Albion Armorers 15th Century Bastard Sword
Original: Circa 15th century
Finding a well made, serviceable blunted sword for western martial arts is much easier said than done. While there are several companies that make such swords, only a few do a good job balancing quality with an affordable price. Often times the more affordable blunts are far too heavy, or they simply do not handle as realistic swords. Albion Armorers has created their
Squire Line with the intention of blending the line between a training blunt and a realistic sword. This line comes unsharpened, and can hold up to some martial arts training without breaking the wallet.
The Late 15th Century Bastard Sword appears to be patterned after swords seen in fencing manuals such as the Italian medieval master Fiore di Liberi's
Flower of the Battle. It is a sword that can be used either one or two-handed, and the blade is an Oakeshott
Type XVa. Such a blade is designed to deal with thrusting into the gaps of plate armour while still being deadly in the cut against an unarmoured foe. The sword has a narrow unsharpened edge that is quite serviceable for use for martial arts drilling, and could serve well for stage combat, though constant fencing at speed should be relegated to something with thicker edges for safety.
See our
hands-on review for more information on this sword.
Overall length: 42"
Weight: 2.9 pounds
Width of guard: 8.125"
Blade: 33" long; 2.25" wide tapering to .5"
Grip length: 6"
Point of Balance (PoB): 4" from guard
Center of Percussion (CoP): ~19.5" from guard
Maker:
Albion Armorers of Wisconsin.
This item has been retired from the collection.