Type XVIII Single Hand Knights Sword - designed by Angus Trim (Atrim)
The first in a series of swords designed by Gus Trim and produced by Kingston Arms to his performance sword specs, this is a beauty of a single hander.
This sword features the classic diamond cross section of Oakeshott's Type XVIII specification, typical of the short sword used by knights and men at arms of the 15th Century. The stiff blade and acute point would be used to find the small chinks and exposed gaps in armor at the joints. This took a sword capable of quick movements and accurate point control, far from the club-like swords typically associated with the medieval knight bashing away at plate armor... Not just a thrusting sword, though the Type XVIII has a slow tapering curve to the point, making cutting against unarmored opponents quite effective.
Atrim Designed Performance Swords
We spent a lot of time discussing with Gus his methodology for developing what he would call a "performance-oriented" sword. Without getting too deep into it Gus, along with Tinker Pearce, was one of the pioneering sword makers to incorporate the notion of harmonic balance into his sword designs. Informed by historical examples and his own experimentation Gus has been making swords for decades now that seem to float in your hand. For this sword Gus left the aesthetics and materials up to us, it was the design (weight, balance, taper, harmonics) we had to get right. It took several rounds of samples (not to mention a botched first run) but we finally nailed it.
Not satisfied with just getting the design right we wanted to push it farther. We had the fundamentals down but chose to take the materials and fit and finish a step ahead. The blade is hand forged mono-tempered 9260 spring steel, flat ground with a handsome satin finish. The fittings are high quality stainless steel exactly matching Gus's design. The grip is a solid wood core, cord-wrapped for strength with a textured leather over-wrap. The scabbard is a solid wood core, with stainless steel chape and stitched leather wrap.
Bottom line, these are the best performing production medieval swords available.
* A note on customization: Gus has designed this sword as a whole. Changing fittings on the blade should be done with great care if you should want to keep Gus's handling characteristics intact. Not only weight but overall size and shape should be considered.