Commissioning a replica of Bavarian National Museum W 873
Jul 11, 2024 10:10:35 GMT
Post by bwaze on Jul 11, 2024 10:10:35 GMT
I am interested in commissioning a replica of Bavarian National Museum W 873 / Oakeshott XXa.1 sword, as on page 212 of Records of Medieval Sword:
![Oakeshott 212.jpg](http://storage.forums.net/1694914/thumbnailer/BMmJbttrAAMmDAXdnlbd.png)
Link to museum page:
www.bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de/en/collection/00048383
I visited the Bavarian National Museum in Munich in January this year, and I tried to take photos - but it's very hard due to reflective glass, harsh lighting and the deep cabinet it is in.
Complete picture:
![324A6351-3.jpg](http://storage.forums.net/1694914/thumbnailer/nzaGTgxrY0PSbj0UlkPC.png)
Details:
![324A6347 1.jpg](http://storage.forums.net/1694914/thumbnailer/JtCxQnvvUDLCLkhNtwWL.png)
![324A63482.jpg](http://storage.forums.net/1694914/thumbnailer/FuJVKoPRJHrWRazBLMPI.png)
![324A63872.jpg](http://storage.forums.net/1694914/thumbnailer/OgA0otIyAyYLoFFkrdy0.png)
![324A63922.jpg](http://storage.forums.net/1694914/thumbnailer/cqbdOtQWfyGKZVfXrjub.png)
![324A6367.jpg](http://storage.forums.net/1694914/thumbnailer/CalZfjYDunIqjKnouieD.png)
![324A6366-Pano.jpg](http://storage.forums.net/1694914/thumbnailer/iWAVtnLTGLGyEqt0ZKwe.png)
Does anyone perhaps have any additional information about this sword? I know it has been recently published by Hans Prunner in:
Mus.-Kat. Carlo Paggiarino, The Bavarian National Museum. Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque arms and armour and works of art (Kataloge des Bayerischen Nationalmuseums; NF, Bd. 6), Mailand 2019, S. 365, Abb. 176
But I don't have that book, and I don't know if there is any additional information - I have a Hans Prunner Churburg castle book, but it has no stats, weights or other item information apart from images.
Museum web page lists sword length at 136 cm, blade length at 105 cm, and if I measure my photos, taken from far away it is at this length, when I set the scale to the known "Munich" sword W 872., which is listed as 124.5 cm long. In my measurements the width of the cross is 31 cm and the blade width at cross is about 56 mm. For a long time measurements of this sword were wildly off, due to Oakeshott's completely wrong blade length in Records - blade length is stated as 36" - 91 cm, with question mark.
I unfortunately don't have the weight, balance point, blade thickness and blade shape information - but to me it looks like quite thick, strong thrust oriented blade, diamond shaped near the tip, hexagonal shaped higher up, then hexagonal with central fuller, and near the cross triple fullered with wide ricasso. I imagine the thickness is quite high, also the weight is over 2 kg?
N4516 from National Museum of Slovenia (Albion Ljubljana is a replica of that sword) has some of the same maker's marks -on the blade: symbol 1 (or unicorn's head, and sword or dagger mark) - that sword is 9,5 mm thick at the cross, 7 mm thick in the middle and still 4 mm thick 2,5 cm from the tip! It is only 116 cm long, but weighs 1,65 kg without the grip.
There were some replicas of this sword, unfortunately most with very different length and with very thin, cut oriented blade. Examples:
Manning Imperial, review, very short (112 cm) and light (1,27 kg) : myarmoury.com/review_mi_xxa1.html
another Manning Imperial, this one is also shorter (blade length 90 cm),still light, 1,45 kg? www.manningimperial.com/product/german-longsword-2/
MacDonald Arms, with very simplified blade geometry, but almost correct length, 131 cm : macdonaldarms.com/armoury/C15Longsword.php
What do you think, is it even sensible ordering an expensive reconstruction of something I know so little about?