Medieval Shrewsbury Sword, 15th C., Practical Blunt, SK-B

Medieval Shrewsbury Sword with Scabbard, 15th C., Practical Blunt, SK-B

On the 21st of July 1403, the Battle of Shrewsbury (Shropshire, England) saw the victory of Henry IV of England over an army led by his former supporter, Sir Henry Harry Hotspur Percy of Northumberland (made forever famous by Shakespeare in his 1598 history play Henry IV Part I). Percy, who had turned against the king and allied himself with Owain Glyndwr, the rebel leader of the Welsh Revolt of 1400-1415 (also known as Glyndwr Rising), was killed during the fray, leading his army to disperse and the rebellion to fall apart. Named after this decisive battle, the original Shrewsbury Sword, classified as a Type XV by Ewart Oakeshott, is kept in the Wallace Collection.

This beautiful, good value sword features the typical characteristics of a traditional late 14th / early 15th century one-and-a-half-handed sword (also called bastard sword) and is patterned after the same swords that would have been used on both sides in this great English battle. The double-edged blade is forged out of hardened and tempered EN45 spring steel. It has a diamond cross-section, gently tapers towards the point and is fullered on both sides. The broad central fuller ends about halfway down the blade. The thick edges are not sharpened, the tip is rounded off and the blade's full tang is riveted to the pommel. The hilt is composed of wooden core grip wrapped in brown leather, a faceted, hexagonal scent-stopper pommel made of steel and a flattened steel cross guard. The guard's quillons have flared terminals, each decorated with a cross-shaped cut-out. The pierced guard is about 23 cm long and 0.5 cm thick.

This late medieval hand-and-a-half sword comes complete with a brown wood-and-leather scabbard with steel throat and chape. This is the battle ready version of the Shrewsbury Sword. The blade's blunt, 1.5 mm / 2 mm thick edges and rounded tip make this sword ideal for light combat reenactment, stage fighting or sparring. The same sword is also available as a regular, decorative version with thinner (unsharpened) edges and pointed tip (Product No. 0116332818).

Details:
- Practical blunt version for combat reenactment
- Battle-ready Sword Category : SK-B
  Learn more about our classification for blunt practical swords
- Material: EN45 spring steel (high carbon steel, not stainless), steel guard and pommel, leather- wrapped wooden handle
- Overall length: approx. 116 cm
- Blade length: approx. 89 cm
- Hilt length: approx. 24 cm (grip approx. 19 cm)
- Max. blade width: approx. 5.5 cm
- Point of balance: approx. 16 cm from the guard
- Cutting edges: approx. 1.5 / 2 mm
- Incl. wooden scabbard with genuine leather cover and steel fittings
- Weight without scabbard: approx. 1.6 kg
- Weight with scabbard: approx. 2.1 kg

Specs may slightly vary from piece to piece.

The steel used here is not rust-proof and might show slight surface tarnishing in places. We recommend you to maintain the blade and the scabbard on a regular basis, for example using Ballistol Universal Oil, which is ideally suited for steel care.