angelsword - Driftwood Texas.
do you know where to find byzantine swords? could you make a video about them?
That new logo is umm... it WOOD get some time to get used to
lol
;)
Oh wow I didn't even notice until now
The outtakes of you swearing are too awesome
Can highly recommend anything from Tod Cutler! His blades are fantastic value!
The sword metal sound as a bleep is most interesting.
Let's not forget That Works! Ilya and Matt are creating some beautiful pieces. It seems they produce mostly on comission, and they are definitely on the higher price range, but damn, their blades are worth the money.
Im looking for a butter knife in the medium to high end range do you have any recommendations.😜🤪😝🤑
Fable blades is every wet dream of mine come true.
Kaer mohen forge makes really nice looking fantasy swords
Yeah, we all know you gotta shot ZT blades in order to break them at least with a .308
No no, we tested that in our backyard, didn't watch or anything
DarnI missed the sale on the "devil's edge" blade At 0:23. Still, even at 75 dollars it's still pretty affordable for me. I'm thinking about getting one in a few weeks.
I know this is neither here nor there, but holy shit your beard is epic
Are there any good quality, affordable foam European style 1 handed swords out there for under $100 USD? I really want to get one to generally just swing around and also spar with my friend with. I've looked at some of calamacils swords, but not sure if theres anything else out there that's cheaper and not sure how to tell good quality ones from bad quality ones, especially with foam swords.
Hanwei is pretty decent quality, if you don't mind touching up edges. They know how to temper, and 1566 is a decent steel. Not miraculous, but perfectly serviceable.
Hey Skall did you ever consider bringing back the "weirdest knife" series? Perhaps add on weirdest bladed thing? Those videos were kinda fun and why I started watching
I just discoverd your channel and it's a great one. Thanks for all the work and passion you put in.
I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on japanese armors, fighting styles and diferent types of weapons. Especially the katana and wakizashi. But feel free to talk about other weapos too.
Keep up the great work! \(^o^)/
Awesome.
How about Yomikuni Swords? You reviewed some from them, and you liked them!
On a whim I bought the APOC gladius and damn I didn't do too bad! My first sword purchase and it wasn't a bad one. I would call it a poor man's Diphos.
Tod cuttlers swords are gorgeous too
Love your channel. I have one question. Where can I get a custom sword made or find? It's called "Zulfiqar" it's the sword of"Ali". Thx
Hi Skall - queation for you about axes - why they dont make handguard f.ex cross guard or smthng like tsuba for axes ?? i mean if it don`t interfiere witch sword movements , then it should`nt interfiere witch axe movment s
?
Iv'got Todd Cutler's Swiss Baselard. I would recommend Todd.
Thank you for saying pattern welded, every time I here someone misuse Damascus I want to smack my head on my desk
Moar hunting knives and foresting knives, please! Do you have a preferred puukko knife?
Check out the Ronin katana annual scratch and dent sale! I think it's still going on, perfectly good swords with literally a single scratch going for a third or more off.
Once I earned enough writing money to splurge a little, I bought the Spit from Zombie Tools. It is awesome.
Hey Skall, do you have a recommended site for European buyers? KoA has really expensive rates for my country
Thank you for your help and all your content!