'Best' in Class for Double Headed Axes, Maces, Halberds, etc -- myArmoury.com

Chris Artman

Hi,

I recently picked up a bunch of items from various on-line vendors including By-the-sword, which seemed to have a lot of the higher quality items, seemingly from a supplier in England. They had a really nice German Landschnecte sword, a war mallet, war hammer, and a nice mace... All items ranged from $300-about $900 (their best Landschnecte sword).

However, I can;t seem to find a really nice double headed battle axe. I happen to like the fantasy look of the Kit Rae, but as cool as it looks, it is obviously a useless halloween decoration :-) All of the functional battle axes look rather ordinary. Is there anything that combines a cool fantasy look with battle ready ability? I was wondering if anybody had some recommendations for websites or places to buy some of the more exotic or higher quality items? I realize I'm somewhat new to this area, but I'd appreciate any advice or links to unique items, cost no object type items, something considered best in class for Maces, Halberds, battle axes, and swords as well. So far my best piece is the German Lanschnechte sword found at by-the-sword which was sharpened and mirror polished for about $900.00. I'd like to find some similar quality pieces for other categories of weapons as well... I realize that authenticity is important to some, and that is what determines the value. Personally, I don't know what websites or manufacturer links to look for higher quality weapons... Of particular interest would be something that combines fantasy with functional and of very high quality. I can only dream of something like a Kit Rae design battle Axe that is actually made from hard steel, sharpened, battle ready, and very large... Any links or websites of where to look for high quality items in each category would be greatly appreciated... So Far, the Arms and Armor section of By-the-sword website is the highest quality stuff I could find... Any help would be greatly appreciated. They also have a really cool Halberd and Trident for about $350.00 with the pole... but I'm wondering what else out there might be a bit bigger and better quality...

Thanks,

Chris

Addison C. de Lisle · Posted: Mon 14 Apr, 2008 12:17 pm Post subject:

Well, the first thing that comes to my mind, if you want a combination of fantasy and functionality is Ollin Swords.

http://www.ollinsworddesign.com/

Jody Sampson's work is primarily fantasy and aesthetically driven I believe, but a lot of his pieces sound a bit too heavy to be functional. But, never having handled one, this could just be me. His axes look pretty neat though.

http://jodysamson.com/

As for double bladed axes, I don't believe there is any historical evidence of them being used for combat, which may be why you're having trouble finding well-made ones.

Lee O'Hagan · Posted: Mon 14 Apr, 2008 12:27 pm Post subject:

Quality reccomendations abpve,
finest large axe i know of, jmo, Wink

http://www.raven-armoury.co.uk/

Michael S. Rivet · Posted: Mon 14 Apr, 2008 12:37 pm Post subject:

Now, I don't have any experience with this vendor or their wares, so I can't say how "usable" their products might be, but www.wulflund.com carries a variety of fantasy-inspired pieces, including a double-headed axe and an amusing steel maul (made hollow to keep the weight down).

Chris Artman · Posted: Mon 14 Apr, 2008 1:34 pm Post subject:

Snaga the Sender ... very nice double bladed axe...

I also like the custom shop choice. I would like to design some items and have them brought to fruition. then again, I should just join the metal working school here, near oakland...

I like the other links as well. Those links are very nice... I'll have to pick up a few of the nicer items, one from each category: from dagger to two handed sword, as well as mace, axe, halberd, trident, etc...

I could go nuts designing some wicked functional semi fantasy stuff....

I'll have to check out Jody's stuff and get a couple pieces sometime soon...

Ollin's Sword Design will be useful as well....

Thank-you all so much....

Chris Artman · Posted: Mon 14 Apr, 2008 3:47 pm Post subject:

So far I purchased the Classic morning star:

http://www.by-the-sword.com/acatalog/Maces_and_Morning_Stars.html

I also like the flanged mace and the 2 handed mace.

I thought this trident was nice, but I could envision somethign much nastier...

Trident
Ref: CD-1015

http://www.by-the-sword.com/acatalog/Pole_Weapons_and_Spears.html

I thought this was a decent halberd... but not sure what else is out there:

Halberd
Ref: CD-1034

http://www.by-the-sword.com/acatalog/Halberds.html

I also picked up:

War Mallet
Ref: BF-8401

and

War Hammer
Ref: CD-154

http://www.by-the-sword.com/acatalog/War_Hammers.html

I thought this was their best 2 handed sword and purchased it:

http://www.by-the-sword.com/acatalog/German_L...-H012.html

I'll defintely pick up some stuff from OLLIN, JODY SAMSON, and RAVEN.... any other items or unique 'best in class' pieces, please let us know!

Thank-you,

Chris

Chris Artman · Posted: Sat 10 May, 2008 6:03 pm Post subject:

Is there a way to upload some images, I have some updates and pictures I'd like to post. Or do I have to upload them to my ISP and make a link? Thanks!

By the way, can some of you take a look at the above links and take a look at these weapons. They seem very good quality, yet I do not recognize any of their products as coming from ANY manufacturer we all usually talk about... I wonder who is supplying by-the-sword with these high quality items?

Addison C. de Lisle · Posted: Sat 10 May, 2008 7:26 pm Post subject:

You can upload images using the "Add an Attachment" field below the "Post a reply" field - just click the Browse button and find the image on your computer.

If this doesn't work, you can upload them to a host like www.imageshack.us, copy the address in the "Direct Link" field, and paste in between "[img]" and "[/img]", and it will appear on the screen.

Sounds like you're starting quite a collection between these and the Svante - pictures would be great Happy

Chris Artman · Posted: Sat 10 May, 2008 7:41 pm Post subject:

I want to hold off posting of pictures until I have them evaluated... hopefully sometime next week I'll revisit this thread and post what I'm thinking about. took the image photos, but need to wait a little.... Thanks for pointing out the attachament section!!

Kelly Powell · Posted: Thu 15 May, 2008 4:21 am Post subject:

MRL used to have a pretty fierce looking bardiche.....For double headed axes look at by the sword .com......They, of all places should have it.

Chris Artman · Posted: Thu 15 May, 2008 10:06 am Post subject:

Yes, as you probably noticed in the previous replies above, I have purchased many items from by-the-sword. They seem to have very high quality items for a decent price. By the sword has some very, very unique items... Look at their very nice one-handed maces in the link previously provided, but also, look at the TWO-HANDED mace in that same link (about $600 shipped I believe, but very unique...)

Does anybody know who supplies by-the-sword for the items listed above that I previously purchased? By-the-sword's highest qualit items come from one supplier/manufacturer, but I'm not sure who... Any ideas?

Raven Armory makes Snaga the Sender, but it is way too expensive.

I do have some custom stuff in the initial stages I'll keep quiet about until I evaluate their feasibility. They may or may not be affordable/feasible... I'll revisit this thread by mid June and should have more info...

Chad Arnow · myArmoury Team

Michael S. Rivet · Posted: Thu 15 May, 2008 1:12 pm Post subject:

I asked about their supplier for the items in the "Arms and Armour" section at By-the-Sword one time. I was told that they could not reveal the name because it was a name I might recognize. I'm pretty sure he also mentioned that the vendor was in the UK but if so I cannot imagine who that might be.

Chris Artman · Posted: Thu 15 May, 2008 1:15 pm Post subject:

I appreciate the information.... Thank-you.

Also looking forward to updating this thread in mid June if things go well....

Chad Arnow · myArmoury Team

Chris Artman · Posted: Thu 15 May, 2008 2:44 pm Post subject:

Nice,

Just made an order, much appreciated!

This is the payment address:

Welcrafted s.r.o.
Borivojova 35
Praha 3
13000
CZ

Wish I would have known about that site earlier since they hada flamberge option on the 2 hander I bought, which was not offered from By The Sword... They offer the full range from various smiths, beyond what by the sword offers... awesome stuff... The page for the submit order is not progressing for some reason...

The payment server isn;t working right now...

In any case, I picked up their two top 2 maces and top two 2 flails... awesome.

Chris Artman · Posted: Fri 16 May, 2008 10:28 am Post subject:

I actually talked to who seemed to be the owner of Outfit4Events/Wellcrafted S.R.O., his name is Helmut. It was only 17 cents a minute to call the Czech Republic thru Yahoo messenger using my laptop. I think their payment server was down for a little bit.

In any case, if anyone knows of any more places like Outfit4Events, please let me know. They really have excellent stuff for the price... I ended up getting a dagger and two throwing axes as well, just because of the quality/price.

Swords seem a bit easier to get a variety, but things like: poleweapons, axes, maces/flail/percussion, etc.. seem harder to find good choices. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed shopping at Outfit4Events. I looked at Get Dressed for Battle and they had a nice selection of armor and random supplies, but had very little weapons. I'll look again.

If there are any other stores like Outfit4 Events with such a huge inventory, great prices, and great products, I'd love to know about it. Thank-you so much Chad, I just added 8 items that I would not have otherwise added!!!

Those cannons looked tempting!

Chris Artman · Posted: Fri 23 May, 2008 1:31 pm Post subject:

This looks interesting, has anyone ordered from Arma Bohemia before and what is your opinion?

http://www.armabohemia.cz/Novestr/poleA.htm

Chad Arnow · myArmoury Team

We have a review of an Arma Bohemia dagger on our reviews page. I own another of their items and may soon receive another order from them. They deal with multiple small craftspeople from Eastern Europe. In my experience, the products are generally good, but the communication and follow through could be much better. It may be a culture thing, but taking 2 weeks or more to return an email (pretty regularly) seems excessive to me.

Chris Artman · Posted: Fri 23 May, 2008 2:32 pm Post subject:

If you know of any more websites like Arma Bohemia or Outfit4events, please let me know. They seem to have some unique items at a good cost/quality level... especially for non-sword weapons. A&A makes some fairly nice non sword items, but I just haven't been all that impressed with their offerings. I'm sure they are high quality, but looks wise, they seem rather plain Jane. Just like their horseman's axe... I thought about it and thought about it, but just not enough there to make the purchase... I'd rather pay more money for more detail, otherwise I'd just go to the hardware store and pick up a pitchfork or something....

I'm looking forward to getting that big order from outfit4events sometime in mid-end June.... They really had some awesome flails, maces, daggers, pole-weapons, etc... I think they are more interesting and detailed than the offerings at A&A for items other than swords or rapiers.

Thanks again Chad! I really look forward to getting that order in!! I did not know of that place until you told me....