Celtic Leaf LARP Sword

(About): Epic Armoury’s Master-Crafted Hybrid LARP Weapon System, Brough to Bear on Fine Celtic Weaponcraft

Its blade is instantly recognisable by its subtle leaf-shape, unfullered hollow-ground cross-section and mid-rib. The hilt is a gorgeous ancient gold color, with a narrow Celtic cross-guard decorated with curling knotwork. The grip imitates a simple leather wrap, and the pommel is a good-luck charm: a horse-shoe with a central weighted sphere. This is our gorgeous Celtic Leaf LARP Sword.

The Celtic Leaf LARP Sword has a solid glass fiber core tipped with a Kevlar safety cap, and its blade is made from cast polyurethane foam, finished with a topcoat of flexible latex. It is of medium-hardness. This Celtic sword is available in two lengths: a stalwart 80cm short-sword, and a graceful 100cm arming sword. Again, Epic Armoury have outdone themselves, fusing spectacular historically-inspired design with excellent roleplay battle-readiness.

(History): Ancient Celtic Swordcraft

Our Celtic Leaf LARP Sword takes its inspiration from the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age swords that were dominant across Europe before the Roman Empire. Whilst we might think of the pre-Roman era as a fragmented period inhabited by scary barbarians, Celtic Europe was highly sophisticated in terms of its culture: it was clearly socially developed, with different forms of government in different places; it was broadly linguistically unified, especially in the Late Iron Age; and its material culture was extremely advanced, with beautiful works of enamel art and gold jewellery being traded over huge distances. The Hallstatt culture (1200-500 BCE) and La Tène culture (500 BCE – 100 CE) were particularly prolific sword-makers, and their leaf-shaped swords were magnificently well-adapted weapons.

The leaf-shape developed in the era of bronze weaponry: swords were not ‘forged’, ie. shaped with hammers, but were cast in moulds. Bronze is a much more flexible metal than iron or steel, and so has to be thicker to achieve a good resilience for battle. Therefore, the smiths hit upon a good way to reduce the weight of the blade and keep them agile: to take metal away from the least-used part of the blade, narrowing its upper-third. This left the optimum cutting point (1/3 below the point) nice and wide, with a strengthening forte where the blade meets the hilt. The skill and craft required to make such weapons should give you a clue as their status in society: swords were a universal mark of nobility, only available to those at the highest rungs of Celtic society – nobles, lords and kings. Every one of these chieftains would have invested enormous significance on their personal jewellery and good-luck talismans for the gods – recreate that deep character lore with our own Celtic-inspired handcrafted jewellery.

Key Features:

• A quality weapon for an affordable price
• Closed cell foam is durable and shred resistant
• Features a flexible fiberglass core
• Core is protected by a strong Kevlar tip

Technical Specifications: 

Total length: 39 ½ inches / 31 ½ inches

Blade length: 30 ½ inches / 24 ¼ inches

Blade material: Polyurethane foam

Core material: 10mm fiberglass rod / 8mm fiberglass rod

Hilt material: Cast polyurethane

Weight: 0.9 lbs. / 0.75 lbs. 

Measurements are approximate.