Rolf Devinci

 Purchased a Pompei Gladius from Reliks as a gift to myself and as an addition to the existing Roman panoply in the armory. Years ago my son had bought a legionary kit and while most of the pieces were historically accurate (in a modern reproduction sense) the gladius was a stainless steel wall hanger.  I figured it was time to upgrade the kit with an appropriate blade for an enlisted Roman legionary. I opted for the Deepeeka gladius as it fitted the criteria perfectly - a simple but functional sword that was historically accurate. Made of EN45 carbon steel with a full tang diamond cross section, a guard, grip and hilt made of wood and a wood lined leather scabbard with simple bronzed accents. Nothing special but rather a working soldier's blade. The price was right as well listed at $153.99 CDN. That said the fit and finish is surprisingly good for such a budget gladius. The gladius is straight with some ripples upon the blade which denotes a hand forging. It possesses a poin...

 Added a replica of a Greek Xiphos to my armory collection in 2022. An iconic blade from antiquity it was one that was on my radar for some time but I was never able to source an affordable sword or one that appealed to me esthetically in terms of build quality and construction. I have recently began searching Etsy as well as the usual mainstream companies that deal in historical collectables and decided to purchase a xiphos from a Nepalese forge. The reviews for Everestforge were very promising and the pictures of the blade upon Etsy were very nice. The original price was very competitive but at the time of purchase was listed on sale at 25% off with free shipping. Total cost was just over $200 CDN. This xiphos has a straight 21 inch blade of carbon steel with an overall length of 27 inches. Weighs in at a respectable 1.5 pounds give or take a few ounces. It possesses a double edged subtle leaf shape with a diamond cross section. Looking down the blade you can see some grind and f...

Purchased a primitive Scottish dirk to compliment my basket hilt broadsword. Forged by Windlass Steelcrafts of India this blade is far from primitive considering the fit and finish of the dagger. Initial impressions suggest a very stout and functional blade and only primitive in the sense it predates the more ornate dirks of the 19th century. The Scottish dirk evolved from the medieval rondell and bollocks daggers of the 14th and 15th century and became the favored sidearm and utility knife of the Scottish highlander.By the 17th century the dagger had became a cultural symbol of the Highlands and personal oaths were often made upon the steel of the blade. "The dirk occupies an unique niche in Highland culture and history....virtually every Male carried a dirk everywhere. If in Japan the katana was the soul of the Samurai, in Scotland the dirk was the heart of the Highlander". This particular style of dirk with simplistic design of blad...

Having managed to somehow find full time work in the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic I was financially able to expand my armory with a purchase of the Cold Steel Scottish broadsword. An iconic weapon of the 18th century Highlander the basket hilted sword is synonymous with all things Scottish and as recognizable as kilts and tartans. Having some Scottish lineage - a grandfather belonging to the highland Morrison clan I have always been intrigued by the history and culture of Scotland. I had been considering a basket hilt for awhile and my choices came down to the Cold Steel broadsword or a Hanwei offering; either the broadsword or backsword. I wanted to support a Canadan retailer in these troubled times by supporting local, regional or national companies as businesses are struggling during the economic impact of the pandemic. Eventually I discovered Dragon Impact online via Amazon, a business based on the West Coast who had one remaining...

Left the bows at home this mild Sunday morning and opted for my katana for some bottle cutting. I do collect swords but rarely practice with them of late simply because I do not have a suitable cutting stand. That changed when I picked up a bale of hay to use as arrow stop on my archery range. Turns out it makes a good bottle rest and is very forgiving upon the blade when making a "bad" strike. That said I had purchased a (cheaper) katana several years ago to use as my beater sword for drills and practice cutting. I had put it through some abuse in the past and does have some edge rolling, scratching and discoloration. Bought from Ryan Swords on Ebay it is forged from 1060 carbon steel and has held up fairly well. You may wonder why cutting bottles filled with water is appropriate for developing sword handling skills? In fact it is very effective.....if your strike is clumsy or your technique lacking the bottle is simply...

Unable to resist a good opportunity to pick up a hand and a half sword on Ebay I purchased a replica blade copied from A477 of the Wallace Collection. The modern replica mimics A477 quite closely right down to the flattened oval cross sectioned 30 inch blade, straight quillions, ringed guard, pear shaped pommel and blued hardware furniture. The blade type originated in an earlier Medieval period as a one handed arming sword and was retrofitted with the two handed hilt assembly during the 15th century. The resulting blade is a true bastard sword able to produce powerful two handed cuts but also capable single handed strikes despite weighing around the four pound range. This is a "blue collar" blade and I cannot help but think it was designed for men at arms, infantry or mercenary usage in the melee. I also see in the sword the roots of the side sword that became popular during the Rennaisance era possessing a cut and thrust capability and the elaborate ring guar...

What does a Canadian do during the long Northern winter? Besides drinking wine and shovelling snow this Canuck, a self proclaimed history nerd, constructs a Viking shield. After completing my Norse spear and acquiring a Hanwei antiqued Viking axe it seemed a logical step to take After researching Norse shield designs I decided to take a few liberties with my first shield. Rather than use planks I opted to purchase a solid sheet of hardwood to avoid the need to glue since I don't possess wood clamps.Often a shield was rimmed with rawhide but I substituted suede from an old jacket. Might not be historically accurate but it worked. In true Canadian fashion I created the handle from an old hockey stick wrapped in some leftover suede. A shoulder strap from an old briefcase became the shoulder sling because I did not possess any suitable rope. Since I did not use planks it was not necessary to place supporting strips of wood on the belly of the shield other than the two small str...

With a life long interest in European history I had a unique opportunity to pick up a replica of a medieval Norman sword on a "scratch and dented" blowout sale from one of my favorite forges - Darksword Armory. http://darksword-armory.com/ Based out of Quebec Canada they are unique in that they forge their swords here in North America and create stunning replicas of medieval/renaissance swords, helmets and armor. Simply beautiful pieces of battle ready gear for surprisingly reasonable price points.   I have bookmarked the website and follow the Facebook page admiring the selection of blades for some time when I noticed they were having a sale of discontinued, used or "less than perfect" swords. "We are liquidating a bunch of swords with moderate aesthetic issues. The swords on the sale page have been reduced bu 150$-180$. " Since the blade was sharpened I suspected this sword was possibly used in film pro...

 I picked up an example of the traditional Caucasus "long knife" recently from Reliks based out of Ontario Canada. http://www.reliks.com/merchant.ihtml?pid=1950 The Kindjal, produced by Windlass Steelcrafts, is a functional carbon steel Russian military version of the iconic blade indigenous to the central European steppes. Made famous by the Cossacks of Russia and the Ukraine the actual blade has a long linage dating back to the Roman gladius. "This style of weapon was indiginous to the Caucasus and Persia long before the Russian influence spread over that region. Most probably, the original configuration came from Rome. As far as I can determine, the kindjal was not necessarily a part of "Russian Cossack" regalia until after the conquest of the Caucasus c.1854..." Very similar to the Georgian Qama this version of the Kindjal is a light sword with a slightly curved blade placing it somewhere between a short sword and sabre. Originally des...