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[fab-bladesmith]

A Sword and Scabbard, in the style of the XI-XIIth centuries.

The blade itself follows one of the possible construction methods of the time, albeit being made of modern materials: a layer of high carbon steel forge-welded between lower carbon alloy. Thus hard steel is kept for the edges, and softer metal for the rest - which was also the point, as the fuller sports on both sides an inlay is brass, and although what it spells is not really historically accurate, the lettering at least is.

The straight Cross and Brazil Nut Pommel are of old iron with a nice, rich pattern, and both were made the "old way", with hammer and fire, according to methods I documented over the course of my PhD.

The Grip is vegetable tanned leather over linen thread over wood.

The scabbard is lined with parchment, and is made of beech wood covered in linen cloth - wrapped over near the point - and vegetable tanned leather. The decoration was made by gluing flax thread and leather cuts over the linen, and is inspired by folio 89 of the ms.002 (tome II) in the City Library of Boulogne-sur-mer.

The suspension system was heavily inspired by the wonderful scabbard in the treasury of the Bamberg cathedral (thanks to Roland Warzecha a.k.a. Dimicator for sharing this with us all), though here I used calf leather.

Chape is hand-forged in steel, and heat-blued.

It is 1018 mm long, with a 888 mm blade, 40 mm wide and 4.65 mm thick at its base. The span of the cross is 205 mm.

And although quite light (771 grams) it is still a powerful cutter, with a center of gravity some 18 cm down the blade.

Making this set was quite the learning experience, as it often is, and that's also one of the highlights of this trade.

Thanks to all who made this possible.

[fab-bladesmith]

A Longsword, in a late XVth century German fashion.

Not a copy of a specific sword, but something that goes along with the style of such swords. Spring steel blade, mild steel cross and pommel, and leather over linen cord over wood grip. All hand-made, naturally.

Overall length 1209 mm, with a 945 mm blade (43 mm wide/6.14 mm thick at its base). Crossguard span is shy of 22 cm.

Weight is 1163 grams, with a point of balance 15 cm down the blade from the cross, giving this rather light sword some nice authority in the cut and the bind.

As always, more pics in the comments.

Yours for eighteen hundred and fifty units of the Old World currency.

Can be given as scabbard for a few credits more.

[fab-bladesmith]

A Schlachtschwert, early XVIth century.

Spring steel blade of flat hexagonal section for most its length, mild steel fittings with hollow brass ball finials on the cross. Leather over thread over wooden core for the grip, and leather over wood for the sleeve (more about that below). This is a tentative reconstruction of what a "proper" Landsknecht Greatsword could look like, such a they appear on period artwork, be it paintings like the Siege of Alesia by Melchior Feselen (1533) or the Battle of Pavia kept at the Royal Armouries (or the tapestries depicting that same battle, now at the Museo Capodimonte, made after sketches by Bernard van Orley), the Victory of Charlemagne over the Avars near Regensburg by Albrecht Altdorfer (1518), or the many drawings, prints and woodcuts by artists such as Reinhart von Solms, Jörg Breu, the great Hans Burgkmair, Niklas Stör, Hans Holbein (both Elder and Younger), Virgil Solis, Hans Sebald Beham, the legendary Urs Graf, Daniel Hopfer, Erhard Schön, Hans Schäufelein and others...All of them combined to give this result.

Such swords would be seen not only in the hands of a Doppelsoldner, but also carried by your Feldwaybel or an Edelman. And it would be called a Schlachtschwert in the very captions of the illustrations I mentioned earlier (see Erhard Schön). *Not* a "two-handed Katzbalger", though the cross obviously echoes the S/8-shaped guard of the latter. We clear on that ? Good.

Very few of such swords are kept in museums out there, with a lot of them leaving me dubious regarding their authenticity. The one in Berlin seems to me to be the most genuine of all, and it is on its proportions that I based this piece, though the Berlin sword shows a fancy, diamond-pattern decoration on the quillions very much recalling the Katzbalger kept in the Museum of London. Most if not all period illustration do not show such fancy details on the crossguards though ; they are actually rather plain, without even the ribbing/threading/filework you can find on Katzbalger crosses. Hence I kept this one rather plain, with a square cross section with rounded corners, and some light filework at the center. I also bent the quillions into an offset 8-shape rather than a symmetrical one, to be more consistant with the earlier examples visible in period artwork.

The main questioning was that sleeve at the base of the blade, present on a lot of the period artwork; its obvious function was to provide a spot on which to put the other hand - as can be deduced from Marozzo's teachings for fighting against polearms - but the main issue was how was it made/what was it made of. Elaborating on my previous experience and studies of such things on later Schlachtschwerter, I went for a basic construction of leather glued/stitched over a wood core made of two flat slabs, and force-slid down the blade. There is more than enough friction to keep it well in place, but it is still possible to take it off albeit with some effort. The end of the leather is cut according to period artwork, and flares out to accommodate the mouth of a scabbard if needed. A simple decoration of plain lines on one side, and checkered on the other makes it also consistant with the artwork.

It is 139 cm long, the blade is 1083 mm long, 45 mm wide with a thickness of about 7 mm at its base, tapering down to 3.4 mm near the point. The span of the crossguard is about 21 cm, though from one ball end to the other there's about 73 cm of steel. Weight is 2547 grams, point of balance 13.5 cm from the cross.

Twenty-eight hundred EuroUnits and it's yours.

[fab-bladesmith]

A Sidesword, in a late XVth century style.

This one draws most of its inspiration from the artwork of Luca Signorelli in the years 1494-1498, though the grip wrap was suggested by a fresco in the San Donnino church in the parish of Villamagna in Bagno a Ripoli, near Florence.

Spring steel blade, with etched and gold-plated ricasso and fuller, and gold plated crossguard and pommel - the latter being hollow. The grip is leather over a wooden core, with gold-plated copper wire on top.

Inscriptions in the fullers read " AVE MARIA REGINA" on one side, and "MORIOR CAEDO MALUM" on the other - those who know will know.

The style of the etchings was inspired by the Boar Sword of Philip the Fair kept at the Kunsthistorischesmuseum

It is 997 mm long, with a 864 mm long, 32 mm wide blade, 4.5 mm thick at one base. The cross span is 268 mm. Weight is a mere 729 grams, with a point of balance 16 cm from the cross that still gives it a nice authority in the cut and in the bind.

Currently at thirty seven hundred units in the European system.

[fab-bladesmith]

A Roundel Dagger, late XVth century.

Commission work.

This one was an attempt at making a dagger after the amazing wood panels from the Studiolo of Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino - works of wonder in the Art of Woodworking.

But as realistic as they can be, there was still a few hurdles to ocercome, as for example the dagger depicted there doesn't show any separation between the mouth of the scabbard and the top of the guard roundel, or as the handle appears unrealistically short.

But careful examination, cross-referencing with other period artwork and a bit of experience allowed to reach this result, which I hope you'll appreciate.

The blade itself has hollow flats, with a strong back and a sharp, sharp edge. It is of sandwich construction, with modern high carbon steel between two old iron layers ; the same old iron was used for the roundels, which are hollow. The guard roundel is made with a hidden plate between the top disc, inserted from the tang, and the bottom disc, cut to fit the blade section.

This old metal shows a nice, uneven texture.

The grip is boxwood, with fileworked, gilt steel fittings.

The vegetable tanned leather scabbard was hand-decorated so as to match that of a sword owned by the customer, which is said to be Federico's very own.

And there's silk too.

Overall length is about 43 cm, with a 305 mm blade - I followed the recommendations of Maestro Philipo di Vadi for that (its length being enough for the blade to cover slightly more than my forearm), as the Pisan Master offered his treatise to Federico's own son Guidobaldo - about 9 mm thick at its base.

It weighs 340 grams, and the point of balance is at the guard.

The spherical chappe end is gilt too, echoing the one on top of the dagger.

[fab-bladesmith]

A Horseman's Axe

Mostly inspired by the nice A 337 of the @kunsthistorischesmuseumvienna

Etched steel with gilt highlights, decorated with Renaissance-style scrollwork and Antique figures ; the head is mild steel with welded high carbon steel edge and point, and the grip is wrapped in gilt copper wire.

It is about 545 mm long for 1084 grams, and the point of balance is about 14 cm down the haft.

[fab-bladesmith]

A Horseman's Hammer, late XVIth century.

Greatly inspired by the beautiful 29.158.674 of the @metmuseum, in the Saxon style of the second half of the XVIth century.

High carbon steel beak welded to a mild steel head. Etched and gilded decorations, and brass wire wrap.

It is 512 mm long, for 1012 grams. Point of balance is 108 mm from the handguard. Head is 145 mm wide.

[fab-bladesmith]

A Dagger

Commission work, as a present for a PhD.

High carbon steel blade, etched, and heat-blued steel fittings. Grip is leather over wood, scabbard is vegetable tanned leather with some tooling, and a steel chape.

[fab-bladesmith]

Raven.

[fab-bladesmith]

A Ballock Dagger, XVth century.

Inspired by various models popular in the northern parts of the powerful Burgundian states.

Blade is high carbon steel, with an elegant hollow grind and decorative false edge. Grip is cherry wood, with brass plate and end. Carved and tooled vegetable tanned leather scabbard, and mild steel chape.

As always, everything is hand made.

There is an obvious anatomical analogy in the shape of these daggers, probably associated to some symbolism and nonverbal forms of communication that elude us, but which certainly explains their popularity from the XIVth century onwards.

[fab-bladesmith]

This knife has a high carbon steel blade with a differential hardening and light filework, and a horn grip. It is 215 mm long in the open position, and 125 mm when closed.

Yours for 190 Euro*units plus shipping.

[fab-bladesmith]

A Sword, XVth century.

Heavily inspired by item 73.69.5 of the @museedenon in Chalon-sur-Saône, that I had the chance to document during my PhD - I joined pics of this sword for those who didn't have the foolishness to read through my dissertation.

A slender type XV blade of diamond section hand-forged in spring steel, and cross and pommel of fire-blued mild steel. The grip is leather wrapped over hemp thread to create ribbing, over a wooden core.

The blade gradually tapers from the cross, only to slightly thicken again in a strong diamond section near the point.

The cross is interesting, and rarely seen on swords of this later type ; the flat pommel of rounded rectangular shape is slightly asymmetrical as per the original, and tapers towards the tang end. It shows circular flats on each side, and a truncated pyramidal peen block secures it all together.

This sword of an elegant simplicity is a light and agile thing: 871 grams only. Point of balance is 85 mm from the crossguard.

It is 1026 mm long, and the blade itself is 861 mm long, 38 mm wide at the cross for a thickness of 6.66 mm at its base.

Yours to claim now for eighteen hundred Europesos plus shipping, though I'm considering giving it a scabbard for an extra coin.

[fab-bladesmith]

An Estoc/Panzerstecher, XVIth century. Commission work. Spring steel blade with a deep concave triangular section ; oil-blacked mild steel fittings,  and wooden core grip with a vegetable tanned leather wrap. This fearsome beast of a sword is 1472 mm long; the blade is 28 mm wide at its base, and point of balance is 155 mm from the cross, for a total weight of 1982 grams. Roughly based on an example from the Louvre museum.

[fab-bladesmith]

A Katzbalger, first quarter of the XVIth century. Commission work. Vastly inspired by the beautiful example kept at the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow. Blade is spring steel, fittings are mild steel and brass, heat-coloured. All fileworked, as you can see, imitating the slash-and-puff fashion so popular with the Landskechte. Grip is horn, as are the scales on the by-knives. Scabbard has a wooden core, with intermediate linen layer, and outer made of vegetable tanned leather. Cheese glue was used, and I think I'll rely more and more on it actually. The chape is mild steel with brass rivets. Again, making this set has been quite the learning experience, if only in better estimating the time some steps take. Looking closely, you'll notice once again what could appear as imperfections to the machine-eye, but it turns out that the only way to make this piece was to go the old way, the long way, and at the end of the day the marks, bumps and other minute details are very similar to those one trained eye can spot on the original. Maybe a sign that I didn't do it that wrong, then ? The Katzbalger itself is 895 mm long, and the blade is 756 mm, with a cross-section of 40x5 mm at its base. Weight is 1170 g, point of balance 11.5 mm from the guard.

[fab-bladesmith]

Commission work,  based on the popular TV series of the 80s, though with a few changes in the runic script, and the replacement of the lion head in the pommel by a wolf's head. Etched spring steel blade,  brass fittings with a hand-scuplted/cast wolf head insert in the pommel, and leather wrap on the grip. "Nothing's forgotten. Nothing's ever forgotten."

[fab-bladesmith]

A Sword of Petersen type L. Pattern-welded blade with a core of 3 rods of twisted 15N20 and 1075 steel (11 layers), and a forge-welded 1075 steel edge ; brass fittings,  based on various finds from the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The 5-lobed pommel is hollow, and the tang is peened though. Grip is Bog Oak of at least 4 thousand years old, with a nice translucency under the sun thanks to its mineralisation. The scabbard has a wooden core made of two slabs, hand-carved to shape, with an inside lining  of 100% wool fabric ; this core is wrapped in linen (cloth and thread to form risers) and vegetable tanned leather, with a back stitch running to the front of the scabbard tip.   All glued with cheese (casein) glue. Lining and outer leather are whip-stitched at the throat with natural-dyed silk thread. The strap slide is carved from cow bone, and placed under the leather/linen, as fitting. Historical examples of chapes seem to correspond to very specific finds and contexts, and it was therefore decided not to put one on this set, which is more looking towards the Xth century British Isles in terms of area of inspiration. The suspension system is loosely based on the Ballateare find, though I chose not to make a lower ring/plate to allow for more versatility in adjusting the angle of the scabbard on the hip. Also, the decorated strap end was made after a find from York. All straps are vegetable tanned leather,  all fittings are brass. The worst twist to historicity here, that I tried to conceal with questionable success for the sake of these photos (though the rest is highly debatable if one is keen to go down that rabbit hole) is a family crest carved and tooled on the outer leather between the strap slide and the mouth of the scabbard - customer's request, and in those matters the customer is, for once, King. Overall length 866 mm. Blade is 731 mm long. The sword alone weighs 945 g, and the point of balance is about 20 cm down from the cross

[fab-bladesmith]

Hand-forged Damascus blade, heat-blued and fileworked mild steel guard and boxwood handle with Lichtenberg figures burned in. The end washer is brass, also. 266 mm long. Now at 680 units of European monies, and can be given a scabbard for an extra 90. Shipping not included.