Heroic Dreams – All Things Medieval

Well, spring is here and the weather is great. That means I have a whole lot of blacksmithing to do! YAY!. As soon as I spotted Hardwood Lump Charcoal in the hardware stores I started stocking up. Got plenty of fuel for the forge. All that aside let me fill you in on some upcoming blacksmithing projects. I am definitely doing another sword. Something bigger and fancier this time. And I plan on putting a fuller in it. Good thing to do with a bigger sword. A fuller adds strength and reduces weight. But fullering a sword is not an easy process. It means I will also have to make a fullering tool! But that’s great. So, that’s two projects right off the bat this spring.
And, I have received my book on armor making so I am definitely going to make some armor this summer. Not sure what yet. But we will see. A helmet is at the top of my list so far.

What is a Fuller?
If you don’t know that is the groove that goes down a sword or a knife. It is commonly referred to as a blood groove.

Kind of interesting this little conundrum I find myself in. I can’t decide where in the British Isles to go. It is understandable though. I will probably only spend 8-10 days over there and it is almost impossible to decide where. There is just so much wonderful medieval stuff over there… and the castles….yes. But, which country do I go to and which castles do I see? I simply can’t decide.

The quick solution for me was simple. I would find the various tours specifically tailored to castles in the UK and that would be my vacation. You know, some kind of a tour that does 7 different castles over the course of ten days or something like that> Well, I can’t find much in terms of that.  I even took a trip down to my local AAA office to talk to a travel agent. And they had nothing. Plenty of vacations to the UK but nothing that focused on Castles. Huh? Kind of hard to believe but it’s true.

I have found one tour by Sceptre Tours that covers three castles. You get to stay in them overnight too. That is kind of nice but nothing spectacular and the castles are minor castles, more like the palaces of the 18th century where comfort was more important than the fortress appeal.

Anyhoo, still haven’t decided but I will take a trip somewhere over the big pond to the UK at some point this summer. I will keep you posted. Should get a l0t of great medieval pictures and video. Castles, armor, etc….

 

It is pretty amazing how the whole genre of Knights, castles and all things medieval has grown over the past several years.  This has happened for a lot of different reasons including a whole batch of medieval movies, lots of medieval and fantasy books, and a whole genre of great video games. Most importantly it has all happened because the subject is just so darn good!  Well, because I am involved in all this stuff I get a lot of interesting email. I thought I would share a couple of medieval oriented events with you.

FULL METAL JOUSTING – A New Show on the History Channel

I got a call from a friend who had just watched this show on the History channel. She said that I absolutely had to watch it! And , and coincidentally that same day I got a press release from the History Channel all about the show.  I haven’t watched it yet but here is some info from the press release:

 Sixteen of the toughest warriors in the country will face off in a bone-crushing competition in FULL METAL JOUSTING, a new one-hour series premiering Sunday, February 12 at 10 p.m. on HISTORY. Hosted by renowned jouster Shane Adams, the 10-part series features full-contact jousts with competitors going head-to-head on horseback in brutal tests of strength, endurance and courage. High-speed cameras capture every punishing blow as jousters charge and collide at 30 miles per hour. The last man standing takes home a $100,000 cash prize.

The combat in FULL METAL JOUSTING is no choreographed renaissance faire. It’s 100% authentic, with a twist: traditional armor is replaced with modern suits of steel weighing 80 pounds, and 11-foot-long, solid fir lances are used as weapons. For more information you can check out the History Channel website for it here: Full Metal Jousting I also have more information and videos about it on my Knight Medieval website here: Full Metal Jousting

 

Interested in Learning the Medieval Combat Arts?

You might want to check out the CMAI event coming this May. The CMAI is the CHIVALRIC MARTIAL ARTS INTERNATIONAL and they are hosting a four day Martial Arts event in texas. It includes training and classes in things like Jousting, Mounted combat, armored combat, pollaxe, longsword, and dagger combat. Looks like a whole lot of martial arts fun! Here is more information:

The Chivalric Martial Arts International is a symposium centered around the historical Tournaments and Deeds at arms of the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. We have instructors coming from around the world to teach, train and participate in the largest, and perhaps the only, modern Deed of Arms. Classes will include horsemanship, historical martial arts, jousting, and academic courses that discuss many of the aspects of chivalry in the middle ages and today.

There or no prerequisites to attend this event, But historical clothing and armor will be required for some of the tournaments over the weekend.

This event is a unique opportunity. There has never been an event designed to teach the Chivalric martial arts that has included horsemanship, and at a price that is less than a typical horsemanship clinic

CMAI will give you the opportunity to train with some of the finest instructors from around the world in several aspects of the chivalric martial arts from the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. You will improve your skills with the longsword, poleaxe, spear, dagger, even jousting and mounted combat. You now have the opportunity to experience the full expanse of knightly training and combat, from world-renowned experts in each discipline.

Even better, riding experience is not a prerequisite to taking many of the equestrian classes as we will offer several beginner tracks as well as those for the accomplished rider. There will be some access to several trained horses for those who may need them.

You can check out their website here: THE CMAI  And I have more information about this event and the organization on my medieval website here, including a pretty neat video you can watch : All about the CMAI Event

 

 

It’s been on my life list a very long time. (to hand forge my very own sword). And while I have been blacksmithing for a while it took me some time to work up to a sword. And finally it is done. My very first and very own hand made sword. Been a fun process and I will be doing more of them.  Anyhoo, if you want to see the last video where I finish off making the sword you can see it on my youtube channel here: How to Forge a sword Part 8

I learned a lot of things along the way. For example, when making a double edged sword you have to temper the centerline of the sword so it has some softness and give. This will prevent it from shattering. But you have to also temper the edges less so they remain hard and can keep a really good edge. And… the pommel isn’t there just for decoration, or for pummeling your enemy. It is also there as a cou

I am continuing to work on the sword and it is getting close to completion. Not a whole lot left to do. The latest installment is the making of the guard, handle and pommel.  It is an interesting process and I have actually made a couple of different kinds of handles including a wire wrapped handle and a plain wood handle. Anyhoo, you can see the sword making tutorial right here.