Due to some changing market conditions, and the fact that there are a lot more makers of good training weapons than there ever were before, we have decided to stop making a bunch of training weapons for HEMA/WMA. These are mostly older products that no longer fulfill the needs of the community like they used to. Advances in machining and modeling, the spread of knowledge about how real swords work, as well as the growth of HEMA, have made it possible for folks to make good training weapons inexpensively, which is great. That means we can focus on what we do best, using our decades of research and experience to produce top-quality replicas of historical weapons.
We will continue to produce selected training weapons that still have a market, but focusing on the high-end, historically accurate segment. For example, we are happy to announce that we are making our new Fechtschul Feder into a permanent product since the first experimental batch has sold out. We will also continue to make our Fechterspiel Feder as it is the preferred training tool of many people.
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 & 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 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
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