Today we take a look at how we make the Arms and Armor Norseman Viking Spear. This handmade product is based on historical originals from the 8-11th centuries and feature a hardened and tempered 4140 carbon steel head on a six foot hand-shaped ash haft. Compared to the cheaper, less historically accurate pieces out there, this spear has a socket hand-formed of 12 gauge steel and a stout but perfectly balanced head this is about 1/2" thick at the base before tapering to a deadly point. Check out this previous blog post in which Nathan throws this spear through riveted chainmail!
Arms and Armor Norseman Viking Spear
As always, all of our products are entirely made by us, by hand, at our shop in Minneapolis, MN. Sword blades are hand ground of 6150 carbon steel, hardened and tempered to 50-52 Rockwell. All of our products are made to look, feel, and function just like the historical originals on which they are based. Arms & Armor is dedicated to quality and authenticity. For over four decades we have worked with museums, collectors, and scholars around the world to develop a deep understanding of European weapons; knowledge we use to make products that exemplify the finest qualities of the very best historic pieces. When we select historic items to reproduce, being pretty isn't enough, they have to move with grace and beauty, and beg to be used when in the hand. These are pieces that feel as good as they look, and that work as well as they feel. Our mission is to craft items that recreate the look, feel, and function of the best historic originals
You can find some more information about this product in this previous blog post.
Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is President and CEO of Arms and Armor and a member of the governing board of The Oakeshott Institute. He is a historical martial artist and a former university professor of cultural geography. He has given presentations on historical arms at events including Longpoint and Combatcon, and presented scholarly papers at, among others, The International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Craig Johnson is the Production Manager of Arms and Armor and Secretary of The Oakeshott Institute. He has taught and published on the history of arms, armor and western martial arts for over 30 years. He has lectured at several schools and Universities, WMAW, HEMAC, 4W, and ICMS at Kalamazoo. His experiences include iron smelting, jousting, theatrical combat instruction and choreography, historical research, European martial arts and crafting weapons and armor since 1985