Oakeshott Type XV with Scabbard

A classic Oakeshott Type XV with a forged 80CRV2 steel blade and forged mild steel fittings. The grip has sterling silver ferrules on each end which secures the herring-bone twist, iron wire.

Specifications:

  • Overall length: 35.625” (90,49 cm)
  • Blade Length: 28.875″ (73,34 cm)
  • Weight: 2.8 Ibs. (1270 grams)
  • Blade: 80CRV2
  • Fittings: Mild Steel
  • Grip: wood core, sterling silver ferrules, herring-bone twist, iron wire

This set is SOLD. A similar set would cost $3,500-3,750. Contact me at eric@crownforge.net for more details.

Early 14th Century Warsword (Oakeshott Type XIIa)

Early 14th Century Warsword (Oakeshott Type XIIa). The inspiration for this sword was drawn from a number of period examples.

Stats:

Overall Length: 47” (119,4 cm)
Blade Length: 36 3/4 in. (93,3 cm)
Blade Width. 2.185” (5,5 cm)
Weight: 3 pounds 7 oz. (1558 grams)
Grip: Octagonal wood core with leather cover in Abbey black
Steel: 80CRV2 high carbon steel
Fittings: mild steel

MET Sword Recreation

In September 2016, I had the pleasure of documenting a number of iconic swords at the MET. I joined Peter Johnsson, Kevin Cashen, and Lee Jones on a 3 day study trip. One of the more interesting swords we documented was this rather short Type X. I tried to stay true to the dimensions of the original, but purposely altered many of the imperfections of the original. My goal was to create a “corrected” version of the original.

This was a commission, but if you are interested in this sword, contact me at eric@crownforge.net for more information.

The original sword.
Documenting the original.

Stats:

Overall Length: 36 1/8 in. (91.8 cm)
Blade Length: 29 3/4 in. (75.6 cm)
Blade Width. 5 1/8 in. (13 cm)
Weight: 2 lb. 2 oz. (964 grams)
Grip: wood core, linen underwrap, and leather cover, medium brown color
Steel: 80CRV2 high carbon steel
Fittings: mild steel

PHOTOS: MICHAEL GARD PHOTOGRAPHY

Oakeshott Type XVa Longsword

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This 15th century Type XVa longsword is inspired by swords from the Castillon find as well as other contemporary 15th century examples. It features an iconic guard with down turned ends, and a faceted pommel. The peen has been forged and then shaped to create a small rivet block at the top of the pommel.  The blade has a pleasing distal taper that ends with a reinforced thrusting tip (a detail often seen on period originals).  This type of blade is often incorrectly viewed as a “thrusting only” blade. In spite of its rapid profile taper, the edge on this blade is paper cutting sharp.

Stats:

Overall Length = 44.7″ (113,0 cm)
Blade Length = 35.6″ (90,3 cm)
Blade Width = 1.93″ (4,9 cm)
Weight = 3 pounds 2 oz (1424 grams)
Point of Balance = 3.75″ (9,5 cm)
Center of Percussion = 22.75″ (57,8 cm )
Steel = 1075 blade, mild steel fittings
Grip Color: Black

Contact me at eric@crownforge.net if you are interested in purchasing this sword.

If you like what you see, be sure to click “Like” at the bottom of this post.

Photos:

Photos: Michael Gard Photography

Oakeshott Type XIIIb

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Inspired by a late 13th century – early 14th century sword that I documented with Swordsmith Peter Johnsson in Sweden. The sword features a spherical pommel that we observed on a number of swords in Sweden (including the original sword that the Albion Mark Tritonia is based on). The blade has a secondary bevel and a reinforced tip.  These features combined with a “chef knife” thin area behind the tip, make this sword a real cutter.

Stats:

Overall Length = 39.5″ (100,3 cm)
Blade Length = 32.5″ (82,6 cm)
Blade Width = 2.9″ (7,5 cm)
Weight = 3 pounds 3 oz (1448 grams)
Point of Balance = 4.0″ (10,0 cm)
Center of Percussion = 23.1″ (59,0 cm )
Steel = 1075 blade, mild steel fittings
Grip Color: Dark Mahogany

Price: $2,300 $2070 (domestic US shipping included) SOLD

Contact me at eric@crownforge.net if you are interested in purchasing this sword.

If you like what you see, be sure to click “Like” at the bottom of this post.

Photos:

Photos: Michael Gard Photography

Review from Owner:

Recently, I had an opportunity to get two swords from Eric at the same time. This is not my first order from Eric, so I do not need to specify that I had full confidence in Eric’s work. The shipment of the two swords to Belgium was impeccable. In addition, Eric’ communication during the process was great.

Back to the order: the first sword was a Norman-type sword with a curved guard that was like an original in Alfred Geibig’s work. I asked Eric to mix elements of the Albion Soberg with the Next Gen Gaddjhalt. The result was a long blade with a typical brazil nut pommel. Eric perfectly understood the dynamics of this type sword. This was evident when he suggested different hilt proportions for me to choose from that would help to maximize the sword’s performance. The result is perfect! It is definitely a horseman’s sword with a lively feel, good cutting power and a long reach.  It is not easy to combine all these characteristics in one sword.

The second sword was a XIIIb. This sword is my surprise sword of the year. I was not initially drawn to this sword.  Eric had made this sword for the Atlanta Blade Show, but it did not sell at the show. This was probably because of its unique aesthetics. These spherical pommel swords are not common in many parts of Europe, but there are several excellent examples in Scandinavia that Eric was able to document with fellow maker, Peter Johnsson. While Eric was working on the Norman sword, I decided to purchase the XIIIb. When it was time to ship the Norman sword, Eric shipped the XIIIb with it.  The swords were well packaged and arrived in perfect condition.

Recently, I was able to do some test cutting with both swords. I immediately liked the feel and cutting power of the Norman sword.  This was not my first sword of this style, so I was familiar with how it should cut and feel. It was 10 out of 10 for cutting.  The big surprise, however, was the XIIIb!  After cutting with this sword, I fell in love with it. It is the perfect sword for fighting on foot. The wide, thin blade, combined with excellent balance, makes this sword a very effective cutter. I would compare the cutting power to bigger hand-and-a-half swords like the Albion Baron. Even though the spherical pommel is large, its shape was quite comfortable during the cutting tests. In short, I love this sword!

In closing, I don’t think it is necessary to mention, but I will anyway: Eric’s fit and finish is excellent. So, in the end, I now have two successful orders from Eric to add to my collection.

                                                                                                     –Pierre Gossart

Oakeshott Type XVIIIb Longsword

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Classic 15th century longsword with a pear shaped, Type V pommel and straight guard with lobbed ends.  This sword is balanced to be a precise thruster as well as a lively cutter.

Stats:

Overall Length = 48.5″ (123,2 cm)
Blade Length = 36.25″ (92,1 cm)
Blade Width = 1.93″ (4,9 cm)
Weight = 3 pounds 7 oz (1568 grams)
Point of Balance = 3.5″ (9,0 cm)
Center of Percussion = 24.4″ (62,0 cm )
Steel = 1075 blade, mild steel fittings
Grip Color: Brown, Steel Wire

Price: $2,650 $2000.00 (domestic US shipping included) SOLD

Contact me at eric@crownforge.net if you are interested in purchasing this sword.

If you like what you see, be sure to click “Like” at the bottom of this post.

Photos:

Photos: Michael Gard Photography

 

Towton Rondel Long Dagger

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This long dagger draws its inspiration from a number of long rondel daggers from the Royal Armouries in Leeds. These daggers would fit into the time period surrounding the epic Battle of Towton during the War of the Roses (House Lancaster vs. House York).

Two examples from the Royal Armouries, Leeds UK:

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These long rondel daggers were common on the 15th century battlefield. They were often the weapons of archers and foot soldiers.

This recreation features a hand forged, hollow-ground blade made of 1080 high carbon steel. The octogonal rondels are sandwiched together and made from mild steel.  They are hollow to reduce the weight of the dagger. Rivets were used to join the plates together.  The hilt is peened together to secure the rondels and grip to the blade.  The grip is walnut burl.

The leather sheath has a leather core which was covered in calfskin. The sheath was dyed medium brown with leather stain, and features incised decorative lines on the front.  The chevron pattern mimics the kind of simple leather work that was done by soldiers to pass the time between battles. The bottom of the sheath is covered with a bronze chape with decorative filework. The style and shape draws its inspiration from a number of period examples.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Overall length: 26.75″ (67,95 cm)
Blade length: 21.25″ (54,0 cm)
Blade width: 1.0″ (2,54 cm)
Length of grip: 4.25″ (10,8 cm)
Weight: Dagger/Sheath 22.5 oz. (638 grams); Dagger 17.4 oz. (493 grams)
Blade Material: 1080 high carbon steel
Hilt Material: 1018 mild steel
Grip Material: Walnut Burl
Sheath: Leather core with calfskin cover and suspension strap. Bronze chape with decorative filework.

PRICE: $1,237.00 USD (plus shipping) $1137.00 USD (Domestic US shipping included)

If you are interested in purchasing this dagger, contact me at eric@crownforge.net or ericmycue374@comcast.net.

St. Annen Museum Type XII

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This sword (an Oakeshott Type XII) is inspired by a splendid piece in the St. Annen Museum in Lübeck, Germany.  This sword is featured in the book, The Sword — Form and Thought published by the Deutsches Klingen Museum in Solingen, Germany.  It contains the research of Swedish swordmaker, Peter Johnsson, for the 2015-2016 exhibit of the same name.

SFandT Photo
The original sword as show in the book The Sword – Form and Thought

The goal of this project was to further familiarize myself with Peter’s research into the geometry of sword design.  This sword was an ideal candidate for learning: it is highly corroded, but clearly, it once was a stunning piece. Because of the corrosion, the final dimensions are unclear, so this leaves room for multiple interpretations. I didn’t want to simply recreate Peter’s research on this sword. I wanted to utilize his geometric strategies to make another interpretation of what this sword may have looked like.

St. Annen XII
The geometric strategy I used for this sword

This is a sword for a mounted knight. It has a long blade for an extended reach. In addition, the bronze pommel is weighted to give the blade a lively feel in spite of the blade length. This sword would have made an impression on the battlefield.

Stats:

Overall Length: 107,0 cm (42.13″)
Blade Length: 90,0 cm (35.43″)
Blade Width (at guard): 5,5 cm (2.17″)
Center of Balance (from guard): 13,0 cm (5.12″)
Center of Percussion (from guard): 61,0 cm (23.62″)
Weight: 1488 grams (3.28 lbs.)
Blade Steel: 80CRV2

Hilt Material: Bronze pommel and iron guard. Grip is a wood core with a linen thread wrap and a leather cover. The grip color is “abbey black.”  Abbey black is a color that I prototyped with Emma Martinson at Albion Swords.  Because black dye was not always available, monk robes were often over dyed blue (woad) to make a midnight blue, then red (madder) was dyed over the top of it to kill the blue tint. The result is a black that has a slight red tint in bright sunlight, but looks black when in the shade. Due to the two step dye process, you get a black appearance and not dark purple. It is an interesting twist to the regular black dye.

Scabbard: Hand carved basswood core. Leather cover dyed “abbey black.” Red leather belt with forged iron buckle.  Forged iron chape with Fleur-de-lis file work.

I want to thank Peter for his help with the numerous questions that came up during the design process.

Photos: