A breakthrough for SWORD comparison 

So later in my series I will be wrapping up with speaking to interpretation of sword comparison. in the first video I covered how to read, but there is some danger in saying "bigger is better". True for agility being​ better, but how that impacts other aspects of the sword matters as you noted. Also bigger is not always better depending on sword type. For example, historical rapiers are not as agile in rotation and translation, but that is actually a good thing. As a thrusting weapon it will help to control that point to some extent. This is the challenge of the sword dynamics, because context of the sword use matters.

Beyond that, this could be a goldmine for the smiths looking to design their own swords. This is like all of the old swordsmiths knowledge, without needing to have the swordsmiths of old around. This is absolutely incredible.

7:55 Is that a Medieval illustration of a cow...farting...on a soldier? Truly an artistic rendering for the ages.

How have I not come across this, if this catches on it could honestly create some legitimate quality competition in the industry. Cheers man.

The really exciting part of this (to me, anyway) is that, by more or less reversing the process, you can design a sword to fit a specific set of criteria.

With some more development, the software xould potentially do the inverse as well - you input the desired data, and assuming there are no conflicting numbers, it produces a design that matches your criteria. Or perhaps hook it up to a database of known (commwrcially available) swords. Input desired data, and it will find you a sword that matches those numbers aa much as possible.

Couple of additional suggestions for you Shad. 1) Contact Museums and ask them to provide these measurements for key "Iconic" blades 2) Ask anyone auctioning VERY EXPENSIVE swords to provide the measurements too. Either of those places using that graph or at least providing the raw data would be a good way to help spread the news too - I saw some RU-vid channel the other week who sells vintage weapons and makes videos about the more interesting ones (guns as well as blades) but that sort of place would be a good place to contact too.

So how long until we get an RPG that uses this formula to measure sword effectiveness? Does it work on weapons other than swords?

Now we need an aerodynamic and kinetic graph of the pummels, so we know which of them can end the foe rightly(er) than the others.

First, I love the idea of this type of information being available for the purchasing of swords when you can't directly handle the sword in question prior to purchase. I haven't owned any such swords in ages myself, money being tight and me preferring custom, hand made, one off swords sees to that, but having seen and handled some of the junk I have in the past and discussing their purchase and having been the purchaser before I know furnishing this info would create more consumer good will both from people not feeling strong regrets over a purchase after finally handling it (which oft leads to reluctance buying from that manufacturer again later) and from being able to find the sword(s) whose handling characteristics best fit ones needs without spending as much in the search (which will help more people have the budget to buy more expensive swords). Second I just want to say how amusing it is to me that I understood the graph on sight.

Hey Shad! I'm a young bladesmith looking to start my business, and having an agility graph program on my website is an amazing idea! Thank you for introducing me to these calculators!

Saved to a playlist. This video and the links in the descriptions are gold.

I'm truly growing to love your videos this is awesome.

It is great to see the sword dynamic calculator reaching a wider popularity! I am happy to see the idea promoted by fellow enthusiasts of the sword :-) One thing I would like to point out, however: it is unfortunate to call the graphs "agility graphs"- The implies that the foremost function of the graphs is to show swords relative agility compared to other swords. ou can sure read this out from graphs, but that will lead to "this sword is better than that sword" discussions. Vincent and I made an effort to develop this tool so that it did not favour one characteristic over another but rather to show handling characteristics that are balancing each other. It would be better to use the proper name, which is "Sword Dynamic Graph" (SDG-profile?) ;-) To get a good idea of a sword´s handling properties it is important to consider the pros and cons of each aspect shown in the graph. A sword with great agility will be quick to put in motion and allow for speed of attack. A sword with less agility will be difficult to stop. Low agility in the hilt region might make for a strong defence against coming blows. -There is more to this than might first meet the eye (or mind...) - So, please, avoid using the term "Agility Graph" since that creates a flawed expectation and the wrong conclusions. The graphs are as far as possible objective illustrations of the dynamic properties of swords. You can absolutely draw conclusions wether a sword will be a good weapon and behave in a way that is purposeful to a certain type of swordsmanship and fighting situation, but it is not only about agility. :-) Keep the kettle broiling! I love to see the discussion and questions about this coming. -Thanks! :-)

I like the idea. The only matter I see is that, with these graphs only, some weird conclusions can be drawn. For example, if we compare a gladius with a rapier, what we'll get? Both were use as thrust weapons, but in different context. With this I try to say that not only the data but also a context is necessary. I know, it's quite obvious, but context tends to be ignored.

A few years later, but excellent information. Thank you. I will try and provide a graph with any swords I make in the future.

Thank you very much for presenting this! It's very good, I'm an engineer and a beginner in blacksmithing, sword collecting and martial arts. Further studying on this will be very useful!

Love this work, I'l see what I can do for making graphs of the swords I own. Would be interesting if the same thing could be done for cutting/thrusting performance.

Hmm sounds like the next logical step would be to use an optimisation algorithm with it

Looking forward to trying this analysis on my Chassepot bayonet. I love the way that sword feels.

I modelled a blade in Blender. I have no idea if it would perform well. This calculator is great motivation to finish the rest of it

The ratio of the cones matter most, with a rapier the handle cone will be small but the blade cone will be huge proportionally.

Hey shad, I'm a new subscriber but love your content man. Have you/would you consider doing a video on castle prisons and oubliettes? Keep up the great work!

Seems cool. I agree that there should always be good information on sold products(especially expensive ones), this kind of info seems like it'd be nifty.

Wow! This is amazing, must get into experimenting, no time to loose! PS: Thanks a lot shady knight of diverse, interesting stuff thingies!

It's my birthday. This is a good video

Hi Shad, I am looking to forge a sword and I was wondering if could show me a design that would feel and handle extremely well, can cut nicely, at the same time look amazing and cool, like a sword a knight would use, maybe an arming sword or a long sword (you don't have to, I'm just putting it out there)

How would a better cutting ability of a curved vs. straight saber be calculated? Could the program account for forward curved forward heavy blades like Kukris for example?

rather than comparing existing swords, i like that this could be used in the design process. that holds much greater potential

I'd love to get this going. What resources to do use to shop for swords, Shad?

I'm having trouble seeing the vibration nodes on the hilt. Can you describe the best way to observe this effect. I'm assuming from the descriptions that the pommel is lightly held and the blade struck?

Huh, just finished watching the video. Kinda disappointed you didn't input a katana for comparison since your video title included Katana vs Longsword. Interesting nonetheless.

Hello Shad, I really enjoy your videos. They have given me answers to questions I didn't know I had. I am curious, though, if you've worked with weapons outside of medieval times. Secifically, Roman weapons and armament, and cutlass, the last "common sword" prior to advanced firearms. What are your thoughts, general or otherwise, on these subjects?

Thank you for that link. That will come in handy. I do think all manufacturers should include one with their swords. I also had a question about your comment on the Aragorn sword. Would the persons size factor in to that? I have always thought the sword felt and performed well for a wall hanger and always wanted to try that design with a real blade.

I'm certain that the Balance is referring to the ratio of blade weight/length to that of the weight/versatility of the hilt.

15:25 where can I buy that flamberge? I really want a flamberge but they seem hard to find :/

Five years later, I'm disappointed this hasn't caught on more! The 2nd edition of Peter Johnsonn's book, "The Sword Form and Thought" is out! Peter collaborated with the maker of the Weapon Dynamics Computer (calculator) mentioned in this video. So that is pretty high profile coverage, maybe we can get museums on board!

Shad, you can use cards (when editing the video on RU-vid) to add links during the video, now that annotations are gone.

That final image though. The exact intended conceptual innovative purpose for shields.

Shad! Would you be able to provide a agility graph for your imperious larp sword?

Great analysis. I wonder if you can take a look at the chainsword from warhammer 40k

Well are you going to put up agility numbers for your swords? Or is it something you can't do on your own?

There are two more aspects of swords, that haven't been covered: *vibrational nodes:* when you hit your blade, it will vibrate. You can only transfer energy efficiently, when you hit with nodes, that stand still during vibration. *flexing:* practice swords and poor replicas tend to bend mostly at the tip making stabbing near impossible.

I wish Shad could do a similar video on the proper use of heater shield, curiously you dont't really find that subject mentioned around.

You speak like an engineer. My compliments!

Thomas's videos about this are intriguing, but to confirm that this is a useful tool, I'd like to see a presentation interpreting one of the graphs, as in statements like, "The width here means this sword is good/bad at X." Or especially diagnosing problems. I tried adding 1 kg to some sample graphs and it just got a bit narrower, not the easiest thing to spot.

The best sword fighting style Japanese Italian or something else? Would you prefer to dual like the Italians did in the Renaissance. On the Tokugawa Period Of Japan?

Unrelated: if a wizard picked up a sword, what kind would be best for him/her? An arming sword/rapier, a bastard sword or a longsword? Personally, I'd say a one-hander if only because that would leave him with a free hand for stuff like fireballs (like the sword and pistol combo), but...

realy interesting thanks!!

So how did Aragorn's sword do on the graph? Did you check that?

Awesome tool. Going to go check the video series for all the details soon. However, as a mechanical engineer I would caution against using these charts religiously. They won't account for context, or your particular grip, strength, hand size and so on. They might tell you where the sweet spot is in terms of your own sword's mass and speed, but that can't account for the type of target it connects with and how elastic the resulting collision is. So absolutely, this looks to be a great way to get a far better visualization of a sword's handling character than we have has up until now, and I agree having something like this from manufacturers would be awesome. But as always with a tool like this, don't rely on it as your only source of information.

I'm watching this video while gearing up in Persona 5 and I definitely agree - when you buy weapons from a merchant, they really should list the stats of said weapons.

I wonder what the agility graph would look like for one of michaelcthulhu's swords.

Hope you enjoyed General Conference!

Hah! I've been constructing a greatsword for my cosplay and when I saw this, i had to try the tool! With my blade ready, i have had difficulty trying to decide how heavy my hilt and pommel should be and I think this tool (NOT MEANT FOR WOOD AND ALUMINIUM!) might prove useful, even though it's clearly misuse. I got some wonky results on my first try, but they seemed reasonable because my sword feels wonky too! :D

If you are planning on continuing your Skyrim castle reviews I'd like to here your input on Windhelm because I believe it is a good castle but do not know as much as you

this is very interesting, but I came here to see this technology applied. Will you be doing comparisons with this graph? I really did click the video to actually see the comparison you put in the title :/

Awesome tool, but as noted by others, what about thrust oriented swords. I think I hear an echo in the distance, could it be "Context" lol. Seriously though, it would be cool to apply the method to show information on suitability for thrusting. A horizontal thrust oriented graph maybe, or something that showed flexibility? Definitely going to check out the calculator, thanks for the tip! Keep up the good work.

Can you get these weapons that you speak of in these videos already... it would really help in your explanation...

This is also a useful tool for world builders/story writers - to be able to test how effective a sword would be before writing down its canon measurements

What sword is displayed at 5:20? Thanks in advance!

Is there a community page somewhere that has these agility graphs submitted by the public for each manufactured sword? It probably wouldn't be in every manufacturer's best interest to post there own. If there was a page where owners can submit their own graphs, It would be helpful for prospective buyers.

Was the mount and blade theme just going on in the backround?

can you make a video comparing different swords of a certain kind with each other and how much the difference to a different kidn of sword is ANd pls make some sword agility graphs for practice swords and compare them to the originals :P

Yo, Shad. What are the best means to contact you if one has a suggestion regarding Cogent Roleplay?

Which sword is zacian holding

Neat. I didn't know there was a calculator. I've been working off "Dynamics of hand-held impact weapons" by George L Turner from 2002 that presents swing leverage and all the math for it as the concept of the "living blade". Mandatory reading for any bladesmith. Going forward I'm going to look into how copyrighted the graphs are, I'd love to provide them with each piece.

Can someone do an agility graph on tha aragorn sword? for the lols

There were duels with swords in: April 14, 1920, Manila 1921, Italy May 13, 1922, Milan 1924, Portugal April 21, 1967, Paris 1994, Battle Not so obsolete as you may think.

I wonder if using two diff types of swords at the same time would make up for the diff weaknesses they both would have had on there own.

4:10 If you aren't feeling as energetic one day, do flourishes till you sweat. Breaking a sweat always helps me feel energetic. It's worth a shot, and I would love to hear your observations. I've noticed people seem to react to me differently after I exercise, than when I don't... It's like I go super sayain, and my hair even stands after the sweat drys... not that I push it straight back, or anything... I don't keep sweat out of my eyes.

I've heard of a style of sword called the 'leaf blade' that seems to specialize in hacking. Can you eventually discuss specialized blades like that?

this is fantastic!

You mentioned decapitating opponents, as well as having the sword only make it most of the way through the neck, which brought up a question I have. In pop culture you often see someone use a sword to take off an opponent's head with one swing, while the opponent is in a standing position. The headless opponent then falls to the ground. Is that actually possible? I feel like the opponents body would give out and collapse, or the force of the strike so close to the top of their body would knock them down, before the sword made it all the way through their neck.

I love the intro!

Please, where can I find a sword like the one at 0:09?

Given that the swords for LOTR were made by a proficient smith, do you think the problem is more in the reproductions rather than the overall design?

liking the new intro

I heard about this recently, but always assumed it was too complicated for a dummy like me to create myself. Really cool.

The best sword is a great sword custom built to the wielder. I have more time behind the weapon than anyone else alive, with practical combat application spanning over 28 years (had to stop due to my shoulders literally wearing out). Here are the dimensions I've used when constructing them for people. Handle: 5 hands. Quillions: 2 fingers high at center and roughly 14" - 16" in length. Ricasso: 3 hands. While this is very long for a ricasso, it works quite well. Lugs: 3" protruding from each side of the blade. Blade: Enough length to make the final weapon total reach the wielder's eyebrows, or as tall as the wielder wishes.

DO THE REVIEW OF NOVIGRAD AND OXENFURT FROM THE WITCHER 3

I'm an manufacturer, and I will apply this for now on!! This really is a good idea for making the information more precise and receive less complaints from customers... Thanks for this video!

Does this software actually work? Watched Mathew Jensen using it on his channel and playing with the numbers didn't seem to do anything to the graph.

Could someone explain to me exactly what the cones represent? From what I can see in the frame showing the messer, longsword and rapier, it seems to be showing the rotational inertia, which would explain why the rapier's cone is narrower. Though, if the graph is relative to the sword's weight, I can see how the rapier is "less agile" because it takes more energy to move something heavier, but I do not accept the "bigger cone is better" notion presented in this video.

So....what do you think of Berserk's dragonslayer sword?

If there is a PDF version of the book shown at 7:18, that would be nice. The thing is rolling for $1,000+ on ebay these days.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good place to buy a "REAL" arming sword or bastard sword? I've been wanting to buy a real sword that I would be able to use but I have no clue where to start. I'm pretty much the the type of guy that usually just goes to Amazon to buy everything, so ya

How good of a sword would a lightsaber be? What sword would it be most similar to?

I've never owned a real sword, but based on the wide range of toy swords I had growing up, I'd say my best sword is at least shaped like a medieval arming sword. I'd prefer a double-edged sword, and LOVE the idea of a sword and kite shield (cuz shields for kids/teens are either little plastic rotellas or cardboard heater shields lol). But then again, factor in the weight of the real thing and I'd probably go with the long sword. I've always loved the katana, but in anything resembling a real fight I think the long sword would be my best choice (unless I don't have armor lol). See, I'm learning something just by watching this awesome channel! :D Seriously though, now more than ever I want to get into HEMA. Guess I'll have to get on DuckDuckGo and find out what the sword laws are in my area and if/where there are classes. :)

as a "retired" swordsmith, i still think a good bit of the effectiveness of a weapon depends on the fighting style of the user, so there can never be a perfectly quantifiable simulation model to rate a blades perfection, because humans are imperfect and a good sword balances our weaknesses, however, this chart would greatly improve the guesswork. even if it just allows you to narrow down your options and rate similar designs its incredibly helpful and i wish i had this back when i was making swords. you cant say an English long-sword is better or worse than a katana because both swords accentuate the fighting style of the culture and variations in human body will change the scale of what is needed...but if you prefer the English long-sword and have an idea on your optimal length for your size, you could stack up a bunch of similar long-swords and find the best of the category, or if you prefer a katana for its fighting style, you could compare katanas and see which is superior. i will also add that the material quality is a HUGE factor. the difference between a quality made damascus blade and a quality modern monosteel blade may be trivial, but a perfectly balanced blade that breaks or bends easily is still just lively garbage. i's take a slightly off-balance properly tempered steel sword over a perfectly tuned and balanced aluminum or cast iron sword. so that is often harder to measure. yes, you can state the specific grade of steel and hardness on a chart, but heat-treating is an art and its imperfect and requires a skilled hand to compensate. so even good steel made in a proper shape can be glass or butter if the heat-treating is fubar. i once made 2 swords out of leaf springs from the same bundle, exactly the same grade of steel, but one was differential tempered and the other was done with an experiment method i was trying out. same exact steel and maker, same exact theoretical hardness. the one i did traditionally is on my shelf today as a beautiful blade, the experimental one broke in half on the first big swing. welded it together and blended it enough to be a wall-hanger but its essentially useless otherwise. so even with a chart of geometry and a specific grade of steel stamped on the tang, a blacksmith with a bad day who wasn't paying attention could result in a very expensive failure.

Dangit Shad, you got my hopes up to see the agility charts for sample long swords v katanas.

So which is "better"? An Epee or a Claymore?

personally I think the point where the blade cone starts is more important than the width of the cone, especially when you are talking about thrust centered swords.

I think in place of balance, perhaps, a more accurate term is responsiveness--akin to a piano action.

I wonder if this graphing system would work for a Urumi. I doubt it, considering it behaves so little like a sword...but would be a strange thought experiment.

The Knights Longsword for the win!

Brilliant!

Can't wait to see Albion vs Arms&Armour vs ATrim

145cm Longsword with a 44 inch blade,just at the limit of a longsword but it ia not a greatsword,can be worn at the hip,spiked slightly curved large crossguard great for defending the hand and using the murder stroke.has a waisted grip and albion ringeck pommel,has a diamond crossection for regidity in the thrust but is made of spring steel so it won't break on impact,has a fully tapered blade to be able to penetrate mail armor,also thrusting is more lethal and more important than cutting and a sword that is better at thrusting is more agile and has better point control,and since it is a longsword and has blade model like albion talhoffer it still has plenty of power in the cut.also has side rings for hand protection and sword cathers like a main gauce dagger on its crossguard,and also a sword catcher on the flat of the blade like a scottish claymore.There you go,a perfect sword.

Interesting, but the graph lacks information. What does it show? moment of inertia? Also, does this take into account distal taper? If so, what function does it use to calculate the second moment of inertia? In other words, how does it know the blade geometria? What happens if I put a sine wave into the distal taper? Will it be able to calculate it? Also, the nodes are calculated assuming the tip and the pommel are stationary. But what if I grab the sword? How will it dampen a supposed blow to the side of the blade?