Which is the best sword in Conan the Barbarian, out of the Father's sword and the Atlantean? Get your own licensed replicas from Windlass: www.museumrepl... Atlantean: bit.ly/43G2zf2 Fathers: bit.ly/3N9Knol Valeria’s: bit.ly/3qsKB1i
Which is the best sword in Conan the Barbarian, out of the Father's sword and the Atlantean? Get your own licensed replicas from Windlass: www.museumreplicas.com/conan-the-barbarian-original-movie-classic?affiliate=scholagladiatoria Atlantean: bit.ly/43G2zf2 Fathers: bit.ly/3N9Knol Valeria’s: bit.ly/3qsKB1i
I always thought Conan was more Persian than Norse/ viking. He's referred to as a barbarian. Cimmerian (sounds like the Persian city Sumerian) Also the Persian instruments in the soundtrack (can hear the tombak in the temple of set music) And the story of Conan is the same as Kaveh the Blacksmith (in Persian mythology) but in the Persian story the father kills the serpent king. And the helmet with the horns which is not Viking/Norse at all but comes from the story of Rostam where he kills a demon and uses his skull as a helmet (hence the horns on the helmets)
Even many years ago i wondered about the Atlantean why they didn't extended the Fuller right up to the cross. This would spare a lot of weight without changing the look very far. The ornamentals could also be layered in the longer Fuller instead of the ricasso's mirror. The block, the guards and the pommel may also bei lightended up by drillings with little effekt to the total look.
Shoutout to the late Ron Cobb, who designed these beautiful swords. It's worth noting that the person Conan took the Atlantean sword from, or, the person whose remains he took it from, was a bonafide giant and over 8 feet tall. So, for that person, the Atlantean sword was a one-handed arming sword, and a short sword at that!
Conan the Barbarian has so many cool weapons. Valeria's sword and Subotai's sword were both awesome for their users, and the axes and hammers used by Rexor and Thorgrim were outrageous but perfect for those characters. The weapons are indeed one of the (many) aspects of that movie that really make it stand head and shoulder above. Conan the Destroyer also depicts some cool weapons, though not to the same level. Willow might be one of the only other movies I remember off hand with its interesting iconic weapons.
The design was by Ron Cobb, the production designer for the film. However, Jody did a marvellous job translating the sketches into real items. I would link to Ron Cobb's own website, if I could, only then RU-vid would eat my comment alive.
Same here. The tapered blade and thinner crossguard always looked more neat and aesthetically balanced compared to the bulky looking Atlantean sword. *Edit* actually is it tapered or did the curves near the crossguard just give me an illusion that it is? Now I am not sure now that Easton put them side by side. 😅
I'd absolutely pick the Father's sword over the Atlantean, especially if there were two more realistically weighted versions of similar/identical design to these two. Having picked up the Atlantean version in a shop, it was very cool, but way too heavy (except for a Cimmerian).
According to Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan, the Atlanteans were the ancestors of the Cimmerians; and that Conan himself was a descendant of Kull, the Atlantean king of Valusia. In Howard's world, the Atlanteans were a barbarian people, and the great civilizations were the Thurian kingdoms of Commoria, Valusia, Grondar, Thule, Kamelia, and Verulia. Atlantis sank in the same cataclysm that destroyed the Thurian kingdoms I believe the "Atlantean" sword was actually supposed to be made of Valusian steel which was both lighter and stronger than the steels available in the Hyborian age (or any other) as seen in Howard's Bran Mac Morn story where Kull is summoned through time to help Brule the Spearslayer's descendant, Bran Mac Morn, and a sword breaks on Kull's crown. I suggest reading the Conan stories written by R. E. Howard and L. Sprague DeCamp, as well as Howard's Kull and Bran Mac Morn stories, as they are an absolutely awesome read.
The Cimmerians are descendants of the Atlanteans. According to Howard's History of Hyboria when Atlantis sank beneath the waves survivors fled to their mainland colonies. Many of the world's inhabitants destroyed them save for some that survived in Kush (Africa). There they fled into the jungle and reverted to a primitive culture and even devolved back into apes before evolving into humans again and migrating north. So Conan's people are descendants of the Atlanteans but there is no way he could personally be descend directly from Kull and I don't ever remember Howard explicitly saying so.
@@robo5013 It's an assumption based on a scene from a book where some wizard uses a little of Conan's blood to look back through his ancestors and the final image is of what looks like a battle scared Cimmerian man wearing a crown.
@@tasatort9778 In your OP you stated that Howard said that Kull was Conan's direct ancestor. That's what I was correcting. I don't read any of the stuff not written by Howard himself, I tried when I was 12 years old or about three years after I discovered Conan in the 70's. Most authors can't capture Conan's essence., they try to make him some kind of altruistic noble hero when in reality he is all about himself. Oh sure, he has a cavalier attitude towards beautiful women, but then he is mostly interested in getting laid.
@@robo5013 I thought I'd separated it out sufficiently with a semicolon, but I guess I needed to be more specific. I haven't read what I call the original 12 books (mostly written by Howard but some of it was edited or written by Decamp using Howard's drafts and outlines.) in more than 20 years, and I've only read one or two other novels. Thing is that I can't remember wether or not it's in the 12 or in one of the two other novels.
@@tasatort9778 I have been reading Howard's Conan stories, his notes and letters since the 70's. I have been a HUGE fan of Conan all of my life, even before the movies. I wanted nothing more than to be Conan and is one of the reasons why to this day I have long hair. The DeCamp and Carter books were adaptations of Howard's short stories, none of it was original Howard. They put the Conan stories into a linear timeline, something Howard never did. He described writing the Conan tales as if Conan were narrating some of his adventures to him, skipping around the timeline, as adventurers often do when narrating their life story when one thought leads to another. He only wrote one novel and it was basically a longer version of the first Conan story, The Phoenix on the Sword, which happened to take place after Conan had been king of Aquilonia for many years and was basically his last adventure. It's definitely not in the DeCamp - Carter books so it must have been some other book that, once again, may have used Conan's name in the title to sell it but most likely had very little to do with the classic Howard Conan.
The Atlantean sword is a more specialized weapon. Theoretically, it should be better than Conan‘s father sword because it was made by the Atlanteans: a highly advanced civilization who’s homeland had been destroyed by the gods when they became warlike, as opposed to Conan’s father’s barbarian tribe, who merely had discovered or had inherited knowledge of metallurgy. The skeleton found in the tomb is said to be a giant, or kull the conqueror, king of Atlantis. The atlantean sword is a technologically advanced weapon, it’s handle design adds the ergonomics that forces the user to use the sword in a particular way . All fantasy aside I own both of these swords and have broken and fixed both lol I favor the masters sword aka Conan as fathers sword, don’t get it twisted tho, I’d take the Albion’s Atlantean over Conan’s father sword any day. Lastly I would like to add that Kull the conqueror is said to be Conan’s ancestor, it’s possible that Conan’s original tribe inherited the secret of steel from the atlantean’s themselves.
The Cimmerians are descendants of the Atlanteans. According to Howard's History of Hyboria when Atlantis sank beneath the waves survivors fled to their mainland colonies. Many of the world's inhabitants destroyed them save for some that survived in Kush (Africa). There they fled into the jungle and reverted to a primitive culture and even devolved back into apes before evolving into humans again and migrating north. So Conan's people are descendants of the Atlanteans but there is no way he could personally be descend directly from Kull.
I would add that the Atlanteans metal skills would also manifest in better armor. Thus swords beefer and half swording to deal high impact and supported thrusts. The Cimmereans didn't use as much armor and likely shields making one handed agile swords preferred
@@robo5013 Interestingly Howard was drawing from 19th century theories regarding the early proto-celtic cultures in the north-west black sea littoral and modern day Crimea (or 'Cimmeria' as it was known) as it was thought early celtic metallurgical skill may have derived from Mediterranean cultures, possibly Atlanteans, fleeing a disaster such as the Mount Thera eruption and settling along the black sea, bring metallurgical expertise with them. Modern scholarship has mostly dismissed these theories but interesting nonetheless.
dude, it's a ceremonial dagger which also explains the sie and sturdyness and weird design for a sword. as an atlantean dagger it makes much more sense
Something to remember about the Atlantean sword is it's not supposed to be a practical size for a normal size person. The Atlantean in the tomb was giant, so his sword would have been of giant proportions. Only someone as strong as Conan could handle it.
Have you seen some swords from the past? The Atlantean sword is a bastard sword, of the broad variety, but short. Some of the Japanese swords (and medieval types) were 6 feet long or more.
@@TheNoseman1This is true, but those swords tended to be used more as polearms, and they have not only the dimensions, but the manuscripts to show that. If we're talking about a sword as a sidearm, then yes, the Atlantean sword is absolutely massive for that specific usage. So for Conan to be using a weapon meant as a sidearm intended for somebody much larger, he needs exceptional strength. It would be like a human trying to use Hellboy's Samaritan ( which even though it's ridiculous in size, is still technically a revolver and a pistol ) the same way he does.
The Father's Sword is pivotal to some of the themes of the movie. Conan's father tells him that the only thing he can trust is steel, not men, women, or beasts. Yet Valeria saves Conan's life knowing that "the gods" or fate will demand a steep payment in exchange. It's fitting that it is she who blinds Rexor with her own sword, presumably from Valhalla, after coming back from the dead to once again save Conan, allowing him to break his father's sword and defeat Rexor (Ben Davidson, 6'8"). It is also important that Conan uses the broken sword of his father to dispatch the main antagonist who had originally stolen the sword from his father and then beheaded his mother with it, thus completing the "riddle of steel." Considering the sword and sorcery genre, it's really quite poetic.
Conan probably had a routine of rotating the wheel in opposite directions every couple days, I mean it'd get monotonous going clockwise every day for like 20 years. (but basically same as what you just said)
What about conan's mother's sword? It was elegant and beautiful deadly, just like she was. And it was really unique looking. Also, the atlanteans were giants. The atlantean broadsword is actually a short sword for them. Just look at the size of the hand he takes it from.
Yep. Not much has been said about his mother's sword. It was the one I wanted of the 4 swords in the movie as a kid, probably because it looked small enough and light enough for my size. The symmetry of the shape and the design carvings on the hilt also looked cool. Of course now that I'm older, his father's sword looks a lot cooler to me now. But for practicality and self defense, I'd pick Valeria's sword.
The design is gorgeous and those runes really made the blade look more interesting. The Atlantean sword on the other hand... that seems more like it designed for chopping through more than just human bodies with its much more robust overall design.
Well, let's see.... Atlantean sword, made by what's always been regarded as a supremely advanced civilization (ie., very advanced metallurgy), versus a sword (a super cool looking sword, admittedly) forged by a barbarian who does the best he can with what he can get? I think that, of the two? I'd prefer to bet my life on the Atlantean one... Although, I'd really rather get my hands on that beauty of a Valerian sword hanging on the wall, under that shield...
Have you noticed the difference between Conan's sword in Conan the Barbarian and Conan the destroyer? They are subtle but they are different. I have the one from Destroyer, and yes, it is heavy! : )
My favourite is the fathers sword. i based the sword i made on my channel on the fathers sword but with my own twist and i did a goat skull instead of a irish elk
I like the blade of Conan's father's sword, but I would like a grip as long as the Atlantean one has, for optimal two-handed use - just personal preference, I like more space between my hands. The Atlantean also has a pommel that seems more comfortable for gripping. I also like the decoration on the father sword guard, looks dragon-like (even though it's supposed to represent a moose).
I love them both. My thoughts on his father's sword breaking wasn't due to it being of inferior quality to the Atlantean sword. Rather, having it break was symbolic to Conan breaking the evil that Thulsa Doom had wrought on his family and people. Thulsa Doom wanted their superior weaponry, and once he had it the people who made it were eliminated so that all of their power now belonged to him. Once the sword was broken Conan was also free from his past to forge a new destiny for himself. This seems especially poignant as you consider what he does in the final scene.
I think the sword breaking has to do with the quest F doom was on. The riddle of steel. The answer is not what steel, but the flesh ( who) is wielding it. Conan was super strong, and that's what broke his father's sword. The flesh that wields it.
If we're doing iconic 80's fantasy films then next we need a review of the tri bladed sword from the Sword and the Sorcerer;). (People laugh but it made back nearly ten times it's production cost which, admittedly, wasn't a high bar to set;).
SPOILER ALLERT? If any of your viewers have not seen connan the barbarian ? Then they shouldn't be watching your channel!!! Anyway I thank you for stepping out into the fantasy world to do some stuff for your fans ! I take your advice on every topic I need to ensure I have an studied and honest video. I particularly like the unboxing with your lovely wife? She never fails to put you on edge and makes me smile? Ok now that you did those two could you please look into "Dark sword armory warmonger barbarian sword " ? PLEASE ? This is the only functional sword of this level I was able to find & I absolutely adore mine ? And I found that all the reviews were negative ? However not one of the reviewers actually had one of them ? I would really appreciate what you think of it? I'm not sure if you have done anything from Dark Sword Armory? Many blessings to you and your family Peace James
Neither, its the belief in the person wielding it. Its amazing how well the first movie aged, considering its heavy metal higher than life adventuring pulp roots. Roberts stories were awesome but there is something unique about the movie, in many ways its the definitive fantasy movie, like an opera. The Atlantean sword looks amazing, super iconic, it just needed to big bigger and lighter.
Oh, thankyou for doing more of these Conan sword reviews. That is one thing I love about these movies the cool designs of weapons and armour. Everything looks heavy in these especially Arnold. I don´t know perhaps the barbarian is just supposed to be above average strength as it is in some roleplaying games, DnD and so on but not that much taller. So the stuff they use can be more powerful. It is a bit strange that Conan founds an Atlantean sword in the middle of the Hyrcanian steppelands. (kind of fantasy mongolia far to the east, very far from the sea) But, then maybe the king in the tomb is Atlantean then. In this world, Atlantis was a barbarian island nation known for it´s savage tribes. But one Atlantean, King Kull, another of Robert E Howard´s characters became a King of a mighty empire thousands of years before the age of Conan who´s Cimmerian people could count the atlantean´s as their ancestors...So, who knows. Maybe this was the tomb of King Kull himself then.
The Atlantean might be a ceremonial weapon intended for burial, not actual use. Historically people were buried with ceremonial arms and armor that was decorative more than functional.
I've always liked the fathers sword as well, it just looks cooler. Both those blades look realy wide. Thanks for bringing that information to us. Lol both to heavy to fight with lol. Cheers
My father and his friends rode their bikes 45 min to see Conan when it came out they were kids. I grew up watching that movie. I can’t wait to show my son some day. 😎 I collect fantasy swords, no Conan swords yet tho. But my god I am drooling at work watching this 😅
The Atlantean sword has the benefit of being approximately the same length as a katana with which the eastern sword masters who train Conan to be a supreme pit fighter would be familiar. Having the reinforced ricasso should also help in a hard fight. The Atlantean sword being used by a giant probably makes me think it served for the Atlantean warrior as a sort of main gauche or backup sword intended for defense.
Both are great, but I love the Atlantean a bit more, and not just because it is Conan's personal sword, but because of the overall design with the extended grip on the blade and the Atlantean motif of the guard and pommel. I also love how he finds it in the tomb. According to writer/director John Milius it is supposed to be the tomb of an Atlantean General, presumably one who survived the cataclysm. In R. E. Howard's stories, Conan's people are descended form surviving Atlanteans, so it is appropriate that the sword finds its way into Conan's possession, though in the original stories he doesn't really have a single, special sword and tends to use various designs depending on where he is. Sometimes he uses a saber/scimitar style sword. One thing people tend to forget when talking about Conan and what he "should" use as a weapon or clothing/armor is that the Hyborian Age he lives in is set circa 10,000 BC. So those who criticize him for not looking exactly like a historical barbarian/viking are missing the point. While R. E. Howard used historical peoples of various ages as reference, the world of Conan is supposed to be a prehistorical "lost world" where some of their secrets, like steel, are rediscovered in later times, similar to actual Atlantean myths (though in Howard, Atlantis was actually a more primitive society, at least in the Kull stories). In Conan, the Aesir and Vanir are just warring human tribes that will later evolve into the Norse. Conan's people, the Cimmerians, are descended form survivors of Atlantis and they eventually become the ancestors of various groups like the Celts and Gauls, hence the name Conan and his chief deity Crom. Howard wrote a worldbuilding essay in the 1930s called "The Hyborian Age" that explains his fictional world and how it evolved into ours. He made it so he could keep his stories consistent and it was published after his death. You can read it for free online.
Hey Matt! Love the channel and the video. Is that Valeria's sword right behind you? What about Subotai's sword? I'm pretty sure that Windlass makes ALL of them. Would love to see another video on the other swords. Keep up the great work mate! Bulletproof love from Canada!!
Pulling back memories of when the film first came out and Arnold talking about the Atlantean sword, he had three versions of it, a proper forged steel hero piece that he said was incredibly heavy even for him to wield and so was only used as a decoration, an aluminium version that he used when swinging it about, and a foam rubber one for when they were hitting the other actors with it.
The Atlantean sword was longer in Conan the Destroyer than in Conan the Barbarian. I always liked the slightly shorter blade in Conan the Barbarian because it gave the sword proportioning that better matched the giant in the tomb. Looking at the specifications for the Albion versions of the swords the Atlantean from the first movie had a shorter blade than Conan's father's sword and is just 3/8" longer overall (still about a pound heavier)
I always somewhat preferred Subotai's sword, seemed to be one of the most practical weapons in the whole movie. I also really loved the helmet he used in the final battle, I must make it someday.
Thank you. I always thought the Atlantean, being older and coming from a tomb, was sort of a 'transitional' form dating back to earlier bronze swords where the blade was riveted to the hilt/handle, and forward to some more recent sword designs. That would also be why the 'langets' are so prominent, to aid in supporting that connection since the heavy steel blade has no tang, and the sword's Atlantean maker wasn't confident of the connection's strength.
I think that besides just looking cool, the brass bits on the blade serve the same purpose that some of the early Bowie knives were brass backed... to "catch" an opponent's edge when blocking, since the steel would bite into the brass support. That is the documented reason for the brass on the Bowies, and one would assume that the sword designer for the movies was aware of that trait. But mostly, it just looks awesome!
Props to Ron Cobb for having designing both of those. I wish he had designed more swords because those are simply beautiful, and the Conan's Father's Sword is my absolute favorite. I also love the details that Matt pointed out. The whole hilt area looks like it's an elk that had its legs tied up.
Funny, I was just reading about the Conan film(s) last night. Honestly, the original is really good, and I would recommend that people watch it, but watch it BEFORE reading the original Howard stories. Movie!Conan is nothing like Book!Conan, so if you read the books first, they'll spoil the movie for you.
By Crom, this is high praise from such a legendary sword master such as yourself.They may be heavy for many but not for the might of Conan! But we agree they are both legendary in their own right!
I’ve always preferred the father’s sword. The whole ricasso/guard extension just looked impractical to me. Hope you can get to some of the short, curvy bois.
As much as I admire the Atlantean sword, I prefer Conan's fathers' sword. 1. it has a super-cool crossguard and pommel. 2. we saw the hilt being wrapped in hide by Conan's mother, as a barbarian would have done, and 3. it has runes in the blood-channel.
did you mention the half-sword technique with the atlantian sword. The design of that sword was clearly made so that you can grip the blade without getting cut. This would be handy to find gaps in armor. However, the blade is quite broad for the half-sword technique. It should be pointier.
Funny fact:in the game Conan:Exiles the atlantean sword that can be crafted by player characters is a two-handed sword. Don't know why they scaled it up like that, to be honest and there's no use trying to second guess game designers.
What do they weigh? From what I can find the Atlantean sword filming prop weighed 8 1/2 pounds (3.85 kilograms) and Conan’s father’s sword was about 6 1/2 pounds (about 3 kilograms). Clearly the reproductions you handled were quite heavy but are they authentic to the originals? NB Those may be functional sharp swords but I’m afraid that for me they would be wallhangers. On reinforced mounts. EDIT I could have checked the site before asking. Yes, they are of authentic weights.
I always believed that his father's sword broke because Conan had avenged his father by killing Rexor. It was a symbolic, supernatural occurrence. That's why, after he killed Thulsa Doom, he threw the rest of it away. At that point, the quest was over, and it was now "just" a broken sword. Conan the Barbarian is my absolute favorite film. Saw it in theaters last year and it was amazing on the big screen!
I actually wonder if someone could make a modified version of the Atlantean sword that’s more functional. I think that sword looks best aesthetically but I do hear criticisms of it being too heavy and/or too short. Would it be possible to have someone who knows and trains with weapons like Scholagladiatoria to make suggestions and modifications so a company like Windlass can offer as a “modified” version for sale alongside the faithful original.
I have both mounted on my wall. For decades the Atlantean has been my favorite but in recent years, I've found that I prefer the Father's sword. I even have a letter opener version of it. I'm sure nobody cares but I thought I'd share. And if you do not listen, then to HELL WITH YOU!
Ron Cobb designed these beauties with an attention to detail which had never been seen before Conan. Even all the Excalibur's just looked like larger than usual swords. Couple that with the gravity they were given in Conan you've got 2 swords which kicked off the fantasy weapons genre.
I figured the Atlantean sword was a sort of handoff from a past king to a future king. Even in death, he recognized a conqueror and gave up his sword. I prefer the Atlantean sword it’s more practical and made him who he was.
There's a detail you overlooked about the Atlantean sword; it was made for a much larger... person? The skeleton in the crypt is much bigger than Conan and one can presume it might have been a giant or an Atlantean in fact and that they were much larger than later humans... So in the hands of it's intended owner, it might have been a hand and a half or even a one handed sword... The problem is that despite the size difference between Conan and the skeleton, the design of the sword, by virtue of its ricasso, seems to have been made for a two-handed use, more suited to a Conan-sized warrior than a giant... Oh well it is only a movie after all... The original movie props didn't have much distal taper in the blade, which if you were designing such a sword for actual use, that would be a part of your design considerations, but since it was made for visual effect in a film, those details get overlooked in favor of a more impressive on-screen presence, but they have little to do with real swords.
I can only imagine how this went down. *Matt, visiting Windlass for entirely serious reasons, walks past this display* "Oh my god is this... Can I" *Windlass rep, knowing his afternoon schedule just changed dramatically* "Sure" *Matt shoots several videos completely geeking out over Conan the Barbarian repros* Can't say I could have done any different in your situation. Awesome!
It depends, with normal strength, Father's sword would be more appropriate, but with the legendary Conan's strength, the Atlantean would perform better.
I've trained in Viking sword fighting and from experience, the shorter blade is the winner for me. You have much more flexibility, speed and movement with it. You can get past a longer sword quite easily.
Everybody seem to forget the crucial point - the dead king in the tomb was evidently a giant. Look at the scene, where Conan lifts his skeletal hand to take the sword. For that long dead king, this weapon was most probably a short one-handed weapon.
As a kid I was a fan of MAD Magazine. I read "Cone-head the Barbiturate" long before I saw the movie and I only vaguely understood the reference. Great movie.
I mean metallurgically they’re probably not the same. The Atlanteans were an advanced people with advanced sciences/magics. While the father sword would be great by Cimmerian standards, it would be pretty normal by Atlantean standards.
Nice video. I'm a huge Conan fan and luckily I own both Albion Arm Conan swords and a custom Father's sword made by Fableblades in Australia. So Father's sword wins for me.
Historically, a cast steel version would be possibly develop cracks before one that was folded from ingots and hopefully enough iron to retain a good edge. The tempering in the movie only seemed to harden more of the first 10 inches of the blade asthe base was not cherry red.
