Windlass – King Henry V Sword

Henry V – the famed victor of Agincourt has a beautiful sword that has survived the ages that is associated with him. The Henry V sword by Windlass is inspired a fantastic, historical original that was once glowingly commented upon by the renowned Ewart Oakeshott as “…One of the most beautiful medieval swords to handle I have ever known. …it is balanced like a good fishing rod.” The original sword was hung above King Henry’s chantry at Westminster Abbey until it was eventually stowed away in a chest and forgotten. It was found again in 1951 and was cleaned by Oakeshott himself before being returned to a collection of King Henry’s other martial accouterments (his saddle, helm and shield) at the Abbey Museum. The sword is a masterfully crafted sword, well balanced and a weapon that was designed to be as elegant and attractive as it was efficient and deadly. The original was clearly used, and shows evidence of being resharpened and honed at least several times. It is unknown if the sword was actually owned by Henry V himself or was instead placed there above his resting place after his death.

This recreation, like the original, is nimble in the hand and a able 15th century cut and thrust sword. The blade is tempered and sharpened 1065 high carbon steel. The guard and pommel are crafted from steel and the pommel may look overly large, but like the original the pommel is actually hollow so that the weight / balance of the sword can be more precisely controlled. The interior of the pommel recess is gold plated with the cross picked out in contrasting red enamel. The hardwood grip is bound in leather and the hilt is sturdily constructed with the tang of the blade peened over the pommel for a robust construction. Included with the sword is a stitched scabbard of thick and tough leather which is reinforced with a stiff leather core to give it a dual layer construction that makes it substantially more firm and rigid than a simple, standard one layer leather construction. It is fitted with an integrated sword belt of thick leather and a steel chape. The belt can be adjusted to size with ample room to add your own holes if necessary to make it larger or smaller.

Length of sword belt: 55.5″