Albion Museum Collection – The Solingen

The Solingen, a German 13th Century sword is one of Albions Museum Line Collection Swords – These are recreations of specific, fine historical swords in the worlds museums. These recreations are founded on Albions sword expert Peter Johnssons hands-on research and analyzation of the originals

The original Solingen resides in the Deutsches Klingenmusem, in Solingen, Germany. The pronounced point is good for slashing attacks as well as thrusts. The careful distribution of mass in the blade makes the sword very quick and precise in handling while allowing it to cut with authority. Profile and distal taper helps achieve sweet handling characteristics, while at the same time keeping the thin cutting section of the blade stiff.

This is a very good example of a weapon where overall shape and aesthetic design are intrinsic parts of the functional aspects of the sword. The master craftsman (or craftsmen) who made this sword sometime in the 13th century shaped the blade and hilt components with subtlety and a deep understanding of volumes and mass distribution. A sword of this type would be perfect for sword-and-buckler fighting and shares many characteristics with the swords depicted in the well known fencing manuals. As opposed to the more massive swords-of-war of the time, this responsive weapon excels in performance when put to use with the advanced fencing styles of the period.

Albions recreation of this sword has a blade that has been hand ground to shape and tempered for the right mix of flexibility and edge retention and finished to a satin polish. The crossguard and pommel are of steel and the grip is wood covered with tight leather over cord.