Today we examine the Arms and Armor Saxon Military Sword. This sword is an early rapier from the Electorate of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire circa 1560.
This sword is a replica of an existing antique in the Dresden Rüstkammer museum (M47-1947). It's form is typical of 16th century rapiers and longswords from this region, which is located in the modern territories of Germany and Poland.
The sword features a 37" sharp blade that is made of 6150 carbon steel and tempered to 50-52 Rockwell, just like all of our swords.It is a sword for war with a total weight right around three pounds, a highly acute point, and a beautiful finish in blue oxide and brass.
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