by Roger Norling | Sep 5, 2016 | Knives, Reviews |
Being Swedish, the town Mora more or less equates to knives and I would even go so far as to claim that "Mora" is pretty much a synonym for the word "knife", here in Sweden, much like Wellingtons are a synonym for rubber boots in the UK. Say the word, and people...
by Roger Norling | Oct 28, 2015 | Knives, Reviews |
Today we will review three knives by a Swedish brand that oddly enough is little known to the common Swede, but which is a proper success story of a company that enjoys great respect for their high quality knives, by professionals and civilians alike, worldwide....
by Roger Norling | Feb 16, 2015 | Knives, Reviews |
ESEE Knives, formerly R.A.T Cutlery is one of the most well-regarded cutlers in the USA, a cutler with a strong reputation for quality, and with the owners Jeff Randall and Mike Perrin standing by their products no matter what. Their personal integrity is...
by Roger Norling | Dec 12, 2014 | Knives, Reviews |
Before we look at the knife in question for this review we have to step back in time a bit and look at where it comes from; i.e. the works of Col. Rex Applegate & Lt.Col. W.E. Fairbairn. Parts of these roots have already been described in the article The KA-BAR...
by Roger Norling | Oct 10, 2014 | Arms & Armour, Articles, Knives, Reviews |
Today we are introducing Dr. Fabrice Cognot, Burgundian swordsman, polearms specialist and bladesmith. Many of you already know him well, but perhaps not his excellent work on knives as much. The article is split into part interview and part commentary on the actual...
by Roger Norling | Aug 21, 2014 | Bags, Reviews |
As much as I love the pioneering aspect of Historical Fencing some aspects of it have, at times, also been a bit frustrating as we have had little actual gear designed specifically for what we do, apart from... weapons, at least until rather late in the modern history...
by Roger Norling | Aug 8, 2014 | Knives, Reviews |
Among the countries of the world one stands out as truly blessed with excellent knife makers manufacturing big utility/combat knives. Why that is, is hard to tell. Size is of course one factor, but perhaps also a generally high living standard combined with a still...
by Roger Norling | Jun 29, 2014 | Knives, Reviews |
Today we are going to look closer at a fairly new modern Italian-design combat knife that not so many have heard of yet, a knife that due to its design, quality and price certainly deserves more attention. This is the Tinea Kombat Knife, designed by M° Danilo...
by Roger Norling | Jun 20, 2014 | Knives, Reviews |
When it comes to combat knives, next to the classical Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife, few are as iconic as the USMC "KA-BAR". However, while the Fairbairn-Sykes represents a more elegant design and delicate use, made specifically for surprise attacks, the...
by Roger Norling | Apr 4, 2014 | Reviews, Swords |
Given how important the dusack has been both in the fencing schools and tournaments, all the way from the very early 1500s up until Napoleon and the late 1700s, as well as on the battle fields as a weapon of war, it is somewhat surprising to see how comparatively...
by Jean Chandler | Feb 7, 2014 | Books, Reviews |
A 'new' book from the 15th Century has just been translated and published. The book was originally published in 1458 by Pope Pious II, originally known as Aneas silvius Piccolomini. translated by Robert Brown. Pious II was famous for being one of a handful of...
by Roger Norling | Dec 27, 2013 | Protective gear, Reviews |
Looking at how the HEMA community looks today it is easy to forget how hard we have been working to get the attention of manufacturers hoping to get proper protective gear for our specific brand of martial arts. Only three years ago things were very different and...
by Jean Chandler | Nov 7, 2013 | Books, Reviews |
Before I go any further, I would like to point out that this is physically a very nice book. The copy I got was a small hard back with a blue cloth bound cover. Good paper, a nice weight in the hand but not too heavy, it endured a rather intensive reading and period...
by Roger Norling | Jul 11, 2013 | Protective gear, Reviews |
One of the most elusive pieces of protective gear for HEMA, the Holy Grail if you will, is good protective gloves that offer enough dexterity to not hinder us in our fencing, when we try to apply the techniques that we struggle to learn in the fencing...
by Roger Norling | Apr 8, 2013 | Reviews, Shoes & clothing |
"A telegram? Oh, dear. It seems someone has been "biting me"...? Fetch me my trousers at once! No, not those. Those are my time travel trousers. No, those are my tea trousers... That's it! Those ones. My fighting trousers! Ah, yeah!" When it comes to equipment HEMA...
by Roger Norling | Feb 5, 2013 | Reviews, Swords |
The swordsmiths around the world have seen some pretty fierce competition developing over the last few years, especially the high-end companies like Albion, who suddenly find themselves being outrun by swordsmiths who directly target the needs of us...
by Roger Norling | Jun 18, 2012 | Reviews, Swords |
Swordsmith: Arms & Armor Arms & Armor have been making swords for practice and sparring since the late 80’s which makes them a very old player in the HEMA field indeed. According to themselves, they felt that they originally had a hard time building a...
by Martin Fabian | Feb 21, 2012 | Reviews, Swords |
HEMA has gone through a lot of progressive development in the last decade. The community is growing rapidly and bouts, tournaments and other forms of sportive sparring have become a standard part of practicing Kunst des Fechtens. The demand for weapons suitable both...
by Roger Norling | Sep 10, 2011 | Reviews, Swords |
In a way I think one's first real sword is like your first love. It is something you will always remember in a special way, since it was such a strong emotion experienced for the first time. My first, was a Pavel Moc Dürrer. Since then I have bought several swords of...
by Roger Norling | Aug 2, 2011 | Reviews, Swords |
Few HEMA-related products have caused as much debate as the Dave Rawlings/Knightshop range of Synthetic Swords. This comes quite natural as they were developed in close collaboration with the HEMA community, and the way we practice differ quite a lot inbetween clubs....
by Roger Norling | Feb 4, 2011 | Reviews, Swords |
This waster came seemingly out of nowhere onto the market, at a time were we are seeing very quick changes and developments in the line of sparring swords available for HEMA fencers. Its sleek lines and, for a Liechtenauer-fencer, odd-sounding name has raised a bit of...
by Roger Norling | Feb 4, 2011 | Reviews, Swords |
The best longsword nylon wasters I have tried thus far were hand made by Pentti of GHFS. Unfortunately he no longer produces these, so they are near impossible to come by. However, the little known "Norrlandswastern" is the next in line and it offers quite unique...
by Roger Norling | Feb 3, 2011 | Reviews, Swords |
This hand-made Synthetic Longsword II is actually a bit of an old Rolls Royce or a Bentley. The quality of the build and components is excellent and it is based on a design of wooden wasters that have been proven from more than ten years of use. It is very sturdy and...
by Roger Norling | Feb 3, 2011 | Reviews, Swords |
I consider myself very fortunate having had the chance to follow the development and having been able to practice with the infamous Pentti nylon wasters, which in my experience is amongst the finest nylon sword simulators, if not the finest; due to a very simple...
by Roger Norling | Jan 22, 2011 | Articles, Reviews, Swords |
What defines a good sparring weapon? A common notion is that it should be as close as possible to the real, sharp weapon it simulates, but be designed with safety in mind, thus lowering the risk of permanent injury. However, since a sharp weapon is designed to injure,...
by Roger Norling | Apr 24, 2009 | Reviews, Shoes & clothing |
Finding good, suitable equipment for Hema is a problem we all wrestle with and there are few products aiming to fulfill our particular needs. I have been looking at shoes for handball, basketball, land hockey, boxing, wrestling, budo and regular sneakers, but none of...
by Anders Linnard | Feb 11, 2009 | Reviews, Swords |
Thoughts: The Regent belongs to a category of longswords that can be presumed to have its origin in the mid 15th century Germany. The pommel is a development of the fishtail type, the blade is hollow ground and thus has no fuller. What hits you when you at first see...
by Anders Linnard | Feb 11, 2009 | Reviews, Swords |
Thoughts: Lutel 15019 is a typical sword created for modern training or steel sword sparring. The blade is simple and the edge is designed to take a beating and is therefore thick, and the sword's characteristics are good, considering the price and the fact that it is...
Fighters Against Racism
Concerning the Reliability of the Waggle Test 
Fighting Successfully - Bridging The Gap Between Technique And Free Play 
The Dutch Experiment - De Hollandsche Methode, Christiaan Siebenhaar, and fencing in the Netherlands in the 19th Century 
How to read minds and the value of tournaments 
Riddled in Ink - A Stylistic Comparison of Artwork in MS M.383 and the Novati Facsimile 
