Warspike Longsword    $73  Expedited Shipping Available! E-mail service@strongblade.com or call 866-7SWORDS On Sale!    Please select the model that you would like to purchase, Then click on the Add to Cart button. The Warspike: Knight Longsword   Model# SBA-WARSPIKE  $73      Engrave this item for $15.   (Originally $104) |     In Stock - Ships in 1-3 days   The Warspike: Knight Longsword Scratch and Dent Slight Imperfections on the Scabbard   Model# SBA-WARSPIKE-SD  $59       This item is no longer available.   Tempered Warspike What's this?   Model# SBA-WARSPIKE-T  $139       Out of Stock   Sharpened Tempered Warspike   Model# SBA-WARSPIKE-T-S  $155       Out of Stock   Accessories Belt-Hung Sword Frog   Model# SBA-BELT-SWORDFROG   $11   (Originally $22) |     In Stock - Ships in 1-3 days   Additional Care and Cleaning Kit (All SBA swords come with one standard)   Model# SBA-CAREANDCLEANINGKIT   $3.5       In Stock - Ships in 1-3 days   Medieval swords ranged in length, but when Strongblade refers to a medieval sword, we are usually referring to a blade that is less than 38 inches or so -- what was generally referred to as an “Arming Sword,” or a knights secondary sword. These swords were almost always worn by the knight except in combat (when the knight would usually bring a larger battle sword). Swords of longer length from that time period are sometimes referred to as “Infantry Swords,” “Battle Swords,” “Hand-and-a-Half Swords” or “Two-Handed Swords,” depending on the style and who was wielding them. Medieval swords almost always have pommels (often using a variation of the standard “disk” pommel), usually have well defined crosses (or quillons), and typically have long fullers (indented grooves running along the blade). Of the many medieval swords that have been excavated or found, quite a few have engravings on the blades. Usually, these engravings were of a religious nature, with sacred phrases or sketches etched into the blade and usually filled with another metal, like silver. When Strongblade refers to a “Battle Sword,” we are referring to most European medieval swords with blades longer than 35” or so. real battle swords had blades well in excess of this, and, in fact, a 35" sword was considered a bit skimpy for fighting skirmishes. But for home use and light sparring, a 36" blade is fairly long. These swords can be sub-categorized into hand-and-a-half swords/bastard swords and two handed swords. Swords of this nature would have been a Knight’s primary weapon on the battle field because of their strength, reach, and armor-splitting weight. These weapons were intended to smash and slice through thick armor, so had to be quite heavy and sharp. While the point of the sword could be used to pierce (and the final killing blow with these swords often was a thrust), this was primarily a slashing weapon. Many of these swords feature a riccatta – a dull section of the blade just below the hilt. The swordsman could place a hand on this riccatta allowing him to grip the blade a little higher, which gave the swordsman more leverage for the swing (a bit like choking up on a modern baseball bat). This was especially useful for in-fighting (fighting at close quarters), or for more precise thrusts. One of the more popular techniques with these weapons was to use both hands to thrust the blade into an opponents visor, or into gaps in their armor.

Although the term rapier has become synonymous with any narrow-bladed sword (particularly those with fancy hilts), the term rapier actually applied to only a select few types of swords. Rapiers were narrow (usually one and a quarter inches wide), quite long, fairly heavy, and usually had only a slight edge on them. The extremely long length of the rapiers made them a bit heavy and cumbersome, not at all the Errol Flynn or Zorro-type small-swords that most people think of.

Keywords: Longsword, bastard sword, hand-and-a-half, knight, arming, medieval