Free Book of the Week: Swords

The first part of my short history of swords seems to have been a hit. So, this weekend's book picks will offer more information on that topic! These selections come from the online library of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For more information on the Met's fantastic Arms & Armor collection, visit the page dedicated to their Arms & Armor department, or visit the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History and take a stroll through the topics. This excellent resource offers short, academic articles on the history surrounding pieces in the Met's collection, and usually does a pretty solid job of putting objects in context.

The first "book" is actually an article in the Metropolitan Museum Journal. It offers more comprehensive information on Islamic blades, and as an added bonus, describes Islamic helmets. The article is downloadable by itself, or the entire volume is available for free, by visiting the Met Publications record: here.

The second book is downloadable as a PDF file. The "Arms and Armor from the Permanent Collection" edition of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, has rich, gorgeous pictures of objects from the collection. This includes some impressive swords in various states of battle readiness.

For those seeking tips on perfecting their thrust while continuing to look fabulous in a tri-corner hat, we have The Academy of the Sword: Illustrated Fencing 1500-1800. The illustrations alone are worth a look-through. The third book of the week is available to read online via Google Books.

Enjoy your weekend!

Image of a man & woman fencing,
from the Bain Collection in the Library of Congress.
Image in the Public Domain.

Free Book of the Week: Archery

[Books, and other resources, are available as links in the text.]

This week's free book of the week is actually an entire library! Gorge yourself on the rich theory and physical science that goes into archery in the Archery Library. While you're at it, you can try to create your own bow for under 20 bucks!

Arrows cannot be that much harder, right? Luckily, I found this cheap way to make simple arrows on Poor Folk Bows. If you are perhaps more into found object creations, try this wikiHow that demonstrates how to make an arrow from "Wilderness Materials." "Simple, cheap and effective" arrows are also available on Primitive Ways.

"Primtive Ways" is a website I use for writing research. It is not entirely politically correct, but it is generally respectful to the cultures the writers draw their skills from, and supplies several interesting essays and ambitious projects. More advanced craftsmen may like to try the Cordage Backed Bow project described by Dick Baugh. The bow is modeled off of an Inuit style of weaponry, also called cable-backed bows. These projectile weapon systems utilize cords along its limbs that can be tightened to reinforce its strength.

Cesar Perez from the site offers a method for making a board bow, which uses wood board you might find at a lumber yard. I found this method to be reliant on more exact science and good intuition as a craftsman. Jon Jeffer explains how to make a bow from a sapling, in case your city put in way too many new trees in your neighborhood this spring. (Please don't remove trees your city places.) Finally, for the more axe-friendly, Stephen Coote created a how-to for creating a bow using a hatchet.

These are only a few of the free resources available. Have fun exploring and learning!

19th century parts of bows and arrows.
From The Century, Vol. 14, 1877
Image in the Public Domain.