I’m seeing a lot of variance in the ratios. Some flails have longer handles, some have short. Some have chains as long or longer than the handle, some have almost non-existent chains. What are the advantages and disadvantages of various handle and chain lengths, and is there an “optimal” ratio?
This essentially answers my question of how in the world were flails like in the OP’s question a thing? Answer: they probably never were
Even child me was confused at how you could use such a weapon without injuring yourself.