How rough were medieval weapons?

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Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.

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[Magaboon]

As a frenchman, I agree, nice and effective bilhook

[johnmcfarlane]

I agree with the idea that a blacksmith that had more time in their schedule or made weapons for friends/family/themselves or special customers made very nice weapons, but once the war machine needed fueling the quality went in the toilet

[Bleats_Sinodai]

Not to mention that, since metal wasn't exactly cheap, it was probably melted and repurposed into other things once wartime was over.

[gastonjaillet]

As a frenchman I can confirm this billhook would kill me.

[danielmobley]

Designed specifically for the French. Their anatomy is different

[David]

Imagine you're out there on the field of battle. You kill a Frenchman, and in his dying breath, he insults your billhooks appearance. It would be dreadful.

[VincitOmniaVeritas]

Italian billhook: work of art
British billhook: orc craftsmanship

[drewbydoobydoo]

"Wow, take a look at the polish and engraving on that hoo-"
- YOU DIED -

[mt_baldwin]

Well there's pride in appearance and then there's "The baron has called a levy, so I gotta get this tool turned into a weapon ASAP." And probably turned back into a tool after whipping the french.

[TheGreenKnight]

It stands to reason that cheaply made, sub-par weapons and tools have always existed throughout human history, especially once you got to the point when it was usually someone else making them and selling them to you.

[Ethercloud]

Bill hooks as you call them are basically de-horsers and canned meat openers.

[kermitthorson]

Lindybeige is the only content creator i know that can remain monetized even after 10 years+ of talking about billhooking Frenchmen

[jeremypreston]

"if you just wanted a tool to kill Frenchmen"
Man do I know that feeling

[saladiniv]

museums here in switzerland sometimes literally have hundreds of halberds and most of them aren't fancy decorated. they're not quite as crude as your billhook but they are just simple functional designs.

[richardwakelin]

they were originally used for hedge laying and wood cutting. I have used them many, many times & the style changes depending on which part of the country its from. that one looks specifically for battle with that long spike

[RogerTheil]

I've always thought it was something like this: Professionals, nobles, and hobbyists probably owned nice equipment, most of the time. It was part of their lifestyle. But when it came to volunteers/conscripts and war time, they probably had thousands of weapons made relatively quickly to fill empty hands with quality French killers.

[gordonmcintosh]

im guessing the rubbish stuff got re- repurposed into tools again

[elephantspaintingelephants]

I’ve been watching your videos for almost ten years and you still provide new information. Love your work!

[MrRedsjack]

I would imagine that even a pretty basic tool could easily be made to look nice with a bit of work during downtime. And soldiers have usually lots of downtime. Also polishing and engraving were common skills.

[Ice_Karma]

"Survivorship bias" is a very real thing! 😸❤