Farming tools were not more deadly than actual weapons of war. A guy with a pitchfork was going to get demolished by an armored man-at-arms, even if that man-at-arms is in a full kit of chainmail rather than plate.
Swords were not only for the "ruling class", in some cities you couldn't openly carry a sword unless you were nobility, but in many cities not even nobility could opely carry one, as they were considered to be a 'weapon of war'. As I recall only Germany at one period outlawed the peasantry from owning swords, which is where the '
messer' originates.
Swords were relatively common standard weapons in most armies up until the middle of the first world war. In medieval England (15th cebntury), a civilian could purchase a cheap sword for as little as 2 pence.
Farming tools converted to weapons were often either two handed or based on crushing instead of cutting like flails which makes them much more suited in fighting against plate armor than swords which were very öoor weapons against plate mail.
And as I mentioned already, in Japan only the samurai were allowed to have swords which was enforced by sword hunts.
And if you believe the FAQ in europe too swords were reserved for the nobility for a long time, although that was not as strictly enforced. Either way, swords were linked to nobility and partially also a symbol because of cost alone. You should watch your own video where he says that sword only became cheap in the late medieval era. By that point the association between swords and nobility was already establised.
Swords were also not really standard weapons but backup weapons.
