r/ShadWatch • u/wizard1dot5 • 4d ago
Discussion can i get a vibe check done on a channel?
idk if this is allowed but here goes. there's this channel, Tods Workshop, that I've watched a video or two of, but after shad going crazy I'm a bit cautious of getting into another medieval history youtuber in case they too turn out to be a nutjob. any info appreciated.
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u/Freya_Galbraith 4d ago
Tods great, not heard anything negative about him, his contents allways awesome to.
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u/Delicious-Ad5161 4d ago
Todd is genuinely a great guy. He’s worth watching and in most cases more informative than the best of Shad’s videos.
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u/DragonGuard666 Banished Knight 3d ago edited 3d ago
Tod has been protective of Matt when Shadites came to his channel to whine about Matt during a collab with him. Tod told them to cut it out and focus on whatever cool thing he was showing off in his video. He's cool.
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u/Suzume_Chikahisa 3d ago
He is a long time friend of Matt Easton, he is an actually skilled smith and cutler with a longtime business practice in replica and reproduction work and his a frequent contractor for the BBC and British television in general.
If he has skeletons in the closet he has managed to kept them well hidden.
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u/Ringwraith7 3d ago
Tod is a highly respected Smith, he produces some high to mid-level reenactment knives, daggers, and swords.
I've watch a bunch of his videos and I've always found them high quality and informative. He is usually very clear when he's experimenting, although he always has a historic source for his experiments. Finally, he has world renowned experts on his videos.
My favorite of his is Arrow vs. Armor 2.
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u/Narsil_lotr 3d ago
Two aspects to this question: competence and general decency.
First, he seems like a great guy. Saw a few of his videos over the years but recently subbed, always respectful of others' opinions, not full of himself. Also no over the top crazy politics or hateful ideologies that'd make him unwatchable like shad, as far as I know.
Second, competence. He's an obviously skilled artisan and makes his own stuff, not glued together by tape but with actual making skills. He's well respected as such too. He's no trained historian as far as I know (could be wrong) but he defers to those who are, has actual historians as sources - if you look back to shad, he had sources (though often didn't tell you which) but they were almost always primary: medieval art, pics of medieval castles etc. Now primary sources are ofc essential but you need training and knowledge to properly use them - shad doesn't have that. Not saying you can't get that knowledge as an amateur but uni degrees are a sign that you probably know some stuff. Hence why using secondary sources, ie historians who studied and specialised in a subject, is important, especially for amateurs. Shad could've improved his content alot by reading some damn real historians instead of coming to his own "revolutionary" conclusions from looking at pictures. Todd on the other hand looks at historians and often tells you which ones, which book and will compare what he read to what is found archaeologically (mix of primary and secondary sources).
TL, DR: Todd is a competent craftsman and uses proper sources, knows the context and topics he discusses. Shad isn't and often just comes to his own conclusions that can be correct (but others said so before), irrelevant/unknowable (speculation) or plain wrong (because he exaggerates or misinterprets due to his lack of serious education in the subject).
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u/JojoLesh 3d ago
Todd is NOT EXCELLENT...
at throwing javelins, so he brings on an expert to test them.
He's not excellent at archery, which he freely admits. So, he often brings on an excellent historical archer to test archery stuff.
He's not an excellent swords person, so he brings in Matt Easton to test swords.
Todd is humble enough to admit when he's not the expert in an area, and to bring in experts. That says much about his character.
He is an excellent maker of things though.
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u/Kalavier 3d ago
He also has access to a trebuchet!
I did love his carefully adjusted crossbows explictly weighted to match medieval longbows.
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u/ShadWatchModTeam Mod on constant watch 2d ago
This is an excellent illustration of the difference between creators like Tod and Shad.
Tod is just a bloke who loves making things, learning about how things were made, and engaging with his following. He is also very happy to be corrected on stuff, because Tod is clearly a lifelong learner who values the knowledge above looking smart and clever. Look at any of his bollock dagger videos for proof of that, he presents many ideas and theories but always makes it clear that he has no formal education in this stuff, and is just repeating what he has learned. Or he presents sensible ideas based on his experience with weapons.
One of Tod's mottos is literally "we just don't know" because we very often just don't know the complete objective origin behind something. Why are bollock daggers shaped the way they are? We can make some very good guesses, but we just don't know.
Whereas, the motivation behind most of what Shad does seems to be ego.
"Look at me, I'm such a good swordsman!"
"Look at me, I'm such a talented artist!"
"Look at me, I'm such a knowledgeable historian!"
"Look at me, I'm so wise, and know what's best for the world based on my very specific religion's morality!"
"Look at me, look at me, look at me!"
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u/ElectricSmaug 3d ago
Tod's channel is very interesting, especially the field tests. Also looks like he's a guy who knows his craft really well!
P. S. sorry for an unsolicited advice, but 'shit-testing' public people like that is hardly worthy unless they're actively pushing an agenda themselves. You can easily be mislead by rumors and malformed opinions, or misinterpret things. Also, in the end of the day, Youtube personalities are not friends! Don't let the parasocial crap get to you.
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u/Telcontar77 2d ago
Just wanted to add the comment that if you watch his trebuchet videos, you really should view them chronologically.
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u/ShadWatchModTeam Mod on constant watch 3d ago edited 2d ago
Tod Todeschini is a great guy. He's very good friends with Matt Easton from Schola Gladiatoria, and Skallagrim. When Matt Easton collaborates with other creators (such as Tod or Skall) Shad's trolls routinely troll those videos, because a few years ago Matt denounced Shad and refused to collaborate with him anymore following Matt's discovery of Shad's bigoted views.
So we can safely infer that Matt only associates with nice(r) people. Also, Tod cleans through all of Shad's troll comments and has no patience for Shad's trolls.
As an aside, we'd like to take this opportunity to point something out we found interesting. Shad recently produced a video titled "Could this be THE MOST DEADLY DAGGER EVER MADE?!" in which he tested and reviewed a stiletto dagger. Now, in the video Shad claims that a fan sent it to him. Nowhere in the video does he specify the maker.
What he reviews is the Tod Cutler Stiletto Dagger 17thC. Full stop. It's the exact same dagger, and we find it very interesting that Shad is reluctant to say so. It's unlikely that Shad is unaware of this, there are not that many stiletto daggers on the market. Coupled with the fact that they specify-
The context of this quote is that Shad and Tyranth snicker a bit about the apparent softness of the steel (the tip rolled over slightly) and while Tod's pieces are battle ready (made of high carbon steel) I would go so far as to say they are more display pieces. As in, made first for reenactment/living history. If you destructively test them they will probably achieve wear and tear. By the way, this is almost word-for-word what is stated on todcutler.com "Please note, the blade on this knife is unhardened."
Begs the question. Why did you test it at all Shad? Don't you think you should have done the research before you started stabbing it into chainmail?
He does mention that they "unboxed it" in a bonus video, so who knows if there's more info there. Irrelevant though. He makes no mention of Tod in the main video, which 99% of people are only going to watch.
Edit: And one of our mods collects Tod's work, and they are really gorgeous pieces.