http://youtu.be/ErO9KBr976o
Test cutting industrial anti-cut bracer.

I've always compared cutting pork arm to cutting light armor. This video showed that the sword we had previously tested on pork arms without damaging the edge or bending, survived perfectly through the ordeal of cutting the armor.

These kinds of videos only serve to help perpetuate the myths about swords and armour. If it is examined objectively all it really shows is that a sword could do light damage to metal armour but the person wearing it would be unharmed - unless you place the target on a solid unyielding surface at the optimal height and hit it using an unrealistic technique from a prepared position. If any type of armour can't stop a sword cut then it would be completely useless against a real threat on the battlefield such as from a spear or arrow.

Yeh, it is very unlikely that on a battlefield you execute do such blow to an armored opponent.
And if you could (the enemy has to raise his arms perfectly still and horizontally), you have to pass trought mail and padding.
It's very unlikely that you would cause some major injuries at him.

I will keep this video in mind the next time I'm fighting in modern 20 gauge armor without padding and lay my arm down on a block. ;)

Ok, more seriously now: Do you know what gauge the metal was? If it was that little piece in the middle of the video there it can't have been very thick. It's also a lot easier to bend a small piece than an entire bracer...


Edit: I mean, it's obvious this thing is for butchers or industrial workers who might have to worry about a knife or sheet metal edges, not for use in combat. I understand that, I'm just making a joke.

Cutting pork bones doesn't tell us anything useful either. Live bone has completely different mechanical properties to dead bone.

Interesting..but as some said, not a very realistic test. I wonder how the bracers would perform it they were buckled around some tatami mats and then try cutting without a solid block underneath providing an "anvil" ?

Lancelot,
Whether this target accurately replicates period armor or no, I've always admired your ability to cut difficult targets, often seemingly without effort. This one had me cringing though...
Every time the blade hit the target and bounced back, I could not help but imagine what might happen if the hilt slipped in your grasp or if the blade snapped. Obviously you are experienced and have good cause to have faith in the integrity of the weapon, but most makers might call cutting against so rigidly supported a target abusive. Just for the sake of setting the example, I wish you had been wearing some protective head and neck covering.

Respectfully,
Eric

You're totally correct. I think when I made the subtitles on the video, I was a bit too excited! ;) It was not a realistic test to simulate battlefield situation. It was a destructive test to continue the previous one. The sword being used was sent to me for destructive test from a smith in China. It had survived the previous test here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebZp55GViow

I agree that the armor actually protected the target very well, despite that it's not even designed to protect against swords. We later tested again with my student doing the cut, as a compare. He couldn't even scratch the armor. We were unable to locate where his cut was and had to resort to frame by frame replay on the video to figure out that the armor was totally unscratched and protected the newspapers within.

The plate is 0.5mm thick with the rings being thicker.

Eric, good suggestion, next time I'm gonna wear my sparring helmet as well!

These tests are only helpful, if you try to do them as realistic as possible.

We did a cutting demonstration in Solingen where we started with a full tatami roll.
Then we added 4 layers of cloth
Then we added a gambeson
Then we added chain (but the cheapest, butted available)
Then we added a bracer (of 1,5 mm mild steel)

The results can be seen in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_e...kFUdPhlNaw

Keep in mind that this was a demonstration so it had to be a bit "showy" to entertain the audience.
Putting these things on a tatami and not fixing the tatami but just place it like we did allows quite a give.
So the target moves as a limb would (to a certain point). You can see how it deforms when hit with the long sword.

Herbert