Comment on What is the optimal handle to chain length for a flail?
EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com 12 hours agoSo to give an answer to your question, if you’re going to use a chain-based weapon, the optimum length is long enough to completely wrap around somebody. And in that situation, you want a fairly light, small business end, not a big metal ball.
So maybe something like a rope dart, meteor hammer, or bolas? I’ve seen some YouTube videos on meteor hammers, and it looks like one way to use them is by throwing the weighted end as a projectile and using the chain (or very often a rope) to retrieve/retract it.
I agree though, flails as shown above seem like an unwieldy garbage weapon. If I had to use one, I’d want a very short chain on it, so probably 2nd from the left on the bottom row.
sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 4 hours ago
Unfortunately in some medieval combat sports, the “speed flail,” a foam ball tethered to a handle, is an easy non-historic way to bypass a shield – swing at the top of the shield, and the ball wraps around to hit the opponent’s shield or sword arm.
angrystego@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
So could a real flail work against a shield that way too?
sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 hour ago
A real flail is a lot heavier, which is and harder to use, which is the main problem that me and my friends had with it being allowed in the sport.
You would have to ask a qualified historian to know if these weapons were ever used in this way. I would be curious to know too.
My guess is that spear/polearm beats shield at a much lower cost and with less risk, but I don’t really know I’m not an expert.