And now, for everyone who needs an educational and yet viscerally soothing 8.5 minute video of me making a Lombardy rapier in fast motion, we present, Fast Motion/ASMR rapier building! All right, I don't really know what ASMR is because I am Gen X, but I hear that the kids like it...
In this video you will see how we start with a rough cast quillion block, fit it to a blade,, forge and shape the bow, sweeps, and inner guard, and a whole bunch of hand file work to create the details that set our rapiers apart. The rapier in this video is our Lombardy Rapier, a replica of a late 16th century original housed in the Museo Poldi Pezzolio. It is an immensely elegant sword, especially when viewed from multiple angles which lets you see the 3D symmetries that were so indicative of high quality rapiers of the time.
The Arms and Armor Lombardy Rapier
Here is a previous video blog looking at a finished example of the piece in depth.
As always, our swords are entirely made by us, by hand, at our shop in Minneapolis, MN. The 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 & 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
Check out all of our products here.
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 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