Category Archives: Weapon Design

Is the edge or back of a blade stronger?

Posted on July 22, 2019 by Grauenwolf

Well of course it depends on the blade. But if we’re talking about Japanese swords, we have an excellent source with both historic and scientific information. Just to make things interesting, let me translate an account by another Japanese swordsman. … Continue reading →

Posted in Weapon Design | 2 Comments

Ground vs Forged Fullers in Swords

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Grauenwolf

The central grove, or groves, in a sword is usually referred to as a “fuller”. The reason for this is that they are normally made with a blacksmith’s fuller, a type of stamping tool, rather than by grinding away material. … Continue reading →

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Buckler Handles from the Wallace Collection

Posted on March 5, 2017 by Grauenwolf

Italy, Round, c. 1600, 21” Italy or France, Round, c. 1550 – c. 1560, 15.5” Italy, Rectangular, c. 1540, 14” x 13” (top) 9” (bottom) Italy, Rectangular, c. 1540, 10” x 10” (top) 8” (bottom) Click on the images for … Continue reading →

Posted in Sword and Buckler, Sword and Large Buckler, Sword and Targe, Weapon Design | Leave a comment

Hand Protection in Meyer’s Dussack

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Grauenwolf

Some, though certainly not all, of the dussacks in Meyer’s 1570 text have protrusions of some sort that appear to offer extra hand protection.

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I.33, Blade Width, and Lugs

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Grauenwolf

When researching Marozzo’s greatsword, we discovered that the lugs are very important in the thrust. The lugs effectively made the blade wider, allowing it to drive the opponent’s sword offline as we extended our own thrust. Looking at the blades … Continue reading →

Posted in Arming Sword, MS I.33, Weapon Design | 2 Comments

Meyer’s Pike – Equipment, Guards, and a Basic Drill

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Grauenwolf

The hardest part about studying pike is actually finding a pike. During Meyer’s time, the late 16th century, a typical pike would range from 15 to 22 feet long. Even if something that long could be found, transporting it would … Continue reading →

Posted in Meyer's Pike, Pike, Weapon Design | Tagged | 2 Comments

Marozzo’s Greatsword – Falso Impuntanto and the Important of Equipment

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Grauenwolf

Through many year and many clubs I’ve tried to learn Marozzo’s first assault for the two-handed sword. The very first action is a Falso Impuntanto, something that everyone seems to stumble over. A plain reading of the text suggests it … Continue reading →

Posted in Greatsword, Marozzo, Weapon Design | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

L’Ange Style Rapiers by Darkwood

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Grauenwolf

This photo shows a pair of L’Ange style rapiers by Darkwood Armory (except the lower pommel, which I made myself). The blades are 45”, which according to the translator puts it right around the author’s recommended length as estimated from … Continue reading →

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Training Rondel with Rondels

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Grauenwolf

One of the issues that we’ve been running into is that our training daggers is that the lack of a rondel causes them to not behave like real daggers. With a real rondel, the rondels prevent you from straightening out … Continue reading →

Posted in Dagger, Weapon Design | Tagged | 2 Comments

Equipment Problems with Binding and Winding Solved

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Grauenwolf

With real sword, the edges bite into each other so that they don’t slide unless one or both fencers winds to a flat. This is known as “releasing the bind” and is an core technique for narrow work. Unfortunately modern … Continue reading →

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