Friends of Arms and Armor know that we very rarely produce any kind of swag because we are far too busy working to fulfill your orders and creating awesome new products. However, for the next few weeks we are making a couple of cool t-shirts available. The place that is printing them will ship them directly to you, and if you order in the next couple of days they are guaranteed to arrive domestically by Christmas.
This year we have two styles. The first is the shirt we made last year, which has already become a coveted classic in short supply. It features our Arms and Armor logo on the front and "+5 shirt of sword fighting" on the back. This is available in a soft cotton tee, or a wicking athletic tee.
The new shirt was created for our Merry Axemas promotion, which is ongoing. If you buy an axe from us before Christmas we will send you a coupon code for a free shirt. This one features an image from the Bayeux tapestry with the hilariously awesome text across the back, "Does this shirt make my axe look big".
Here is the link to purchase the shirts. They are $25 including shipping.
Act now to have one under the tree!
As always, our swords and other weapons are entirely made by us, by hand, at our shop in Minneapolis, MN. Sword blades are hand ground of 6150 carbon steel, hardened and tempered to 50-52 Rockwell. Polearms are 4140 carbon steel. All of our products are made to look, feel, and function just like the historical originals on which they are based. Arms & Armor is dedicated to quality and authenticity.
For over four decades we have worked with museums, collectors, and scholars to develop a deep understanding of European weapons; knowledge we use to make products that exemplify the finest qualities of the very best historic pieces. When we select historic items to reproduce, being pretty isn't enough, they have to move with grace and beauty, and beg to be used when in the hand.
These are pieces that feel as good as they look, and that work as well as they feel. Our mission is to craft items that recreate the look, feel, and function of the best historic originals. Whether you are a Collector, Curator, Re-enactor, or Historical Martial Artist, we will work with you to create the sword or other historical weapon of your dreams.
Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is President and CEO of Arms and Armor and a member of the governing board of The Oakeshott Institute. He is a historical martial artist and a former university professor of cultural geography. He has given presentations on historical arms at events including Longpoint and Combatcon, and presented scholarly papers at, among others, The International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Craig Johnson is the Production Manager of Arms and Armor and Secretary of The Oakeshott Institute. He has taught and published on the history of arms, armor and western martial arts for over 30 years. He has lectured at several schools and Universities, WMAW, HEMAC, 4W, and ICMS at Kalamazoo. His experiences include iron smelting, jousting, theatrical combat instruction and choreography, historical research, European martial arts and crafting weapons and armor since 1985