The purpose of this site is not just to make you spend hours on end surfing and downloading free pics we paid an arm and a leg for to acquire.
Our mission is to discover to you the true Secrets of the Sword.
Revealed today: How did cavalry troopers make sure their blades had a perfect edge? Continue reading
Who’d possibly want a matched set of tin figures staging a Biedermeier-era Mensur?
Err… yes, who indeed. Possibly the same kind of person who has a sextett of Spelter and bronze fencing figurines staring at his desk?
This one we haven’t acquired—yet. But would accept it from our Leibbursch any time. Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, fencing, fencing art, Schläger
Tagged Biedermeier Mensur, pewter figurines, Prestel, tin figures, Zinnfiguren Mensur
Based on the historical record, a duel with sharp épées was an unpleasant affair. Chances were that three feet of needle-pointed steel might transport you from the terrain to the Happy Hunting Grounds with considerable pain and suffering.
So who’re you to judge the little “trucs” that might get you a breather during your affair of honor… Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, 20th Century, Epee, fencing, Images, Weapons
Tagged degen, duel français, duelldegen, Epee, epee duel, epee fencing, escrime, french epee, la vie au grand air, steampunk, tactics, trucs
A few weeks ago, we examined Eight Dueling Épées.
Today, we noticed a variant of one of the older specimens up for auction: A cousin of “The Transitional”… Continue reading
For Americans, the year 2012 marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.
What kind of edged-weapons gear and literature can we dig up from this period? Continue reading
FencingClassics bids a fond farewell to an old mentor, friend, and adviser:
On December 10, 2011, one of the great fencing masters, scholars, and authors of the 20th century, Maestro William M. Gaugler, died of cancer in Sunnyvale, California.
We appreciate what you’ve done for us… Continue reading
Among the mountains of scrap metal that have changed hands via eBay in the past couple of years, fencing épées pre-dating the 1920′s were few and far between. Even more rare were dueling épées—true épées, that is, made for the very specific purpose of a French-style duel with thrusting weapons. We’ve picked 8 dueling épées from the Amberger Collection to check out a couple of details… Continue reading
Posted in 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century, Epee, Images
Tagged amberger collection, collecting swords, degen, dueling epee, duelldegen, Epee, pariser, weapons
Readers of The Lazarus Smile will no doubt remember that it was F.C. Christmann, Professor of the Art of Fencing and Member of Several Academies, who started the whole darn mess by handing Ernst Moritz Arndt a stack of classical manuscript scraps. But unlike the Byzantine cascade of events that find their preliminary end in the Sherpur Cantonment Cemetary in Kabul, his self-defence advice is straightforward… Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, fencing, Saber, singlestick
Tagged Christmann, deutsche selbstverteidigung, hiebfechten, lazarus smile, mainz income, Saber, säbel
Sure, presentation swords aren’t our thing. Especially Civil War presentation swords.
But this looks like an interesting case that might affect the one or other collector of swords: While many of the Central European swords peddled at arms and armor shows these days qualify as “liberated” after WWII—winner takes all—there are some cases in which provenance seems to matter again… Continue reading
The Talking Camel is a writers’ site that Secret Archives Press is trying to get off the ground.
Since we’re not exactly fighting ‘em off right now, we’ve recycled an elderly article that ran maybe 10 years ago in FQM. Possibly, you still might enjoy it.
Patriotism may be the last refuge of scoundrels. But it’s also one of the great sources of historical irony. The War of 1812 created one such irony, as far as the canon of classical fencing literature is concerned.
This one is quite complex, as indeed anything should be that manages to connect personages as diverse as a prominent member of the Boston Tea Party, Mad King George, the Hessian mercenaries—and the ubiquitous fencing master dynasty of the Angelos in a game that makes the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon look as one-dimensional as a Partridge Family reunion special…
Posted in 18th Century, 19th Century, fencing, Foil, Saber, smallsword
Tagged fencing, us military fencing, henry angelo, amberger, revolutionary war, american fencing
