Between the Cape and the Sword

Exploring the Armor Protection Level of a Wool Cloak Against a Sharp Rapier

A few years ago, my partner Kate bought me a sharp rapier for my birthday, and I decided that it would be fun to run some sword-science experiments with it.

The first experiment that came to mind was testing how much protection a wool “fencing” cloak give a fencer against a sharp sword – specifically a rapier.

I feel like we make a lot of assumptions about how sword and cloak interact with one another in duels, and those assumptions influence our rule sets when sparring with cloak. This is especially true in the SCA, which I realized while researching and writing this paper, has varying thoughts about blow calling rules of cloak. HEMA/WMA is little different in that regard, but varying rules is the norm there.

So I endeavored to find out just how armor protection a wool cloak gives the arm against a sharp sword.

I created a full circle and full length wool cloak, wrapped it around a ballistic gel arm various number of wraps, and then had a lot of fun.

This paper, entitled Between the Cape and the Sword: Exploring the Armor Protection Level of a Wool Cloak Against a Sharp Rapier, is part research into what the masters say about cloak use in Europe and part science experiment.

 Download! Get Yer Download Here!

You can download a PDF version of Between the Cape and the Sword right here. Enjoy!

Feel free to email me with any thoughts or comments.

Abstract

Despite being an underused companion “weapon” to the sword in modern historical fencing circles, the cloak or cape was a commonly taught secondary endorsed by Renaissance and early modern fencing masters for more than a century due to the cloak’s accessibility and defensive qualities. However, there were varying opinions among the masters about how safe parrying with the cloak was.

The goal of this experiment was to test the level of protection a common wool cloak would provide a fencer’s arm against a sharp rapier by using realistic modern replicas for the sword and cloak, and a ballistic gel arm. This paper compares those results to what fencing masters of the era endorsed, as well as against historical fencing rules found in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), Western Martial Arts (WMA), and Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) to see how well those rules mirror real combat. We hypothesize that the cloak would give a high level of protection against slices, moderate protection against cuts, and low to moderate protection against thrusts.

The Hypothesis

The goal of the experiment was to test the protection level of a common cloak of the 16th and 17th centuries provided against a sharp rapier of the time. I wanted to see if I could recreate some of the injuries Renaissance fencing masters were concerned about when defending with the cloak. Similarly, I wanted to see how historical fencing rules in the SCA and WMA/HEMA compared to what actually happens when a sharp sword meets a wrapped wool cloak.

I hypothesized that the cloak would be impervious to slices and would give moderate protection against cuts (not cut through the fabric but perhaps fracture bone). The biggest question mark I had was thrusts and how easily a sharp point of a rapier could penetrate a thick wool cloak. I hypothesized that the wool cloak would provide light protection against thrusts at higher numbers of wraps (3+) but would be easily penetrated at lower numbers (two and under).

In general, I hypothesized that any harm that would come to the cloak or fencer’s arm would become more pronounced as the number of wraps of the cloak grew smaller (e.g. larger wounds, deeper penetration, etc.).

Presentation Video

Below is my table display video for the project. It’s a super quick overview of what I did and how the project went.

The edited raw footage of every thrust, cut, and slice can be found via link in the paper’s appendices or going here.

I’ve been meaning to create a full video-essay on my results but I just haven’t had the time. So I’m releasing my paper now, to celebrate Cloaktober, and maybe I’ll get to the video essay in the future.

Paper & Project Notes

Obviously no project is perfect. I’m an amateur scientist at best, working on a very limited budget and limited skill set.

Here are thoughts I got from judges on my paper:

• At East Kingdom A&S Champs, the biggest critique I got was over the data/data collection. Specifically, since I was doing all the attacks myself, it’s hard to know how consistent I was actually throwing cuts and thrusts, etc. I don’t disagree; it’s one of the limitations of the project. I don’t have the skills or means to build a robot to throw shots with the level of consistency I would’ve liked. I think I do a passable enough job and did try to be as consistent as I could.
• At Pennsic A&S Champs War Point, one judge questioned the sharpness and blade geometry of the rapier I was using (Cold Steel Cavalier Rapier). I did live test cutting before hand and it was definitely sharp enough to slice and thrust through objects easily. The other judges thought the blade was sharp enough for what an average swordsman may have on them.
• All of my Pennsic A&S judges wished I had done tip cuts in the experiment. I don’t disagree there either. I just forgot about it. I’ll note that how tip cuts typically in the SCA work is different than how HEMA sees it. Tip cuts in the SCA are usually just draw cuts with the tip, basically a slice. If I did do tip cuts, I would throw them like an actual cut and just try to slice through on impact (for a lack of a better description)… more how HEMA sees it.

With all that said, this paper won me the honor of Consort’s Arts & Science Champion for the SCA’s East Kingdom, and also won the Laurel-level Research Project category at Pennsic. I’m pretty happy with it, despite any flaws. This was my second A&S Champions entry; the first was on translation differences in Alfieri’s manual which can be read here.

I see this project as a stepping stone and not a begin all, end all. I hope others who read this paper feel inspired to do their own sword-science experiments, either trying to replicate my results or run down new and other exciting rabbit holes.

DONATIONS: If you found this video useful or interesting, please consider a small donation so I can continue to produce rapier & other historical martial arts content. Donate at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BostonAcademiedArmes