Arms and Armor is very pleased to support the 2025 Icebreaker Open HEMA tournament. This is the local tournament in the Minneapolis area that we have donated prizes to since it first started a decade ago. While we aren't able to donate prizes to every tournament that contacts us, we do try to spread our support widely across the country and among HEMA groups who are spreading the love of swords. Here is a previous post about how to go about requesting donations from Arms and Armor for your tournament. We are often able to donate a gift certificate, and are sometimes able to donate physical prizes - though it totally depends on how busy we are filling existing orders, which are always our priority.
This year we are donating two Dane Axes as prizes.
If you are a HEMA fighter, or interested in starting to practice European sword arts, check out our selection of high-quality training weapons. Our focus is on providing durable and reparable training tools that mimic the dynamics of real, sharp weapons as closely as possible, while still maintaining safety. All of our training weapons are made to order and can be widely customized. We make all of our products by hand at our shop in Minneapolis, MN, USA. Our products are not the cheapest out there, but we do think they are among the very best.
For our American customers you also get the benefit of avoiding tariffs on imports, reduced shipping costs, and the fact that when your sword needs to be repaired or refurbished you can just send it back to us. Our philosophy is that swords and other weapons should not be disposable. If you break a blade we can replace it with a new one. If your hilt furniture is beat up, or you just want a new style (as often happened historically), we can do that. Of course, we will charge you, but it will be cheaper than getting a new sword.
Historically it was the job of cutlers to build and repair edged weapons, and if you damaged your weapon you would certainly take it to a cutler to be fixed. Today there aren't many historical cutlers around to provide this service, largely because the sword industry is so globalized and it just doesn't make sense to mail a cheap sword halfway around the world to have a minor repair done. When you buy a product from us you also get the certainty that you have someone you can turn to for ongoing repairs and maintenance. We frequently refurbish swords from customers who purchased them decades ago, and we make them as good as new, or better.
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.
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