Smallswords
May 21, 2012 2:34:16 GMT
Post by Dave Kelly on May 21, 2012 2:34:16 GMT
A survey of the Smallsword in history and the current market
Oh dear. The dagger has a 12 inch blade. :roll:
Introduction:
The small sword is the queen of modern fence. It is the defining style of swordsmanship since it's introduction in the mid 17th Century. Expertly handled, the smallsword can be both elegant and deadly. It's art can bewilder the new fencer. I had the privilege to get introduced to Italianate foil in Europe. Old maestro Amilcare Angelini walked me up to drills that started with basic parry/ripostes to ones that involved complex triple disengagements and exchanges that had me cross eyed ( then the old man would smirk and stop the action by cooly opening his guard and giving the chance to strike, or if I hesitated, he'd snap my blade out of line and take me. :lol: )
The art of the smallsword is defined now by modern sport fencing. For all it's merits and fundamental lineage, sport fencing has morphed from sword play to something more akin to knife fighting with 30 inch blades. Being the first to stab and register on the machine has tended to take precedence. You have to know the game to see that the style is still there.
Disclaimer
I'm not an expert with a small sword. I'm a sabrist to the bone. I've bought a few entry class smallswords for historical provenence. These items were purchased by me with no consideration from the manufacturers or vendors for my views.
Historical Background
Tracing the evolution of the smallsword is murky. Several nationalities have been proposed. The Colichemarde has suggested a German origin, but examples predate the suggestion. The Rapier had run it's course by the early 17th Century. Rapiers had begun as cut and thrust swords, but their civilianization had seen blades continuously becoming lightened. 2 lb rapiers with 35 inch blades were more of a norm in the early 17th Cent.
The occasion of the enthronement of Louis XIV in France was pivotal to the smallswords future. The religious and royal wars of the previous century had been hard on France and it's monarchy. Louis XIV and a new generation of exceptional cabinet ministers set about recreating a national leadership based on culture image rather than simple force. The court went nuts for high arts, fashion, renovation and new construction. Spend and grow was sold to all of Europe. The "french" style became the must have item not only for the courts of europe, but for anybody who had the geld to buy in.
Enter the smallsword. Light weight and of reasonable scale, it was an appliance to gentile attire. But having embraced the weapon it also became the mainstay of a new French master sword art. Fundamentally any european method of the time owes it's root methodology to the Italian masters of the 16th Century. The smallsword however homesteaded in Paris.
The url will get you to the Order of the Seven Hearts site and some smallsword discussion by the inestimable Tom Leoni.
www.salvatorfabris.org/SectionSmallsword.shtml
While the form of the smallsword may have elevated style and technique, practical application of combat was still fundamentally ugly. Popular memory of the duel sees it as a death match. Most sword encounters were in fact "first blood" affairs that encouraged slight wounding rather than death. But things could get out of hand when egos and madeira bottles collided...
The "Duellists" was Ridley Scott's first commercial film. Critically acclaimed and publicly ignored, it has become a cult classic. It is the swordsman's movie. It opens immediately with a lopsided encounters between a psychopathic french hussar officers and a foolish mayor's son. The well honed skills and composure of the soldier are contrasted to the wild and impulsive actions of the civilian...
Recently stumbled over this youtube presentation. It is quintessential smallsword. Beautiful in form and style, with deadly consequence.
Lastly is the world of the sport fencer. The Russians revolutionized fencing in the 70's with a "play the game, screw the heritage" approach. Sport fencing with electric scoring is about hitting before being hit. The Russians emphasized strength, agility and offense to put your blade on target first. Sword play be damned.
This philosophy still requires fundamentally correct grounding in the mechanics of the fence; it eschews form for direct attack.
Current Weapons Available
Economy:
Windlass:
www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=500350&name=1840+Non+Commissioned+Officer+Sword
www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=501390&name=18th+Century+Small+Sword
Cold Steel
www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=CS88SMS&name=Cold+Steel+Small+Sword
www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=CS88CLMS&name=Cold+Steel+Colichemarde+Sword
Hanwei:
www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=PC1214&name=Hanwei+Scottish+Court+Sword
G Gedney Godwin:
www.gggodwin.com/ProdList.asp?scat=10
Mid Range:
Deltin:
www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=DT5181&name=Del+Tin+French+Small+Sword
Darkwood Armory:
www.darkwoodarmory.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_23
High End:
Arms and Armor:
www.armor.com/rapier215.html
Lutel:
www.lutel-handicraft.com/index.php?p=productsList&iCategory=27&sSort=smallsword
Antiques:
www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313&_nkw=small+sword&_sacat=0
Windlass Smallsword
The Windlass Smallsword employs a diamond shaped blade and a simplified shell guard, without the vestigial ricasso and quillons. The 30x.75 inch blade is stiff and sharpened. The hilt provides ample grasping space.
The scabbard is Windlass's standard pleather with gilt metal lockets and chape. A non detachable belt mounting chain and clasp is provided with the scabbard.
The completeness of the package is one of its principle interests. 1.9 lbs is heavy for a period town sword. The rough caste of the hilt is the cause. It is unnecessarily thick and heavy.
In sword play the weapon handles unevenly because of the bulkiness of the hilt. In movement there is a torsional "push" in the hilt as the weight seems to uncooperatively go in a different direction than the movement of ones hand. Wearing gloves dampens this sense.
Jonathan Hopkins was kind enough to share a personal photo from the Albert Museum of a likely candidate for the basis of the Windlass; a 1676 dated English sword. Demonstrates the Windlass over stocked guard. The blade on this one almost looks lenticular rather than rectangular/diamond ground.
Cold Steel Weapons Set
The Cold Steel smallsword looks very much like the Hanwei court sword with a steel grip wrather than the brass. The blade on this type is the iconic trefoil: a semi eliptical blade, hollow ground on three sides ending at the point. This makes for a large, but lightened stiff rod of a blade. One might miss the cutting ability of the older diamond form, but the trefoil provides a very forceful penetrating blade.
The hilt is a finely drawn butterfly cup guard with a metal grip with a ricasso with rings. ( Fencers were discouraged from putting their fingers in the loops as they would be broken in disarm maneuvers. Many smallswords would be manufactured with these areas reduced in size so as to be cosmetic. )
The scabbard is wood lined and pigskin leather covered, with metal accesories for throat, lockets and chape.
The 1.4 lb total weight is acceptable for the style. Balance and control of the weapon is excellent.
WeaponEdge Spadroon
The Spadroon is the military cousin of the court sword. It's appearance is more rugged, and its blade has more mass with a cut and thrust backsword blade. WEI markets several versions of this sword differetiating between naval and army service types. The knot and blade cravat are military dress accessories acquired from McFarthingbowl's and a private contractor on ebay.
The scabbard is uncored leather with brass accessories. This is period correct. Unfortunately uncored leather scabbards are very vunerable to wear and need to be sheathed to stay in form. When the sword is displayed, having a balsa wood form to put in the scabbarb is useful.
WEI blade is rather stiff and dead. WEI uses 1045/1050 steel but tends to sell their pieces for display rather than cutting, thus quality of tempering is uncertain at times.
The Dagger
The dagger used in small sword arrangements here is actually from the Cold Steel Colichemarde set. Weight and balance on this 12 inch long dagger is very good. Scabbard is wood cored and pigskin wrapped.
Major complaint for the set is the skimpy steel wire wrap on the grips. These will not hold up to hard use. Wrap is only single layered and you can feel the movement of the wires in hand.
REFERENCES
1. The Rapier and Small-Sword 1460-1820, AVB Norman, Arms and Armor Press 1980
( Norman is to the Rapier what Oakeshott is to the Medieval Sword. )
2. The History of Fencing ( Foundations of Modern European Sword Play ) Wm M Gaugler, Laureate Press 1998
( Useful but not classically definitive history in retrospect. To a certain extnet Gaugler cherry picks the past to illustrate its import to modern practice. Many readers have found this unsatisfactory as explanations of classic systems is not done here. )
3. The School of Fencing, Domenico Angelo, Greenhill and Stackpole Books 2005.
( Transcript of the classic 1763 treatise on the small sword by the Italian born, french trained master of the sword whose family became preeminent in London society for 150 years. The book was targeted to rich clients in its original edition, with illustrations hand colored. A sample of these prints are used here. )
4. Swords and Blades of the American Revolution, Geo C Neumann, Stackpole Books 1973
( Only available on the secondary market, this is a lavishly illustrated compendium of period edged weapons.)
5. JD Aylward, The Smallsword in England and The House of Angelo, Batchworth Press, 1953
(Two books on the development of Smallsword fencing in England. I have the Angelo bio. Easy reading. Lots of ambience.)
Oh dear. The dagger has a 12 inch blade. :roll:
Introduction:
The small sword is the queen of modern fence. It is the defining style of swordsmanship since it's introduction in the mid 17th Century. Expertly handled, the smallsword can be both elegant and deadly. It's art can bewilder the new fencer. I had the privilege to get introduced to Italianate foil in Europe. Old maestro Amilcare Angelini walked me up to drills that started with basic parry/ripostes to ones that involved complex triple disengagements and exchanges that had me cross eyed ( then the old man would smirk and stop the action by cooly opening his guard and giving the chance to strike, or if I hesitated, he'd snap my blade out of line and take me. :lol: )
The art of the smallsword is defined now by modern sport fencing. For all it's merits and fundamental lineage, sport fencing has morphed from sword play to something more akin to knife fighting with 30 inch blades. Being the first to stab and register on the machine has tended to take precedence. You have to know the game to see that the style is still there.
Disclaimer
I'm not an expert with a small sword. I'm a sabrist to the bone. I've bought a few entry class smallswords for historical provenence. These items were purchased by me with no consideration from the manufacturers or vendors for my views.
Historical Background
Tracing the evolution of the smallsword is murky. Several nationalities have been proposed. The Colichemarde has suggested a German origin, but examples predate the suggestion. The Rapier had run it's course by the early 17th Century. Rapiers had begun as cut and thrust swords, but their civilianization had seen blades continuously becoming lightened. 2 lb rapiers with 35 inch blades were more of a norm in the early 17th Cent.
The occasion of the enthronement of Louis XIV in France was pivotal to the smallswords future. The religious and royal wars of the previous century had been hard on France and it's monarchy. Louis XIV and a new generation of exceptional cabinet ministers set about recreating a national leadership based on culture image rather than simple force. The court went nuts for high arts, fashion, renovation and new construction. Spend and grow was sold to all of Europe. The "french" style became the must have item not only for the courts of europe, but for anybody who had the geld to buy in.
Enter the smallsword. Light weight and of reasonable scale, it was an appliance to gentile attire. But having embraced the weapon it also became the mainstay of a new French master sword art. Fundamentally any european method of the time owes it's root methodology to the Italian masters of the 16th Century. The smallsword however homesteaded in Paris.
The url will get you to the Order of the Seven Hearts site and some smallsword discussion by the inestimable Tom Leoni.
www.salvatorfabris.org/SectionSmallsword.shtml
While the form of the smallsword may have elevated style and technique, practical application of combat was still fundamentally ugly. Popular memory of the duel sees it as a death match. Most sword encounters were in fact "first blood" affairs that encouraged slight wounding rather than death. But things could get out of hand when egos and madeira bottles collided...
The "Duellists" was Ridley Scott's first commercial film. Critically acclaimed and publicly ignored, it has become a cult classic. It is the swordsman's movie. It opens immediately with a lopsided encounters between a psychopathic french hussar officers and a foolish mayor's son. The well honed skills and composure of the soldier are contrasted to the wild and impulsive actions of the civilian...
Recently stumbled over this youtube presentation. It is quintessential smallsword. Beautiful in form and style, with deadly consequence.
Lastly is the world of the sport fencer. The Russians revolutionized fencing in the 70's with a "play the game, screw the heritage" approach. Sport fencing with electric scoring is about hitting before being hit. The Russians emphasized strength, agility and offense to put your blade on target first. Sword play be damned.
This philosophy still requires fundamentally correct grounding in the mechanics of the fence; it eschews form for direct attack.
Current Weapons Available
Economy:
Windlass:
www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=500350&name=1840+Non+Commissioned+Officer+Sword
www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=501390&name=18th+Century+Small+Sword
Cold Steel
www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=CS88SMS&name=Cold+Steel+Small+Sword
www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=CS88CLMS&name=Cold+Steel+Colichemarde+Sword
Hanwei:
www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=PC1214&name=Hanwei+Scottish+Court+Sword
G Gedney Godwin:
www.gggodwin.com/ProdList.asp?scat=10
Mid Range:
Deltin:
www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=DT5181&name=Del+Tin+French+Small+Sword
Darkwood Armory:
www.darkwoodarmory.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_23
High End:
Arms and Armor:
www.armor.com/rapier215.html
Lutel:
www.lutel-handicraft.com/index.php?p=productsList&iCategory=27&sSort=smallsword
Antiques:
www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313&_nkw=small+sword&_sacat=0
Windlass Smallsword
The Windlass Smallsword employs a diamond shaped blade and a simplified shell guard, without the vestigial ricasso and quillons. The 30x.75 inch blade is stiff and sharpened. The hilt provides ample grasping space.
The scabbard is Windlass's standard pleather with gilt metal lockets and chape. A non detachable belt mounting chain and clasp is provided with the scabbard.
The completeness of the package is one of its principle interests. 1.9 lbs is heavy for a period town sword. The rough caste of the hilt is the cause. It is unnecessarily thick and heavy.
In sword play the weapon handles unevenly because of the bulkiness of the hilt. In movement there is a torsional "push" in the hilt as the weight seems to uncooperatively go in a different direction than the movement of ones hand. Wearing gloves dampens this sense.
Jonathan Hopkins was kind enough to share a personal photo from the Albert Museum of a likely candidate for the basis of the Windlass; a 1676 dated English sword. Demonstrates the Windlass over stocked guard. The blade on this one almost looks lenticular rather than rectangular/diamond ground.
Cold Steel Weapons Set
The Cold Steel smallsword looks very much like the Hanwei court sword with a steel grip wrather than the brass. The blade on this type is the iconic trefoil: a semi eliptical blade, hollow ground on three sides ending at the point. This makes for a large, but lightened stiff rod of a blade. One might miss the cutting ability of the older diamond form, but the trefoil provides a very forceful penetrating blade.
The hilt is a finely drawn butterfly cup guard with a metal grip with a ricasso with rings. ( Fencers were discouraged from putting their fingers in the loops as they would be broken in disarm maneuvers. Many smallswords would be manufactured with these areas reduced in size so as to be cosmetic. )
The scabbard is wood lined and pigskin leather covered, with metal accesories for throat, lockets and chape.
The 1.4 lb total weight is acceptable for the style. Balance and control of the weapon is excellent.
WeaponEdge Spadroon
The Spadroon is the military cousin of the court sword. It's appearance is more rugged, and its blade has more mass with a cut and thrust backsword blade. WEI markets several versions of this sword differetiating between naval and army service types. The knot and blade cravat are military dress accessories acquired from McFarthingbowl's and a private contractor on ebay.
The scabbard is uncored leather with brass accessories. This is period correct. Unfortunately uncored leather scabbards are very vunerable to wear and need to be sheathed to stay in form. When the sword is displayed, having a balsa wood form to put in the scabbarb is useful.
WEI blade is rather stiff and dead. WEI uses 1045/1050 steel but tends to sell their pieces for display rather than cutting, thus quality of tempering is uncertain at times.
The Dagger
The dagger used in small sword arrangements here is actually from the Cold Steel Colichemarde set. Weight and balance on this 12 inch long dagger is very good. Scabbard is wood cored and pigskin wrapped.
Major complaint for the set is the skimpy steel wire wrap on the grips. These will not hold up to hard use. Wrap is only single layered and you can feel the movement of the wires in hand.
REFERENCES
1. The Rapier and Small-Sword 1460-1820, AVB Norman, Arms and Armor Press 1980
( Norman is to the Rapier what Oakeshott is to the Medieval Sword. )
2. The History of Fencing ( Foundations of Modern European Sword Play ) Wm M Gaugler, Laureate Press 1998
( Useful but not classically definitive history in retrospect. To a certain extnet Gaugler cherry picks the past to illustrate its import to modern practice. Many readers have found this unsatisfactory as explanations of classic systems is not done here. )
3. The School of Fencing, Domenico Angelo, Greenhill and Stackpole Books 2005.
( Transcript of the classic 1763 treatise on the small sword by the Italian born, french trained master of the sword whose family became preeminent in London society for 150 years. The book was targeted to rich clients in its original edition, with illustrations hand colored. A sample of these prints are used here. )
4. Swords and Blades of the American Revolution, Geo C Neumann, Stackpole Books 1973
( Only available on the secondary market, this is a lavishly illustrated compendium of period edged weapons.)
5. JD Aylward, The Smallsword in England and The House of Angelo, Batchworth Press, 1953
(Two books on the development of Smallsword fencing in England. I have the Angelo bio. Easy reading. Lots of ambience.)
Always dangerous. And may have answered my own question:
