Hi all,

I have long wanted to add a two-handed flammenschwert to my collection and wondered whether anyone had any experience having one made. In particular (1) do you know anyone who has made or does make these (2) do you have any suggestions on historically authentic examples?

I would be looking for a functional (not decorative/ceremonial) version. One of the best looking versions I have been able to find is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dresden-Zwi...ord.04.JPG. However, I've not seen it in person and can find limited information about it online (eg size etc). As near as I can tell it looks like a functional version (blade seems to be in proportion and not overly heavy) but really cant find all that much on it (or others).

I'm guessing it would probably be a custom order - but don't know how difficult the blade would be to get right.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Michael

Here's one from a Portuguese Museum (Museo militar?), it's hard to tell, but it has parrying hooks. I can only guess at the dimensions, but the rifle behind it gives a good sense of scale. It isn't huge, but it's still large. It also looks serviceable.

[ Linked Image ]

As for who to make one, I know that Craig Johnson from Arms and Armor has made a very nice zweihander, don't know about flammenschwert though.

John Lundemo over at Odinblades would probably enjoy making one though, I know he's made at least two zweihanders and does very nice work.

I ordered and received a large, flame-bladed two-handed sword from Lutel-handicraft about 6 months back. You can take a look at my summary of it Here. If you're in Europe I'd say that they're a good venue to take care of your needs. If you're in the US I suspect that the shipping cost would be prohibitive.

The sword in question: http://www.lutel-handicraft.com/?p=productsMo...word-16005

Also, note that I've tampered with the starting order of posts in the thread I linked to above. If you want to view the thread in its entirety from the beginning, look in the address bar change the number after "start=" from '17' to '0'. :)

Here is a thread with many examples in it: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=629 .

There are other threads which discuss this style. The search function will help.

Thanks Vincent! The site is really just my filing cabinet of sorts -- notes that I can access easily when trying to write research articles and such. Right now it's a bit of a mess, but I'm slowly getting it organized. If anything, I hope it'll encourage others to organize their own research notes and put them online too.

While that label doesn't give this specific sword's weight, it does say that "their weight rarely surpassed 2.1 kg." That's roughly similar to what's said about analogous German two-handers: For example, Larocca (in Coe et al. 1993 p48) gives German Zweihander swords at "something of the order of 5-8 lbs/2.3-3.6 kg." http://www.forensicfashion.com/1525GermanInfantry.html