Marto Swords from Toledo in Spain – sword manufacturer producing a totally awesome display swords, armor, costumes and medieval gifts.
Marto Swords Toledo Spain
27 Saturday Sep 2014
27 Saturday Sep 2014
Marto Swords from Toledo in Spain – sword manufacturer producing a totally awesome display swords, armor, costumes and medieval gifts.
30 Sunday Oct 2011
Posted History
inSword quotes and phrases. Famous sword quotes. Famous people about the swords. Sword proverbs and sword in famous sentences.
He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.
German proverb
The pen is mightier than the sword.
Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
Beneath the rule of men entirely great, the pen is mightier than the sword.
Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
The pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is very short, and the pen is very sharp.
Terry Pratchett
Caesar had perished from the world of men, had not his sword been rescued by his pen.
Henry Vaughan
Give me a sword fight any day.
Joseph Fiennes
One sword keeps another in the sheath.
George Herbert
The oil can is mightier than the sword.
Everett Dirksen
The sword is the axis of the world and its power is absolute.
Charles de Gaulle
Disarm, disarm. The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
Julia Ward Howe
Bring back dueling, I say. Drive-by sword fight.
Tim Roth
Never give a sword to a man who can’t dance.
Confucius
A good sword is the one left in its scabbard.
Japanese proverb
A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword.
Robert Burton
A sword, a spade, and a thought should never be allowed to rust.
James Stephens
I wear my Pen as others do their Sword.
John Oldham
The sword was a very elegant weapon in the days of the samurai. You had honor and chivalry much like the knights, and yet it was a gruesome and horrific weapon.
Dustin Diamond
There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Understanding is a three-edged sword. Your side, my side, and the truth.
J. Michael Straczynski
I’ve done movies with a sword before. But I haven’t really been given the full responsibility of something like a Ridley Scott film.
Orlando Bloom
Without a sign, his sword the brave man draws, and asks no omen, but his country’s cause.
Homer
The anvil of justice is planted firm, and fate who makes the sword does the forging in advance.
Aeschylus
Never give a sword to a fool or power to an unjust man.
Greek Proverb
In America it’s live by the sword of freedom of expression and be will to die by it as well.
Vince McMahon
Israel was not created in order to disappear – Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom.
John F. Kennedy
Logic is like the sword – those who appeal to it, shall perish by it.
Samuel Butler
When the sword is once drawn, the passions of men observe no bounds of moderation.
Alexander Hamilton
Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Sword fighting in film is not about how good the fighter is, but how good the actor receiving the blows is.
Takeshi Kitano
The sword – the first, for a time the only force: the force of iron.
John Lothrop Motley
To this wonderful page in our country’s history another more glorious still will be added, and the slave shall show at last to his free brothers a sharpened sword forged from the links of his fetters.
Giuseppe Garibaldi
There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.
Buddha
Women who wear kimonos, when the fight, they have to keep their knees together, and when they use a sword, they have to move the sleeves otherwise it gets caught.
Lucy Liu
When the swords flash let no idea of love, piety, or even the face of your fathers move you
Julius Caesar
When the sword of rebellion is drawn, the sheath should be thrown away.
English Proverb
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Fire and swords are slow engines of destruction, compared to the tongue of a Gossip.
Richard Steele
It needs but one foe to breed a war, and those who have not swords can still die upon them.
Tolkien
The defense budget is more than a piggy bank for people who want to get busy beating swords into pork barrels
George Bush
Our swords shall play the orators for us.
Christopher Marlowe
By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.
Bible
They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
Bible
Lay this unto your breast: Old friends, like old swords, still are trusted best.
John Webster
All books are either dreams or swords.
Amy Lowell
The sword keeps the peace of the land.
Danish Proverb
14 Friday Oct 2011
Posted Swords
inTags
Help me to identify this sword. I own a pawn shop and received a sword than maybe of some value. Can you determine sword’s real value?
Thank you, Dena.
Sword picture
01 Wednesday Jun 2011
Posted Pictures
inPictures of fantasy babes with swords. Fantasy art by Luis Royo. Luis Royo is a genial Spanish artist known as author of apocalyptic, dark fantasy and horror paintings. Fantasy elven sword with design by Luis Royo.
Luis Royo art: Gallery of 20 fantasy babes armed by sword
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 1
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 2
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 3
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 4
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 5
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 6
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 7
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 8
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 9
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 10
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 11
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 12
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 13
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 14
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 15
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 16
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 17
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 18
Luis Royo: Fantasy babe with sword 19
Fantasy elven sword designed by Luis Royo
Sword has been made by Marto in Toledo, Spain.
Special price.
01 Tuesday Mar 2011
Posted Swords
inThe last of Napoleon’s swords in private hands, sold in auction for $6.4m.
Auction: Fonteinebleau, France, 2007.
History of the Napoleon sword
The inspiration for the sword’s design is said to have come during Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign. He noticed that the swords used by the Arabs, which were also curved, were very effective in cutting off the heads of their French enemies.
After the battle in Italy, Napoleon gave the sword to his brother as a wedding gift and it was then passed down the family through the generations.
The sword was declared a national treasure in 1978 and, while it may be sold to a foreign buyer, they must have a French address and keep it in France for six months a year.
The sword, which belonged to eight of the emperor’s descendants, was believed to be the last of Napoleon’s blades in private hands.
26 Sunday Sep 2010
Posted Swords
inSword fencing terminology and phrases. Fencing dictionary – Medieval and renaissance fencing, modern fencing – Italian, French, Spanish and German fencing glossary.
Abschneiden – (“cutting aside”) – in the German systems of long-sword (langenschwert) and later huge two-handers (dopplehänder/bidenhänder) short drawing cuts known also as Schnitt (“slices”) called Rakes in English, used at closer distances against the opponent’s forearms and hands, they can be made with both the lead and the back edges
Absetzen – (“setting aside”) the principle of timed counter attack to deflect a thrust or parry a cut, the word was also used to signify a type of trapping move where the sword is hooked over the opponent’s and forced downwards, it can also mean a simple parry, generally followed by a thrust
Abwenden – to “ward off”, such as with a deflecting parrying action
Am Schwert – (“on the sword”) attacks made while maintaining constant pressure on the opposing blade, also known as the Winden (winding or turning)
Anbinden – The engaged position with weapons crossed in the German systems of long-sword and later the huge two-handers (dopplehänder/bidenhänder)
Back guard/stance – with the weapon held pointing down and diagonally backward (sometimes even called Mittelhut) by Medieval German masters, and a Tail guard by the Italians (or even Serpentino or Leopardo in armored fighting, spada in arme’, for which many techniques of swordplay are different)
Binden – “a bind” or trapping action by pressing blade upon blade (usually edge on edge at the ricasso)
Blossfechten – unarmored combat in the Fechtschulen as distinguished from light or unarmored fighting
Cuts – The German schools recognized three major forms of cut: Oberhau (over cuts) downward diagonal or vertical, Unterhau (under cuts) upward or rising, and Zwerchhau or Mittelhau, (cross cuts) horizontal right-to-left and horizontal left-to-right. Diagonal cuts were Zornhau and vertical were Scheitelhau. There were several names for various specific individual cuts to forearms, neck, or legs with the either the foreword or back edge, some of these were Schielhau (the “squinting cut”), Streithau (the “battle cut”), Vater Streich (the “father strike”), and a Scheitelhau (vertical “scalp cut”). Variations included others such as Krumphau (crooked cut), Schrankhut and Zornhau again (“rage cut”), draw cuts and slicing pulls were usually known as Schnitt. Italian masters recognized the eight basic cuts which were formalized in early renaissance systems : vertical down (Fendente), vertical up (Montante), horizontal (Tonda), plus diagonal descending (Squalembrato) and diagonal rising (Ridoppio) which could be made from the left (Roversi) or from the right (Mandritti)
Close guard/stance – apparently known as the Boar’s Tooth guard in the Italian styles, a transitional position similar to a Middle guard but with the knees lowered and the weapon pulled in low closer to the hip, used to parry attacks to the waist, hip, and grip as well as deliver a thrust
Drey Wunder – (the “three wonders”) as taught in the German schools of swordsmanship there were three principle actions, the thrust, the cut, and Schnitt (a slicing or drawing cut), they taught the thrust was used primarily at longer range, the cut at medium range, and the slice more at closer range
Durchwechseln – (“changing through”) the move of evading contact with the opponent’s blade as you strike (e.g., changing line of attack)
Durchführen – (“disengage under”) in close-combat leading your point under their sword to thrust at the opening on the other side.
En Garde – (“on guard”) French term first used in 1400’s to refer to simply a ready posture of both attack and defense with any sword or weapon.
English great-sword fighting – several terms on English methods survive from texts such as: Double Rowndes (a “molinello”), Rakes (draw cuts), Haukse and Halfe Haukes (strikes from the high guard, such as the Posta de falcone in Italian schools), the Cockstep (similar to the balestro in fencing), the Grete Steppe (a simple double step), and the Backsteppe (self-explanatory)
Fechtbuch – (“fight book” or “fencing book”) a German manual on fighting techniques and methods, particularly swordsmanship, (plural Fechtbuecher), among the more famous are those by the masters Johannes Liechtenauer’s of 1389 (by Hanko Doebringer), Sigmund Ringneck of c. 1440, Hans Talhoffer of 1443, Peter von Danzig of 1452, Paulus Kal of c.1460, Johannes Leckuechner (“Lebkomer”) of 1482, Peter Falkner of 1490, H. von Speyer of 1491, Joerg Wilhalm of 1523, Andre Pauerfeindts of 1516, and Gregor Erhart from the early 1500’s. Medieval Italian fighting manuals include those of Tarcirotti of c. 1400, Fiore dei Liberi from 1410, Boris Ferres of 1428, Fillipo Vadi of c. 1480, and Pietro Monte of 1509, and there is also the Spaniard Diego de Valera’s of c. 1490.
Fechtmeister – (“Fight Master”) a German Master of Defence or martial arts expert (Italian Meastro de’ Arme’ or Master of Arms)
Fechtschule – A German Medieval or Renaissance fencing school or public fighting exhibition and competition
Federfechter – a German Renaissance fighting guild which favored the rapier among other weapons
Filo – Italian for the edge of a blade
Flech – German for the flat of the blade
Fuehlen – Gauging of an opponent’s “feeling” or pressure.
The Four Openings – areas to aim at in combat, the first opening is the opponent’s right side, the second opening is their left side above the belt, the other openings are their right and left sides below the belt.
Foyne – “to thrust”, a term used from at least the 1400’s.
Gaukler – meaning “juggler” or “acrobat”, a derogatory term for those masters who taught flowery, ineffective forms of swordsmanship
Gioco stretto – (“Close Playing”) an Italian term for entering techniques used for fighting close-in at seizing and grappling range (in the later English systems of cut-and-thrust sword of the 1500’s, these were known as “gryps”). All are based essentially on a handful of key actions: reaching out to grab the opponent’s hilt or arm, striking with the pommel or guard, trapping their forearms with your second arm, slipping the blade against or between their forearms, using the second hand to hold the blade while binding/striking/slicing, and tripping and kicking. In the German schools close-in techniques for “wrestling at the sword” or Ringen Am Schwert, involved throws or grappling and disarming moves known as or Schwertnemen (“sword-taking”) there was also ground-fighting (Unterhalten, “holding down”)
Gleich Fechten – attacking at the same time as the opponent or In des Fechten (as opposed to Nach Reissen and Vor Fechten)
Guards/Wards/Stances – (Huten) for Medieval long-swords there are essentially 14 recognizable and effective fighting postures overall (called Leger or “position” in German and Guardia or Posta in Italian), of these five are major universal ones that correspond to High, Middle, Low, Hanging, and Back positions. In the later English systems of cut-and-thrust sword in the 1500’s, the Hanging guard was sometimes known as the Guardant (or Prima) ward, the high as Open ward, middle as Close ward (or Seconda), and low as the Variable ward, a side ward was sometimes Terza.
Halb Schwert – (“half-sword”) techniques of gripping the middle of the blade itself with the second hand (often by gloves or armored gauntlets). Also called Halt-Schwert, they allow a wide range of offensive and defensive striking and deflecting actions as well as thrusts, Italian schools might have called them Mezza Spada (“middle sword”) or possibly even “false-point” blows.
Handarbeit – (“handwork”) also called Krieg or war, the phase of combat once swords have crossed and the distance has been closed, follows from Ambinden, both Schwertnemen and Abschneiden are often used here
Hanging guard/stance – “Hengen” (left or right) are important and very versatile long-sword postures (they are confused and misunderstood more than any other), called the Ochs (“ox”) stance in the German schools (for resemblance to the sloping horns of an ox), one variation places the blade over and behind the shoulder with the body turned more away,this form was known to the Italians as the Queen’s or Women’s guard (Posta di donna sovrana) –possibly because next to the Crown guard it is the most useful or it resembles the long hair of a woman down her back. The hanging is equivalent to the Guardant ward or Prima of later Renaissance swordplay.
Harnischfechten – Combat in plate armor or “harness fighting” in the Fechtschulen as distinguished from light or unarmored fighting, called Spada in arme’ in Italian
Hart und Weich (hard and soft) – the idea when ever contact is made of gauging the pressure the opponent places upon you blade (either strong or weak), oppose strength with weakness and weakness with strength to control and exploit.
High guard/stance – called a Falcon guard (Posta de falcone) by the Italians and known to the English as a Haukse Bill (as if “striking down like a bird or prey”), German schools usually referred to it as Vom Dach or Von Tag (“from the roof”) or even Oberhut (meaning “upper guard”), in some Italian schools there was also a more defensive high vertical position known as a Guardia Alta
In Des Fechten – attacking in the middle of the adversary’s own attack, one of the three ways of overcoming an opponent’s attack along with Gleich Fechten and Nachreissen
Inside guard/stance – called Finestra (“Window guard”) by some Italian masters, one possible German term for it was apparently Hangentorte (“hanging point”) and possibly even Wechsel (meaning “change”), a position with the blade horizontal pointing forward and the hilt pulled in close, used for warding, thrusting and parrying (other similar postures include the Archer and Serpetino guards.
Kampfplatz – (“Kampfring”) an enclosed area where judicial duels and some foot challenges took place, it was an open made up of a square wooden barrier or “ring”, called the “Champ Clos” in French
Klopffechter – (“clown-fighters”) itinerant, crude fighting swordsmen performers during the later 1500s and 1600s in Germany, not considered a true Fechtmeister
Kron – (“crown”) One German name for the Middle guard, called Corona in Italian, also a type of Halb Schwert (half-sword) parry against a vertical downwards cut with the sword held point forward over the head
Kunst des Fechtens – the German Medieval (and Renaissance) art of fighting, consisting primarily of the arts of the langenschwert or long-sword, the messer (a sort of falchion), and Ringkunst or Ringen (wrestling).Unarmored combat was known as Blossfechten. Combat in plate armor was known as Harnischfechten (or “harness fighting”). Fighting on foot was also distinguished from Rossfechten, or mounted combat. Similar distinctions appear to have been made in Italy and elsewhere in Europe
Kurze Schneide – (“short edge”) back or “false” edge of the sword, opposite of the Long edge (Lange or “true” edge)
Lange Schneide – (“long edge”) forward or true edge of the sword, opposite of the Short edge (back or “false” edge)
Leger – “position” in German, referring to a fighting posture or guard
Leichmeister – (“dance-master”) a derogatory term used by the German master Doebringer of 1389, for those instructors who taught flashy but impractical fighting techniques
Long guard/stance – Posta Longa in Italian, a limited defensive thrusting position with the blade horizontal and arms extended straight forward more, ideal for warding and making stabbing attacks or stop-thrusts, German schools called it Langortt or Langer Ort, meaning “long point”
Low guard/stance – called Alber, the “Fool’s guard” In the Germans schools (apparently since it was thought foolish to rely only on defense), depending on placement of the blade, to the Italian’s this was known as the Iron Door (Porta di ferro piana terrena) –either half, right or middle, or when on the left it may have been also known as a Boar’s Tooth guard (in the sense of thrusting up), German schools also sometimes called it Eiserne Pforte (“iron gate”) or Iron Door (Die yszni Port)
Luxbrueder (Company of St. Luke) – another major Medieval German fighting guilds, similar to later English schools of defence, they were headed by four adepts and a captain
Marxbrüder – (Brotherhood of St. Mark) a successful group of masters who at one time organized and regulated the teaching of the fighting arts and the licensing of new masters from the city of Frankfurt, they lasted well into the Renaissance
Middle guard/stance – Mittlehut, called Corona (crown) in Italian since it was the foundation of all other stances, and Pflug (“plow”) in the German schools for its resemblance to the position of plowing behind a yoke, the blade is held centered out from the lower abdomen at a 45-degree angle aimed at the opponent’s chest, throat or face
Meisterhau – (“master cuts”) prized techniques described by the grand-master Liechtenauer in which the swordsman strikes in a manner so that his sword deflects the incoming blow while simultaneously hitting the opponent
Mittelhau – a horizontal left-to-right cross-cut
Mordschlag – (or Morteschlag, “death blow”) a type of rare Halb Schwert blow made by holding the sword blade itself with both hands and striking with the pommel or guard, used to slam a foe in heavy armor
Nach – the defensive or countering principle of fighting, opposite of Vor (“before”), Nach und Vor are two important concepts in the Fechtschulen
Nachreissen – (“traveling after”) attacking immediately after the adversary’s own attack, one of the three ways of overcoming an opponent’s attack (contrasted with Gleich Fechten or In Des Fechten and Vor Fechten)
Obere Ansetzen – techniques delivered over or above the opponent’s guard (opposite of Untere Ansetzen)
Oberhau – “over cuts” or strikes above the waist, either diagonal (Zornhau) or vertical (Scheitelhau)
Ort – German for the point of the sword
Pressing-the-hands – a move to push your blade in against the opponent’s forearms or hands just as they lift to strike or just as they lower to strike, one form of this cut was called the Krumphau
Ringen Am Schwert – (“wrestling at the sword”), sometimes called Ringkunst, also involving Schwertnemen (“sword-taking”) close in disarming moves and grappling (ground-fighting or Unterhalten, “holding down”)
Rossfechten – Mounted combat in the Fechtschulen as distinguished from fighting on foot (Blossfechten) or strictly heavy armored combat (Harnischefechten)
Rota – a countering technique described by Filippo Vadi (c. 1480) wherein the back edge is quickly raised to smack or deflect an opposing blade prior to an immediate descending cut with the forward edge
Rownde /Double Rownde – an English term which likely refers to the molinello/molinet “windmill” change-in-line attack of striking by bringing the weapon first down and back and then up high, once for “ye single rouwde” or twice for a “ye double”, the action generates power while being deceptive
Schielhau – a sideways cut with the back or short edge (Kurze Schneide) of the blade, delivered with only one eye on your opponent (perhaps also called the “squinting cut”)
Scheitelhau -a vertical cut, delivered either Oberhau (above the waist) or Unterhau (below the waist)
Schwech – (weak) German masters divided the long-sword into two portions, the weaker section of blade from middle to point was known as Schwech (or Schwäche), used for most thrusting and slicing (equivalent to the Foible of later renaissance fencing), opposite of Stark
Schwertnemen – (“Sword taking”) close-in disarming or trapping actions, called Gioco Stretto (Close Playing) in Italian, very useful and effective moves in long-sword fighting, called Grypes and Seizures in some later Renaissance styles
Short guard/stance – Posta Breve in Italian, a limited “entering” or close-range posture with the blade held more vertical, the hilt pulled in low and the knees bent more, it is used for both parrying and preparing to slice, thrust, or bind
The “Spring” – (Das gayszlen) throwing a cut from one hand to increase its range by clutching the pommel with the second hand
Stark – (strong) German masters referred to the long-sword in two portions, the strong section of blade from middle to hilt was known as Stark, used for most parrying and cutting (equivalent to the Forte of later renaissance fencing), opposite of Schwech
Stuck und Bruch – (“technique and counter”) the idea that every technique has a counter and every counter has a technique, two major components of the German systems of swordsmanship
Throwing-the-point – A German technique of turning a false cutting blow into a sudden straight thrust
Ueberlauffen – (overrunning) the concept of timed counter-attack by outreaching the adversary just as they attack, you move into or out of their action and strike their closer targets exposed by their own attack
Untere Ansetzen – techniques delivered under or below the opponent’s guard (opposite of Obere Ansetzen)
Unterhalten – sometimes known as “holding down”, ground-fighting techniques wresting or grappling moves included in the curriculum of the German systems of fighting, entering techniques involving stepping in to trap the opponent’s forearms or grip with you second hand or arm (Handarbeit)
Unterhau – (under cuts) upward or rising strikes below the waist, either diagonal (Zornhau) or vertical (Scheitelhau)
Versatzung – (or Versetzen), literally displacement or to displace, a defensive action to put off an attack by a deflecting blow or counter strike as opposed to an opposition block, employed with evasive stepping (Versatzungen or the “displacements” are four of these cuts)
Von Fechten – attacking before, one of the three ways of overcoming an opponent’s attack
Vor – the offensive principle of fighting, aggressively taking the initiative, opposite of Nach
Vorfechter – a provost or advanced student in the Fechtschulen
Waage – (“balance”) standard fighting position with legs and arms slightly bent
“Was sehrt, das lehrt” – (“What hurts, teaches”) the idea in the Fechtschulen that pragmatic knowledge follows only from realistic instruction (i.e., no pain no gain)
Winden – (the “Winding” or turning), close binding actions to maintain pressure and dominate the opposing blade to get in and use either edge to slice (also allows you to close and seize)
Zornhau – a diagonal cut, delivered either Oberhau (above the waist) or Unterhau (below the waist)
Zornhut – (“guard of wrath” or “rage guard”) sparingly used vulnerable posture with the weapon pulled all the way point down behind the back, but which allows the most powerful blows
Zwerchhau – (“slanting cut”) a horizontal right-to-left cross cut (also called Geschrenckt Ort)
Zuefechten – one of the two phases of combat where the combatants are closing together and their weapons make contact (prior to Anbinden or Handarbeit)
25 Saturday Sep 2010
Posted Swords
inTags
La Joyeuse is famous sword of Charlemagne, the first Emperor of Franks. Joyeuse was used as coronation sword of France. History of Joyeuse sword.
Joyeuse history
Sword of Charlemagne is the only one known to have served as the coronation sword of the Kings of France. Dubbed “La Joyeuse”, it was already celebrated in early medieval chansons de geste. It is possible that it was first used for the coronation of Philippe Auguste in 1179, but it is first mentioned at the coronation of Philippe III the Bold in 1271.
Kept in the royal abbey of Saint-Denis, items of regalia were used during the coronation ceremonies of the Kings of France, which took place at Reims. In the first part of the celebration, the king received the insignia of knighthood, consisting of spurs and the sword. Throughout the rest of the ceremony, the sword was entrusted to the “Connétable”, who held it with the blade pointing upwards. The treasury of Saint-Denis possessed several medieval swords, but of these only the one in the Louvre seems to be the celebrated “Joyeuse”.
The coronation sword of the Kings of France entered the collections of the Louvre museum following the French Revolution, together with the other ceremonial items previously held in the treasury of the abbey of Saint-Denis. With some of the ornaments on the pommel dating as far back as the tenth and eleventh centuries, this sword is one of the oldest surviving examples of French regalia.
09 Thursday Sep 2010
Posted Swords
inJapanese sword glossary. Japanese sword terminlogy. Samurai and ninja swords phrases.
Japanese Sword Glossary
AIKUCHI – a tanto with no tsuba (guard)
AOI – hollyhock, commonly used as a Mon
ARA-NIE – coarse or large nie
ASHI – legs (streaks of nioi pointing down toward the edge)
ATOBORI – horimono added at a later date
ATO MEI – signature added at a later date
AYASUGI – large wavey hada (grain)
BAKUFU – military government of the Shogun
BO-HI – large or wide groove
BOKKEN – wooden sword for practicing sword kata
BONJI – sanskrit carvings
BO-UTSURI – faint utsuri
BOSHI – temper line in kissaki (point)
BU – Japanese measurement (approx 0.1 inch)
BUKE – military man, samurai
BUSHIDO -the code of the samurai
CHIKEI – dark lines that appear in the ji
CHISA KATANA – short katana
CHOJI – clove shaped hamon
CHOJI OIL – oil for the care of swords
CHOJI-MIDARE – irregular choji hamon (temper line)
CHOKUTO – prehistoric straight swords
CHU – medium
CHU-KISSAKI – medium sized point (kissaki)
CHU-SUGUHA straight, medium width temper line
DAI – great or large
DAI-MEI – student smith signing his teacher’s name
DAIMYO – feudal lord
DAISHO – a matched pair of long and short swords
DAITO – long sword (over 24 inches)
FUCHI – collar on hilt
FUCHI-KASHIRA – set of hilt collar (fuchi) and buttcap (kashira)
FUKURA – curve of the ha or edge in the kissaki (point)
FUKURE – flaw; usually a blister in the steel
FUKURIN – rim cover of a tsuba
FUNAGATA – ship bottom shaped nakago
FUNBARI / FUMBARI – much taper of the blade from the machi to the kissaki
FURISODE – shape of sword tang that resembling the sleeve of a kimono
GAKU-MEI – original signature inlaid in a cut-off (o-suriage) tang
GENDAITO – traditionally forged sword blades by modern smiths
GIMEI – fake signature (mei)
GIN – silver
GOKADEN – the Five Schools of the Koto period
GOMABASHI – parallel grooves
GUNOME – undulating hamon
GUNOME-MIDARE – irregularly undulating hamon
GUNTO – army or military sword mountings
GYAKU – angled back, reversed
HA – cutting edge
HABAKI – blade collar
HABUCHI – the line of the hamon
HADA – grain in steel, pattern of folding the steel
HAGANE – steel
HAGIRE -edge cracks in the hamon (fatal flaw)
HAKIKAKE -broom swept portions in the boshi
HAKO BA – box shaped hamon
HAKO-MIDARE – uneven box shaped hamon
HAKO-MUNE – square shaped blade back
HAMACHI – notch at the beginning of the cutting edge
HAMIDASHI – tanto or dagger with a small guard (tsuba)
HAMON – temper pattern along blade edge
HANDACHI – tachi mountings used on a katana or wakizashi
HATARAKI – activities or workings within the hamon or temperline
HAZUYA – finger stones used to show the hamon and hada
HI – grooves in the blade
HIRA-MUNE – flat blade backridge
HIRA-TSUKURI / HIRA-ZUKURI – blade without a shinogi (flat blade)
HIRO-SUGUHA – wide, straight temper line (hamon)
HITATSURA – full tempered hamon
HITSU / HITSU-ANA – holes in the tsuba for the kozuka or kogai
HO – kozuka blade HONAMI – family of sword appraissers
HORIMONO – arvings on sword blades
HOTSURE – stray lines from hamon into the ji
ICHI – one or first
ICHIMAI – one-piece sword construction
ICHIMAI BOSHI – point area (kissaki) that is fully tempered
IHORI-MUNE – peaked back ridge
IKUBI – boar’s neck (a short, wide kissaki)
INAZUMA – lightning (a type of activity in the hamon)
ITAME – wood grained hada
ITO – silk or cotton hilt wrapping
ITOMAKI NO TACHI – tachi with top of saya wrapped with ito
ITO SUGU – thin, thread like hamon
JI – sword surface between the shinogi and the hamon
JI-GANE – surface steel
JI-HADA – surface pattern of the hada
JINDACHI – tachi
JI-NIE – islands of nie in the ji
JIZO BOSHI – boshi shaped like a priest’s head
JUMONJI YARI – a yari with cross pieces
JUYO TOKEN – highly important origami for sword by NBTHK
JUZU – hamon like rosary beads
KABUTO – helmet
KABUTO-GANE – tachi style pommel cap
KABUTO-WARI – helmet breaker
KAEN – flame shaped boshi
KAERI – turnback (refers to the boshi at the mune)
KAI GUNTO – naval sword
KAJI – swordsmith
KAKIHAN – swordsmiths or tsuba makers monogram
KAKU-MUNE – square back ridge
KAMIKAZI – divine wind
KANJI – Japanese characters
KANMURI-OTOSHI – backridge beveled like a naginata
KANTEI – sword appraisal
KAO – carved monogram of swordsmith on tang (nakago)
KASANE – thickness of blade
KASHIRA – sword pommel or buttcap
KATAKIRI – sword with one side flat (no shinogi)
KATANA – sword worn in the obi, cutting edge up
KATANA KAKE – sword stand
KATANA-MEI – signature side that faces out when worn edge up
KAWAGANE – skin or surface steel
KAZU-UCHI MONO – mass produced swords
KEBORI – line carving done on sword mounts
KEN – straight double edged sword
KENGYO – triangular or pointed nakago-jiri
KESHO YASURIME – decorative file marks on nakago
KIJIMATA – pheasant thigh shaped nakago
KIJIMOMO – pheasant leg shaped nakago
KIKU – chrysanthemum
KIKUBA – chrysanthemum temperline (hamon)
KIN – gold
KINKO – soft metal sword fittings (not iron)
KIN-MEI – gold inlay or gold lacquer appraiser’s signature
KINZOGAN MEI – same a kin-mei
KINSUJI – golden line (type of activity in hamon)
KINZOGAN-MEI – attribution in gold inlay on nakago
KINSUJI – whitish line along hamon
KIRI – paulownia
KIRI HA – flat sword with both sides beveled to the edge
KIRI KOMI – sword cut or nick on the blade from another sword
KISSAKI – point of blade
KITAE – forging
KIZU – flaw
KO – old or small
KOBUSE – blade constructed with hard steel around a soft core
KO-CHOJI – small choji hamon
KODACHI – small tachi
KODOGU – all the sword fittings except the tsuba
KOGAI – hair pick accessory
KOIGUCHI – the mouth of the scabbard or its fitting
KOJIRI – end of the scabbard
KOKUHO – national treasure class sword
KO-MARU – small round boshi
KO-MIDARE – small irregular hamon
KO-MOKUME – small wood grain hada
KO-NIE – small or fine nie
KO-NIE DEKI – composed of small nie
KOSHIATE – leather suspensors (hangers) for a sword
KOSHIRAE – sword mountings or fittings
KOSHI-ZORI – curve of the blade is near the hilt
KOTO – Old Sword Period (prior to about 1596)
KOZUKA – handle of accessory knife
KUBIKIRI – small tanto for cutting the neck or removing heads
KUNI – province
KURIJIRI – rounded nakago jiri
KURIKARA – dragon horimono (engraving/carving)
KURIKATA – scabbard (saya) fitting for attaching the sageo
KUZURE – crumbling or disintegrating
KWAIKEN – short knife carried by women
MACHI – notches at the start of the ha and mune
MACHI-OKURI – blade shortened by moving up the ha-machi and mune-machi
MARU – round
MARU-DOME – round groove ending
MARU-MUNE – round mune
MASAME – straight grain (hada)
MEI – swordsmith’s signature
MEIBUTSU – famous sword
MEKUGI – sword peg
MEKUGI-ANA – hole for mekugi
MEMPO – face guard or mask
MENUKI – hilt ornaments
MIDARE – irregular, uneven temperline (hamon)
MIDARE-KOMI – uneven pattern in boshi
MIHABA – width of sword blade at the machi
MIMIGATA – ear shaped hamon
MITOKOROMONO – matching set of kozuka, kogai and menuki
MITSU KADO – point where yokote, shinogi and ko-shinogi meet
MITSU-MUNE – three-sided mune
MIZUKAGE – hazy line in ji commonly due to re-tempering
MOKKO – four lobe shaped (a tsuba shape)
MOKUME – burl like hada
MON – family crest
MONOUCHI – main cutting portion of blade (first six inches from kissaki)
MOROHA – double-edged sword
MOTO-HABA – blade width near habaki
MOTO-KASANE – blade thickness
MU – empty or nothing
MUJI – no visible grain
MUMEI – no signature (unsigned blade)
MUNE – back ridge of sword blade
MUNEMACHI – notch at start of mune
MUNEYAKI – regions of temper along the mune
MU-SORI – no curvature
N.B.T.H.K. – Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kai (sword preservation group)
NAGAMAKI – halberd weapon mounted as a sword
NAGASA – blade length (from tip of kissaki to munemachi)
NAGINATA – halberd
NAKAGO – sword tang
NAMBAN TETSU – foreign steel
NANAKO – raised dimpling (fish roe)
NAOSHI – corrected or repaired
NASHIJI – hada like pear skin
NENGO – Japanese era
NIE – bright crystals in hamon or ji
NIE-DEKI – hamon done in nie
NIKU – meat (blade having lots of fullness)
NINJATO – Ninja sword
NIOI – cloud like hamon
NIOI-DEKI – composed of nioi
NIOI-GIRE – break in hamon
NODACHI – large tachi worn by high officials
NOTARE – wave like hamon
NOTARE-MIDARE – irregular wave like hamon
N.T.H.K.. – Nihon Token Hozon Kai (sword appraisal group)
NUNOME – overlay metal-work
O – large
OBI – belt sash
O-CHOJI – large choji hamon
O-DACHI – very long sword (over 30 inches)
O-KISSAKI – large kissaki
O-MIDARE – large irregular hamon
OMOTE – signature side of the nakago
O-NIE – large nie
O-NOTARE – large wave patterned hamon
ORIGAMI – appraisal certificate
ORIKAESHI MEI – folded signature
OROSHIGANE – specially processed steel for making swords
O-SEPPA – large seppa (usually on tachi)
OSHIGATA – rubbing of the signature on the nakago
O-SURIAGE – a shortened tang with the signature removed
SAGEO – cord used for tying the saya to the obi
SAGURI – catch-hook on saya
SAIHA/SAIJIN – retempered sword
SAKA – slanted
SAKI – tip or point
SAKI-HABA – blade width at yokote
SAKI ZORI – curvature in the top third of the blade
SAKU – made
SAME’ – rayskin used for tsuka (handle) covering
SAMURAI – Japanese warrior or the warrior class
SANBONSUGI – “three cedars” (hamon with repeating three peaks)
SAN-MAI – three-piece sword construction
SAYA – sword scabbard
SAYAGAKI – attribution on a plain wood scabbard
SAYAGUCHI – mouth of the scabbard (koi-guchi)
SAYASHI – scabbard maker
SEKI-GANE – soft metal plugs in the tsuka hitsu-ana
SEPPA – washers or spacers
SHAKU – Japanese unit of measure approximately one foot
SHAKUDO – copper and gold alloy used for sword fittings
SHIBUICHI – copper and silver alloy used for sword fittings
SHIKOMI-ZUE – sword cane
SHINAE – ripples in steel due to bending of blade
SHINAI – bamboo sword used in Kendo
SHINGANE – soft core steel
SHINOGI – ridgeline of the blade
SHINOGI-JI – sword flat between the mune and shinogi
SHINOGI-ZUKURI – sword with shinogi
SHIN-SHINTO – New-New Sword Period (1781 to 1868)
SHINTO – New Sword Period (1596 to 1781)
SHIRASAYA – plain wood storage scabbard
SHITODOME – small collars in the kurikata and/or kashira
SHOBU ZUKURI – blade where shinogi goes to the tip of the kissaki (no yokote)
SHOGUN – supreme military leader
SHOTO – short sword (between 12 and 24 inches)
SHOWATO – sword made during the Showa Era (usually refers to low quality blades)
SHUMEI – red lacquer signature
SHURIKEN – small throwing knife
SORI – curvature
SUDARE-BA – bamboo blinds effects in hamon
SUE – late or later
SUGATA – shape of sword blade
SUGUHA – straight temper line
SUKASHI – cut out
SUN – Japanese measure, approx. one inch
SUNAGASHI – activity in hamon like brushed sand
SURIAGE – shortened tang
TACHI – long sword worn with cutting-edge down
TACHI-MEI – signature facing away from body when worn edge down
TAKABORI – high relief carving
TAKANOHA – hawk feather style of yasurime
TAMAHAGANE – raw steel for making swords
TAMESHIGIRI – cutting test
TAMESHI-MEI – cutting test inscription
TANAGO – fish belly shaped nakago
TANAGO-BARA – fish belly shaped nakago
TANTO – dagger or knife with blade less than 12 inches
TATARA – smith’s smelter for making sword steel
TO – sword
TOBIYAKI – islands of tempering in the ji
TOGARI – pointed
TOGI – sword polish or polisher
TORAN – high wave like hamon
TORII-ZORI – sword curve in the middle of the blade
TSUBA – sword guard
TSUCHI – small hammer/awl for removing mekugi
TSUKA – sword handle
TSUKA-GUCHI – mouth of handle
TSUKA-ITO – handle wrapping or tape
TSUKAMAKI – art of wrapping the handle of a sword
TSUKURI / ZUKURI – sword
TSUKURU – made by or produced by
TSUNAGI – wooden sword blade to display fittings
TSURUGI – double edged, straight sword
UBU – original, complete, unaltered tang (nakago)
UCHIGATANA – fighting katana
UCHIKO – fine powder used to clean sword blades
UCHIZORI – curved inward
UMABARI – horse needle
UMA-HA – horse teeth hamon
UMEGANE – plug used to repair kizu
URA – side of the nakago facing toward the body
URA-MEI – signed on the ura (usually the date)
UTSURI – reflection of temperline in ji
WAKIZASHI – short sword (blade between 12 and 24 inches)
WARE – opening in the steel
WARI-BASHI / WARI-KOGAI – chop-sticks
YAKI DASHI – straight temperline near the hamachi
YA-HAZU – arrow notch shaped hamon
YAKIBA – hardened, tempered sword edge
YAKIDASHI – hamon beginning just above the ha-machi
YAKIHABA – width of yakiba
YAKI-IRE – fast quenching of sword (tempering)
YAKIZUME – temperline in boshi with no turnback
YANONE – arrow head
YARI – spear
YASURIME – file marks on nakago
YOKOTE – line between ji and kissaki
YOROIDOSHI – armor piercing tanto
ZAI-MEI – Inscription – the opposite of MU-MEI.
ZOGAN – inlay
ZOKUMYO – A sword with a personal name in the MEI.
ZUKURI – sword
Samurai Swords – Katana – Tachi – Wakizashi – Tanto – Ninja Swords
08 Wednesday Sep 2010
Posted Store
in27 Friday Aug 2010
Posted Store
inMusashi Swords review, company info and product line. Musashi creates a very affordable but quality Japanese swords, tantos, ninja swords and accessoires.
Musashi Katana Swords are becoming well known for their thick sharp blades and quality fittings. Musashi Swords are functional Katana Swords and beautiful as well as economical. These Japanese Swords are made at the famous Chris Zhou academy known for their excellence in sword making.
The Musashi Katana Swords are a MUST have addition and one that you will be proud to own. They have now separated their swords into the beginner swords which will now be called Musha Swords and their higher end swords will remain Musashi Swords. They are both still made from the same manufacturer, they are just categorizing them now. Same manufacturer, same great samurai sword!
Sample Musashi Sword
Musashi product line
Iaito
Musashi Pro Swords
Shirakawa Series
Takeo Series
Tokusen Series
Shirasaya
Tanto daggers
Ninja swords
Accessories
We picked the best Musashi sword products for our GetaSword.com store.
Look at Musashi swords right here: