Practice sword cutting for FREE? $0-$3 DIY tatami mat substitute!

Рет қаралды 11,412

Күн бұрын

In this video, I'll show you how to make your own tatami mat substitute for sword test cutting. This inexpensive and easy project will save you money and time, and you'll be able to practice your sword cutting skills without breaking the bank
Don't miss out on this free video tutorial - learn how to make your own tatami mat substitute and practice your sword cutting skills more often. In this video, I'll show you how to make a mat out of cardboard boxes!!
Check out John Knock of Crossroads Swords! he is the one who came up with the cardboard trick!
www.youtube.com/@crossroadssw...
Help support us on Patreon!
/ sellswordarts
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @sellswordarts
Join the Discord!
/ discord

Пікірлер: 99

@crossroadsswords Жыл бұрын

Hey friends! John Knoch here, one of the folks that helped pioneer this process. There's a lot of talk about whether it dulls the blade quickly, so I wanted to address that briefly. Let me make a scale of my opinion of rough vs not rough on swords... Least abrasive - paper

@kelmirosue3251 Жыл бұрын

While it could potentially dull the blade more quickly, if I was on a budget I'd rather sharpen the sword more often but have cheaper alternative to Tatami Mats then a more expensive option but not needing to sharpen the blade more often

@synthemagician4686 Жыл бұрын

That sounds like a really interesting test! Personally, I'm not afraid of my edge getting worn down faster. I use my blades plenty, they will dull regardless, and I will enjoy sharpening them again. It would still be super cool to get that close of a look at how edge wear happens.

@timtarbet4594 Жыл бұрын

I was going to ask this, I'm glad you answered my question preemptively.

@randallhackworth421 Жыл бұрын

This is exactly what I came to the comments to find.

@yaleksander42 Жыл бұрын

That's pretty amazing! People usually think HEMAists don't really need to worry about money because swords themselves are expensive, but when you're doing HEMA in South America, everything HEMA related is more expensive compared to North America and Europe, and budget alternatives help a lot

@lathanchurch8352 Жыл бұрын

Who thinks we don't need to worry about money?

@yaleksander42 Жыл бұрын

@@lathanchurch8352 I've heard quite a few people complaining about budget alternatives because "why don't you just buy the regular stuff", especially North Americans, but also some Brazilians (I'm Brazilian)

@lathanchurch8352 Жыл бұрын

@@yaleksander42 any hobby is expensive

@yaleksander42 Жыл бұрын

@@lathanchurch8352 sure, but some are more expensive than others. If I decided to play soccer, for example, even if I got the best soccer gear I could buy, I wouldn't spend nearly as much money as I do with HEMA. Not only the gear is super expensive, we don't have a lot of local manufacturers in Brazil, so we have to import a lot of stuff. Import taxes and shipping fees combined usually are more expensive than the product itself

@eccer Жыл бұрын

I'm a minecraft cow, meow

@KBskatin98 6 ай бұрын

I manufacture boxes for a living and recently got a katana. I have unlimited access to boxes so this video made me excited lol

@metalman6698 Жыл бұрын

Thats actually pretty good that they are a little harder to cut than tatami. That way you know if you can cut these than you can cut tatami, as opposed to if it was easier.

@borttorbbq2556 Жыл бұрын

Use the flat function on that hose it will give you better range a lot of them have a vertical version. And as long as you got the angled right you could hit all the cardboard and just sweep it back and forth

@swordhooker Жыл бұрын

The cost of tatami and sharp swords was always a barrier to cutting practice. But with this technique I may actually give this a shot! Thanks for the video!🎉

@SellswordArts Жыл бұрын

Swords are still expensive, but I have one in our links that is a pretty good deal for the price!

@romelcasillas2286 Ай бұрын

This is genius. I can't wait to test out T10 steel.

@Waldemarvonanhalt 9 күн бұрын

In South Africa, the Zulu nation is known for its grass weaving crafts, which includes massive grass jars that can be used to store beer in. (The grass fibres swell when hydrated) I think I'll have a look and see if they don't perhaps weave mats from grass as well. Would be much easier than importing tatami.

@tylerroman4179 Жыл бұрын

When you can sword good, you don’t need to count

@sanguinoid8919 Жыл бұрын

This is a great idea definitely bringing boxes home from work tonight to try it

@FrithjofMiyamoto Жыл бұрын

That's an realy great idea!!!! 😲👏👏Thanks for that

@divineterabyte5181 Жыл бұрын

Definitely gonna be using this trick!!

@stringchz Жыл бұрын

I thought of cutting cardboard but for some reason couldn't think to wet them to make them easier to roll up. I get a lot of boxes just because I do most of my grocery shopping online so this will be a great way to use them. Thank you for sharing.

@Varim.Gaunniss 7 ай бұрын

that's pretty neat idea, lol, might try it sometime

@1IGG Жыл бұрын

Getting boxes nice and wet? My speciality :P

@mr.e.t.2701 2 ай бұрын

That's a win right there

@IvanZehirov 4 ай бұрын

great idea

@fusionclean 7 ай бұрын

Brilliant❤

@day_ten5834 Жыл бұрын

Hey bro we are from Pineville La ,let's go! , love the videos man .

@SellswordArts Жыл бұрын

nice! how far is that from ruston?

@skyereave9454 Жыл бұрын

"I'm sure my neighbors think I'm weird." I think we have successfully passed this point in the best possible way.

@victorcharles27 Жыл бұрын

Close to 1 million subscribers 😁

@sons_of_the_dragon 5 ай бұрын

Louisiana you say? Oh wait I see it now on the recycle bin. Ruston. I'm down in the Alexandria/Pineville area and I too practice Iaido, Kenjutsu, as well as Kenpo.

@nozakiiazura9861 5 ай бұрын

well this is a good video to watch...i did not know if using a cardboard is good or bad for the blade.....btw just buy my first sword and its a katana😂...and just started cutting practice

@carlreynolds6047 8 ай бұрын

Dude love this I will certainly try this .I’m lucky enough to get cardboard boxes each day Nice smile nice swords nice dojo or gym Are your swords super sharp ?

@vinayvikramsingh Жыл бұрын

Now we need a guide to make a pell.

@SellswordArts Жыл бұрын

ill work on that too at some point!

@andresalanis7767 Жыл бұрын

I have a ton of boxes like those, now I know what to do with them, hope my cats want to play with them as don´t have swords at home xD

@rawr2u190 11 ай бұрын

O this is smart

@never_forget_the_skars3478 Жыл бұрын

guud Iaidō no jinpairu meiking dou..

@karlanderson1305 Жыл бұрын

Hello friend love your videos and the work u do so I have a question I saw your video about winning your first tournament and heard u say you really didn’t have a teacher so is that to say your self taught this is really interesting to me and would love to hear your answer thanks again

@stevemora6463 Жыл бұрын

I have a question. What can I do if I can only get smaller boxes? I don't want targets about one meter tall... It's hard around here to get a reliable quantity of big enough boxes. Also, how can I make sure all of them give kind of the same resistence? For consistency sake, because I don't think I can get a big amount of equal boxes, so there's details that I think could give unwanted variants.

@RONNIEJNZN 3 ай бұрын

We're gonna get these boxes nice and wet. Yes we are bro, yes we are.

@justkirja Жыл бұрын

i was wondering where did you get those swords and other weapons, ive been getting into learning swords and other melee weapons but been having trouble finding good places to buy them and want a creditable place to buy them.

@WhatIfBrigade Жыл бұрын

I'm trying this out, making some smaller ones. Mine are about 18 inches. Now to wait 2 days for drying.

@animeboy-qy5sq 6 ай бұрын

Hey I wonder what size cardboard box are best for cutting ?

@wahoothurman9969 Жыл бұрын

Could you please talk about some of the stuff from Demon Slayer, keeping in mind the breathing styles are just different swordsmanship techniques and all the fire and such aren't real that's just how they visualize themselves. Thank you for all that you do.

@skyereave9454 Жыл бұрын

I second this.

@leviathanjunior4421 Жыл бұрын

Hey how do you feel about the way they fight in some anime like sword art online

@farkasmactavish Жыл бұрын

I'd prefer newspaper and magazines. Cardboard is very abrasive, and my only cutting swords are very nice and pretty so I don't wanna ruin them.

@SellswordArts Жыл бұрын

The person who came up with this method has done some testing on the edge to make sure that it wasn't wearing them down at an accelerated rate. They found that the single thick sheets of cardboard weren't doing damage to the swords.

@farkasmactavish Жыл бұрын

@@SellswordArts I'll see on my machete, then.

@lathanchurch8352 Жыл бұрын

You can also go to a sherwin williams store and ask for their boxes, well ask what day their truck comes and go in on that day

@freestatefellow Жыл бұрын

What Longsword are you using for the cutting?

@SellswordArts Жыл бұрын

I'm borrowing my friends Albion Warwick! We are going to test out your catana next too! I just need to git gud 🤣

@Imortalcat Жыл бұрын

@@SellswordArts we gonna need a full video of cutting 🦾

@notfishy2088 Жыл бұрын

how to layer them

@Imortalcat Жыл бұрын

Can you make a video of your swords

@huntermarvin6367 Ай бұрын

Brooooo where in Louisiana!! HMU, I need a buddy to cut/spar/train with!!!

@keptleroymg6877 7 ай бұрын

Nice muscles. How much do you weigh?

@kamikazelookinheads3494 9 ай бұрын

Does the cardboard absolutely need to be wet when do you do the cuts? I'm just starting out with my first sword and all that stuff and I really want to cut some stuff with it but I want to be you know safe and reasonable about it but I don't got too much money at the moment. Is it possible and okay to just wet it the first time roll it up and then let it dry and cut it like that?

@SellswordArts 9 ай бұрын

You need to soak it the second time or it won't work

@bennyb.1742 Жыл бұрын

Is the cardboard more or less abrasive to the sword than tatami?

@SellswordArts Жыл бұрын

I kind of heard mixed things. John knock, who I got this technique from, said that it shouldn't be too much more abrasive. He did mention that he was worried that double thick cardboard and used cardboard might be a little bit rougher on the blade. The first because of the thickness, the second because of dirt on the cardboard. I cleaned my boxes pretty well when I rolled them

@Ben-cw5zx Жыл бұрын

That one slice made it in the the trash can

@never_forget_the_skars3478 Жыл бұрын

sey hay tu evry uan in dhe Dōjō, ō'ka?

@thedukeofcats6616 Жыл бұрын

Selsword arts and crafts😂🤣😂

@SellswordArts Жыл бұрын

🤣

@thedukeofcats6616 Жыл бұрын

@@SellswordArts I’m so incredibly happy that you replied you have to idea how much that means to me

@SellswordArts Жыл бұрын

@@thedukeofcats6616 you made a great comment! Of course I gotta reply!

@thedukeofcats6616 Жыл бұрын

Thanks, I’m Young (I gonna be Responsible and not say my age on the Internet) and I have like no equipment all I have are some really good sticks and brothers to train with and by watching your content and lots of practice I got really good and now I thrash my brothers lol the point is you have inspired me to become a good swordsmen and I thank you

@jamesouellet9769 2 ай бұрын

Is the sword an Albion Warwick?

@vincentlee7359 Жыл бұрын

Better than just slashing water bottles

@2rustysporks Жыл бұрын

Not super related to the cutting bit, but curious about what the shoes you're using are. Are those barefoot style? Asking b/c I'm in the market for barefoot shoes I can move well in.

@SellswordArts Жыл бұрын

Currently I'm using the wildling tanuki. It's pretty good, though I wouldn't use it for fencing. It's a very soft and pliable shoe. I use it for day-to-day walking around and stuff to Before I used Lems. They were great, I even fenced in them, but they didn't hold up very long because of all the fencing I did. I mean, I could usually get a year and a half out of them which was good, but I wore them until they were actual holes in the soles. Currently I'm fencing in the Belleville mini Mill. It's a minimalist combat boot. It's great because it is completely flat, has great grip, is sturdy, and has some ankle support.

@2rustysporks Жыл бұрын

@@SellswordArts Thanks for the thoughtful reply! Had my eye on Wildling for an "everyday" shoe as well -- good to know re: not using them for anything too intense. I LOVE the Lem's Waterproof Boulder Boot as an everyday cold-weather option, but haven't tried their more athletic-y stuff yet. Will take a look @ the Belleville ones as well. Thanks again for the tips! Love your stuff & looking forward to seeing more :)

@tomas22593 Жыл бұрын

Hello, would you recommend me some places where its possible to buy good quality swords? Thank you.

@SellswordArts Жыл бұрын

Are you looking for a sword for cutting, or sword for fencing?

@tomas22593 Жыл бұрын

@@SellswordArts mainly for cutting

@martialman12 Жыл бұрын

Its a great suggestion the only issue with cardboard is that it can be quite harsh on the blade. So you are going to wear out the edge a lot faster and get more scratches and etc quicker on the sword. For that reason I would only do it with a budget cutting sword but still a good idea.

@ShagShaggio Жыл бұрын

This serves as a dual training aid, not only do you get to practice cutting you also get to practice sharpening your sword afterward as cardboard is pretty abrasive and will dull an edge pretty quickly. Probably only want to stick to using budget swords you don't mind getting a little scuffed up using these. Cheers!

@SellswordArts Жыл бұрын

The people who made this technique did a lot of tests and observations of their swords after doing this, and they found that it didn't dull the edges excessively.

@ShagShaggio Жыл бұрын

@@SellswordArts Oh, that's good. I don't really have much experience cutting with swords and don't know how cardboard compares to tatami. I do however have a stupid amount of experience cutting cardboard with knives of various quality of steels. Even fairly decent quality high carbon steel blades tend to need a good touch up after a bit of cutting up boxes. I guess its probably not as noticeable with a longer blade with more mass. Just curious but how often do you find you need to touch up the edge on your swords cutting tatami and do you know what steel the swords you normally use are?

@thezomby5015 Жыл бұрын

@@ShagShaggio The cardboard being wet might help a lot in preserving the blade as the fiber does not react the same way.

@SellswordArts Жыл бұрын

@@ShagShaggio I haven't had to reach sharpen my swords yet. Like I said I'm still new to test cutting. But the guy who I got this tutorial from says that he hasn't noticed abnormal wear on his swords. At least not compared to tatami cutting. I think the soaking process combined with the dawn detergent really help soften the cardboard and prevent excessive wear. I'll report back and see if I have any Edge problems after doing this for a few months

@ShagShaggio Жыл бұрын

@@SellswordArts Ah right right. Might be an interesting thing to take note of, equipment maintenance is important after all. Sharpening a long blade is a fair bit more difficult than a knife, might be a good topic for future DIY videos. Cheers! 💚

@beansnrice321 Ай бұрын

This is neither here no there but cardboard has a lot of abrasive in it. It's a classic trope of car guys that they don't want you to put brown paper or cardboard on their cars finishes cause it will scuff up the paint. I'm sure these will work well but expect to sharpen your sword more often. =(

@tarion31 Жыл бұрын

Have you ever tried using newspaper rolls? I work for a shipping company and let me tell you, delivery trucks are dirty, I would not re-use boxes for cutting practice, it is very abrasive and full of dirt particles.

@SellswordArts Жыл бұрын

The soaking process is a good opportunity to hose off the boxes and get dirt and other things off of them. I found that they were pretty clean by the time I was rolling them. If it's something that you're really worried about, you could probably use a squeegee as you're rolling the boxes up and get a lot of grime off before you turn it into the final product. A couple people have mentioned rolled newspapers, and it seems like a good idea. I'll try that next. The soaking process with Dawn detergent really softens up the boxes. A couple people have worried about the abrasive quality of the cardboard, but once it's soaked up the water and dawn, it gets pretty soft.

@tarion31 Жыл бұрын

@@SellswordArts Yeah newspaper cuts nicely because you can roll it very tight and it becomes dense and heavy, but you need alot of paper to make a good roll, so cardboard may still be a better option.