Celtic LaTene Type II

Oakeshott calls the long iron sword of the La Tene cultures "the true ancestor of the knightly weapon of the Middle Ages." Having little in common with its predecessors, this sword was designed for a different fighting style. Warriors, having begun to fight in chariots, needed a longer blade in order to reach their enemy. Bronze was not a suitable metal to work with for these longer blades, so iron came into use. This period, sometimes called the Celtic Iron Age (from c. 500-0 B.C.), also saw the reappearance of the practice of fixing the hilt to the blade, a method tried and rejected in the Bronze Age.

A typical sword of the LaTene period, our weapon was researched and designed by Steven Peffley. The "teardrop" guard and pommel are hand-carved ash, with bronze guard and pommel plates, and the grip is spiral-cut bone. The diamond cross-section 5160 steel blade, heat-treated in the Albion Forge Shop for maximum flexibility and cutting performance, has a 50% distal taper and a very strong tang which is peened and threaded.