Hi all,

I came across this the other day and thought that it was worth sharing. Although I own a few bronze swords I have never cut with them but I have always thought that they would be quite effective weapons as although bronze is softer than steel, its still harder than flesh and bone!

I wouldn't mind seeing some more testing against something more substantial to see just how far bronze can go. Maybe against a roll of leather or fabric to simulate armour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smr0dBZPPH4


My sword, but of the same type and maker that was used in the test.

Just saw that video. Nice demonstration.

I'm glad the video seems well received. As I mention I'm hoping this will be part of an ongoing series of weapon tests and discussions about warfare, history, and other aspects of the human experience. I am hoping to do a test against pork next... either a leg or shoulder, it is my understanding that pork is the best analog to human flesh, skin, and bone. Indeed, this first test was mostly to cover some basics and get the ball rolling. I hope to discuss and test some more advanced techniques and to eventually test a pork leg with hardened leather armor on top of it. I'm also aiming to do some demonstrations and tests concerning layered linen armor as well.

Any further thoughts, comments, requests, or questions would be much appreciated.

Goats are a closer analogue to humans. Pig skin is too thick and the bones are denser.

Pork is closest to humans in *taste*, though. Uh, so I've heard... All seriousness aside, I did like that video! You sounded knowledgeable without being bombastic, like too many others. (Or full of crap, like WAY too many others, ha!)

Matthew

Very good.

I do tests like that all the time but keep blowing off my plan to film it like this guy. I'm glad he made a video, I always enjoy watching these tests and am fascinated by them.

That bronze sword cut just as well as any steel sword I have used, very interesting. Such a beautiful sword as well, I definitely have to add at least one of these to my collection.

What is the weight of that sword?

I had never heard of goat being a better flesh analog than pork... I know many doctors train on pigs and that pig skin is often used in human skin grafts, indeed it seems quite common for folks to use pigs as human stand ins. It also has the benefit of being easier to come by. I've tried looking into it but I can't find anything on the superiority of goat to pig... if anyone has any links please feel free to share.

As for the weight these beauties are only about 1 and a quarter pound. But due to the higher weight for volume of bronze as well as the balance from the leaf blade they still hit like a truck! I intend to talk more about the nature of the genus and species of this weapon in the next video :)

But yeah, definitely check out http://bronze-age-swords.com/ it's well worth getting one. And let him know you saw the video!

Made another video... this time against a pork shoulder. Much more crude than the first... got tired of waiting on a forelimb so made this in rehearsal but I liked it so much i decided to post it. BTW Mr. Howard, I loved your book.
I recommend reading the description... most notably mentioned there is that the bone cause no noticeable dulling of the blade edge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJUIsTQ6eGs&feature=youtu.be