The Collection Gallery of Bill Grandy
I get asked a lot as to what got me interested in swords and swordsmanship. My answer?
The Princess Bride.
Movies and fantasy literature are without a doubt where I found my inspiration originally, which lead me to take up foil fencing as a youth. In high school I became active in theater as well, and this naturally lead me into practicing stage combat, where I began to get a feel for swords that were not sport fencing implements.
Though I loved both fencing and stage combat, there was something about all of it that didn't quite feel right to me. The common myths I would hear about swords and sword fighting from otherwise very experienced people always bothered me. I wanted something more in touch with history, something more real, which eventually led me to seek out and find people who practiced swordsmanship based on historically researched methods as a true martial art. To this day I primarily focus my studies on the use of the Italian Renaissance rapier, and also the longsword in the tradition of the Medieval German master Johannes Liechtenauer. I am also blessed to have to opportunity to be able to pass on what I have learned as the head instructor of historical swordsmanship at the Virginia Academy of Fencing.
As a practitioner of swordsmanship, it is important to understand the primary tools of the art, and sword collecting therefore goes hand in hand with sword fighting. For my entire life I've had a love affair with swords. My collection focuses mostly on the weapons and armor which relate most to my martial training, primarily from the 15th through 17th centuries, though there are exceptions to that rule as many other weapons fascinate me. The collection as a whole has gone through many transformations, originally consisting of primarily inexpensive production swords. As my tastes have developed martially and aesthetically, I have sold off many swords and bought swords more in focus with what suits me best. As time goes on, I have developed a much stronger appreciation for modern swords being made as close to the original weapons as feasible, as this is the best way to truly understand how these swords functioned.
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