Hi All, I am away with bad reception so only moments to answer so just to say great to see Matt and do some videos with him. Thanks for all the great questions and comments and watch out for more videos. Thanks Matt! Tod

You recognize a true scientist, a genuine expert by his frequent use of the phrase "I don't know". Sounds like a joke, but it isn't.

Matt Easton: *enthusiasm for dog-powered machinery* Cat Easton: *looks worried*

Yes!! I wholeheartedly support this collaboration - a Matt & Tod Q&A is a genius idea!!

Great discussion. The two most important things a researcher, academic, or just an enthusiast can say is (1) “we don’t know” and (2) “I’m researching that; I’ll discuss that soon.” I truly appreciate your content.

Matt and Tod are on a very short list of my favorite people on here. They've both given soo much time teaching us, and provoking thought. Since I started watching Matt like seven years ago, my whole understanding of old weapons and combat, as well as the history surrounding each of them is so completely different than anything I thought before. For those of us in the long time club, just consider how much your understanding has changed and grown since finding Matt and Tod. Not to mention the combined thousands of hours of helping us pass the time in such an enriching way.

Thank you for answering my questions. That was some solid effort with attempting to pronounce my nickname :P

There is something hipnotizing about tapping a screw hole. It's quite literally boring, but suddenly having a way to fit two pieces of metal together is actually really rewarding somehow.

I love how the horse mounted crank winded (cant spell it properly in German with a few beers in my belly) crossbow are so well represented in Wheel of Time but in a subtle way that barely grabs most readers attention.

It was very interesting to learn that some "all-steel" flanged maces have wooden cores. Makes sense in hindsight, but it never occurred to me that that might be the case. Good stuff!

For Matt, with the nose to the grindstone quote. You need to check out knife grinders in Sheffield in the 19th century. Basically a saddle next to a grindstone head right over the work. Stones did occasionally explode and was considered unlucky if it didn't kill you outright as you'd suffer for longer.

@ 26:57 - *Your professional humility, is something to be admired, Tod.* You achieve that split second grinding technique taking only fractions of a second to observe, assess, and act - the same way quarterbacks throw a football to a running receiver in the endzone... *you have an extraordinary level of skill.*

Fabulous to actually see two youtubers working together after a year of COVID enforced solitude. I also look forward to seeing both of you out an about in the landscape again. Yes Tod already tested the range of his 850lb crossbow but I trust Matt will soon be back actively teaching HEMA again

On the topic of dog powered equipment, there was a breed of dog specifically for turning spits in the kitchen. It's considered a lost breed now because once that job was done they stop breeding them.

Starting to think the more you learn about swords the less hair you have on your head

In Poland we had very popular unit called "rota strzelcza"-shooters regiment, it consisted of mounted crossbowmen rather lightly armoured(cuirass, chainmail, open helmet, light arms armor and some side arm) and lancers - man at arms with heavy armor but not armoured horses. Ratio of crossbowmen to lancers was 3:1 in early 15th century battle of Grunwald time 1410, they were increasing numbers of crossbowmen over time and it was about 5:1 at second half of 15th when we waged second war with Teutonic Order(13 years war 1454-1466) or fighting with Ottomans like battle of Varna in 1444.

Tod loving his thread tab is the most wholesome thing

As an electrician, drill taps are the best tool ever. Fixes so many "impossible" situations =)

I always love it when you two do content together. It’s always such a relax and informative session.

Thankyou for being gentlemen and scholars.

The greatest collab in history!

Amazing collaboration!! Thanks to both of you!

Your videos makes me so happy. Both of you.

I love the enthusiasm you both have.

Great seeing two of my favorites together!

I am looking forward to Tod and Jason's crossbow series. They tend to talk about thinks that I haven't even thought about in the past, and then I am hooked. Especially since Jason does a lot of horse back things, and seems to be the only big hema channel doing that.

It seems like they started for protection then used for show like a person looking for that key collector comic. Then lost with time until a person comes and recreates these historic beauties. Thank you Tod.

YES! FINALLY a genuine superhero cross-over! Some want Superman vs Batman, we want Matt&Todd!

9:07 "An army of Pomeranians walking around.. lmao!" I freaking love you, Matt.

Looking forward to watch it while at home. This looks Juicy, hi to the both of you from my tiny Valley.

I'm pretty sure that I saw in Caesar's Commentary's that a large Arche ballista was used as a weapon from the ground against battlements and also mounted on battlements firing outwards.

Excellent video, mates. It's so delightful to see some of my favorite channels hanging out as friends.

9:10 Matt was so amused by the idea of dog powered devices. ^_^

The burning questions! And yea, when you're good at it, that's all you need. When you're new, you can't do that.

That crossbow is going to be awesome!

Thanks, Tod and Matt, awesomely educational video!

What an ambitious crossover!

Yes! Super excited for this one and the rest of the collabs! When Matt and Tod are talking shop in person it means the world is healing XD

Tod loves to grind the blades, cut the threads and weld the steel.... then wonders how he can judge the work as he glimpses it for fractions of a second :D You aren't seeing it Tod you are just feeling if it's right, you've been at master craftsman level for a while :D

Always a benefit to have stiff wood for your shaft with additional rings.

Great video, glad to see you guys together again. Very informative!

What fun. Thanks gentlemen.

It's a little odd to see you guys with no swords or crossbows in the frame.

This is my favorite youtube bromance

I heard the 'nose to the grindstone' saying is from millers grinding grain. If the grindstone turns too quickly and gets too hot you might burn the flour and ruin the whole thing, so keeping your nose close to the grind stone to smell for smoke or something along those lines.

Excellent video!!! Can't wait for more and to see the composite crossbow!!!

Two of my favorite youtubers. I very much enjoyed this video and hope you both do more like it in the future!

Thanks guys !

Fantastic video, could listen to loads of these!

Wow what a great collab More of this please.

Matt and Tod, great combination, lots of interesting info between the my two of my favourite weapon channels :D

A file hard scraping tool can be used to cut fullers and scrape flats flatter with a reasonable finish if you can keep it from chattering that will be a good place to start sanding.

you guys did not mention the scraper when talking about fullers. The scraper is that stick they are using in the picture and it is still used today in traditional sword making.

I can imagine brazed connections to be strong enough. Even soldierd copper connections are pretty strong. (stronger than the copper itself). First year in engineering school at age 14 (long ago) we learned to soldier. (mainly for electronic purposes, but one has to start somewhere) The first try were two thin sheets of copper (in my memory they were like 100x15x1 mm) that overlapped for around 4 cm . After finishing and cooling down, one side was put into a vise and the teacher would take some pliers and try to rip it apart. When done right, the copper would break long before the soldiered connection.

So much collab teasing!

I found your channels by chance, an I really appreciate your hard work. Great information, brilliant.

Thanks to both of you! I'm looking forward to more collaborations on each of your channels.

619 is probably the poster's area code, in the US. San Diego to be specific.

Tread cutting is amazing. The ease that we make complex helix in metal is amazing. But welding is a god like feeling.

This is great! I really enjoy this video. I would love to see more of this type of thing

Hi guys, thanks for a cracking discussion. Tod, I'm still using your arcuballista, the only one I know of, that we collaborated on for Mike Loades' Osprey publication on Crossbows. It's a sweet shooting, compact weapon; a joy to shoot. Further to that, I also have one of three (I think) gastraphetes made by Len Morgan. As you alluded to, it uses a Roman-style catapulta trigger which, with the rachet and pawl system, that, if we're correct, seemingly reflects its status as a transitional weapon between bow and torsion-powered catapulta. Best wishes, and keep up the good work.

Thnk u been waiting for this for years now

38 minutes is a long video, but to listen to you and Tod, it's worth it.

I might be a luddite, these types of Q&A would make for a great reference book.

I agree with Tod, making threads (inside or out, I don't discriminate) is magical.

7:01 I know that they did have mirrior polish in armor there are records of ancient helms found in ppls attics that would be rusty but when the visor was moved ir revealed mirrior polish underneath. and when you think of it its the high polish that helps repel water and reduce rust in the field.

Note for Tod: For fine grinding and polishing, there are some indications of the sharpening was done in great parts of Europe, with a Spanish stone (slate, I believe). A friend of mine (like myself, a blacksmith), found something of a 16th century German fellow who was sent to Spain to source some of this stone for [some] Royal armoury at the time. And when he finally got to the region, he was baffled by the fact that while all of Europe he knew, was seeking this stone, the locals built houses out of it. And he was so utterly confused... To what extemd this is true, I do not know, so take it with a bag of salt, rather than just a pinch. As for polishing; I believe there may have been a sort of buffing wheel- of a pelt [possibly waxed?] spanned on a grinding stone by the 17th century. As well as "sandpaper" made from linen cloth with actual sand glued on (possibly?). These may actually be interesting things to try out some day...

The pair of you were great hosts in this video, thanks for the entertainment.

Always when the two of you get together the outcome is greater than the sum of it parts ❤️

i thoroughly enjoyed this collaboration. thank you gentlemen

If a mace just had a wooden shaft coved with just thin metal it would be much more cut resistant.

What an awesome team up! Looking forward to watching this later.

I know that some early gun barrels were spiral welded from strips of metal. Could that have been done by weapon smiths to make hollow shafts for maces and such? I think the method goes back to the Romans and their lead pipes. Also, the resurgence of crossbows ca, the 1100s may have been due to a breakthrough in spanning high-weight bows. When was the windlass-style winder invented?

For me forge welding event hough I understand how it works, is pure magic to me. Welding electrically or even with a torch like I can see it happen. The hard bit turn to liquid and when it freezes its stuck, this is totally normal and rational to me, I mean you can do it with ice it just makes sense. Forge welding you take the hard bit, sort of half melt it and then hit it kinda hard with some Flux on and it just sticks? Like really well? I've been doing it for over a decade and it still fascinates me every time, especially when I can show someone else how and they just get it first try.

Thanks for the video guys. :)

Great to have you two chatting. More please. More Lucy in the future.

Awesome video gentlemen.

Are you sure that is a stone in a stick at 8:34? In East Asia, after the rough shaping of a blade it would be normalized which made the steel relatively soft and the next step was to actually cut a groove in the blade with a much harder small steel blade mounted in a handle and this tool looks surprisingly similar to the one you show in the images here. After cutting the fullers, the blade undergoes heat treatment and is quenched.

idea for a video Matt: discuss the evolution of Greek swords (kopis, falcata, xiphos). It would be interesting to know how they are related and changed over time. I know you talked about the size of bronze swords, but the focus of this video would be the temporal evolution of various greek sword styles. Just a thought!

Did you see tod from tod cutler while you were there too or did tod from tods workshop keep that identity locked away?

Dog powered. The Spitt dog is extinct (look it up) lots of things where powered by dog, Small carts mostly.

It would be interesting to see a mace handle that had a wrapped Damascus hollow tube like they used to make antique shotgun barrels out of. I love the way those spirals look on the antique barrels.

Great questions!

inswing torsion bows FTW. Also: a chieroballistra with bronze coil springs has been found.

I love these collaborations from my favourite KZfaq channels 👍😁

I don't know if I'm happy seeing people together again after Covid but I really enjoyed this

The great blacksmith meets the great swordsman, what an awesome team up!

I really hope one day we can see Tod join in on a Game Knight D&D session.

Great video! Looking forward to seeing more collabs between the two of you! And looking forward to seeing Tod's and Jason's mounted crossbow video to!

If I remember correctly, mounted infantry was called hobelar, I wonder if that definition would have included also the mounted crossbowmen

10/10 looking forward to the period crossbow

Love ❤️ my rondel dagger that you made Tod 👍

Brazing is done above 840° F (450° C), soldering is done below 840°.

"... rings inserted up the shaft..." 🙄 Another fun and interesting video.

If you have bodies, then you can have people reloading a series of any single shot weapons for you to reach back (on foot) or circle back on horse back, and trade out.

Great work! :)

Tod und das Mättchen. Classic!

The first attack of crusaders on constantinople was in 1204, during the 4th crusade, so that falls more in line with the level of crossbow development seen in the illustration Tod, if that clarifies.

Beautiful combination. Two legends of the sword community 😁

Best KZfaq team up!