I have bought a couple of antique swords from Richard Wales at Bygone Blades, an antique dealer in Scotland, and have only the best things to say about his knowledge, helpfulness, and the ease of doing business with him. …
Using lighter swords in training
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 25th March 2016. It has been edited and improved for posting here. I often hear the advice that you should train with a heavier sword, in order to improve your strength, balance, …
Initial thoughts about the proposed Offensive Weapons Bill 2018
Since October last year, Matt Easton and Keith Farrell have been working hard to mobilise the UK HEMA community to respond to the government consultation on the proposed Offensive Weapons Bill. Now that the wording of the proposed bill has become …
Initial thoughts about the proposed Offensive Weapons Bill 2018Read More
What sabre system should you study?
If you have been intrigued by the idea of starting to fence with the sabre, then a common question is what sabre system to study? There are so many different systems that have been written about, so what sabre system is good for a beginner? …
Short Biography: Johann Justus Runkel (1751-1808)
I am interested in working with antique swords, since studying the original items can tell us much about the construction and use of swords in history. I have a small (but growing!) collection of antique swords, and some of them bear a signature on …
The importance of books 34: Alen Lovrič
This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
Ethical considerations with antique swords, part 3: storage
This is going to be a short article, presenting an ethical consideration. Previous articles in this series discussed the problem of people sparring with antique swords, or using antique swords for cutting; in this article, the focus will be on …
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Ethical considerations with antique swords, part 2: cutting
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 12th February 2016. It has been edited and improved for posting here. This is going to be a short article, presenting an ethical consideration. The previous article in this series discussed …
Ethical considerations with antique swords, part 2: cuttingRead More
Ethical considerations with antique swords, part 1: sparring
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 29th January 2016. It has been edited and improved for posting here. This is going to be a short article, presenting an ethical consideration. Some HEMA groups who study sabre have …
Ethical considerations with antique swords, part 1: sparringRead More
Preservation, cleaning, and restoration of blades – historical and otherwise
This is a guest article by Adam Severa. Originally, Adam posted this to Facebook, and I asked if I could host it on my blog to help preserve the article for posterity and for more easy reference and access in the future. He kindly agreed, and gave …
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Shelf numbers for books in archive
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 24th February 2017. It has been edited and improved for posting here. You may have observed that when discussing original source material, people will sometimes refer to sources by their …
Review of Lambert & Lambert Antiques
I recently bought an antique sword from Lambert & Lambert Antiques, and have been delighted with every part of the process. …
What is survivor bias?
What is “survivor bias”, and why is it important in the study of historical artefacts? When historical items of any sort are preserved in a collection of any kind, they can give us information about the time period from which they originated. They …