The Thorpe – English 14th Century Falchion

This replica of the Thorpe Falchion was hand-forged in the Czech Republic. Its well-tempered blade is of 14260 CSN high carbon steel with a hardness of 50-52 HRC. The forged crossguard and pommel are of steel and they have been welded to the thick blade tang to give the hilt a very strong construction. The tang was also given a large peen on the pommel, further increasing the durability of the sword. The grip is overlaid in supple leather.

The original Thorpe Falchion was dated by Oakeshott to be an English falchion dating to the late 13th to early 14 century. The blade is narrower in width than many other falchions and it terminates in a devious-looking clipped tip. Though the weapon clearly excels as a cleaving and hacking sword, the clipped tip does give it some respectable thrusting ability. The thinner width of this falchion gives it better handling properties than heavier and more tip-heavy falchions.

Though the double-edged sword is the iconic sword of medieval and renaissance Europe, the falchion is woefully under-represented in modern depictions. If medieval illustration is any reliable guide, it appears to have been a fairly common weapon for the medieval man-at-arms. It is easy to see why – the Falchion has the power to hack off limbs with relative ease the concussive power of its blows was enough to give even an armored man pause. Additionally, more rudimentary examples of falchions were probably easier to forge than a double-edged sword – the form is more forgiving to a less-than-masterful tempering treatment and the thick spine imparts a degree of durability on the blade.

Though medieval illustrations appear to depict the falchion as a well-represented weapon among non-noble men-at-arms, there are more than a few examples with excellent build and an embellished flair and form that marked them as a weapon for a wealthy, often noble, warrior. The Thorpe Falchion was one of these well-crafted falchions that was likely wielded by a professional man-at-arms or a warrior with a respectable degree of wealth.

This sword has an edge that is moderately sharp. If you want it to be sharper than you may want to consider utilizing our in-house sharpening service
Please Note: These are handcrafted items and they can vary in size. Please assume the specs, grip color and photos to be approximations that can vary.