Can someone help me identify this sword?
- Thread starter Troy Spurlock
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Esav Benyamin
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Troy's sword has to be a reproduction. The question is, what kind of reproduction? Was it good enough to use as a sword? Or was it always just a wallhanger?
Who made it, and when, is the difference between Marto and real value. I have one sword, a "Tizona del Cid" which I would never have bought, but got as a gift. It couldn't slice a bagel! But it looks good, hanging from a chain attached to a hook in the ceiling, in front of my bedroom window.
Keeps the neighbors in line
* ****** **** ****** *
I should look it up, instead of talking off the top of my head, but I think the Vandals were just passing through Iberia, and actually ended up in North Africa.
Edit orial addition: The Vandals -- Good grief! These guys were worse than I thought.
Who made it, and when, is the difference between Marto and real value. I have one sword, a "Tizona del Cid" which I would never have bought, but got as a gift. It couldn't slice a bagel! But it looks good, hanging from a chain attached to a hook in the ceiling, in front of my bedroom window.
Keeps the neighbors in line
* ****** **** ****** *
I should look it up, instead of talking off the top of my head, but I think the Vandals were just passing through Iberia, and actually ended up in North Africa.
Edit orial addition: The Vandals -- Good grief! These guys were worse than I thought.
Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
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Some information on peened and threaded tangs, from a modern day armorer:
Arms & Armor was founded in 1982, and is owned and operated by Christopher Poor. Chris has had a life-long interest in weapons and armor, reflected in his time spent as a professional jouster. This first-hand experience, plus scholarly research, provides a working knowledge of weapons and armor that few others achieve.
Arms & Armor crafts a wide variety of items, with the majority of work done in the Medieval and Renaissance styles. Each replica is researched and modeled from examples found in museums, private collections, and other historical sources. Our goal at Arms & Armor is to recreate the look and feel of the original in all respects. Literally to allow you, the customer, to get the best replica available today. A 16th century person would, hopefully, not quickly recognize a difference between one of our reproductions and a piece made in their own time.
(snip)
Some of your weapon descriptions mention a 'tang'; beside being a popular artificial fruit drink what is a tang?
The tang is the portion of the blade that is covered by the cross guard, grip and pommel. It is traditionally of a tapering profile which passes through the above items and was peened over on the top of the pommel to hold it all together. The tangs on our swords are quite sturdy by comparison to original swords which were often quite narrow and thin. Most original swords have an upper section of softer metal welded to the top of the sword which included a few inches of the blade and the tang.
Many modern tangs are pieces of threaded rod which are welded to a stub tang which is often less than an inch in length. These type of hilts are notorious for breaking at the weld point. You should always check the tang construction on a sword if you are concerned about its usability.
Arms & Armor was founded in 1982, and is owned and operated by Christopher Poor. Chris has had a life-long interest in weapons and armor, reflected in his time spent as a professional jouster. This first-hand experience, plus scholarly research, provides a working knowledge of weapons and armor that few others achieve.
Arms & Armor crafts a wide variety of items, with the majority of work done in the Medieval and Renaissance styles. Each replica is researched and modeled from examples found in museums, private collections, and other historical sources. Our goal at Arms & Armor is to recreate the look and feel of the original in all respects. Literally to allow you, the customer, to get the best replica available today. A 16th century person would, hopefully, not quickly recognize a difference between one of our reproductions and a piece made in their own time.
(snip)
Some of your weapon descriptions mention a 'tang'; beside being a popular artificial fruit drink what is a tang?
The tang is the portion of the blade that is covered by the cross guard, grip and pommel. It is traditionally of a tapering profile which passes through the above items and was peened over on the top of the pommel to hold it all together. The tangs on our swords are quite sturdy by comparison to original swords which were often quite narrow and thin. Most original swords have an upper section of softer metal welded to the top of the sword which included a few inches of the blade and the tang.
Many modern tangs are pieces of threaded rod which are welded to a stub tang which is often less than an inch in length. These type of hilts are notorious for breaking at the weld point. You should always check the tang construction on a sword if you are concerned about its usability.
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Upon closer inspection it does say "Toledo" instead of "bledo" for the signature.
The tang is offcenter by 1/8", it is 1/8" thick and less than that where it is round up to the threaded end. The blade barely flexes (with a lot of strength applied) and it does not stay bent (it really won't bend at all). The blade is 1/8" thick as well.
So, the million dollar question now is, which sword maker/company in Toledo made it and when?
The tang is offcenter by 1/8", it is 1/8" thick and less than that where it is round up to the threaded end. The blade barely flexes (with a lot of strength applied) and it does not stay bent (it really won't bend at all). The blade is 1/8" thick as well.
So, the million dollar question now is, which sword maker/company in Toledo made it and when?
Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
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Well, I'm about ready for a vacation ... maybe I can fly over to España and hook up with El Cid on a visit to those Toledo swordsmiths! (Anybody want to chip in on planefare?)
I guess my next visit to Google will be to see what I can find out about who actually makes swords over there, rather than just marketing them here.
I guess my next visit to Google will be to see what I can find out about who actually makes swords over there, rather than just marketing them here.
22 years too late...gotta be a necropost record of some sort......mind bending even....
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