How easily can a SWORD cut off a SPEARHEAD? | FUNCTIONAL FANDOM

How easy is it for a sword to cut a spearhead off and is it viable in combat?

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#medievalmisconceptions

[shadiversity]

Just for everyone's reference, the wood of all shafts cut into in this video are Tasmanian Oak, a class three timber hardwood. Not the heaviest or densest, but it is tough and durable. My wacky stick, the one I test against nun chucks, is made of the same and I've broken many boards with it.

[MidwestArtMan]

One thing to take into account is that if you cut through most of the shaft, but not all, a strong thrust from the spearman could break it off, especially if it hits a shield or strong armor. One or two of these cuts could be enough in that case.

[ShuRugal]

I think this demonstration gives a good example of "possible" vs "practical" - it is *POSSIBLE* to cut through a spear/quarterstaff with a sword, but it requires multiple full-power strikes to the same position on the shaft, which may not be PRACTICAL in combat.

Something nobody seems to be talking about, though: cutting the head off a spear doesn't disarm a spearman, it turns him into a quarterstaffman.

[abcdef]

"Aha! I just cut off the head of your spear! Surrender now!"

"Fool! My spear was imbued with Hydra blood..."

Suddently, the spear now have three spearheads.

[Michaelgnizak]

I think spears were expected to break in due course, but one thing you mentioned at the beginning that is good to keep in mind, those strikes were with a willing opponent who was resisting the strike. Two strikes is I think a very optimistic perspective for real world situations. I was surprise at how few hit it took though. That first test with six or so hit I figured would be pretty standard.

[MADMarty]

What I find really interesting here, is the implications for Zweihander combat in Pike Formations. Since we do have some accounts of Dopplesolder's cutting through pike shafts. So depending on the sharpness of the sword and the thickness of the wood, perhaps the landsknecht really could cut through pike shafts. That would be my suggestion for a future video, Zweihander vs Pike shaft.

[dimitriskaragiozidis]

I believe that in historical context the "breaking a pike" or "breaking a spear" - often in context with Landsknechts - meant that they broke the formation so that pikes from the other side go through. Hollywood probably took it too seriously. If a spear or pike broke that easily as in the films, then spears would not have been used for that long.

[nulious]

a few points:
1: even if you don't cut the point off the shaft is still weaker.
2: even if you cut the point off the enemy still has a long pointy stick
3: I suspect that over a drawn out battle even without intentionally trying to break spear shafts some will stll get broken.

[TomozAlpha]

I actually have been reading Brandon Sanderson work and I have noticed you’ve been put in the rhythms of war for helping with the combat description to have it be a lot more believable even with flying soldiers/flying ships I’m glad your getting recondition as both a author and a entertainer

After I’m done with the stormlight archive I will be reading the shadow of the conqueror

[thisdude]

There's also one other secret weapon that the spear user will employ in order to make sure it's very difficult to cut even halfway through the shaft - Moving the incredibly nimble and lightning fast tip of the spear out of the way and redirecting a thrust into your face.

[redmoon]

Given that spears were usually hardened and aren't solidly braced against anything (unless maybe stuck in a shield), I feel like it's way tougher than people think.

[drake]

One thing that's interesting to think about is that the determining factor of whether or not you can cut it in 1 hit is how well it's braced, so if you gave the spearman superhuman strength it would make cutting the spear more likely than if you were to give the swordsman superhuman strength.
This means that in all the movies where you see the hero break a spear shaft in one hit, that's a strength feat for their opponent, not necessarily for the hero.

[Some_Really_Random_Dude.]

I would like to remind people, that just because something is possible, does not mean it is practical. No soldier is going to stand there to let someone hack at their spear. And spears are generally used in formation. Even if it is still a good one on one weapon.

[Mongaloose]

Something to keep in mind is that a trained spearman would follow the motion such a sword strike, effectively turning these heavy attacks into complete whiffs, which would leave the swordsman open to counterattack.

[nikolibarastov]

Something tells me a Claymore, or a Grosse Messer, or even a Falchion would be an Excellent weapon for this test, but testing it under sparring conditions with an Trained Spearman would be a cool video.

[FedericoMalagutti]

Definitely with some luck involved at some point in history someone ended up chopping a spear head off, but it’s far better to think about how to get close and build up an action (or better a series of actions) to get closer more or less safely. While trying to use shaft grabs, binding and every controlling mean possible.

[nilsnyberg]

Good video. I'm surprised cutting through a spear wasn't harder than this, though I imagine it would be harder to get such good solid strikes in on a spear while your enemy is trying to stab you with it.

[randombadchannel]

If you chop a head of Spear off you'll get the mighty Stick

[Malchus]

When you hit the shaft diagonally you are cutting a lot more aligned with the grains in the wood. Striking the staff horizontally against the grain makes it a lot tougher.

[ZoeLycan]

This is something I had issues with D&D groups. Since I'm the crazy one who loves spears, they would always try to point out all the negative things in both the systems and "it doesn't make sense in real life"
such things as:
You can't use a shield with a spear, not even a small/light round one. And the other, they would always find a way to break the wood shaft of mys pears. "Enemy punch/slams/twist" and spear breaks, or enemy armor is so strong spear bends and breaks, they burn or acid the wood. All stupid reasons. I ended using "steel-wood" or "iron-wood" (depending on system) to make a weapon lighter and stronger with a single change
I then argue: there is a good reason why spears were the predominant weapon in battlefields for the longest of time ALL over the world. Where swords (modern medieval swords) became relevant much much later, and other cultures still used spears and gave them a run for its value.
My two personal favourite spear stiles come from Spartans and also Eastern martial arts with spears (these are more often "blade spears" but I stil really like it)
and then in medieval we have the "polearm/poleaxe" Halbert (piercing, slashing, burgeoning damage all in 1 weapon)