Product Description

German swordsmiths have always been famous for their production of high-quality swords, making the swords themselves highly sought by collectors. Equally important to the knowledgeable collector are the histories of the men who designed, manufactured and sold these prized weapons. German Swords and Sword Makers presents the most information ever published on German sword and edged weapon makers from the Middle Ages to the present. It includes photos and illustrations of swords from Prussia, Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Saxony and Austria; more than 300 illustrations of German sword maker blade marks spanning five centuries; rare sketches and photos of German sword makers and their factories; a listing of German sword makers who exported swords to Union and Confederate dealers during the American Civil War; identification of sword and edged-weapon suppliers to Nazi Germany; and much more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #653722 in Books
• Published on: 2000-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 248 pages

About the Author
Richard H. Bezdek has been collecting English and Scottish swords for more than 25 years. He has become a leading authority on the history of edged weapons in the United States as well as a highly sought after sword appraiser.

Customer Reviews

About Swordmakers, not swords, not swordmaking.
This is a book about German swordmakers. It contains very little information about swords in the technical sense, e.g. construction methods or design evolution. There is a listing of the swordmakers names, dates of swordmaking and family connections. There are many pictures of Solingen factories and other historical venues. There is a list of maker's marks which does not seem to be complete nor is it presented as such. There is not much in the way of pictures of swords showing types, characteristic designs, patterns or maker innovations. The photos are of questionable quality and most of the pictures are illustrations with little provenance. Some interesting information on which makers also exported to the U.S. is included. As is usual these days, there is no appendix or detailed Table of Contents. A good book for historians but not so good for the collector.

Where are the photograohs???
While written material information is excellant in this book, It lacks enough photographs to make it useful for a collector to successfully identify a sword he may have. Also it should have included French, British and German designs. Sorry but this book does not help me at all. The proof marks are availible almost everywhere else. Also to make this book better, it needs more pictures! Spread out the photographs thru the book insted of the "lump-sum" at the rear. Better books than this are out there.

Most important book on the subject.
I'm a swords-lover, and I found this to be the best, most complete and usefull book ever writen on the subject. If you like swords, it's history and development, you can not skip this one - it's the most amazing research ever done on german swords and it's makers. I'm very happy to have a copy of this fine and fascinating work. You'll be proud to buy one, too.