Fencing Longsword Ronneburg, Practical Blunt, Class A

Fencing Longsword Ronneburg, Practical Blunt, Class A

For over twenty years now, Volker Kunkel has been teaching beginners and advanced practitioners in the art of fencing / sword fighting and these many years of experience have gone into developing these new swords.

These battle-ready swords were named after the places where Volker Kunkel and his team gathered the decisive insights for their construction. The only actual difference between the two is the shape of the cross guard. This model with slightly curved cross guard takes its name from the Ronneburg castle. This magnificent Renaissance castle near Gelnhausen in Hesse, Germany, has been the venue for most of the West-Coast-Institut workshops for years.

The sword features the typical characteristics of a traditional one-and-a-half-handed sword (also called bastard sword) from the late Middle Ages. It has a hand-forged, hardened spring steel blade tempered to a Rockwell hardness of over 52 HRC. The double-edged full tang blade has a diamond cross-section and gently tapers towards the point. Rounded, approx. 2.5mm thick edges and a rounded tip ensure optimal safety. The long handle is composed of a wooden core grip wrapped in brown leather, a scent-stopper pommel and a flattened, approx. 23cm long, 0.5cm thick cross guard with flared quillons. Both the pommel and the guard are standardized, so that the point of balance and the harmonics remain constant from sword to sword. Beside the blacksmith's mark on the blade, the sword also features the WCI mark on the guard.

The Ronneburg and Burghausen swords represent, so to speak, an archetype of the late medieval longsword and are largely faithful to the original examples from the time. Each sword is made by hand, but all swords have almost the same specifications in terms of weight, dimensions, wieldability and resilience to blade-on-blade contact. In terms of both handling and looks, they offer a successful combination of functionality and beauty. They have been specially developed for ambitious swordsmen whose aspirations reach far beyond merely carrying a sword that match their garb. These medieval swords are just ideal for those who are interested in late medieval fencing / combat reenactment and are looking for a weapon with which they can appropriately implement and hone the techniques and combinations of the old masters (Liechtenauer, Thalhoffer, Vadi, etc.).

Specifications:

• Battle-ready Sword Class A
• Blade material: spring steel, tempered
• Rockwell hardness: > 52 HRC
• Handle material: steel guard and pommel, leather-wrapped wooden grip
• Overall length: approx.119.5cm (ideal for a body height of 170-185cm)
• Blade length: approx. 90.5cm
• Hilt length: approx. 29cm (grip approx. 17cm)
• Blade width at guard: approx. 4cm
• Blade thickness: approx. 6mm (at central ridge level)
• Point of balance: approx. 8cm from the guard
• Cutting edges: approx. 2.5mm
• Weight: approx. 1.4 kg

Specs may slightly vary from piece to piece.