Hand and a Half Sword

TVV · 16th July 2019, 12:01 AM

European Renaissance swords are not something I can comment on, but was hoping someone else would as this is a nice looking and interesting sword.

Teodor

ulfberth · 16th July 2019, 11:40 AM

Hi Casey ,
let me first congratulate you with this magnificent hand and a half sword !
This is one of the finest examples I have seen in years , these are rare and yours is in very good condition and with a wonderful homogeneous patina.
Everything is exactly how it should be, as you noticed it does not feel to heavy , swords for the field should feel well balanced and not heavy.
By that I mean one should be able to take them in your hands and wield them and it should feel comfortable doing so, no need to lean back to counterbalance the weight etc, of course with exception of some bearing swords , these can be heavier.
About the flexible blade , I found most of this wide type blades are flexible and for battle they should be, again the big bearing sword are less flexible.
There are a few two handed swords in the Palace of the Doge in Venice with exactly the same blade marks and the blades have similar geometry , as you can see on the pictures.
The blade marks can appear on blades going 15th C until early 17th C , however I would say your sword is German mid 16th century.
Kind regards
Ulfberth

ulfberth · 16th July 2019, 11:53 AM

Here is a sword in 1895 Sammlung Kuppelmayr with the same blade mark , however here there is only one stamp not 3, the sword is described as Italian between 1450 and 1500.

ulfberth · 16th July 2019, 12:15 PM

And a late gothic hand and a half sword circa 1500 with similar markings, in auction at Fischer almost 100 years ago , 1927.
And on a German hand and a half sword last quarter of the 16th C.

CSinTX · 17th July 2019, 04:53 AM

Thanks for all the info Dirk! I see some of the blades you posted also contain the eyelash marks which we know to be Italian. It seems the marks on my blade are more common than a simple smith mark. Sure wish we knew the meaning but it is probably lost to time.

ulfberth · 17th July 2019, 11:22 AM

well according to Staffan Kinman in the book "European makers of edged weapons , their marks" the marks are Northern Italy early 16th century.
Kind regards
Ulfberth

fernando · 17th July 2019, 02:49 PM

Great input/s Dirk

.
Thanks a lot for sharing such info.

16th July 2019, 11:40 AM	#2
ulfberth Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 412	Hi Casey , let me first congratulate you with this magnificent hand and a half sword ! This is one of the finest examples I have seen in years , these are rare and yours is in very good condition and with a wonderful homogeneous patina. Everything is exactly how it should be, as you noticed it does not feel to heavy , swords for the field should feel well balanced and not heavy. By that I mean one should be able to take them in your hands and wield them and it should feel comfortable doing so, no need to lean back to counterbalance the weight etc, of course with exception of some bearing swords , these can be heavier. About the flexible blade , I found most of this wide type blades are flexible and for battle they should be, again the big bearing sword are less flexible. There are a few two handed swords in the Palace of the Doge in Venice with exactly the same blade marks and the blades have similar geometry , as you can see on the pictures. The blade marks can appear on blades going 15th C until early 17th C , however I would say your sword is German mid 16th century. Kind regards Ulfberth Attached Images Last edited by ulfberth; 16th July 2019 at 12:19 PM.

16th July 2019, 11:53 AM	#3
ulfberth Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 412	Here is a sword in 1895 Sammlung Kuppelmayr with the same blade mark , however here there is only one stamp not 3, the sword is described as Italian between 1450 and 1500. Attached Images

16th July 2019, 12:15 PM	#4
ulfberth Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 412	And a late gothic hand and a half sword circa 1500 with similar markings, in auction at Fischer almost 100 years ago , 1927. And on a German hand and a half sword last quarter of the 16th C. Attached Images

17th July 2019, 11:22 AM	#6
ulfberth Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 412	well according to Staffan Kinman in the book "European makers of edged weapons , their marks" the marks are Northern Italy early 16th century. Kind regards Ulfberth Attached Images

16th July 2019, 12:01 AM	#1
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,660	European Renaissance swords are not something I can comment on, but was hoping someone else would as this is a nice looking and interesting sword. Teodor

17th July 2019, 04:53 AM	#5
CSinTX Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 233	Thanks for all the info Dirk! I see some of the blades you posted also contain the eyelash marks which we know to be Italian. It seems the marks on my blade are more common than a simple smith mark. Sure wish we knew the meaning but it is probably lost to time.

17th July 2019, 02:49 PM	#7
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Great input/s Dirk . Thanks a lot for sharing such info.