[Zach Gordon]

Hello,

I was trolling through an antique dealer's website the other night, and he has a category of 'Handmade swords'; I clicked out of curiosity expecting one of the various common makers we see --and was massively surprised by what (appear to me) to be some of the most visually stunning and accurate looking reproduction swords. They have the same 'perfect imperfections' you find on originals, while still clearly the work of a very skilled maker. I was taken aback, and wondering what other work he might have done, if anyone knew the maker by sight?

https://www.garthvincent.com/hand-made-swords/

I was particularly taken with this one:
https://www.garthvincent.com/a-handmade-sword--/
The almost careless organisation of the crosshatch pattern on the disk, with the very elegant and controlled lines of the guard.. it looks like every original we see, and the exact kind of thing you dont see much on the reproduction market these days.

Thanks
Z

[Nathan Robinson]

I believe they were made by a European gentleman named Derrick Roome. He has made some absolutely stellar examples of this type of 16th century Germanic stuff in the past and this looks like his work. I am glad to see it being sold appropriately credited as modern-made. Many other sellers would simply list these as originals with made up provinance. The swords look fantastic and they're appropriately priced. I wish I could afford one of them.

[Nathan Robinson]

Lovely, lovely swords with proportions and details matching originals. So very nice!!

[M. Adair Orr]

Swoon! Those are exquisite.
-Adair

[Hadrian Coffin]

The accuracy on those is something else, they really look like they were made in period. I am blown away!
-Hadrian

[M. Adair Orr]

I've made it a bit of a hobby of tracking down this fella's work since discovering it back when this thread was first posted. There is a lot of his work out there. I now own one piece and I've handled another. I've harvested quite a collection of photos as well.

I think he really captured an authentic look while never copying historic artifacts directly. Everything I've seen of his has a heavy patina. Blades and hilt components were deliberately oxidized with deep pitting then cleaned. He liked to make these flamboyant, complex hilts and for the most part he took it beyond what is seen historically. That is his trademark to my eye.

What I've seen looks lovely on the wall, but these swords are substantial! The pommels while beautiful are almost always [i]massively[/i] oversized. Everything I've documented from him has proportions of a longsword or two-hand swords. The blades are stout and the large pommels help compensate for that. They also make for a fun canvas that he clearly enjoyed working with.

I still think his work is beautiful, but those of you who actually use swords might be disappointed. I'm glad I have one on my wall but it's not one I reach for to handle very often.