A just finished custom order is our focus today. It is an Oakeshott type xx longsword with a bronze rubbed hilt. This style of blade was intended for armored combat in the list or on the field. It's stiff blade and long ricasso would work well for use at the half sword with one hand near the pommel and the other gripping the blade well down the ricasso. This way of fighting can be seen in manuals of the period with combatants in full armor. 
Type XX Longsword with bronze rubbed hilt
The sword has a scent stopper style of pommel with a straight guard that swells at the ends. Both of these elements have been colored by heating and then aggressively rubbing with a bronze brush. This is a type of decoration that has been used by smiths for a very long time.
The type XX form of blade was popular in the later medieval period and into the early renaissance. They are not all stout swords like this which could be classed with estocs or tucks in how it was intended to be used for ground combat. Other examples of type XX blades can have quite thin hexagonal cross sections and would be intended as very good cutting swords.
Check out our video on this sword below.
Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is Vice 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