Indeed. I think that, at least partly, it's because usually they are both such calm people (at least in their youtube videos) that they have a calming influence on our souls.
MORE COLLAB CONTENT STILL??? My initial conception is that wavy blades are to textile as serrated blades are to naked flesh. They cut really really well into dense textile without getting caught. Edit: Ahhh, in hunting they are good for cutting into the tougher hide of animals, too. That's really cool! Great discussion, guys! I'm really enjoying this collaberation that just keeps on giving!
I don't know how well this logic would apply to swords, but spears have had wavy blades as well. If memory serves, a Grecian polearm with a wavy 'leaf-like' blade used wavy edges as a way to reduce friction when trying to dislodge the spear from being impaled in an enemy; because the rises in the design would come in contact with the flesh and/or bone, but not necessarily the dips, there'd be less chance on snagging when trying to pull the weapon out of the unlucky stiff you jabbed. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong! I love learning with this channel.
I feel like I remember when you got a chip in a bauernwehr and suggested that maybe some wavy blades could have been modified as a result of damage. I’m excited to hear all about wavy blades in this video.
Another possible reason for the wavy blades with more pronounced curves on two-handed swords: it might help focus the blow on a swing. Think about axe-head design: that curve might help focus the blow on a single point if it hits on a outer curve, or "catch" when in the inner curve, again helping transfer power and maybe even helping "control" a limb of a plate-armored person who was struck.
Great discussion guys, and lovely collection of swords! I had not previously heard that the trainers used on the “pikes” showed the wavy blades improved binding. That’s interesting. It just so happens I have a flamberge-katzbalger in sword daycare at the moment, and it’s quite sharp. I’ll see if I can get out video comparing the cutting performance against some targets…
I'd say the worst ones come from the knife you are, at the time, using to cut those tiny chili peppers of which two are plenty for a whole big six-person pot of soup.
I'm not a chef, but I have to agree with you. Unfortunately, it's from first hand experience. Over two decades, I have sliced more than one finger down to the bone. How do I know that the cuts actually made it to the bone, you might ask? The bone was the only thing that stopped the blade from cutting any further. Both times that this occurred, there was nothing/no one else to blame except myself. It was my own dam stupidity and impatience that caused my injuries. Don't think for a second that I wasn't aware of the consequences if things went south. Well, things did got south, and I might add, it did so very quickly and painfully. Both wounds took a long time to heal, but the last one ended up taking around 5 months. This hasn't affected my views negatively about serrated blades though, quite the opposite! Cheers
Not a chef, but someone hungry enough to be cooking at 3 am and can confirm, smooth, sharp blades always leave easy to heal cuts, but those little serrated monsters? Nasty
When ShakyGrip the blacksmith lied to the nobles telling his "unique" sword was better at cutting he was probably unaware how much that statement will "make waves" on the history of swordsmanship
I can say that having skinned many animals ,and taken advantage of trying out my various knives and such, a razor/straight edge has a really hard time slashing against fur/hair. An edge that offers more bite will often slice thru. Imo the "corrugated " would make an ugly slice
From 12:20 to 12:36 the camera angle, massive sword, sword handling and the body difference makes it so skall looks like hes greenscreened in. You cannot unsee it now :P
I think a big piece of evidence for an advantage to the bind is that one Kris/Keris that is only wavy at the base, you know, a part of the blade that would almost exclusively be used in the bind.
How the hell? I was *just* looking up flamberge blades just to stare at them because they're pretty. Then I went on RU-vid and see this video recommended. Magic.
Todd’s thoughts might be worth testing, it would definitely be interesting to see the cutting capacity of a wavy blade against cloth armor compared to that of a straight blade. But I think it would be interesting to see the cutting capacities of wavy and straight blades compared just in general, it’d be useful in trying to make sense of wavy blades and their purpose.
i love this crossover of two of my favourite youtubers also this info and examples goes straight to my fantasy book idea (not sure if its fantasy since magic isnt real, but the world is fictitious soooo...) i decided to use this blades for a snake inspired faction years ago but seeing real examples helps better than what i could imagine by myself i love this weird straight blade grinded in a wavey manner is so unique it has to go to one of my characters
I'd love some tests with wavy blades, just to figure stuff out. The binding, but also how well they cut. I would bet they do really well against tatami mats, because the undulations look kinda like a sickle, or a falx, that inverted curve is great for cutting straight poles.
Kris is a dagger as i understand for every day carry. It's shorter than sword but long as a dagger. You can thrust with it in close. But if you want to cut or even chop it's too short especially when you don't have place or time for a swing. You just pulling dagger from scubbard can cut down up. And more easy for cuts with flameberg kris. Especially some vital places with close on surface arterias. Summary it's just tryimg to increase cutting capacity of short dagger.
I've seen different kinds of Moro kris swords back in my hometown. Some are ornate, stylized and wavy, others are completely straight and practical. Speaking of stylish swords from the same area, the "binuwaya" or crocodile type panabas also have ornate looking blades which look different from the standard ones. So yeah, probably a stylistic choice first just with added benefits. Good video! Also, if anyone has played Bloodborne, Martyr Logarius' sword looks like a Moro kris.
Great video and some very good points. I want to add two tidbits i found in sources. The military manual of hans konrad lavater from 1644 who was a swiss officer in the thirty years war mentions wavy blades in the military law section. He writes about which kind of people you give quarter and which you should kill on the spot. He lists square bullets, glass bullets, sniper muskets (ones which had bore holes iirc) and wavy swords (geflammte Degen) as reasons to kill the one using them on the spot no quarter given. Less reliable but there is a book from around the same time which contains a lots of preachings from a preacher from germany. The interesting part is him complaining about (christian) soldiers using cruel weapons such as wavy bladed weapons and certain types of daggers. Overall the two handed sword with wavy blades were considered as military weapons and were often purchased for military arsenal and often in direct response of incoming wars. Maybe you find this useful.
For greatswords, besides those parade ones, my take is that it was done to prevent pikes and poles from polearms to slide along the blade and disengage when fighting against a pile wall or formation.
My father brought a kris back from Indonesia. It had a wavy blade and the base of the blade where it connected to the tang was so thin we thought it was deliberately designed to break after being thrust into the target. If you look at a picture of one from Indonesia you'll see what I mean.
I can say that the wavy blade is very tricky to make, and sharpen. I did try a couple. One I used as a breadknife and it did work reasonably well. My roommate took it when they left.
My grandfather owned a kris dagger. It was kept in a drawer, in my grandfather's library. They were well off as children. My father and his sister (the two youngest) swear they heard that drawer rattle, due to that kris being possessed, when left there alone one night, as children. Don't know what happened to it, as neither my father, nor aunt, wanted anything to do with it !
On the ancient battlefields, having sweet drip was more than just a sign of prestige, it could have also been a sign of skill. A warrior who was swagged out with the fancy armor and the garish plumes and the wavy blade could have been saying, "Come at me, bro! I've made enough coin fighting for my lord that I can afford all of this sweet stuff." Of course it can also be rich people having showy things made just because they can.
That armour you shown off looks actually purposefull, i can see weapons breaking if hit the wrong spot in it, should also help deflect impacts from blunt weaponry! Sounds like some elaborate shenanigans you would see in a from software game but i dig it.
Funny....I was thinking about the point of wavy blades just yesterday. Wanted to ask you to make a video about it too.....guess I won't be asking now XD.
My speculation would be that wavy blade helps create messy hard to mend wounds. Here in Indonesia we have kris too, only our variants are shorter, straight and pointy (dagger like made for stabbing). One thing to keep note, combat within different part of the world is usually different due to circumstances, here in south East Asia our padded armor aren’t really as thick as for example gambeson(the temperatures here makes armor like that not preferred) mostly anyway, and metal armor isn’t as common, those who have them usually bought them from Portuguese, Middle East and Chinese Trader, and those of which made locally usually take the shape of chainmail with plates connected to it, which i think was inspired by Middle East chainmail design(correct me if I’m wrong). Due to these circumstances weapons above are very much usable and can do damage in combat.
The snake type of blades have there practical advantages оne of which is for cutting not chopping but specifically hard skin, muscles and for leather armor. It can also be used as a saw literally if you need to cut something wooden. If you're in a forest or jungle, killing might not be as high a priority. It is especially functional with knives. Stabbing with a wavy edge is much easier if you want to make a wider wound. The weight is reduced to some extent and there is no need for so much sharpening. Also like you said it's easier to jam the opponent's weapon.
I've read in places that large 2 handers like those, during the late medieval or renaissance, were used to cut off the heads of pikes etc. A curve on the inside of the blade would maybe give an advantage in the sense it had less of a chance to slide or bounce off, but catch within the groove and allow for the cut.
Historically, we're talking about bad metallurgy. The purpose of the wavy blade is to save some of the edge for later. When a straight sword is dull, it's dull all along the fighting edge. When a kris starts to dull, it's the outward curve that dulls. The inside is still sharp- not against a gambeson, but against skin.
Maybe the short edges of the lands(?) can be hardened to a degree that would make a long edge too brittle? Or maybe it makes draw/push cuts more effective when there are too many people right next to you for free swinging.
that rapier is absolutely gorgeous and i will use it as reference for my own stuff and i wanna hear nothing about that. i'm fairly sure some people definitely coulda made and bought these just because of how good they can potentially look honestly.
Good point about anti grappling, Filipino techniques use a lot of grappling that focuses on restricting the opponent arms (and weapons if things get desperate).
I've never considered the wavy blade being an anti-grabbing counter as a thing. I imagine if these weapons were used in duels with any kind of frequency that would be a concern to address
'We've seen it binds more". I wonder if that included blade on blade as well as blade on polearm. If so that may also explain the shorter wavy blades that aren't scalloped or only partially wavy from the initial presented examples, a utilitarian increase in control of an opponent's blade during a block or parry. That also might explain the snake imagery. The way snakes fight each other is basically winding and binding but using meat instead of metal. In effect a combination of looks neat and has a useful function outside of sharp side cut, pointy end poke. Edit: 8:45 Skall brings up the enhanced binding possibility. 😁
Was surprised to hear Tod say they made them by grinding out a straight and bevelled sword, on a Zweihander thats a lot of material to remove having seen one in person at St Michael's Mount castle.
I think a lot of the ideas and techniques through history that have stuck around a bit like these did typically do so for more than one reason. So I would not be surprised if the single handed ones were primarily for one reason while the big two handers is for another. I would want to see a test of a two hander flame blade like this on pikes, but specifically to see if they cause more damage to the pike hafts over time. I imagine one could get in a position where neither the pikes nor the swordsman could make enough advantage to push in for the win (and even with a good advantage, thats a daunting prospect for both sides). In those cases if your blade shape is causing damage to the hafts of the pikes it could be enough to end up breaking some of them. Certainly broken hafts happened - and some of those pikes weren't super thick because they would simply become untenably heavy to wield for the length of a battle. Another thing is that I would look at it against hard armor. For two reasons - one is that the peaks of the waves are a smaller striking surface than a sword. Another, is that it might catch on the armor better rather than sliding off and transfer more force into the target. As I am sure Easton knows from HEMA sparring, the blunt force from even a relatively light sword is still a serious consideration. The blunt force from a 6-8lb two hander is enough that we basically cannot spar with them even with extreme care and modern padding. If someone actually swings that with intent to kill, thats a whole other story.
It's only idle speculation, but I have a sense that they may have had more of an advantage in push/pull cuts, than with slashing blows. I can imagine that this might be the reason that some blades are only wavy lower down the blade - so you can saw at someone who has closed on you to an extent that makes slashing more difficult.
Really interesting video, but it fell a little short as practical applications have resurfaced on modern tactical blades. We do use serration on bread and steak knives, but also military knives. The latter work really well at cutting ropes, or tough packages... In addition, they seem to be meant for people who DON'T maintain their blades and thus can longer count on a somewhat sharp blade...
On some types it does seem to compress more cutting surface area into a shorter blade length. Sort of like if one were to take a straight piece of string & make it into a squiggle. The string appears to be shorter but it is still technically the same length string.
In a close quarter melee when you cannot get a swing in the waves will help with cutting when drawing across the target. It would do the same as cutting steak at dinner, cut with the blade at an angle and it cuts better, edge across the steak and it cuts much worse. A part of the why maybe?
Hunh... This video makes me wonder about the usage of multi-pronged blades in history. (Not just tridents and the like, but others. Like multi-pronged daggers, and swords that have sword-catchers and the like, not to mention Sword-breakers.) I think that could be an interesting version of this video.
I can see some guy, with his perfectly fine, straight blade, getting edge damage and "ruining" by trying to grind it down, and then as, perfectionist as he was, grinding it in a pattern to get a wavy blade and pretend it was on purpose. Then all of his mates were "bro's cooking" and started doing it on purpose.
My extremely unexpert opinion: Wobbly edges are for non-lethal fights, eanting to hurt, wanting to make others bleed and to leave long lasting wounds, but not as lethal. Big wavy weapons like flamberges are perfect for pikes and wooden shaft polearms, as instead than just slipping straight down it might do a very much weaker saw effect, which sure one bind might not do much, but in a 3 hour battles, if 5 halberds broke because of that it might help. Wavy short swords? Not much probably. Might be for drawn cuts, but also cool factor
That's a funny example because I don't recall it being better than the zwei, but it's so fun, wavy blade go brrr. If I recall correctly it has the bleed effect which I've always enjoyed in souls.
Would be really cool seeing tests with blade that’s wavy vs not wavy and all else same. I’m also wondering about feel, it might vibrate or move more making it less ergonomic and maybe it would break more
The Swiss armed forces purchased a new pocket knife from 2008 onward with the main blade featuring a wavy edge. Not a weapon per se, but this tool has caused a lot of injuries due to the combination of a very bad locking mechanism (they went for the cheapest option) and the wavy edge.
I would assume, besides the look, that it all comes down to grip. With wavy blades, you have both sharpness *and* a bit of friction to grab whatever thesword is up against, so cutting into fabrics/soft armor, binding other steel better, grabbing and tearing into flesh as oposed to a sliding cut, etc.
I reckon it’s mostly a deterrent to grabbing the blade (plus an element of prestige and a bit better at binding). I certainly wouldn’t want to grab a wavy blade: you can’t as easily/quickly get a good grip.
My bread knife is a wavy pattern, not serrated. It cuts great, and it sucked when I cut myself with it once. Useful for softer materials with a lot of give (bread, tomatoes, etc)
That rapier from 3:44 onwards reminds me alot of the Firelink Greatsword from Dark Souls 3, i know it's not 1:1 but maybe From Software took some inspiration from this blade.
I wonder if it just made the wounds nastier. I know, for instance, that triangular bayonet holes are impossible to stitch shut so perhaps having these waves might do more damage internally or make the bleeding worse?
It's probably a combination of every explanation you ventured. Wavy blades probably arose independently several times. For example, I suspect that the wavy grind on the rapier you showed was probably a creative attempt to stiffen the blade without losing the cutting edge, as there were many different techniques tried to make rapiers stiffer as they got longer. It's also obviously visually striking, which considering how ostentatious the hilt is, doesn't surprise me either. The scalloped hunting saber seems like it was intended to cause bleeding, and also potentially get stuck in the target. Medieval bow hunters used barbed broadheads to cause their prey to bleed to death because a single shot from a hunting bow just didn't have the stopping power to immediately kill a large animal. It seems to me that the same principle might have been applied to a weapon of last resort against a tiger.
