Meet the Archer - Joe Gibbs, the shooter for AvA2
Joe Gibbs is an amazing archer, shooting up to 215lbs longbows (that is not a typo by the way), but he also makes amazing medieval warbows. I went down to see Joe Gibbs at his workshop to talk and chat about makeing longbows and to watch him shoot.
The reason was to make a fundraising film for our Arrows vs Armour2 project, but it was funded almost immediately (thank you equally amazing people), so this film was not needed. But we decided to put it out because we really like it, so just ignore any references to fundraising because we have all the finance we need.
We hope you enjoy this film and rest assured, the preparation for the Arrows vs Armour2 film is well underway.
You can find Joe and his bows here Hillbillybows@gmail.com. and Joe on You Tube here / joe8gibbs
Production replica weapons are available here todcutler.com
And T shirts and Merch todsworkshop.creator-spring.com
Custom pieces are available here todsworkshop.com
Can't believe it's been 3 years already since the Arrows Versus Armor video. I still watch it regularly. You guys are fantastic.
I've sent that video to so many people. Continues to be a great reference.
versus
@@Likexner It's gotta be a word in some language. I spoke it out loud and it spelled it. I didn't even think to correct the spelling.
@@Likexner Except that I'm an idiot. Verses is a word, as in bible verses. Forget I exist.
@@legacyShredder1 Its cool man, you dont need to beat yourself up over it.
Be it bows, darts, trebuchets, or weird weapons it's a good day when Tod releases new content.
Absolutely true dat!
Agree!
Trebuchet bolt rain vs armor would be amazing :O I mean, probably woudn't do jack, but it would be cool to watch and listen.
still waiting to the dual trebb. aka car drive in. in ´´apphökällütz?? däims sehr should still be söme aRounD..? or well the nearest mountänn ränge v v 300kg vs brick -.- vvöll > > || ps a tiltäbbel rötätabbel nevermind we still havent dieguesstät the last mönö! rail günz -.-
It’s so cool that Joe’s technique biomechanically ended up looking so similar to medieval art. Seems necessary to engage the full musculature of the back.
Agreed - it is absolutely the same
I thought the same thing, literally looks like drawings of the archers hunched over to shoot over walls.
Those pictures always looked so ridiculous, but yep they're spot on. I am shocked.
Once you've seen Joe, you see anyone else with a bow and you think: good lord no, you don't hold the bow out in front of you, what are you doing? You need to be in line with the bow. Of course I can't do it, but I know what it looks like...
The first arrow he sent for distance, I had to pause and rewind to watch it again. His movements are posture are just gorgeous. I'd love to see that analyzed by a biomechanical scientist of some sort. Fascinating.
Joe is an absolute unit.
It's like he's hewn from granite.
Preach!
Like Joe, I work in the building industry. To be honest, I was expecting him to have been bigger in stature
@@jukeseyable id say the dude is about as big/dense as it gets for his height, without packing on excess fat
@@zooq1139 uhm, without knowing his numbers its difficult to say. One of the brickys I work with is 5 ft 8 and 105 kg, my dad in his prime was 95 kg and 5ft 6. Joe doesn't look as heavily built as either of them, granted, he isn't far off but the camera can be decieving. But as with most physical activities, once you have the base requisite of strength, then its much more about the technique
I really love your integrity that you raised the money to do what you wanted and now you're doing it and not necessarily looking for more funds. Fantastic. Plus your videos are always super interesting anyway.
Thanks Sandy, but you are correct, we have all we need for this round
@@tods_workshop Flex Goal time? Or is it going to fund futur films?
If more people did this the world would be a better, more trustworthy place. Pure class
@@tods_workshop what about a stretch goal to test the latest Lars Andersen non-historic bow that can pierce armour? 😀
It never ceases to amaze me how loud those bows are. Hollywood/Video Games make them "Stealth" weapons, but they are seriously loud.
Yes, but bows always creak in films
You can knock some of that down with beaver balls and the like but yeah, bows do make a decent amount of noise. Crossbows are even louder and they're harder to knock down the noise on too.
Hunting weight longbow with linen string and matching arrows barely makes a sound, even when shooting inside and every sound is louder than outside. So yeah, depending on the bow, a bow can be very quiet or very loud. Hunting weight longbow is leathal for humans, but cannot pierce armor, maybe mail with a needle podkin, but if it has badding underneath, wouldn't possibly go through enough to cause serious injury.
You can set up a bow to be pretty quiet. Joes bow is obviously a warbow so they didn't care about those sorts of things. Longbows by nature are actually one of the more quiet bow types, if this was lower in poundage i would suspect it to be much quieter.
Beautiful Sound too!
Seeing Joe shoot is such a pleasure. Just the sound of the trees moving, the birds singing and that string snapping back as the arrows fly. I can definetly see how lads did this for hours on end back in the day.
Joe made a bow for my daughters 7th birthday this year and it truly is a masterpiece. Such talent and a decent bloke as well. Well done Mr Gibbs!
160 pounder?
Did you place the order through facebook? I'm interested myself.
Joe is very cool, and it is great to hear that all the funding was found for this project.
You might think that an "arrows vs armor" contest might leave one of the two as the "loser" of the challenge, but it absolutely didn't. You really have to see a tank like Joe working a proper warbow to understand with what kind of a weapon they were dealing back then. Massive respect to the bowyers who made such weapons, the fletchers who created the ammunition to handle those forces, the archers who were capable of weilding such a demanding weapon and to the blacksmiths who created designs that were capable of standing their ground against it.
It's hard to believe the first film was 3 years ago! I can't wait to see the follow-up.
Every time i see a video from Tod like this, i have to smile. Tod's excitement and joy is so heartwarming and contagious. Thanks Tod for this great content, thanks Joe for being awesome. Keep it up you great people
Thanks - appreciated
I’ve already incorporated your findings into an archer-centric fantasy novel I’m writing, and can’t wait to learn more! Thank you guys for your service to our community!
A pleasure
Link the book here when ready!
Awesome! Always enjoyable when authors can use such works of experimental archeology to improve the versimilitude of their worlds.
The mental effects of an arrow storm are extremely interesting. One effect I'm curious about would be trying to advance across arrow strewn ground while keeping your eyes on your enemy. The frustration of tripping/stubbing your toe on arrows would be most irksome I assume.
Arrow shafts are not easily snapped and I have often considered the same. keeping on your feet is not a convenience, it is a necessity to life in a battle so yes I suspect it could be a real serious problem
From what I've read about the ground at Agincourt in particular, if you fell you were pretty much screwed. Laid out on sticky mud more than a foot deep. Best case scenario, your squire or page makes the run to help you to your feet. Worst case scenario, you're face down, watching the muddy water rise in your visor until it covers your mouth and nose.
@@christopherreed4723 i heard that's how the Duke of York at time died, he fell face first into the mud and some other knights/men fell and died on top of him suffocating him in his own armour
As they're shot at you, stepping in them probably just snaps or lowers them to the ground as they're pointing down away from you. If they'd been shot from behind you(e.g. If your own archers had been shooting at the enemy) then walking into arrows acting like mini-stakes would be a nuisance & tripping possible.
Joe seems like such a pleasant and humble person. All the best to him! thx for a good show guys
Activate the subtitles, go to minute 12:30 and you will know how polite the British arrows can be...
Brilliant :D
I'm so looking forward to this future video. Joe Gibbs is an amazing archer and bowman. I know I can't make bows. I'm watching you doing the tilling and your like "You see how this one bends a little more than the other...." and I'm like, "No I don't see it."
That's called experience and craftsmanship. Keep focusing on what you want to do and you'll suddenly be premiere at it.
You enjoy watching though. I’ve never made or used one. But like watching this channel. It’s relaxing.
@@Oooo-bi7bi Oh most definitely!
I was the same... " no, looks fine to me"!
I've got one yewbow made by Joe Gibbs and Hillbilly Bows. An absolute marvel of a yew bow! I cannot wait to the next arrows/warbows vs armor video.
That's cool! Out of curiosity, what's its draw weight (if that's the correct term) if you know?
@@felixmervamee7834 It's 78 ib (almost 35 kg) at 30-31". A very 'light' warbow.
I know this isn't something you see much, but I wanted to share a few experiences I've had this year in the hopes that it helps someone in need. Love you all.
I got one too! 110# @ 31". It truly is a beautiful piece of art! Had to wait around 6 months, but it was worth every minute.
That's a dream come true! Probably out of my price range, but what do they cost roughly?
One can only envy Tod for living THE life 24/7 following his actual passion 💪🙏
For sure.
Fascinating stuff. It makes Medieval Logistics even more astonishing. The arse-out loosing pose looks straight out of Medieval Art.
Was just thinking the same thing! Even in the last AvA vid I genuinely marveled at Joe's stance. That and the fact that he's built like a tank, changed my perception of medieval bowmen for good.
It gives you a great image of what a lot of archers must have been like. Pretty burly guys and the stance is exactly as it is in the artwork. That only further strengthens the argument that they shot flat and at relatively close ranges - the stances are so similar to Joe here and the art almost never shows them shooting up into the air. So it's very much a close range direct shooting weapon.
chad stance
Glad to see you got funded so quickly. That was the easiest 15$ I've maybe ever spent. So excited.
Thanks - appreciated
With a knight being pummelled by 70-80g arrows even if they're clattering off his armour I think the blunt force has gotta be pretty painful on top of the psychological effects you guys discuss.
THIS.
Yeah. Once or twice you might pass off as an annoyance; once they start getting into the double digits as you cross the field, those are going to eat away at your stamina.
Yeah, I asked a question similar to this. After watching most of the movie seeing the shots hitting his shoulder. I guess that if you hit him right, even though he is patted and in plate, that has to have some impact.
I was just thinking that if I were the knight I would be really hoping my armorer didn't use cheap steel and that the metallurgy would hold up
I'm thinking arrows could be significantly heavier as well. Qing Dynasty Manchu archers used huge arrows the size of small javelins that are 40 or more inches long and have a 15 GPP and up, so they would need a 155 or heavier gram arrow for a bow of 160 lbs in draw weight. I don't think English longbows used nearly as heavy GPP for their arrow weights, but they could probably get into the low 100s grams or more depending on the arrowhead.
Look at that beautiful green English countryside. I remember when I traveled to England when I was younger and saw it from the plane and thought, "wow it's so green, everywhere!"
It would be amazing if they could do all that with a heavy crossbow as well for comparison. Maybe do all the shots with the warbow first and if the armor is still 100% functional afterwards, do it with a windlass crossbow as well. I feel like this would be a very nice bonus, since a lot of people speculate whether a heavy medieval windlass crossbow outperforms a heavy warbow in terms of penetration power, but nobody seems to actually know. I know that Skal has done some tests vs armor with a windlass crossbow, but never against anything like authentic top tier plate armor. Either way, I am so looking forward to this!
My guess from the footage that Tod and others have put out, is that a reasonably heavy crossbow would still be outperformed (penetration and kinetic energy-wise) by a warbow like the one Joe shoots.
Yeah, Heavy crossbows are usually outperformed by Warbows. The exception is if you are facing ancient Chinese crossbows. Then it tends to swings the other direction. Because China... China somehow has to have some really advanced shit for some reason. :P
would love to see that
@@thejackinati2759 cos the Chinese crossbows are much longer and are more like heavy-rated shortbows on sticks, so far more power-efficient than European crossbows--which are about 10% efficient. Which Tod has demonstrated with a modern 160 lb crossbow compared to a 1,000 lb mediaeval design where the modern crossbow won on power and range.
@@thejackinati2759 I'm no expert by any means, but their incredible power was in large part to their long draw lengths, since they used long (composite) wooden laths instead of the shorter, less efficient European steel prods. While they usually did not have the ludicrous draw weights that some of the heavier European crossbows achieved (1300 frickin' pounds!), they were much more efficient because of their higher powerstroke (the bolt being accelerated for longer), not to mention material. I'm not sure as to why Europeans had such a radically different approach to crossbows, aside from perhaps being more practical in a fortification setting or behind a pavis, for example.
I don't know if they're available in England but, over here there is a company that makes ballistics gel "zombie" torsos and heads including a realistic bone structure under the "skin" and green blood. Those would give an effective representation of the penetrating power through the armor and the likelihood of a "kill" shot.
They also cost about 500 usd
Or learn from JoergSprave about how to make German ballistic gelatin.
@@dark3031 Great name for Band, "German ballistic gelatin"!
Two blokes who know what they are talking about, talking about what they know. Cant think of a better way to end my evening.
Incredibly interesting video. I had no idea how much work went into a single bow.
It's impressive how little elevation you need for a 70g arrow at 50m. Even deflected by armor I can't imagine it feels too good to get hit by one of those. That helmet strike surely would have rung his bell!
For a 160 lbf bow, a 70 gram arrow is actually pretty light - it's only 6.75 grains per pound. A heavy arrow for a longbow would be more like 10 to 11 grains per pound, which for a 160 lbf bow would translate to ~104 to ~114 grams, or roughly a quarter pound. Arrows weighing that much would fly slower than 70 gram arrows, but they'd have ~12-14% more kinetic energy at launch and they'd retain their kinetic energy better over distance because they'd be subjected to lower drag force due to their lower velocity. This is more what I expect these bows' arrows intended for piercing plate armour would have weighed. A light 70 gram arrow, if they used them in late medieval warfare, would have been better suited to long range harassment of lightly armoured targets.
Watch Joe's back arch when he's firing, that's where the power comes from, not his arms. Archer's skeletons were found with deformed spines from firing the longbow. Amazing stuff, this video.
Great to see how Joe works through the bow making process. And glorious countryside for a shoot...
Gotta love Joe putting arrows down range. Such a pro.
Never too much Joe on the channel!
The sound that bow makes when he looses an arrow is terrifying. You can hear the power.
Joe is such a chill guy who can just riff off your energy so well. Good to see him in one of your videos again.
@Beertie Wooster - Quarter pound arrows were common for East Asian Manchu bows and would not be improbable for English longbows. Qing Dynasty Manchu archers used huge arrows the size of small javelins that are 40 or more inches long and have a 15 GPP and up, so they would need a 155 or heavier gram arrow for a bow of 160 lbs in draw weight. 155 grams is already .34 lbs, or a bit over one third of a pound. I don't think English longbows used nearly as heavy GPP for their arrow weights, but they could probably get into the low 100s grams or more depending on the arrowhead.
Yeah, some of those things are beasts... though I'd say their arrows are more like darts than arrows. Wouldn't surprise me if you can get over 200J with them.
@@thejackinati2759 Would be very interesting to know the range on them too! Tod should try out heavier arrows to see the difference in impact.
@@Archaic-Arms Hey, we meet in interesting places :P
@@thejackinati2759 That we do. haha!
Hey, it's great to see Joe again. Congratulations on a successful fundraiser. Super excited for this project. Cheers!
Best KZhead video I've seen in a while. Watching Joe Gibbs shoot is just so great! I am so excited for AvA2!!! Great channel
Thanks
I love Joe, he's calm, quiet ,a master of his craft and a damn beast at shooting bows.
This is definitely my favorite YewTube channel!
245 meters!!!! Imagine a hail of a 1000 arrows coming at you before you can even make out the enemy! Would be interesting to know what was the maximum range these were shot at in a battle.
That was 25m and 50m with a big degradation in accuracy and punching power. 245 would not have been an efficient range for killshots, maybe for harassment or provocation, but not what you would want to waste your arrows on.
@@mangalores-x_x at the very end they also did just "how far can it go" shots, if you watched the video.
@@mangalores-x_x I think it would depend on what you're shooting at, if your target is mounted the horses are not going to appreciate being stuck with possibly multiple arrows.
I wonder what the dangerous parts of getting hit by an arrow that is basically coming down at knights. Would the probability of hitting the upper chest or other vial parts increase or decrease? When shooting from 25 or 50 meters. The arrow is gonna fly at a much shallower angle than at 245 meters
The maximum arrow range, is also the maximum war shot range. For example a battle of towton, the other side was shooting against the wind, and couldn't reach the enemy and while the enemy could reach them cus they shot with the wind. Also for example in ancient Egypt, their enemies were using composite bows and could out shoot the Egyptian archers with their self bows, and because of that, Egyptians also took composite bow to their armies to be able to compete against the enemies range advantage. I suppose this is the reason whe basically the whole asia and half of europe quickly adopted the composite bow.
Thank you, Tod and Joe - I can't wait for the 'real thing' now! In the old, first video Intoned that Joe's stance/posture when shooting is just as in the various pictures of bowmen in medieval sources. It was evident again today. That shows that those medieval painters drew their pictures correctly. One other thing that might be of interest for later: Tod, I've seen an arrowhead used by cossacks which had what can best be described as a sickle-form had. Have you ver seen something like that? Thanks again to Tod and all who work on this venture!
Was that arrow head with the concave side facing the direction of flight? If so, I believe those were often used for bird hunting. Although it could also be used against other targets too obviously.
@@michiganengineer8621 Yes, it was indeed. I was thinking at the time that it might have been meant for use against horses.
Yes the crescent headed arrows range over millennia and the world. The same pattern can be found in flint, bronze and steel and from the Americas to China and from the arctic to Southern Africa. Birds
@@tods_workshop I would imagine they work well for other small game as well, they basically function like modern "judo points".
Just superb. What a treat. Thank you.
Really looking forward to the project! Great video as usual Tod!
Really great quality content as always. Very interesting. Thank you Todd.
What a great video. Thanks, Tod and Joe.
Definitely excited for these videos!
Thank you Tod and Joe... looking forward to the event!
Great to see Joe again. Can't wait to see the series.
Fantastic, thanks for posting.
Fantastic Joe & Tod. A delight to watch. This is SO epic & more to come....
Absolutely fantastic!
Great video again and I can't wait for the testing. One thing I'd love to see added to the testing if possible is to see how hard the impact is inside the armour. Yeah the BP can stop the arrow but how much does it still hurt inside. In the original video you saw the gel rippling from the impact, so does it still hit hard enough to cause serious bruising or even crack a rib... which would seriously impact the ability to fight even if they did get up close. I know you can buy impact stickers that measure if somethings been dropped or hit so some of these of varying measures inside the BP would be interesting.
excellent video, todd. allways a joy watching joe draw bow.
Excited for this project! Joe is such a chill guy, love to see his work with bows. Thanks for sharing
So stoked! Can't wait!
Such a fun video!! So satisfiying to see Joe shooting and to feel the bow essence. Pretty good work!
So happy you got all the stretch goals too. Can't wait to see it all.
Incredible, cant wait
joe gibbs is legendary as always, thank you for the archery videos!
love to see Joe back on the channel. Absolute craftsmaster. Really looking forward to AvA2.
Great Video thanks Tod and Joe
great video as always, i cant say enough how hyped i am for AvA2 to be shown to the world
Cool as shit. I really can't wait to see where this series goes. Mad respect to Joe for being able to craft and shoot those monsters. What a legend! Thanks for the vid Tod.
Woohoo can’t wait to see the film. Glad to have contributed. Love the bow!
Your honesty is refreshing!
I'm glad you decided to put this video out despite not needing the promotion is was intended to provide. It is always a pleasure to see a craftsman and enthusiast discussing workmanship and demonstrating skills, and by the look of it, having a jolly good time while doing so :D
So glad you hit the goals!
Todd is never disappointing always great videos.
Joe has such respect for the wood and the craft, amazing video Tod!
Fascinating video, really looking forward to seeing the end result!
Never tired of seeing Joe content, dude's such a great bowman and bowyer
Fantastic!
im sooooo hyped for this next film! Best of luck with filming and everything.
Just great watching Joe shoot. I enjoyed this vid. Thank you
I am so excited to see what we can learn from your up coming video
Awesome Tod the best video you've made since the last time with Joe. Great work can't wait for what lies ahead
Can't wait to see the test vid!
Lovely bit of video! I have actually chipped in a tenner earlier today as I had promised. Stunning craft, and I'll be looking forward to the videos with great anticipation!
Great stuff as always.
I feel so excited about this upcoming arrows verses armour project. I hope there will eventually be more investigative projects like this in the future.👍
I was happy to support the project on Kickstarter. I'm so glad you've gotten all the support you could need. I look forward to seeing what new insights are gained. 👍🏻
You've got such an awesome community. Love the vibes.
I'm so happy you hit the fundraising goals and all of the stretch goals so quickly... It just goes to show how many people (like me) absolutely can't wait for you to make this! Also, it's always cool to see Joe Gibbs shooting a warbow. I know his technique has been discussed in other videos, but it's so distinctive, and every single time I see him shooting like that it always reminds me of countless illustrations I've seen of archers in manuscripts or tapestries where I thought there was some stylistic reason for their strange posture, but I now realize they were just using the same technique as Joe for drawing their bows.
Brilliant video which greatly elevated my appreciation of and the skills of a bowyer and archer. Thanks lads
Absolutely fantastic video, guys.
Thank you , Tod and Joe . 🐺
That's a gorgeous piece of land you're on. It was therapeutic listening to the thrumb of the bow and the birds.
This is sooo awesome!!!
Really great video 🙂. Joe is great. A bow like this is on my wishlist. Really looking forward to your project.
Lovely video! Joe's a lovely archer
Great to hear that the fundraising went so well that you didn't even need the other fundraising videos. Can't wait to see more of Joe.
Wonderful film gentlemen. Wonderful film.
Man I would love to apprentice with either one of you. So much amazing knowledge, skill and talent between you.
I've never seen Joe smile this much in a video before. He really loves this.
Magic. Can't wait
Beautiful bows Joe
Can't Wait for AvA2!!!!
Wow, that is so impressing! The skill of Joe is just unreal! I imagine an army of these bows with skilled archers is absolutely deadly! Thank you very much for these videos!
So glad to see you all picking this up again and glad you included Mr. Gibbs (how could you not, right?), can't wait to see more. Thanks for doing this, as I loved the previous Arrows vs. Armor.
As soon as I see Tods workshop in my YT feed, I know I will have a good time. Thank you sir.