Some Points About Federschwerter 

This vid has more jump cuts than a knife throwing competition on a trampoline

He's a swede speaking English and pronouncing German words. Give him a break. I say very well done sir

Even despite having interest in the topic of the video, I still found myself looking at the guy in the backgound with a sort of intense wonder. Why was he sitting next to sword guy? Where did he get that hat? What led him to want to wear that hat? How often does he buff out his shoes? Does he like beige? All these questions and more.

@Yrie27 Good, then you'll take the fact that he is Norwegian into account and more fully appreciate how well he did.

I have seen slow-mo footage of swords clashing, and they bend an amazing amount. Some sabres from the Napoleonic era could be bent into a circle and spring back.

If you can unscrew the pommel, it isn't a pacifist sword

Holy cow he over-complicated this. It has the same weight and point of balance as a longsword, but no center of percussion. It was cheaper to make than a (blunted) normal sword because there was no spine, fuller, distal taper, or edge geometry to worry about. The wide portion keeps the balance correct. The hooked shape at the top of the wide portion helps prevent fingers getting broken during sparring.

So, I'm presuming the cut four minutes were mostly made up of "Errrrr"'s, between each sentence? Thanks for taking the time to cut those out. The whole thing was slightly jarring but it would have been worse if you left them in. Interesting video (and person!) as always.

@Glimmlampe1982 It was quite a bit stouter than a modern fencing foil, but yes, it had some flex in it. The flex would mean that it was non-lethal in a thrust but be prepared for bruises. The main length of it had to withstand clashing swings.

He did not present the main point about the federschwert... THE BLADE IS A SPRING! And it is wide at end! The added guard is nothing compared to the flex of the blade, that is what makes it a practice sword. The flexing makes it so if you thrust into someone, the wider point will transfer the pressure better and the blade will then flex, therefore the thrust will loose much of its original power! That is the secret and the beuty of it, it is safer for thrusting. Swings are no problem, they were no problem then and they are no problem today, we have protective gear so good that it can take a beating. Thrusts are and always have been the problem. And federschwert is the answer! Although some "pussies" further west (i am based in Prague) still ban thrusts in competitions... why? Cause they are pussies. That is why. It hurts a little and that startles them.

Is it only me, but the guy looks like the hippie Barney Stinson

I can just imagine... "But Sir, thin blades are all the rage now!" - "Nonsense, I can't stand those stupid pansy rapiers, I need a proper sword!" - "But sir, it's too unwieldy to cope in a duel. You'll get killed!" - "Killed, schmilled, a proper Longsword can take on anything! Besides, what would people think of me if I waggled around one of those glorified sharpened feather dusters?"

The Brotherhood of St Mark was for fencers who didn't want to join any guilds which would accept them as members.

What, is it "FeCHterschwert" (fencer sword) or "FeDerschwert" (feather sword)? The guy in video says Fechterschwert but the title Federschwert

Federschwerter. It Schwerts Feder.

fighting with quarterstaffs until the first bleeding wound is delivered sounds quite dangerous ;-)

he doesn't like looking into the camera does he :)

The man with the shorter stick often wins.

That dude really hates eye contact.

It's a balance. You can use the flex to inflict a cut around a parry. Too stiff = too brittle, too bendy = unwieldy.

first 10 seconds : "it's a training sword". video is over.

So many awkward video cuts...

The Marx brothers.. Priceless :-)

That Marx-Brothers comment in the end... touché!

@ssj7gokurpg I could, but what would be the point? It would say the same thing, but be twice as long. My subscribers would be annoyed at me.

Well, men today enjoy fighting each other with blunt swords, and I see no reason why men of days gone by would not have enjoyed it.

Because all the wider ones got hit. Bigger targets.

"do you know what the chain of command is? it's the chain I rutten beat you with!" -Jayne

Would that not make it rather light and weak?

@Lukos0036 A bokken for real men, yes.

this is an interesting edit job to make him have complete sentences.

You can also throw the pommel!

@whowantsabighug The whole talk was nearly ten minutes long. This is not much more than half the length and contains 97.2% of the meaning of the talk. I try to keep my videos short. The choppy editing may be annoying, but on the plus side, the video has better pace as a result.

those jumpcuts xD

'Everyone knows the longest stick wins'

One man with pike versus one with sword = sword wins. 100 men with pikes vs 100 with swords = fairer fight.

Lots of versions of German, too. I've seen 'Fechtfeder' and 'Fechtschwert'. I don't know if I've seen your version, though: Fechterschwert.

"Longest stick wins"

@shinobitech13 You want something that will last for ages after taking a constant pounding in practice.

This is an example of a two-handed style practice weapon you use to hone technique and muscle memory; in the same way you can shoot a .22 cal rifle or pistol to hone shooting techniques.

@bewarethegreyghost I disagreed with his "the longest stick wins" statement.

please be clear: is it FECHTERSCHWERT (fencer sword) or FEDERSCHWERT (Feather sword)? And YES, it is important.

"Everybody knows that the longest stick wins". Tell that to bayonet manufacturers at the end of WWI.

This is the first time I see the plural of Federschwert correctly written :o)

Very informative video. However,those jump cuts are about as subtle as a fucking car alarm.

From what i've understood, those kind of swords were made of used sharp ones. After being hacked to full of ugly dents, the swords which were beyond repairing back to a good balanced sharp one, were reassigned to live a new life as a practicesword. Don't obviously know if this is true, but seems awfully logical to me, because why would anyone forge this kind of sword, when you can make it from a used one.

@TheBestEmptyChannel Er... what?

just a few facts... 1. it is called Fechtfeder 2. it did already exist in the late middle ages (you can see one in the book Codex 44A8 - the so called Peter von Danzig) 3. the original to this crappy Hanwei piece is in "Züricher Zeughaus" and now a small hint PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS HANWEI SWORDS! They break way to easy and they bend at the weak area far to much.

And why not "as mad as a miliner?"

I'm thinking many of the techniques for using the flail mainly consisted of not hitting your self with it.

@tenthousandsuns Ba-dum-tish!

Its true the pike and the sabre replaced the longsword over time.

he chopped up a sword so his weak arms could move it. and claims its really a weapon

Dude... where's my sword? Seriously tho... these are what we still use to practice longsword. The idea is a lighter, flexible blade which is less likely to hurt someone but which you can still use to practice techniques....

what a fascinating wierd guy. Hmm, thums up!

HOLY FUCKING CRAP! THATS THE GUY WHO IS TEACHING ME HOW TO FENCE!

By posting this i am basically screaming into an infinitely empty room wondering if the echos are that of my own voice.

It's not "Fechterschwert" which as you said meant "fencing sword" It's Federschwert, as the title says, which means "Feather sword"

Die Feder ist mächtiger als das Schwert, aber das Federschwert triumphiert über beide.

You should do something about Russian medieval kit.

The reason you trained with this was so you could fence out of harness without so much of a risk of running your sparring mate through. Also that that ricasso by the crossguard gives the sword a good point of balance and helps replicate the weight of a regular longsword.

The man with the longest stick...wins, like when it comes to women ;D

This is a so caulled *_F E Y D E R S C H W E R Tr_*

1:10 I'm glad you stuck that little disclaimer in there. This kid has no idea what he is talking about. :)

yay Tinker longsword

did he have a stutter problem?

Guys, please! "Feder" is the German word for feather. Go figure.

4:26 when you realise you haven't got away with it

Part of me wants to say "THIS IS A FEDERSCHWERTER. IT SCHWERTS FEDERS."

so is it a fechterschwert or a federschwert ? btw feder means feather and fechter means fencer

This dude is the exact type of socially awkward I've come to expect from historic weapon enthusiasts.

Freudian slip, "This does not represent the uploaded view."

Why would you practice fencing with a sword with a cross guard?? YOU WOULD NEVER USE A CROSS GUARD AGAINST ANOTHER FENCING SWORD... oh wait... that's really clever! They practiced with a fencing sword that could risk (very realistically) going up against other weapons, so they put a cross guard on it! Brilliant!!

The Marx Brothers... haha! I can just imagine Harpo fencing. lol

nice video - there is a lot of good information in it.

Actually, the historically correct term would be a "fechtschwert". The term "federschwert" is from the late 19th century and based on a misunderstanding. Still Hanwei named their sword after that so in a sense it is of course correct. :)

has more cuts than byran mills jumping a fence

Feder's were strictly for training. These were the practice version of a long sword which was a very popular sword of war in the 15th and 16th century. "Feder" means "feather", a bit of wry german humor given that these were deliberately a bit heavier than a typical long sword.

@permhaaland Peter Regenyei makes some very nice (and customizable!) feders as well, though I prefer the Ensifer

I'm kind of proud of myself. I'm not a super-hema guy, but I instantly recognized the engineering principles behind the purpose of this sword, and the video bore me out. I'm learning. :)

He said "Fechterschwert", not "Federschwert". That explains the translation to "Fencing sword". I'm german and it's a german name for a specific kind of swords you can fence with.

Actually the translation of Federschwert is much easier... Feder = Feather in German and Schwert = Sword. Essentially it means it's a lighter sword. I could totally buy the gentleman's explanation of its existence and why it was used. :)

Nunchuks are modern flail like martial arts weapons. With flails might be cheaper or more unusual than other types of dueling weapon. dueling might have it own specialized flails. They would be clearly formal weapons, not a threat to the common order or average person. Duels could be to the first blood or injury. One might satisfy honor by drubbling the offender while not requiring a grave. It would have much the effect as a fist fight, but with a formal weapon. Natures weapons alone would be too low class.

In the museum of Basle? Which one, then? We have around 5 in Basle. Now, sure, I don't believe it'll be in the museum of arts or anatomy, but who knows.. :P

It seems like a weird idea to train to use a longsword for warfare when you're never going to use a longsword in warfare in the sixteenth century. I mean, you might use a greatsword, but that's completely different and has different techniques. You might use a katzbalger but then just practice dussack. The issue with a longsword is that it's big like a primary weapon when really it should be secondary (to a bigger sword, or a pike, or an arquebus, or a horse); it only really makes sense in a civilian context (or in full plate, but again that's different).

Feder means a feather

Modern federschwerter can be even 40% lighter than normal swords. In the other hand if they aren't, what's the point of thinner blades? One way or another, it's one of the most stupid ideas ever. From what this guy said I understand they were mostly used to get needed papers and not to actually learn anything; that'd make sense. But it means people shouldn't use them today to learn real swordfighting, since it's physically impossible. Unless we define 'federschwert' as just 'a blunt broad-tipped sword made of spring steel', ignoring its shape and/or light weight.

5:10 or so. I think he tries to describe a mensur. A ritualised form of formal duell still practised by german academic fraternities to this day, whichs origin can be traced back to the middle ages. Nowadays only fought with "Schläger" (at least in germany), though it was more commonly fought with sabers prior ww2. In fact even the guild of the fencing masters, who used to be paid by the universities, still exists and give mandatory training lessons for members of said fraternities (though any german man is eligible to defend his honour with a weapon by the rules of weapon honour). Though the reason is different from what this guy said. In germany or better the hre commoners weren't allowed to wield swords (hence things like the lange messer (long knife)). Though there was one exception to that rule; university students. As in those times it was usual to move between universities every semester or so and due to germany consisting of hundreds of small kingdoms, dukedoms etc. plus there being a problem with robbers along the roads, students/ academics were the only group other than nobles allowed to carry and wield swords. The problem was, that giving swords to young men on their first time away from home, spending most of their times drunk in taverns proved to be not such a good idea after all. After multiple failed attempts by the emperor to ban dueling, as it actually started to have a pretty negative impact on the survival rate of academics, he decreed that there should be fencing masters at every university and a fencing room, so that at least everybody had a good education in using the sword (which proved to be beneficial, as people for one could defend themselves better and for another less accidental serious injuries/ deaths ocured). During this reform the concept of "mensur" was established as a non lethal form of formal duel, which didn't take place in direct affect, but on a later set date, time, location and comment and was more about showing honour, skill and courage (nothing but the sword wielding arm is allowed to move, target is the bare face, or in case of sabers (which is supposedly still fought in austria, Switzerland and south tirol) also the bare upper body with some protection being allowed (e.g. in some cities you were allowed to protect your two favorite organs with a leather sheet) everything else, even flinching when your ear gets cut off (which is surprisingly easy to sew back on) is considered "mucken" and is a direct disqualification which makes you shunned until you can clean your name by beating another mensur successfuly. The described following order of fencers is called a "pro patria suite", of which the most notable after ww2 was the "battle of bonn", where the kösener senioren convent (of chor studentfraternities) and the coburger senioren convent (of landsmannschafter and turner studentfraternities) had a list of 100 pairings which was fought over the weekends of one summer (officially there is no actual winner to this duels, though everybody usually compares the numbers of stitches needed per side after the duel to determine the inofficial victor)

Funny thing. I remember the day this was uploaded and didn't want to watch it due to thinking the sword looked stupid. 12 years later here I am watching this video with my own Federschwert in hands.

no, but angry mobs attempting to beat me to death with aluminum bats does count as "combat experience" if you survive, even moreso if you win. how many fights have you been unarmed and your opponents been armed with proven to be lethal weapons, and outnumbered ten to one have you won? I don't consider retreating a loss in those odds btw, I consider it a draw considering that you'd survive. I had a shitty childhood.

The steel is elastic enough to prevent any severe damage from thrusts as long as you put some good protection on the points. The weight of the weapons is usually higher than of a sharp weapon. You wear enough protection, including a fencing mask, in the end the typical 'injuries' are just bruises. When buying a sword, keep in mind that not all are aimed at fighting, most swords sold these days are for decoration and not fighting. I gave you some sources where to get swords meant for fighting.

They are made of steel, modern spring steel. I think the blade shown in the video is made for modern training. You can cut a pig in half with a blunt zweihander, yes they are no toys. Still, we have very rarely injuries, the worst so far in our club was a broken finger. For free fighting the use of adequate protection is strongly recommend, some training in advanced so that all participants actually have some control over their weapons to reduce the risk of injuries. Mistakes still hurt.

Peter Regenyei makes some of the finest swords in europe. Jiří Kronďák makes some of most robust training swords. Love them both for different reasons. Both are as well great if you give them the specs for a replica of a original. Expect some significant delay when ordering, both are very popular. Dark Wood Armory is ok, but I do not like their balance, even when their swords are light, high quality and expensive. The Time Seller and trainingsschwerter are two bigger HEMA stores.

You nitpicking for nitpickings sake. Indeed, you won´t use a shield when using a spadone, 'Langes Schwert' or machine rifle. And indeed, even if your opponent catches your weapon its not always over for you, and yet its over more often than not. It is is a good opportunity to finish a fight. And btw, its often the better choice to drop a weapon that has been catched and grapple instead. (Does apply to spears less often, because you need to able to close the range without dying first.)

Lets make this blunt, if you have a partisan or spear or something and someone with a dagger attacks you openly chances are very high that he simply dies before he comes close to you. If you screw up, a dagger or even a knife will make short work. But is how it is, you screw up in combat and you pay for it. There is no advantage of having just a dagger. It is bad in combat to have limited range, because if you attack and the opponent with more reach has so much more options than you have.

Having a smaller weapon like a sword gives you the advantage of having a spare hand, which against a spear can give you the chance to grab the shaft, essentially disarming your opponent. There are numerous techniques from both sides on how to deal with this, from experience though I can say that one on one, fighting spear is challenging, but very do-able, fighting numerous spears is far more threatening.

Two points that he failed to mention: A. That thick ricasso is also for structural reasons, as well as balance reasons to help counterbalance the very light tip. B. The reason the blade is so narrow is because a narrower blade can have a very, very thick edge for the same weight, without needing more material. If you look closely, you can tell how thick that edge is - very nice. Helps ensure you won't crack anyone's skull swinging it, as the force is distributed out.

See, you should cut your losses and give it up. Not every battlefield was the same. In Scotland, where they didn't have Roman style formations, they favored giant swords. Contradicts your claim - which, btw, is pointless, every tool has it's use, that's why people carry more than one weapon. You're trying to tell me water is wet like it's some revelation. Again, you will never be in a life or death sword fight. Also, speed & strength are not mutually exclusive.

hehehe, you think I'm pissed off. also, I said that before guns were used the battle field was crowded, and allies were not always stationary, and that these days most fights I've been in were in rather confined spaces like hallways and back alleys, not in an open field, so a long weapon would be useless. for every foot added to the weapon's reach that weapon becomes twice as difficult to move with the same agility, and personally I don't need strength, I need as much speed as I can get.

and my comments were also about personal combat, and, since nobody fucking USES swords anymore, ANCIENT WARFARE. the romans weren't the only people to use formations in a battle, and all I said was that large weapons = less speed and maneuverability. it was a counter-point to your argument of longer weapons always equal better, and everything I said AFTER my initial comment was in response to your two hundred word "nuh-uh"s. I.E. RELATED to the discussion at hand (if not the video itself)