Historic Replicas

The Viking Age was a time of transition.  It marked the emergence of Europe from the chaos following the collapse of the Roman Empire to the relative stability of the Middle Ages. Combat was a way of life for the Vikings; most Vikings were warriors, and many made their living almost exclusively from raids on neighboring peoples.  A Viking’s weapon was a central part of his identity.  The spear and the battle axe were the Vikings’ weapons of choice, being inexpensive and easy to produce.   Only very wealthy Vikings could afford swords, and as such they were highly prized, even sacred.  Viking swords were a transition between the short blades of earlier times and the imposing broadswords of the Middle Ages.  As Viking swordsmiths began to master the use of steel, the blades grew in length, until the average Viking sword was between two and a half and three feet long.  Like the Japanese katana, a well-made sword was constructed from alternating layers of low and high-carbon steel.  The former provided flexibility, the latter strength and a sharp cutting edge.  The Viking sword was double-edged and perfect from both chopping and stabbing motions.  It was light enough to wield with one hand, which left the other free for the Viking’s round wooden shield.  Sword and shield were a truly deadly combination, and the elite warriors who used them had a supreme battlefield advantage.

The sword is a practical, intuitive weapon, and many Bronze Age cultures developed them independently.  Bronze wasn’t ideal for making swords, though, and it wasn’t until the dawn of the Iron Age (with invention of new smelting techniques around 1300 BC) that swordmaking became truly refined.  Iron is actually weaker than bronze, but was more plentiful, so people used it anyway.  For the first time, a king could equip his entire army with swords, and in time, it became the weapon of choice throughout Eurasia. 
Eventually, smiths learned to convert iron to steel, an immensely strong and lightweight metal.  The Ancient Romans took full advantage of this technique, and produced the gladius, the roman sword that built the empire.  The gladius might not have looked very scary; it was about two feet long, with a narrow blade and little ornamentation.  But in the hands of a Roman legionnaire, it was a truly fearsome weapon.  Bronze swords could hold a sharp point, but the edge dulled quickly; they were mostly used for stabbing. Iron could hold a sharp edge, but broke easily.  The steel gladius was sturdy and sharp all the way around, good for both stabbing and chopping.  It was a versatile weapon, and all legionnaires were trained in its use.  In fact, the Romans were among the first to develop really advanced swordsmanship.  Like an archer or karate master, skilled swordsmen in Rome the many cultures that followed would gain renown as artists.  

One of the best ways to experience the culture of your city is by patronizing the local theaters. Even if the institution is small, these theaters always seem to have a way of attracting the talented individuals of a city. One of the easiest ways, however, for a play to be successful is to make the audience forget they are watching a play at all. To that end, the set designs and props should be so realistic that audience members can actually forget they are sitting in a theater at all.

If you’re involved in your local theater production and you’re trying to put together a period piece, don’t forget the importance of these props. Especially when it comes to dramatic fight scenes, make sure the highly choreographed routine isn’t nullified by having cheesy guns or swords. Invest in high quality replica guns, and you will help the audience buy into the false sense of reality you’ve created onstage.

If you want to impress your friends with cool headgear, try putting on a war helmet that will really catch everyone’s attention. Medieval helmets available in the market today are mostly replicas of the original items. Companies that make these often sell them to film makers and prop experts in theater plays. They also sell these to schools for stage play activities or as teaching tools.

Manufacturers spend time to do research on each helmet so that the products get the best quality replication. Some medieval fanatics use these helmets as additional articles to their collections. Medieval helmets can also be used to decorate a restaurant aiming for the medieval look. Add some spears, swords and shields to complete your awesome wall displays.

Swords have long been the most famous and highly regarded weapons in human warfare.  Our site features replica swords from many different historical eras, and I thought it would be cool to take a look at the way they’ve changed over time.  The development of new and more effective weapons was dependent on man’s ability to work with metal.  The first bladed weapons were daggers, short, knife-like weapons used at close range.  As Bronze Age blacksmiths gradually uncovered the secrets of metallurgy and the forge, they found they could make longer, more durable blades. The sword had obvious advantages in battle; it was balanced, relatively lightweight, and could be used both to attack and defend.  It’s no wonder, then, that peoples across the globe eventually learned to craft and use them.  The oldest known swords were discovered in Harrapa, Pakistan, and were made around 2300 BC.   Smiths who worked with bronze faced a common obstacle:  these were no replica swords, the metal would bend and even break if its shape was too long and slender.  Bronze age swords were usually between 20 and 35 inches long, and in Turkey and the Middle East, sword makers overcame the durability problem with a clever design.  Bronze age swords had broad, leaf-shaped blades, wide in the middle tapered to a sharp point.  The weapons were sturdy, effective, and exquisitely beautiful.  From then on, swords were more than mere instruments of war; they were works of art.

Yesterday I wrote a little about the Louisiana Purchase.  For most people, this marks the beginning of the Wild West era.  Historians, however, use the term  “Old West” to refer to a different time and place.  The “Old West” describes the original spreading out from the Atlantic colonies in New England to the Alleghenies in Pennsylvania.  That happened in the Early American/colonial period between 1676 and 1763, and included western New England, New York State, and part of Ohio. These early pioneers were every bit as daring and courageous as their covered-wagon cousins a century later.  They had to work for it every step of the way; in fact, expanding one hundred miles from the coast took nearly one hundred years of fighting and chopping down trees!  When we think of colonial America, the picture in our heads looks pretty different from the Wild West.  The people in these times were actually pretty similar, though.  Pioneers throughout history have been searching for a better life.  The New England frontier was dangerous, but settlers on its edge were always the people least satisfied with life in more established areas.  Governors sold vast tracts of territory to eager settlers, and while New England had begun as a religious settlement with a strict moral code, its values began to change.  Settlers began to think about more than home, hearth, and heaven; in time, the men and women they most respected were the ones who took risks and got rich.  This overlooked period of American history did a lot to shape the Wild West spirit of adventure we all know and love.

Today I thought I’d talk about the American Old West, an historical era we all love but may not know that much about.  Everyone knows the basics:  Wyatt Earp and his Western guns.  Sitting Bull and General Custer. Cowboys, covered wagons, and cattle drives.  But how did the American West take shape, and become the cultural phenomenon that it is today? 

In the beginning, there were two things that gave the West its epic sense of scale.  The first was the Mississippi River, the great natural boundary between American and French territory.  The second was Thomas Jefferson’s historic Louisiana Purchase, which allowed Americans to finally cross that boundary.  In a single move, Jefferson added land from Louisiana to Montana, more than doubling the size of the new nation. The territory wasn’t entirely unknown; Spain had colonized California and the Southwest, and the French had towns and fur trading outposts within their great domain.  The British were settling Canada and the Pacific Northwest. Furthermore, Jefferson sent the famous Lewis and Clark expedition to see what exactly was out there.  For the most part, though, the land was unknown, untamed, and exceedingly dangerous.  All Americans saw when they looked across the river were either dense forests or desolate plains, a vast wilderness teeming with wild animals and potentially hostile natives with Indian tomahawks. 

From the beginning, the West was a land of unknowns, where death could come calling in a thousand different forms.  But it was also a land of unlimited opportunity, and as such it helped us create the American dream of self-reliance that is the foundation of our culture. 

Relive the World War II era with World War II memorabilia replicas. WWII replicas are great items to collect. These things are also ideal for decorating a room with a war motif look. WWII replicas can be used to decorate a restaurant and convert it into a mess hall type bistro.WWII replicas are made using exact specifications from the original items. A Nazi German helmet, for instance, is made from real 18 gauge steel with slugs repro liner, just like the original helmet. Similarly, the German Broomhandle Mouser Pistol replica would be hard to distinguish from the original. The only difference is that the sliding action cannot be disassembled.