A brief demonstration of wooden slat armour. (wooden armour pt 4.)

spectacular video sir.

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I'm very surprised how well this armor performed.

Being completely ignorant of all of this, I need to ask: which group of peoples would have used such armor?

Wouldn't you be so kind as to direct me to either original artifacts or analyses of originals? I'd love to experiment with this.

Thank you for this video! I got interesting information from this

this is so cool

There is a definite bias against “uncivilized” cultures in a European Centric historical view, but i am fascinated at the skills and wisdom that they used with the tools and resources that they did have at their disposal.

Much better than I expected.

This armor surprised me with its effectiveness. In neolithic times it must have been all a warrior really needed.

I have always wondered why wooden armor wasn't more popular, while it may be bulky it does still offer good protection even against arrows, if the slats were thicker it would offer even more protection. It only makes sense that wooden armor would be used in times of great financial troubles, yet we very seldom see it used outside of Japan's feudal age, perhaps amongst some primitive peoples too. I imagine wooden armor upon gambison wouldn't be as effective but surely a lot cheaper and quicker to produce than metal armor, I suppose the only downside is that wooden armor cannot be easily repaired compared to metal armor, but in a pinch I would personally rather strap a set of wooden planks to my chest than go into battle in only clothes, it might at the very least stop a sword or axe or mace damaging me too much.

I wonder how tape would compare to cordage for the weave. Not as pretty or secure looking, but saves alotta time. If you need armor in a pinch.

Whilst it would require a slightly different method of construction, there's no reason why they couldn't have constucted it from partially overlapping strips. Thinning the edges of each slat so that the overall thickness remains similar at the overlapping joints would reduce the possibility of finding a gap, yet still maintain flexibility without making it cumbersome.

This is kind of harebrained, but, I'm wondering if it could have been impregnated with sap that hardens when heated, like copal and the like. it looks like it was used as glue by some cultures, and connecting that with stronger wood if it soaked in seems like something that was bound to be noticed. But you'd get extra strength by making like, carbon fiber but less strong.


as an added benefit (or way to discover it) is that if they're glued, the wrappings won't come undone when it takes a hit, if you glue them per plank but not at the edges so it's still flexible

Are you a fan of Slavoj Zizek?

That's amazing!

I found that fascinating thank you! I assumed the string was for flexibility but I can see you now that it also stops the wood from splitting. Does that the string tend to unwind itself once it is cut? Do you tie it off with knots as you go?

Great demonstration!

Loving the new camera!

Respect for taking the time to make the armour, only to destroy it. I assume that a warclub doesn't damage it much?

This seems like a worthwhile investment of time and resources. IMHO, It would be worthwhile to do the next test with pine, poplar, birch, alder or some tree of the Tilia genus (analogous to European linden). The cousins of the tree species most commonly used in the Old World.
A recent test on Scottish targes (YT channel: Fandabi Dozi) showed that a pine shield, held better against pistol and musket bullets (high momentum impact) despite weighing less than an oak shield.

Cool!

I appreciate the time you must have spent making these arrows and the armor, just to destroy it for this demo.

🤔 I wonder. Is there any evidence of the cords being glued, or something added, after weaving to strengthen them? My thinking is if glued they'd be harder but also if cut still be stuck to the board; both effects I'd think would add to the defensive strength of the armor.

That Antler arrow is basically like a bodkin arrow. Very interesting

I love how it looks, but seeing how much time it costs I wonder about the cultural impact “the cost” of such armour has.

You spend half a day on it without also having to collect/grow the plants, harvest and refine them and only then be able to use it to weave. Ofcourse you are doing it alone but still.

Would it be something only very high status warriors could “afford” or was it more widespread, with people agreeing that spending a huge amount of time in it was worth it for all the tribesmen? Seeing how groups where smaller that would make sense. A loss of 12 is felt way harder in a group of 120 than in a group of 1200. And i feel like losing 12 man would be a lot for the period, but you know way more about that i think.

Warm greetings from the Netherlands🇳🇱.

Surpising!

This was an awesome test, however would there traditionally be padding under this? I assume that would affect the test as well. I would also like to see this paired with a gel torso to see if that also alters the durability.

Amazing.
Thanks for sharing your experience

Would they have applied a glue or tar to the string to help prevent unraveling?

Excellent demonstration! I'd love to see a test on a period helmet.

Per wood as a defense, definitely the type of wood is important, and all that, but also the grain direction. It's very interesting because the wood you used that was easily split apart, it is probably as thick, if not thicker, than the great majority of historical shields, but due to it's make, is nowhere near as useful/protective. Obviously, historical shields are generally composites, and thin layers of canvas, hide, and/or glue/pitch holding it together really does make a huge difference in making the wood stronger, and the overall thing able to retain its shape well. Just as you showed us with the slats, with the textile holding it nice and taut, making it very useful armor.

Awesome work!

The ability to turn the arrows is impressive. Still, there would have been an impressive bruise and perhaps a broken rib or two. In the end, preferable to a punctured lung.

Thank you for doing so much work. That was awesome.

Thank you. I have been hoping you would cover wooden armor. What poundage are you shooting?

But the Narrative Americans had to be primitive, they bathed, usually daily, and believed in the word of another meaning something.

what was the music in this video? very cool

No fluff, all results, I'm so glad I'm subscribed to this channel.

i adore these down to earth examples of how things work. great stuff

Thank you for putting the time to experiment. Never would have thought this armor is actually viable, it looked mostly ceremonial for a european like me used to lamelar, chain mails and heavy metal plates.

Love every upload man!

Very interesting. I've been wanting to make a druid in Dungeons and Dragons who uses only stone age tools and weapons. Armor like this would fit him perfectly as It would provide better protection than just leather. Honestly mixing both leather and wood armor would be fairly effective I would think. A few layers of leather would offer cushioning as well as added protection for if an arrow struck a gap. I guess you could say it's some sort of a Paleolithic/ Neolithic plate armor made from wood. I know other types of armor were worn around the world before metallurgy became the norm. By chance was antler/ bone armor used by Native Americans? If so it would be cool to see you test some of that if you ever have the time.

Very impressive. Would you consider this an example of early lamination technology? Seeing how this shielding responded to the force of the axe I'm convinced of its effectiveness prior to assault by guns
Well done sir. Your research efforts are truly enlightening

Are there any evidence of them cutting "slots" in the boards(like that modern wooden floor lengths) so they fit together kinda like lego? It would ofc make them much more rigid so a bit counter-productive.

Did they wear some sort of padding under the armor btw?

Love your channel.

Thanks, very illuminating.

Very cool, keep up the good work!

I’d love to talk to you more in-depth about your process and recreations. I recorded efficacy data of a very similarly made panel and presented at the 88th SAAs this year (recreating Mississippian defensive weapon systems) for an upcoming paper.

Have you tried cutting the depth of the boards in half and weaving a second set of boards behind it to cover the gaps in the first set?
It would also be fun to see that second set of boards to be cut out in a perpendicular to the first set so the grain goes horizontally or diagonally instead of vertically.

Seems like it would be more potent, since the areas of failure seem to be the gaps and the wood grain. If you have overlaping material it could stop more penetration.

It might require more twine and be less flexible but you could use it to cover the more rigid parts of the armor like the breast plate.

Who in the community would this work traditonally be done by?