#Renaissance Swords

[kultofathena]

Ádám Bodorics – Beham Messer with Ring Hilt and Brass Frame Boxwood Grip

This Beham style Messer by specialist swordsmith Ádám Bodorics is a wonderfully agile sword in the hand that strikes with velocity and power – its wide and well-tempered blade bites deeply and its thin profile along the main cutting portion of the blade passes through a target with little drag and resistance – a truly fierce performer in a scrap of a melee! The thick ring at the hilt gives impressive protection to the entire hand from even notably larger weapons and the grip is a unique composite with the thick tang riveted and embedded between two halves of smoothly polished boxwood which is framed in strips of finely worked brass. The wood grip halves may look cracked, but they are actually created from a deliberate reconstruction of smaller pieces with strong and colored bonding filler in order to give the grip a unique theme and appearance that is perfectly apt to the troubled times of early 16th century Germany.

The sword is matched with scabbard of well-carved wood which is wrapped in linen for a binding to aid in durability which is then finished with overlaid tight leather with a compartment for a matching byknife which is included. Integrated and knotted to the scabbard is a thick sword belt with an adjustable buckle for wear. Below is Ádám’s own words on his unique creation offered here:

Messers take a huge variety of form and construction. This piece is based on a 1540 woodcut by Hans Sebald Beham with a subtle Memento Mori theme. In the 16th century, knifelike sidearms undergo several changes, one of them being the increasing regularity of hidden tangs. Illustrations from the period sometimes show rather complex grip shapes that would be complicated with a full-tang construction, but a hidden or a frame tang makes them much more trivial. Hans Sebald Beham often shows interesting grip shapes even in a bucolic setting, and it’s one of his woodcuts I based this piece on.

The straight and nimble blade is ground from 51crv4 (6150) high-carbon steel and is heat-treated to 50-52 HrC. It is optimized for cutting and slashing. It has plenty of distal taper and a wide fuller along it’s length. The cross has a gentle S-shape and a sidering instead of a Nagel. It is still affixed to the blade with a rivet o make sure it’s not mistaken for a sword or falchion or storta. The finials of the cross echo the trilobate design of the grip. The real tang of the blade reaches to about two-thirds of the grip. A thin steel plate was cut to the intended shape of the grip with a brass strip formed and soldered along it’s edges. The grip panels sit on the edges of the frame with the cavity between the panels and the tang filled with adhesive following the style of  surviving frame-tang sidearms.

The byknife is hand-forged and ground from 80crv2 with integrated bolsters and a forge-welded mild steel tang. The grip panels are affixed by glue and tubular brass rivets of increasing diameter. The grip panels are boxwood, buxus sempervirens. These pieces were hand-picked to highlight the effects of the blight eradicating old growth, namely the aggressive checking from quick drying following rapid defoliation and the cloudy dark discolorations. There is evidence for boxwood’s continuous use for over two millennia, but as specimens large enough for larger carvings take an immense amount of time to grow, preventive culling or neglect of infected trees both make it near-impossible for this material to stay for long. To me, using these specific slabs was like erecting a gravestone, removing the need for any overt Memento Mori or Totentanz motifs.

The scabbard has a wooden core, linen wrapping and a vegetable tanned leather wrap with an integrated subsheath for the byknife. It is dyed a light brown and is undecorated to keep the attention on the hilt of the Messer. There is a belt threaded into two slits in the back of the sheath, crossing over to either side.

[queenqunari]

Anyway I’m a clown because this is how I chose to costume myself as a female Orc for a renfaire

In my defense, it was nearly 100 degrees out and being sexy is fun

[archerinventive]

Happy Faire Friday!

The sun is out and making me nostalgic for faire season.

Missing all my armored faire friends and crew.

I hope you all have a magical weekend. I can't wait for the New years shenanigans. ✨️

With @unicorn-shieldmaiden & Sarah F. ❤️

Photos thanks to Liv F.H.

[illustratus]

Saint George Slaying the Dragon by Carlo Crivelli

[shakespear-esque]

Jeweled medici dagger, ca. 1840

[armthearmour]

A rare example of a specialized armored fighting sword with a blunted section of blade,

OaL: 53.3 in/135.5 cm

Width: 10.9 in/27.8 cm

Depth: 1.8 in/4.5 cm

Weight: 5.6 lbs/2.6 kg

Germany, ca. 1520, housed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

[rosieandthemoon]

Details from an Italian stiletto blade (c. 1700’s)

[memories-of-ancients]

Etched and guilded parade sword from Ferarra, Italy, circa 1500-1525

from The Cleveland Museum of Art

[bebx]

La Belle Dame Sans Merci

— by Frank Bernard Dicksee (1853–1928)

[unicorn-shieldmaiden]

Had a blast playing the Unicorn Knight of Sweden this past weekend at Midsummer! I loved being back in my childhood colors of blue and yellow, and the crowd at the joust was phenomenal! Looking forward to next year already!

[corrugatedcavalier]

Hey folks! Coming over from twitter. I work with Historical European Martial Arts and Arms and Armor. Feel free to so say Hi!

[kultofathena]

Landsknecht Emporium – Gustav Messer with Light Brown Scabbard – Beechwood Grip

Landsknecht Emporium’s Gustav is a shorter, yet wide-bladed Messer in the style of the late 15th and early 16th century; the design takes its features from several related antique Messers coupled with extant period depiction. One of the most characteristic blades for a Messer,  it has a short, yet wide blade with an elegant clip point. The sharp and well tempered blade is hand-ground from 6150/51crv4 high carbon steel and is ideal for powerful, close-quarters chops and vicious slices.

The guard with knuckle bar is crafted from mild steel and the Nagel is a separate piece peened on the other side of the quillon block, as it should be. The quillons are slid upward from the end of the grip with the blade protruding in the bottom. The tang is peened over the steel pommel plate. The handcrafted grip is crafted from two halves of polished Beechwood which are robustly riveted to the thick blade tang for a durable and lasting grip construction.

The sword is paired with a wood core scabbard which is tightly bound in leather and completed with a knotwork-attached suspension of a leather belt with a bronze buckle with brass tongue.

Landsknecht Emporium products aim to have the aesthetics of historical pieces, not the finish of mass-produced items. Each product bears the signs of its making; small tool marks and imperfections, which do not affect the build quality or usability but give each of our pieces its unique character.

[romancemedia]

Anime Romances + Snuggling in Bed Together

[archerinventive]

Happy Faire Friday!

Taking a break from this cold weather to reminisce about warmer times at faire with @unicorn-shieldmaiden.

The sun was so intense that day, but thankfully we had some watery wenches to douse us off afterwards. lol

A huge thank you to Liv F.H. for capturing these moments. 💗 

[illustratus]

Detail of the Statue of Italian Condottiero Lodovico de' Medici, also known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere

“Non mi snudare senza ragione. Non mi impugnare senza valore.”

“Do not unsheathe me without reason. Do not wield me without valour.”

[ladyevilmetals]

Chainmaille Coif by Lady Evil Metals