Help for buying a very specific gladius

[Virilis]

I received my Augustus recently, and it is a better option than the previous 2.
Still, finding people who make forged gladii is not so easy.
Seems the majority prefer the longer spatha. Aside from one very well known member of RAT, who else makes them?

Is your Augustus gladius sharp or "butterknife" sharp? I would like to know how sharp the "butterknife" sharp Albion swords are? Are they totally blunt?

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

It is dull, the pointy end is pointy.

[Virilis]

It is dull, the pointy end is pointy.

Ok, thanks Byron !

[Crispvs]

Albion like to give their swords names, but I think here that calling it the 'Trajan' is a bit disingenuous. The blade is based on the example found (supposedly in a spoil heap) at Mainz and which was previously owned by Axel Guttmann (although I believe it was on loan to the RGLM for a number of years) and is now in the possession of the Royal Armouries in Leeds. The scabbard of this sword is of the same type as the examples found in Pompeii, which means it was probably made some time in the middle of the first century AD. While this would not prevent it from still having been in use in Trajan's time, all of the scabbards shown on the Tropaeum Traiani at Adamklissi (which was of course erected during the period of Trajan's reign) are shown with a sinuous vine scroll decoration which runs the length of the scabbards and suggests an embossed scabbard type so far unknown from the archaeological record.

Crispvs

[Crispvs]

Reading the original post again, it is probably worth pointing out that Mainz and Pompeii type swords had differently shaped handle assemblages to each other. The Mainz type, as demonstrated by the Rheingoenheim example, had a wider guard shape and a more oval shaped pommel, whereas the Pompeii type seams to have normally had round pommels and circular or nearly circular section guards.

I occurs to me here that if you are on a limited budget you could always try getting the blade on its own and doing the rest yourself. I appreciate that that sounds daunting but that is exactly what I did. Don't worry about feeling you don't have the skills. Neither did I when I started.
Here is a link to my ongoing thread showing how I did mine.
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Crispvs

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Interesting idea Crispus.

[Batavian]

From memory the picture he originally put there only showed red scabbards but I have seen his scabbards in blue as well.

He does brown too; mine is.

As to sharpening swords, why on Earth would you want to sharpen yours? hock: Do you intend to kill someone with it? Our swords are left unsharpened so as not to be dangerous and so as to be able to show them safely to the public. As far as I know there is no law that says we must not sharpen them but I really cannot see what benefit there could possibly be for a re-enactor to carry a genuinely sharp sword. It could be a recipe for a serious accident.

I'm not a re-enactor; I just collect usable reproductions of historical weapons and equipment, so I prefer my swords sharp. For re-enactment a sharp blade wouldn't be a good idea no. :wink:

[Robert]

Just a note on sharpness: in Roman blades, the cross section is often rhombiod (flat trapezium shaped) and not sharpening the edges as much as possible causes the blade to be far more heavy then it should be. Then there is the distal taper, the thickness of the blade reducing towards the point while holding the rhombiod shape, moving the balance of the blade back towards the handle. The lack of both (sharpness and distal taper) is what makes the Indian blades so darn unyielding and cluncky. So go for an edge closer to 0.1 mm (which is still as blunt as a normal table or butter knife) instead of the 1 mm plus churned out by our Indian friends. I recently did a early long seax to it's exact archeological specs, sharpness close to "touch and bleed", distal taper, solid horn handle and all and man, I can assure you, these guys knew how to make a single edged sword with bite . I had it reviewed by a martial arts expert and he really loved the feel of that blade.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Yes, I have a couple of blades which are 'butterknife' sharp, and the edge is about -1mm

[MDF]

I recently did a early long seax to it's exact archeological specs, sharpness close to "touch and bleed", distal taper, solid horn handle and all and man, I can assure you, these guys knew how to make a single edged sword with bite . I had it reviewed by a martial arts expert and he really loved the feel of that blade.

Hi Robert,
I'm a great fan of Seax blade and I have made two of them, can you post some photo?

[Robert]

Hi Marco,

There is a picture of it on the Noviolocus site under Fabrica, I have posted some of my recent work there. Lots of spears, javeleins and arrowheads, just one sword (the seax) so far. Send me a PM with you mailadres or mail directly to r.wimmers AT hotmail.com and I will sen you some hi-res pictures.

[MDF]

Ok Robert, thank you so much for your kindness, I am very interested in blades argument!

CIAO