10-14-2009, 03:17 AM
Hey all, my first post here.
I'm starting a project which will, hopefully, see me doing a custom mainz gladius in a few months. The part of my project I'm on is, colloquially speaking, the research part. I'm trying to figure out where I should start with this, and I guess the best place would be to start learning about Roman history and, more specifically, the Roman military. Depending on how this project goes, I'd like to expand it into a Roman sword collection and do something similar with the hispaniensis, fulham, and pompeii types. I'm not sure if I should add the spatha to that list, but now I'm getting ahead of myself.
I've seen that there are a lot of reproductions out on the market - Deepeeka, Kris Cutlery, Albion, etc.... One of the things I'm looking for here is value appreciation, and I've read a lot of reviews of the various manufacturers to the point where I couldn't stop looking at the inaccuracies if I got one. :roll: I see a lot of you use Mark Morrow for the blade and then Matt Lukes for the hilt and fittings, and that may be the way to go, but I want to learn about what I'm getting too, which is why I've decided to go this route.
So far I've purchased one book: Roman Military Equipment: From the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome. Has anyone here read it? If so, what did you think of it? What other books / websites / sources would you recommend I hit?
Also, if I'm totally off my rocker with this idea let me know that too. hock:
Thanks.
I'm starting a project which will, hopefully, see me doing a custom mainz gladius in a few months. The part of my project I'm on is, colloquially speaking, the research part. I'm trying to figure out where I should start with this, and I guess the best place would be to start learning about Roman history and, more specifically, the Roman military. Depending on how this project goes, I'd like to expand it into a Roman sword collection and do something similar with the hispaniensis, fulham, and pompeii types. I'm not sure if I should add the spatha to that list, but now I'm getting ahead of myself.
I've seen that there are a lot of reproductions out on the market - Deepeeka, Kris Cutlery, Albion, etc.... One of the things I'm looking for here is value appreciation, and I've read a lot of reviews of the various manufacturers to the point where I couldn't stop looking at the inaccuracies if I got one. :roll: I see a lot of you use Mark Morrow for the blade and then Matt Lukes for the hilt and fittings, and that may be the way to go, but I want to learn about what I'm getting too, which is why I've decided to go this route.
So far I've purchased one book: Roman Military Equipment: From the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome. Has anyone here read it? If so, what did you think of it? What other books / websites / sources would you recommend I hit?
Also, if I'm totally off my rocker with this idea let me know that too. hock:
Thanks.