Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Cutting a roll of tatami in my mid-15th century italian armor. This was my second time wearing the armor, and the first time cutting in it. The first time I wore it, the arms felt a bit strange. I wanted to see how it moved in action, and had a few rolls of tatami left. I gave one each to a few sword friends and taught them the basics of cutting with a sharp sword this morning, and saved two for myself in armor.
This is not meant to be a flawless demonstration. I am going to point out the flaws myself. This is meant to show that a medieval soldier in a suit of armor is still able to move and cut even if the armor isn't fitting perfectly. I wasn't trying to move quickly or break any kind of records. I'll have follow up videos with better cutting and more fluid movement once the armor is adjusted and I can find some tatami again.
The armor is by Maxim at Wild Armoury. It is heat treated carbon steel, with the exception of the arms that I'm wearing which are an older mild steel set. The carbon steel ones need some adjustments since the measurements I sent were a bit off. When the armor fitment is adjusted and I finish customizing it I will have a dedicated video covering it all.
* Special thanks to Chris and Nate for armoring me up, for swapping out the arms after the first set wasn't working. and for moving the points (ties) around to try tweaking the fitment of the armor!
Ways to support the channel:
Iron Mountain Armory affiliate link
shop.samurai-armor.com/?link=9ROS9BD
My Patreon page
patreon.com/samuraijames
My Ko-Fi page
ko-fi.com/samuraijames
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:06 Opening
00:11 Disclaimers
00:31 Cutting tatami
00:55 The sword: Arms & Armor Bannockburn
01:21 Analysis of the cutting
01:45 First cut (slow-mo)
04:13 Second cut (slow-mo)
05:30 Third cut (slow-mo)
06:38 Fourth cut (slow-mo)
07:46 Evaluation of the armor movement
#tatami #armor #italian #tameshigiri #european #knight #longsword
Cutting a roll of tatami in my mid-15th century italian armor. This was my second time wearing the armor, and the first time cutting in it. The first time I wore it, the arms felt a bit strange. I wanted to see how it moved in action, and had a few rolls of tatami left. I gave one each to a few sword friends and taught them the basics of cutting with a sharp sword this morning, and saved two for myself in armor.
This is not meant to be a flawless demonstration. I am going to point out the flaws myself. This is meant to show that a medieval soldier in a suit of armor is still able to move and cut even if the armor isn't fitting perfectly. I wasn't trying to move quickly or break any kind of records. I'll have follow up videos with better cutting and more fluid movement once the armor is adjusted and I can find some tatami again.
The armor is by Maxim at Wild Armoury. It is heat treated carbon steel, with the exception of the arms that I'm wearing which are an older mild steel set. The carbon steel ones need some adjustments since the measurements I sent were a bit off. When the armor fitment is adjusted and I finish customizing it I will have a dedicated video covering it all.
* Special thanks to Chris and Nate for armoring me up, for swapping out the arms after the first set wasn't working. and for moving the points (ties) around to try tweaking the fitment of the armor!
Ways to support the channel:
Iron Mountain Armory affiliate link
shop.samurai-armor.com/?link=9ROS9BD
My Patreon page
patreon.com/samuraijames
My Ko-Fi page
ko-fi.com/samuraijames
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:06 Opening
00:11 Disclaimers
00:31 Cutting tatami
00:55 The sword: Arms & Armor Bannockburn
01:21 Analysis of the cutting
01:45 First cut (slow-mo)
04:13 Second cut (slow-mo)
05:30 Third cut (slow-mo)
06:38 Fourth cut (slow-mo)
07:46 Evaluation of the armor movement
#tatami #armor #italian #tameshigiri #european #knight #longsword
