What were Sideswords? + A Review of Kvetun Armoury's Sidesword
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- čas přidán 3. 06. 2018
- What are and were sideswords? What do we mean when we say sidesword? Also a review of Kvetun Armoury's sidesword simulator.
/ kvetun
/ historicalfencing - Zábava
I once tried dual-wielding a sidesword and a backsword. Got stabbed in the front.
Ok, jokes aside, that is a nice looking training weapon.
"I do have a particularly large rapier."
Oh you~
He seems to be a fellow rapierist
Quite handy when you're a fan of penetration.
We love good penetration in this channel!
There goes Matt again, comparing the size of his rapier.
"I have used and handled other people's sideswords over the years"
"I do have a particularly large rapier"
- Pickup lines by Matt Eastern.
Of course it's a weapon mainly used for thrusting
There he goes bragging about the size of his Rapier.
What about its penetration power?
@@damasek219 Over 9000 Newtons
@@jungi001 depends on the context😉
Sideswords are awesome. Cool stylistically, interesting transitional period. What's not to like?
pain
Nice to see you still have your sponsorship deal with superdry. Get some official t-shirts made up. You never know your viewers might even like to buy one
In italian, generally speaking in catalogue museums and related texts, the term "spada da lato" means "civilian sword", in contrast to the various military type swords. Rapier in italian is generally translated with "striscia" that means "stripe", and it stands for "spada da lato a striscia" so "civilian sword with narrow blade". Of course I don't know how old this terminology is, but it's generally accepted in the collector and reaserchers world.
In German museums sideswords are often termed "Degen", something you would normally use for a smallsword or foil.
in spanish a sidesword or spada da lato and rapier both translate as espada ropera with no distinction since the sidesword simply evolved into the rapier, ropera just means ''for clothes'' as in civilian use and then everyone adopted the term
Ok as a English only speaker I have to say I love when names translate to what they literally are. (Fancy sounding name sword) what does that mean really? Well in (insert language) it means long skinny sword. Makes me think of a guy ordering a sword long ago walking in and saying "Yes; I would like you to make me a 'long skinny sword' that comes to about here, and could you put a piece of metal around here? Why? Oh because I like to hold it this way." or something silly like that.
the design changed to adapt to the fashion of the time, not really that someone decided to make it look that way, during the mid 15th and 16thct very decorated and padded clothes were common on the nobility and the common folk and since we know padding gets in the way of cuts, the sword was adapted to thrust and penetrate the cloth and the design took the shape required to do the task
ThatGuyYouKnow yea but the guy in my imagination might have been the first one to think of it....just checked. Yep he was the one that thought of thrust over cut vs piles of cloth.
"I have used and handled other people's sideswords over the years"
I have two really nice spada da latos sideswords made by del tin, they are customs not in his catalogue. It was a treat to see you review a different and favorite sword of mine. I hope you do a cup hilt rapier review in the future. Thanks Matt, gorgeous sword for the price.
You know, I love the fact that this channel has so much interesting information in their sexual innuendo videos...
Got a side?
Want a sword?
SIDESWORD!
Matt, could you please do a video discussing the historical use of the arming sword WITHOUT the aid of a buckler? Also, it would be great if you could discuss dual-wielding sword with spear, as it is most definitely addressed in period sources. Thanks!
Were the swords carried by the early conquistadors roughly along this type, or would they have been closer to what we think of as arming swords in blade shape?
TheChiconspiracy Both actually, side swords and arming swords for those that couldn't afford better weapons. Tercios for instance, Spanish soldiers relied on arming swords, they had to pay for their arms and armor out-of-pocket. The side swords were for the elite class, like, Christopher Columbus, Hernan Cortez, Francisco Pizarro, Ponce de León, and Coronado. I hope this helps.
Search google for Portuguese black sword.
@@Atrahasis7 nice looking sword. 👍
Francisco Pizzaro and Hernando Cortez both carried swords of that hilt pattern, but true cut and thrust blades.
I would love to see a video or two on Katzbalgers, the short (sometimes VERY short) sword favored by the Landsknecht.
I suspect the popularity of the S-hilt was at least in large part due to the extravagant sleeves etc. that they wore, ie; rather than straight quillons that would get caught up just like your sidesword experience.
Jonny One-Truck That sounds like a plausible explanation. Less risk of something snagging in those fancy puffed and slitted clothes.
yeah, the regular cross guards just tangle. My sleeves aren't slashed, but the pants are, and marching is... challenging with a non S hilt.
I love that sword. I never knew what a side sword was and it’s freaking awesome. Seems like a great transitional compromise piece. I would prefer a wider blade as well
_You put two fingers on the bulge and your little finger under the bulge_
We have side sword model #2 if you want to cut your friend badly!
Kvetun Armory Is it a broader-bladed trainer or a straight-up sharp?
I just think of the sidesword as the early modern era successor to the usual arming sword.
Thank you for the detailed overview. :-)
Aesthetically, it appeals to me, I like simple clean lines in a sword hilt, and this one does that to a T
I an open relationship with swords. I have my main sword, but I occasionally like to have other swords on the side.
I fight with a sidesword in the Florentine tradition according to Marco Docciolini, a thinner blade is pretty nice as the Treatise on Matters of Defence was published in 1601, so moving into rapier.
Looks like the ricasso is thicker, which is nice, my Regenyei sidesword is quite thin and painful to hold.
Did you actually ever explain the story behind the changed intro sound? If so, I've missed it :D
"Sideswords are different from sabers, they have guards."
-Matt Easton 2018
Finding good gloves for use with sideswords has been a neverending quest. I've done bolognese fencing for over six years now and am still waiting for someone to come out with a glove that satisfies on all points. The problem is that you need a glove that protects the fingers really well since they are exposed and tend to get hit a lot. And a sidesword swung at full contact level of force can easily break unprotected fingers. Red Dragon gloves are the bare minimum we require of our students for full contact sparring. They have two pros: Low price and mobility. I, myself have had to make due with them for budget reasons. There are some interesting new gloves on the market, which I have not had the opportunity to try and there are some new ones coming. I'm personally holding my fingers crossed for the Thokk WeaponMaster Gauntlets. I did support the Pro Gauntlet project but I'm not holding out much hope that the finished product will ever see the light of day.
Convenient that I just asked this question on your latest backsword video! Noice!
In Spain it was common to have paws instead of a ring to protect the index finger from a blade siliding downwards. For an example check internet for Francisco Pizarro's sword, although replicas tend to have that piece reversed
I'd love to see a video that goes more into the history of sideswords. I think they're pretty interesting, and in fact a character in a Medieval/Renaissance low-fantasy ("low" meaning more realistic: the world it's set in is made up, but there's no magic or monsters) story I'm working on carries one, but I haven't seen much about them on CZcams.
If you have a sword that comes loose because of the pommel nut construction, you can add a bit of automotive thread lock to it and it will fix that right up (I find the blue stuff works best). Personally I like the retaining nut construction in any reproduction sword for the aspect of being able to clean/change things out exactly as you mentioned. Always have preferred that, always will. 😎
Nice, I've been very interested in sideswords lately and have been thinking of getting one! Sounds like I may need to consider one with a few branches around the finger rings & knuckle bow to protect the side of the hand, though, lol
Hello Matt! I have a question about the handling compared to a saber, specifically, having the forefinger over the hilt appears to give more leverage and control of the tip than the saber, and therefore more mobility for parries, etc. However, if that were the case, I'd expect to see a way to keep that control with a saber, perhaps a ring inside the guard. What are your thoughts and historical observations? Thanks in advance.
I really like that hilt. Do they sell sharp versions?
Pretty blade , nice presentation. Checked your library of videos and curved weapons seemed under represented. Any replicas of Hussar or Cossack sabers, siege of Vienna or Crimean war?
A video request:
Can you do a video about battle formations? More specifically I would like to know how large the formations tended to be, how many lines and columns they had, how far apart the lines were, how far apart soldiers were within a line, and how weapons, armor and shields affected all of this in different time periods.
Glad to see the logo back on wootz.
I wish you would discuss the distal taper in your reviews. Thats the one thing most makers don't disclose on their website and a bad distal taper, even with a correct PoB can really mess up the handling of a weapon.
Its the one caracteristic I'd be interested the most, especially as most makers tend not to make it like the originals. (Like most rapier blades being 6mm at the ricasso to save time and money, while most origninals are around 10mm)
Arming sword? Side-sword? Side-arm! :)
I study bolognese school and sidesword are awesome, a truly fascinating sword.
Yeah, the finger rings look a bit large, like two fingers in glove will fit in there. That moves the side protection away from your hand.
Getting your quillons caught in your clothing could be embarrassing during a fencing bout; in a fight it could get you killed. Did you get hit when your sword hung up in your fencing jacket?
No, I moved out of distance.
Matt in a comparaison between sidesword and later infantry sabre ( say British / French1845 models) what do u think is the better sword ? ( Civilian unarmed context)
They are very similar. I don't think either is really better.
I seriously prefer this sound quality.
I have an arming sword with a 15th or 16th century style hilt with a side ring and up swept quilons
Dose that count as a side sword
Still waiting for the sword "bell" asmr
that intro sound OOF
OOF indeed
We can see you filmed this with a wide-angle lens, because the swords near the corner of the video frame look terribly curved by the lens distortion.
oi mate do you have a licence for those sharp pointy things? :D
hey mate!can you tell us about the side sword now that you have use it?i am about to order one (with some custom work....) and i would like your opinion....
This sword must have been the one mordhau developers modeled their Italian rapier skin off of
I find that every time I have bad edge alignment it is because I'm holding the sword with a death-grip. When I loosen my grip slightly I get perfect edge alignment every time.
I'm willing to wager it's due to the sword itself leading the cut. Heavier blades are easier to cut with partly because they align "better" on their own.
baller swag sword
That's a deeply grating noise you've decided to open with there.
Hey Matt! I purchased a pair of sides words to use with my friends and study techniques with, but was surprised to see it is more difficult to find treatises than I had expected. Do you have some treatises that we could study out of/could you recommend any?
You might find these useful:
www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Renaissance-Swordsman-Antonio-Manciolinos/dp/0982591136
www.amazon.co.uk/16th-Century-Single-Sword-Combat/dp/150321429X
I would also very much recommend this channel for sidesword:
czcams.com/users/celgusvideos
wiktenauer.com/wiki/Achille_Marozzo
marozzo's treatise is translated there, its free.
Jorg Luc and Ivan Harlokin thanks!
Meyer's rappier is for sideswords.
Nice video. I am trying to put together a german armor from around 1340-1350 do you have any recommendations on where to get the info about what would have been used at the time cause on the internet you can' t find that much information.
Join the XIVth Century Armour Facebook group and read everything there.
scholagladiatoria thanks for the reply :)
Why did ring guards, etc not come about until later in history? Sword welders had used swords for thousands of years before the 15th and up centuries. Swords from Asia didn’t have rings or baskets, etc that I am aware of.
czcams.com/video/CR8I6YthMsE/video.html
"Thanks to the nut"- Matt Easton
were they still used in mid 17th century?
In an age of main and side bitches a certain englishman chose that in this CONTEXT he needs a sidesword :P nice video btw^_*
Probably my favorite renaissance swords. Not a fan of rapiers and definitely not of small swords (though the former probably and the latter definitely are later period swords). Would these be the swords mainly used by the Spanish Conquistadors?
ilejovcevski79 Yes
Swag sword : D
Can you cut with a side sword?
Which sword has a better cut and thrust ratio side sword, cutlass, or backsword? Please Respond
They all vary massively, and basically segue into each other ambiguously.
It's best to think of arming sword to rapier as a spectrum, with "sidesword" being a swathe of grey area in the middle.
Some sideswords are just straight-up arming swords with complex hilts, and likewise some arming swords are super long and narrow thrusters with a finger ring on the cross.
Sabre is a little easier to define since they all tend to have a single edge and some form of knucklebow, but they still suffer the same issue. Some sabres are basically cleavers with a simple cross, and others are basically just dainty smallsword-hilted shanks. (Or in the case of the British M1908 and Patton M1913, a shank with a guard that is a cup-hilted rapier in all but aesthetics.)
It's like an older, shorter rapier
Like a proto rapier
Or a pygmy rapier
Do sideswords tend to be as long as rapiers? If not, what is the average length of a sidesword; and is it longer than an arming sword?
No, not as long as full sized rapiers. As I understand it, a sidesword blade is more like a arming sword and it's hilt is more like a rapier. Like Matt said, it's kinda an inbetween sword. Cutting ability of an arming sword, but not quite the thruster of a rapier. Rapiers were very much thrusting focused and had quite long blades.
Are there differences between these training swords and what would be used for stage combat
Kevin Thorpe stage combat ones are like whip antennas. Stupidly bendy.
I thought stage and reenactment swords tended to be thicker and heaver due to them being intended for a lot of repeated edge-on-edge hits.
Wouldn't this be essentially the kind of sword that George Silver would prefer?
There’s a scene in Star Wars Ep. 3 when Obi Wan is fighting Anakin. There’s a moment where they are both really close to each other (right before the ridiculous twirling part). The combat style seemed to change completely when they were so close, they seemed to be quickly striking almost near the hilt. I know Star Wars is completely unrealistic sword fighting. But does combat with swords ever change when you are that close to each other such as in confined spaces?
Yes, but nowhere close to how it was portrayed. It was so bad that Rule of Cool died on screen.
In my experience when you get too close (at least fighting with sidesword) you did something wrong and you have two options: start a clinch or run away.
I am courios tough to hear different experiences.
This video was brought to you by SUPERDRY
How heavy is this sidesword?
What would you do when you use a simple hilted sabre or sidesword and your opponent is pinning your hand with his point so that you can't effectively attack without impaling said hand? Sure, you could try to bash his blade away but that's exactly what he's expecting you to do and he's probably only waiting for an opening to attack you...
edi
If the opponent can pin your hand, he can attack you elsewhere and has already won.
Not quite. For one, what I've described does exist in several fighting styles (knife, dagger, saber or sword) and it's a product of two circumstances:
1) the opponents guard favours maintaining distance, making the hand often the only target in rage
2) stepping in, in order to attack the torso, would most likely end up with the attacker being impaled or cut, thus it's a game of chicken, where one has to stop his defensive stance and do the first attack.
PS: if he can stab the hand, or maybe cut it, why not do so directly?
Answer: it would mean that you commit yourself to a low value target, which is on top very mobile. If your opponent has a dagger or shield in the off hand, retaliation can be swift.
6:00 do sword makers replicating historical pieces have to take larger modern hand size into account?
Seems every historical piece has a tiny little hilt for tiny little hands.
Matt, Could you defeat Bruce Dickinson in a sparing match?
What’s embarrassing is I caught my blade in the “tongue” of my own fencing mask. Is was in a single hand posta di Donna with a buckler, I went to strike but I rushed more then I should and the blade slid right under the tongue.... lol
How do you spell that "eskivona" basket hilted side-sword?
Schiavona.
Stupid question, but why does it have a nub at the tip? Is it because it's for sparring?
What is a sidesword you ask?
They are better than arming swords, and much cooler than rapiers.
That's all you need to know.
They are the best.
Always.
Period.
Until You’ve held a cutlass
Question: Would you wield a side sword (like the one Matt shows here) in combination with a targe and dirk? I know the classic combination is with a bh broadsword but seeming as the basket hilt comes with it's limitations, my next thought was side swords, all be it with a slightly broader blade. What do you think?
@@CJ_F0x a more clasic/ historical combo would be sidesword and a rotella shield :)
“I have a particularly large rapier”
Looks a bit like the one in The Princess Bride.
stx I had the Windlass replica of the dread pirate Roberts sword you're referring to. It was a really light rapier.
audio sounds fine to me
spada da lato ?
Will the hilt fit a Koning glove?
No.
Thanks Matt - that's a shame.
What kind of sword would an admiral carry during the Renaissance? Secondly, I'm looking for a sword for Ren fairs. It may or may not be used in mock battles but I would like something that won't fall apart. Any brands in mind? What do you think of this? www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=CS88FCR&name=Cold+Steel+%2D+Cavalier+Rapier
I'd shy away from cold steel. They are often unbalanced. Blades are good, but they make them thicker than proper historical blade geometries.
why are the pommels so big, where the guard already has a lot of mass?
The pommel can be hollow to make it light,
A large pommel keeps your hand securely on the grip and they look better than a small pommel
Snake Over I Mike the larger hollow pommels as well.
Is dress sword another English term for Sidesword? I wonder because in the museum this:
www.bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de/index.php?id=547&laufnr=00048091 is described as a sidesword.
Not in modern context.
Not to be juvenile, but would a straight, single-edged sword with a complex guard and finger rings be called a "back-side-sword"? :D
No.
So, I still don't get it. Why is it called a sidesword? Because it has blades on the sides? Because it is worn on the side of a body? Because it is a side-arm?
SEGAClownboss civilian weapon. Always at your side.
Please remember that General E-speaking wasn't even in the army
Why didn't they close the ring and forgeweld the D guard to the pommel?
The pommel looks screwed as opposed to peened. It's probably not welded so that you can remove the pommel for any possible maintenance (or for a meme I'm sure we're all tired of). I imagine they sell sharpened blades as well as the training blade that's on it, and if the knuckle bow was attached, it would be impossible to change the blades out.
6:00 yeah, there you go.
OK, I should have specified: on historical examples, which were AFAIK never screwed on.
edi Possibly because people like the way it looked. You have to remember that swords, esp. during this period in time, were as much a fashion acessory as a weapon.
I would prefer it otherwise for reasons of structural stability and symmetry; the latter being only for aesthetic considerations. However, what they liked back then is somewhat of a mystery (regarding some of their weirder fashion)
Ricky Hearn wants you to "handle his sidesword".......on his head. 👍
Does anyone know how do you call a sidesword in spanish? I've tried in the google translator and it thinks that by sidesword i mean "second word"...
"Espada ropero" seems to cover both the side sword and later rapier.
TheChiconspiracy thamk you
Espada roperA, ropera as in ropa, aka clothes, roperO means armoire.
Side swords are the best swords
Wouldn't a blade that has a oversized hilt to fit massive gloves and blunt blade sized for historic weight screw up a practices weapon's handling?
1.) Not if it's made right or 2.) Not if you believe in Triangulation in HEMA, where practice sparring with safe weapons is just one aspect of feeling a sword.
Esclavona or schiavona
Matt, what is going on in Britain man, they're banning pointy things. I reckon sticks and rocks will be next, how can you still be a weapons collector over there ?
+1
Hey matt，May i translat this video to chinese video website？there are many people cofuse what is sidesword（or rapier） @scholagladiatoria
@scholagladiatoria
I’d love to see you in Alec Steele’s ship forging a sword with him.
6:12 OR YOU CAN THROW IT ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
"The blade doesn't roll so much with curved blades." Another reason I love the katana.
Czar Vladimir Putins actions have sadly closed the manufacturing of swords with these guys on and off over the present police action (we call it war mr Putin).
Scholagladiatoria intro earrape version when? (I'm kidding please don't do it Matt!)
The nut is too difficult to unscrew. How are you going to end them rightly??