Renaissance Era Sword Replicas

Our Renaissance-style Swept-Hilt rapier sword replicas trace their origins to early 17th Century Europe, where swordplay with the Rapier was considered an essential part of a gentleman's education and was often used in resolving gentlemanly disagreements. Blades generally originated in one of the blade-making centers such as Toledo or Solingen, but many differences in styling and hilt materials resulted from the local manufacturer's of hilts all over Europe.  A rapier is a relatively slender, sharply pointed sword, used mainly for thrusting attacks, mainly in use in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries

Rapier generally refers to a relatively long-bladed sword characterized by a complex hilt which is constructed to provide protection for the hand wielding it. While the blade might be broad enough to cut to some degree, the strength of the rapier is its ability as a thrusting weapon. The blade might be sharpened along its entire length, sharpened only from the center to the tip, or completely without a cutting edge as called "estoc" by Pallavicini, a rapier master who, in 1670, strongly advocated using a weapon with two cutting edges.

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