This year so far we've had the pleasure of attending three HEMA events, of very different characters, all of which were wonderful.  We have previously written a bit about attending the Valley of the Sun Cutting Tournament early this year, and since then we've had the chance to attend the Texas Sword Retreat and the Icebreaker Open HEMA tournament.  Both were excellent, and all three really highlight some of the really good stuff happening in the American HEMA scene.  At all three events we were there selling some products, but that was really secondary to our educational mission ..read more

Today we have two swords up in our Artisan Section. A massive Two Hander and a16th century side sword. Both pieces are one of examples and when they sell they are gone. The two hander is based on very large examples from the later medieval period and can often be seen depicted in battle scenes of the day.  Large Two Hander The long grip is covered in black leather and allows one to move the tip of the blade with great force with minimal movement of the hands. The great two handers like this are exceptionally impressive swords when on parade and even more fearsome when opposing ..read more

Today we take a close look at a custom Saxon-style rapier we just finished. This style is very characteristic of rapiers, sideswords, and complex-hilted longswords from 16th and 17th century Saxony - an area of modern day Germany that was previously the Electorate of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire. A previous custom Saxon Rapier we made As always, our swords are entirely made by us at our shop in Minneapolis, MN out of 6150 carbon steel, hardened and tempered to 50-52 Rockwell. Our swords and other weapons are made to look, feel, and function just like the historical originals on which ..read more

Today we examine an interesting custom piece modeled on the sideswords of the mid-16th century. Rather than a swept hilt, this sword features two curving posts on the outer guard and a triple-barred inner guard. Weighing just over 2.5 pounds this sword is capable in the cut and the thrust.   A sword from a similar period and with some shared design features, such as the use of posts for the outer guard, is our Serenissima Rapier, pictured above.  Check out all of our production rapiers here, and some of our custom projects here.   As always, our swords are entirely made by us at ..read more

The discovery at Wandsworth on Thames of a Type X sword dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period was one of the great finds of the early study of medieval swords in modern times. Our Anglo-Saxon Sword is based on this exceptional weapon from the turn of the 10th Century. The Wandsworth Sword was originally found in the Thames River in two pieces, a year apart, a lucky occurrence. It now resides in the London Museum which is being moved to a new facility. Anglo-Saxon Sword by Arms & Armor Inc. Swords of this form where the sidearm of ..read more

Sword and Weapon care We have gotten a few questions from folks on care and maintenance lately so thought we could look over how to keep our weapons at their best. Our items have all the attributes of the originals they are based on. Good care and use will keep your piece like new for many years and there is no reason you should not hand it down to generations to come. It also means a little attention now can prevent a tough job of refinishing in the future. Wipe with oil after use. The care and maintenance of these items should be just as authentic as the item. The ..read more

Today Dr. Nathan Clough takes a closer look at how disc guards on 14th and 15th century polearms were attached, what they were for, and how these weapons were used.  This was spurred by some questions that our sword friend Matt Jensen had in his review of our new 15th C. Glaive. Below you can see the guard on our piece, and the original on which it is based, a poleax in the Wallace Collection in London, A926.   Rondel Guard on our Glaive A detail of the guard from poleaxe A926 in the Wallace Collection A glaive with a similar guard from an early 15th C. painting. Similar ron ..read more

Today is bittersweet, our longest serving team member is retiring today.  Mark Black, dagger-maker extraordinaire, joined Arms and Armor in the early 1980's and was the first employee of founder Chris Poor.  He's been with us for nigh on 40 years but now it's time to leave the sword rat-race to others.  Mark in an old-timey photo using the mill Mark is a master craftsman who creates most of our daggers, among other things.  He is also a professional musician and a founder of Savage Aural Hotbed, one of the first Industrial music acts in the Midwest, and The Other Country E ..read more

Hot off the forge to your hands, these three swords are available now, just waiting for a responsible sword parent to claim them! In the variable fates of production we have these pieces ready to ship right now and they will make excellent additions to your armory. We have two Bohemian Broadswords one with the standard black grip and one with the dark oxblood red grip. These elegant longswords have a writhed hilt design common at the end of the 15th C and hexagonal blade cross sections. Here is a discussion of medieval blade shapes we recently posted. The Bohemian is a light fast sword wi ..read more

Today we take a look at two different styles of rapier blades that produce two different sword dynamics.  The widths of rapier blades varied significantly, depending on which complex hilted, single-handed swords you include in the category of 'rapier'.  Some are quite narrow at the ricasso -- the part of the blade that is not sharpened so that you can put your finger over the guard -- while others are significantly wider, more akin to a sidesword blade.  Historically there are many examples of very similar hilts from the same time and place with seemingly very different blades ..read more