Thursday, March 8, 2012

Ren Faire Season Is Upon Us!


Well it's that time of year again. Ren faire season! (a.k.a. the renaissance faire or festival)

Some faires are hosted early on in the year, but many don't start until summer and others until fall which makes for an almost year round season. They even vary by what period of history they emulate. There are scores of craftsman (and craftswomen) selling their wares, plenty of hilarity with various shows, and of course the wonderful faire food (turkey legs!). Some are hosted at a fairground, a piece of open land (sometimes even a parking lot), and of course the permanent venues which can be very elaborate.

You can bet that the staff are not the only people dressing up in their finest faire costumes. It's definitely one place where I feel strange being one of the few in jeans and a t-shirt. So what did I do? Join them, of course! And it turned out to be great fun (and I've only been to three venues multiple times, Maryland Renaissance Festival, Colorado Renaissance Festival, and North Carolina Renaissance Faire for those who are curious).

The renaissance faire is something that got it's start here in the U.S. in, where else? California

Yep, 1963 is when this whole thing got started. And now there are hundreds of faires all over the U.S. and they've even started sprouting up across the big pond. Chances are there is one near you (check out this list here).

So what does this has to do with swords? As with these little history lessons I've posted here, they used the sharp, pointy objects back then and naturally they made their way into the ren faires as costume props and of course the many stage shows. They don't just joust at renaissance festivals, there are also demonstrations of melee fighting with various weapons from the time period. Some are staged, naturally, but some are not and are full contact (see the video from my blog entry The Arming Sword a.k.a. the knight's sword, knightly sword, or shortsword for an example). Some faires do not allow any sort of weapon in, but at many you can have a sword as long as it is peace-tied (usually a leather thong tied around the hilt and through your belt so it cannot be drawn, or at least not easily).

And of course if you have kids, they can be great fun for the whole family too.

Courtesy of the Sweet Juniper! blog

 
Lots of site news! We are now on Twitter (@O_FSwords) in addition to Google+ and Facebook and I've even started on Pinterest (I've got some great ideas for that). I've started adding more new products for March to include more of the Kit Rae series but I've also started fleshing out our Practical/Handmade Swords category with some really neat items that I found courtesy of Musashi. Take a look at a few of them below. And as always, stay tuned! (And please follow us, like us, share us, squeeze us, +1 us, and add us to your circles!) Until next time. 


Handmade Dragon Samurai Katana Sword With Handcrafted Saya


According to Japanese mythology Ryujin was the god of the seas. Similar to Chinese mythology, the ruler of the seas took the form of a dragon. His palace was under the ocean and constructed from red and white coral. Jellyfish, sea turtles, and fish were his servants. The rulers of Japan would trace their lineage to Ryujin. Because of this fact, it was recorded that the Empress Jingu was able to control the tides that won the victory over the Korean navy.








Valermos Sword Damascus




Features a 27 3/4" blackened Damascus steel blade
hand-folded approximately 256 times by oriental sword smiths to create 1792 layers. The sword features a simulated ebony grip, and finely detailed cast metal hilt parts with iron black finish. Each piece comes with a certificate of authenticity and a custom art print. 27 3/4" blade. 40" overall. 








1060 Spring Steel Handmade Musashi Musha Katana Sword



The spring steel Musashi has been created with the beginning practitioner in mind. The sword is able to be bent at a 45 degree angle without affecting the integrity of the blade. The high resilience of the blade makes it much more forgiving for misaligned cuts. The sword comes full tang and fully functional. The blade is appropriate for all standard cutting targets.



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