Forum: European Armoury
22nd December 2021, 08:48 PM
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Replies: 20
Views: 31,822
Irish baskets
Hello Gents'
My apologies: I posted my question before reading recent postings and consequently missed this one.
However, aside from my interest in Henry VIII's swords, I am curious about the...
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Forum: European Armoury
22nd December 2021, 07:15 PM
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Replies: 2
Views: 7,948
Henry VIII
I was particularly interested in what our King Henry VIII would have worn at court.
He had, at his disposal, the Greenwich armoury staffed by Germans et al, so he would not be spoilt for choice....
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Forum: European Armoury
22nd December 2021, 01:03 AM
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Replies: 4
Views: 11,850
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Forum: European Armoury
21st December 2021, 10:23 PM
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Replies: 4
Views: 11,850
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Forum: European Armoury
21st December 2021, 10:09 PM
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Replies: 2
Views: 7,948
English Tudor period swords
After the Arming sword but before the Rapier, around the time of Henry 8th's early reign here in England, what was worn by nobility.
Was there a distinct and sudden appearance of the Rapier or was...
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Forum: European Armoury
24th November 2021, 11:13 PM
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Replies: 29
Views: 35,795
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Forum: European Armoury
24th November 2021, 11:01 PM
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Replies: 29
Views: 35,795
Lisbon Armoury
When I was there, in December 2018, I was the only person in the building. I was on a cruise ship and it was raining heavily and as I had seen the museum two or three times in the past, and not...
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Forum: European Armoury
23rd November 2021, 10:46 PM
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Replies: 29
Views: 35,795
all about length
So: I got some swords down from the wall to experience simulated combat usage (see pics below).
The first was a typical smallsword with an 80cm blade (I am measuring up to the start of the hilt; I...
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Forum: European Armoury
22nd November 2021, 10:05 PM
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Replies: 29
Views: 35,795
Estocs
I understand that estocs (or 'tucks') were usually in excess of four feet.
As a matter of note, two points here:
first, there were estocs produced in this country in the 14th century that featured...
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Forum: European Armoury
21st November 2021, 09:42 PM
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Replies: 29
Views: 35,795
oops
My sincere apologies, how careless.
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Forum: European Armoury
21st November 2021, 08:33 PM
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Replies: 29
Views: 35,795
size matters
Thank-you Fernandez: fascinating.
I was in the armoury down on the riverside in Lisbon a couple of years back (3 actually, now I think about it) and was not overwhelmed by the number of swords on...
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Forum: European Armoury
21st November 2021, 02:11 PM
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Replies: 29
Views: 35,795
four foot rapier blades ???
Thank-you Fernando. I am not surprised you rise to the occasion.
I am a little unclear when you talk about deducting the tang: was it customary for forgers to measure their blades including the...
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Forum: European Armoury
21st November 2021, 11:08 AM
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Replies: 29
Views: 35,795
four foot rapier blades ???
Hello Folks.
Attached, is a transcribed page from the 1703 contract that the German swordmakers in Shotley Bridge signed for the Company: it lists all the possible blades they must be prepared to...
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Forum: European Armoury
12th October 2021, 02:28 PM
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Replies: 19
Views: 37,242
gilding
The mercury gilding method is what was used on blades alongside the blue - if I am not mistaken. I have read tell that it was a seriously poisonous process.
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Forum: European Armoury
10th October 2021, 11:10 PM
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Replies: 19
Views: 37,242
ignorance
Pardon my ignorance: what does 'bump' signify?
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Forum: European Armoury
25th August 2021, 06:18 PM
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Replies: 35
Views: 70,028
Latin exports
I don't remember where I heard about England buying steel from Spain and Italy - until wars prevented it, but given the reputation of Toledo blades it seems obvious.
Questions now arise: where did...
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Forum: European Armoury
24th August 2021, 08:33 PM
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Replies: 35
Views: 70,028
for accuracy's sake
Just to keep the record straight I have found and supply an image of the mistaken sword.
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Forum: European Armoury
23rd August 2021, 11:33 PM
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Replies: 35
Views: 70,028
error correction
I made a mistake... my sword is not the Wentworth-Woodhouse sword.
The casket is as described, but the sword is in the possession of the Royal Armouries.
It is virtually identical to mine except...
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Forum: European Armoury
22nd August 2021, 09:12 PM
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Replies: 35
Views: 70,028
New Shotley Bridge book.
Hello Keith, I have just-re read your excellent book on the swords of Shotley Bridge and I recall a while ago you were actually in Solingen searching their archives most thoroughly ! The sword you...
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Forum: European Armoury
19th August 2021, 04:39 PM
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Replies: 35
Views: 70,028
man, myth and magic
Hello Fernando.
What an astonishing and revelationary treatise on Toledo.
Toledo was always the most famous of course: as an individual, completely unconnected with the blade world, I was always...
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Forum: European Armoury
18th August 2021, 09:47 PM
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Replies: 35
Views: 70,028
Wootz up Doc'
Hey Fernando, thank-you for that link: I was able to absorb about 50% of it before my brain imploded. The metallurgy involved in blade-making is simply too vast to take on board without devoting...
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Forum: European Armoury
18th August 2021, 07:49 PM
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Replies: 35
Views: 70,028
Tempus fugit
The issue I was opening for debate is that Wootz may not have been tempered.
This seems like a contradiction to everything we have come to understand about blade forging.
Are there any blacksmiths...
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Forum: European Armoury
17th August 2021, 11:08 PM
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Replies: 35
Views: 70,028
ps
Note the very distinctive forge weld of the blade up at the forte and the gouge under the letter B in the softer metal.
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Forum: European Armoury
17th August 2021, 11:06 PM
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Replies: 35
Views: 70,028
Shotley Bridge blade
My Shotley Bridge sword (which was actually forged in Solingen and brought over with the immigrants: it has a Passau Wolf along with the script Shotley Bridg; see images) is still fantastically sharp...
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Forum: European Armoury
17th August 2021, 10:44 PM
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Replies: 35
Views: 70,028
Wootz
It was vital that the correct leaves and twigs were added to the crucible when making Wootz. Just adding charcoal/carbon didn't do it as there needed to be trace elements of Molybdemum, Vanadium and...
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