Here we have an Irish sword that is based on elements of originals that have survived. We wanted to study some of the aspects of how a sword like this would come together and how its attributes would work in hand. This style of sword is representative of a small group of pieces thought to 16th C from the Gaelic areas of Ireland. They are identified by their distinct ring pommels and flared guard ends. The guards are often S shaped with the ends curving in the plan of the guard.
We have touched on these swords before in our blog here.
These swords are identified not only by the surviving examples recovered from the past but also depictions in art. The most important being the Dürer illustration from 1521. 
16th C Irish Sword
This example is a single-handed version. It is quite light being only a hair over a pound and a half in weight. This was one of the characteristics we wanted to explore as the sword itself is a bit bigger than originals it’s based on but similar in size to the illustrated versions and with such a light hilt structure how did this interact with the blade balance.
We found the forward placement of the center of gravity (cog) created an impressive striking sword for such a light piece. The tip was quite controllable for thrusts. At this lightweight the hand has the strength and leverage to maneuver the sword with ease. This results in the sword having what we describe as an "active rotational point" well down the blade. This is the axis were the sword wants to move around itself when in the hand and being manipulated in use.
Irish Soldiers by Dürer 1521
16th C. Irish Warriors
The other main inquiry when crafting this piece was the construction of the hilt elements and again how light they were. Forging a simple ring and the flaring of the guard ends and fitting to the tang.
The blades on these swords are thought to be imports, most likely from the German regions.
So, check out our video below and we hope the luck of the Irish is with us all today !
Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is Vice President 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