Mayhawke Armory/JF Schroeder -- myArmoury.com

D. Rosen · Posted: Sat 27 Nov, 2004 1:00 pm Post subject: Mayhawke Armory/JF Schroeder

Currently, I own two Mayhawke pieces. I have both their Katzbalger and a Main Gauche. I know that these were both JF Schroeder pieces before Mayhawke bought them out. I was wondering how current Mayhawke quality compared to the old JF Schroeder stuff. I am very happy with my two Mayhawke pieces aesthetically, but certain issues popped up when i first bought them. These included screw off hilts (not loose, but still removable---cleaning feature?), fouled up leather handle on the katz, creased scabbards, crooked blade alignment (remedied by screw-off hilt), and large amounts of rust prior to purchase. All of these were remedied, and I found their prices to be well within my range. I was also happy with Mayhawke's selection, their line apparantly has many styles of swords/knives that are not produced by other companies/blacksmiths. All of the problems I had were remedied fairly quickly, but it was still a little suspicious.

Thanks!

PS: I noticed that the Mayhawke line swords STILL carried the old JF Schroeder "pound" mark....odd...I would think that they might have been Schroeder originals, but i was told mine were made in India....just curious

Nathan Robinson · myArmoury Admin

I don' t know if anyone else will be able to answer this, but I used to work for Mayhawke so:

Mayhawke is a retailer not a maker. They purchased the remaining stock from JF Schroeder a few years ago. All the stuff was made in India under JF Schroeder's direction, which is why it has a consistent mark. Mr. Schroeder took care to spec out designs and work with the Indian manufacturing companies until they produced a product that met his satisfaction. It often took several tries and many shipments during development to get it to where he liked it, but everything was made in India. In my opinion, they were among the best pieces to come out of there during that time and still compete favorably with the best coming out of there now.

I used to own both pieces you have, by the way. You can see them in My Collection Gallery.

D. Rosen · Posted: Sat 27 Nov, 2004 1:12 pm Post subject:

Are they still being produced under Mayhawke's direction now? How do 'their' weapons overall quality compare to other companies?

Nathan Robinson · myArmoury Admin

D. Rosen · Posted: Sat 27 Nov, 2004 1:17 pm Post subject:

I have, but some were a little suspicious/contradictory.....it was weird. I don't exactly remember what the questions were about....but even so... How did Schroeder quality compare to some of today's more popular companies/smiths?

Nathan Robinson · myArmoury Admin

James Aldrich · Posted: Sat 27 Nov, 2004 11:32 pm Post subject:

My current link to Mayhawke hasn't worked for a couple weeks. I was surprised to see them selling at Bristol Renaissance this year. I recall they had a Musketeer sword on display at very close to what I paid Schroeter directly years ago.

I've always considered that sword a bargain for re-enactment and display. I was very happy that it was easily disassembled when it was soaked in a downpour the first time I carried it on the field.

I have the companion dagger as well [via Mayhawke] but I could never warm up to its vestigial pommel. Recently I scavenged its handle to replace a broken grip on a Darkwood "military smallsword." That worked out so well it made the dagger purchase worthwhile in retrospect.

The wheellock kit I purchased from Schroeter is another story altogether . . .

JSA