Today we take a look at a variation of our Norseman Spear that we've developed for training historical armored combat. As you have seen in some of our previous videos, training to fight in or out of armor within specific martial traditions requires tools fit to purpose. Just as our Fechtschule Historical Feder can help us to understand the fencing systems of late 16th century fencing in the Holy Roman Empire, so too can a specialized training spear give us insight into armored fighting that is obscured by the common tools used in the HEMA/Western Martial Arts/ and SCA communities.
We developed this spear with a coronel at the tip to enable the spear to bind with maille in a way that is similar to how a sharp spear does while still providing acceptable levels of safety for training and limited competition. As usual, the people of the past came up with optimal solutions for some of the problems we face today in recreating their skills and practices. Similar to coronel spears used in jousting a plaisance, this design permits a well-aimed thrust to stick to mailled portions of an opponents armor, thereby allowing the attacker to couch the spear and apply leverage to the opponents body - something commonly used training spears with a blunt point do not permit.
As always, our swords and other weapons are entirely made by us, by hand, at our shop in Minneapolis, MN. Sword blades are hand ground of 6150 carbon steel, hardened and tempered to 50-52 Rockwell. All of our products are made to look, feel, and function just like the historical originals on which they are based. Arms and Armor is dedicated to quality and authenticity. For over four decades we have worked with museums, collectors, and scholars around the world to develop a deep understanding of European weapons; knowledge we use to make products that exemplify the finest qualities of the very best historic pieces. When we select historic items to reproduce, being pretty isn't enough, they have to move with grace and beauty, and beg to be used when in the hand. These are pieces that feel as good as they look, and that work as well as they feel. Our mission is to craft items that recreate the look, feel, and function of the best historic originals.
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Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is President of Arms and Armor and a member of the governing board of The Oakeshott Institute. He is a historical martial artist and a former university professor of cultural geography. He has given presentations on historical arms at many HEMA events including Longpoint and Combatcon, and presented scholarly papers at, among others, The International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Craig Johnson is the Production Manager of Arms and Armor and Secretary of The Oakeshott Institute. He has taught and published on the history of arms, armor and western martial arts for over 30 years. He has lectured at several schools and Universities, WMAW, HEMAC, 4W, and ICMS at Kalamazoo. His experiences include iron smelting, jousting, theatrical combat instruction and choreography, historical research, European martial arts and crafting weapons and armor since 1985