Today we show off a couple of custom pieces inspired by pieces in the Castle Saint Angelo, the Papal fortress in Rome.
The Castle St. Angelo under siege in 1527
The first is a Katzbalger with a long, thin, pointed blade that was probably acquired by the Castle in the 1527 Landsknecht sack of Rome.
The long-bladed Katzbalger in Rome
Our version has a different type of grip that was also popular in period, featuring a stacked grip of ebony wood and white micarta standing in for ivory.
Our version of the Katzbalger
The second piece is a military rapier or broadsword with a complex hilt with a design detail of a thumbing shaped like a small grasping hand that is inspired by a late 16th century rapier in the same museum.
Hand-shaped thumb-ring on original rapier
Highlight of hand design detail on inner guard
As always, our swords and other weapons are entirely made by us, by hand, at our shop in Minneapolis, MN. Sword blades are hand ground of 6150 carbon steel, hardened and tempered to 50-52 Rockwell. All of our products are made to look, feel, and function just like the historical originals on which they are based. Arms and Armor is dedicated to quality and authenticity. For over four decades we have worked with museums, collectors, and scholars around the world to develop a deep understanding of European weapons; knowledge we use to make products that exemplify the finest qualities of the very best historic pieces. When we select historic items to reproduce, being pretty isn’t enough, they have to move with grace and beauty, and beg to be used when in the hand. These are pieces that feel as good as they look, and that work as well as they feel. Our mission is to craft items that recreate the look, feel, and function of the best historic originals.
Check out our website to see all of our awesome products, custom projects, and hundreds of blog posts here.
Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is President of Arms and Armor and a member of the governing board of The Oakeshott Institute. He is a historical martial artist and a former university professor of cultural geography. He has given presentations on historical arms at many HEMA events including Longpoint and Combatcon, and presented scholarly papers at, among others, The International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Craig Johnson is the Production Manager of Arms and Armor and Secretary of The Oakeshott Institute. He has taught and published on the history of arms, armor and western martial arts for over 30 years. He has lectured at several schools and Universities, WMAW, HEMAC, 4W, and ICMS at Kalamazoo. His experiences include iron smelting, jousting, theatrical combat instruction and choreography, historical research, European martial arts and crafting weapons and armor since 1985
