The classic Winchester repeating rifle was the weapon that won the American West.  Featuring the distinctive lever action, in the hands of anyone that could shoot these were deadly weapons, capable of fending off an entire horde of Sioux or Comanche on the warpath because of  it’s ability to reload and fire in a standing or kneeling position without losing the site picture.  It was said that western guns such as this and the Henry that you’d be able to load it on Sunday and fire all week.  Though this weapon wasn’t too popular with militaries due to the fact that in the prone position they’re rather cumbersome to operate, these were the rifle of choice for trailblazers, pioneers, cowboys, lawmen, and even Indian braves who managed to get their hands on one.  They are an icon of the old west made so by such legendary western actors as John Wayne, who favored a larger loop in the rifle’s lever so that he could whirl the rifle around like spinning a pistol.  This action would immediately expel the spent cartridge and reload, as seen in such classic John Wayne films as Stagecoach and True Grit.  The M1892 Western Rifle With Loop Level Black Finish Non-Firing Replica Gun is a fine representation of John Wayne’s weapon of choice that will be instantly recognized by anyone who’s seen just about any of Wayne’s westerns.  A fine choice to have in any collection or any room with a decided western motif that will immediately draw admiration and attention from guests who have an appreciation for the romance of the old west. 

In Middle Earth, most swords and weapons possessed by the races of Men, Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits end up with a name of some kind, especially if they’re magical.  In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins has to rescue his dwarven companions from the evil giant spiders who are about to eat them.  In so doing, he finds a magical Elvish knife that glows blue when orcs are close by. Bilbo dubs this knife “Sting,” and carries it with him to the Misty Mountain to confront the monstrous dragon Smaug.  In The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo bequeaths Sting to his adoptive heir Frodo at Rivendell, which ends up in the hands of his companion Samwise Gamgee to good use against the orcs of Mordor.  The Lord of the Rings Sting Sword is a fantastic movie replica of the one used in the film trilogy by Peter Jackson.  It has a falcata-like styling with a leather-bound hand grip and elaborate Elvish writing engraved all along the blade itself.  This translates out of Sindarin, the ancient Elvish language, as “Maegnus is my name.  I am the Spider’s Bane.”  This marvelous collector’s sword comes with a wood mounting plaque that allows one to display this properly from a wall or a display case.  Any weapons aficionado who takes one look at this sword will recognize it immediately for what it is and will want to touch it.  If it just happens to glow blue, you have more of a problem than an envious friend, and you’ll be glad you have Sting on hand to deal with it. 

At the outbreak of the American Civil War, both the Union and Confederate troops were armed with a weapon that neither side realized was so deadly.  The 1861 Springfield - .58 Caliber Black Powder Rifle was really a weapon suited for a more modern approach to warfare.  Back then, military officers were trained in field tactics developed sixty years earlier by Napoleon Bonaparte.  Those tactics accommodated a basic flaw with the flintlock musket; that they were grossly inaccurate beyond a hundred yards.  But when an innovation called rifling was added to the weapons, which are the spiral grooves that hold a bullet and give it a spin as it moves down the barrel, they became extremely accurate out to well over three hundred yards and even further.  Though there was still a use for some aspects Napoloen pioneered, massing troops in such large formations with such highly accurate weapons would result in massive amounts of casualties that were almost unheard of prior to the Civil War.  This would result in more than 600,000 dead on both sides of the war, and with many hundreds of thousands of amputees on top of that.  This and other replica guns and swords of that era are great collector’s pieces any Civil War aficionado would love to have in their possession.  It is a muzzle loader that utilizes a percussion cap just like the old ones did and actually fires.  This Springfield Armory rifle is a classic piece of Americana that helped shaped the destiny of a nation from Bull Run to Appomattox Courthouse. 

Imagine you’re a 16^th or 17^th Century pirate on the Spanish Main.  You’re patrolling the waters of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico like a predator looking for his prey.  And you’ve found just such a prey; a Spanish galleon laden with treasures from Mexico.  Your objective is to take this ship intact.  If you sink it, no treasure for you and your mates.  Mind also that you’re out on your own, in the middle of the sea.  If the Spanish somehow sink you, the odds of them rescuing you are slim, and if they do you’ll swing from the yard-arm anyway.  So when you board that ship you’re going to need a weapon that is absolutely practical for the situation.  That means you’ll need a weapon that’s effective at close quarters combat and won’t be too awkward to carry in the claustrophobic confines of the deck of a sailing vessel.  Pirate swords are also known for being relatively cheap so you won’t feel too bad if it goes into the drink.  The Pirate Cutlass with Scabbard is a classic example of this level of practicality.  Apart from the brass, this weapon is as no-nonsense as it gets.  It’s shorter than a typical sword used by land-lubbers of that era, and it’s basket hand-guard does a fine job of keeping one’s hand safe from harm.  There was nothing romantic about combat on the high seas; it was very savage and failure often meant death in Davy Jones’s Locker or from the hangman’s gallows, so you wanted swords perfectly suited to the kinds of fighting a pirate was liable to face. 

The pinnacle of ancient personal armor would reach its zenith in the 15^th and 16^th centuries just before firearms became widespread to the point that they would become a serious threat on the battlefield.  Before that, though, the armored knight would be equipped head to toe with the finest steel craftsmanship available at the time, and in a day and age without mass production that level of craftsmanship is simply stunning.  The Gold Etched Spanish Suit of Armor of the 16^th Century is a fine reproduction of what kind of care and expression that armor and sword makers back in those days had in their work.  With 24 karat gold exquisitely etched into this beautiful Spanish suit of armor, it was functional and beautiful, capable of adequately protecting the nobleman or knight who might wear it.  Contrary to popular belief, though such a suit is heavy, the weight is dispersed relatively evenly about the body, so the warrior isn’t particularly encumbered by it.  Also, the design lends itself well to the knight’s mobility, enabling him to get right back up from falling from his horse quickly and easily.  After all, anything that significantly hinders you in combat is going to be useless, and if such pieces were ultimately useless you wouldn’t have the concept of the knight in shining armor at all.  This and other suits of armor will be ogled by your guests as they have trouble taking their eyes off both it and the swords you’ll have on display to accompany it. 

The 300 Spartan Shield is a critical part of the Phalanx as described by King Leonidas in the film, 300.  It is called a hoplon, and it is a heavy shield designed to take a staggering amount of punishment, and is the principle armor of the individual hoplite warrior.  Combined with his long spear, the hoplite was a deadly combatant to be sure, but when formed into a phalanx with his comrades in arms, the hoplite would be even deadlier.  The idea was to use this large shield to protect not just yourself but to the man immediately to your left, since you would hold your spear with your right hand and arm.  This meant that each warrior had to rely on the man next to him for protection.  Each rank behind yours would level their spears down alongside you, with the rear ranks keeping their spears up until it was time to bring them down when contact with the enemy was imminent.  The enemy would face a formation bristling with spears reminiscent of that of a porcupine.  After initial contact, the front ranks would go to swords for close quarters fighting.  As demonstrated in the film 300, the phalanx was a devastating Greek tactic that would see use not just with Leonides but with Alexander the Great as he would go on to conquer the known Eastern world.  The 300 Spartan Shield and other movie replicas are great collector’s pieces suitable as a wall display or when you feel you have to face down a barbarian horde of your own. 

By the 15^th Century, swords and arms of the time were reaching something of a zenith.  At the beginning of that time, men were still wearing heavy armor to ward against arrows, pikes, swords, and other weapons common on the battlefield of that era.  It is the height of the Hundred Years War and Joan of Arc would lead beleaguered French forces to retake Orleans from English forces and thus bringing a slow end to very long and tedious conflict, and paving the way for France to finally build a nation apart from that of England.  By the end of the century, everything would change as gunpowder would render this century’s arms and armor practically obsolete.  Until then, the 15^th Century Longsword becomes a principle weapon for any knight, horseman, or nobleman.  Also known as a “bastard” or “hand-and-a-half” sword, this weapon featured the best that steel crafting of the time had to offer after centuries of trial and error to produce a strong sword that had reliable cutting power and tenacity.  Unlike the elegant and hyper sharp Japanese katana, the purpose of medieval swords like the longsword wasn’t so much to cut but also to punish, to bludgeon, and take as much punishment in parrying blows as it dished out.  In effect, what you have here is a sharp baseball bat that can hack through any unprotected limb as easily as a machete can hack through vegetation.  The 15^th Century Longsword is a marvelous weapon of a time when Europe was transitioning from upheaval to upheaval to upheaval, going from a truly medieval time of the Black Death to the discovery of the New World.  It is a treasure for any historian and sword collector. 

Go to any garden variety Star Trek Convention and chances are you’re going to find someone dressed as a Klingon warrior.  He’ll be wearing the armor and even some prosthetics on his forehead to give him that distinctive Klingon head-ridge look featured from the first Star Trek film to the present day productions.  He might even have that distinctive tri-bladed knife.  What he probably won’t have is an authentic bat’leth.  A bat’leth is a two-handed outward curved sword that’s held in the middle of the weapon instead of at one end, and meant to be whirled about offering more of a defensive posture to one’s opponent, giving him fewer opportunities to get in a good strike.  There are many reproductions of this iconic Klingon weapon, but how many Trekkies could say that what they’re wielding is actually the Sword of Kahless.  In Star Trek, Kahless is the spiritual leader of the Klingon Empire who puts the Klingons on the path of Honor and courage that epitomizes their culture.  If you love Star Trek and love to show your appreciation for the series in your own way, then having the Bat’leth Star Trek Sword of Kahless is an absolute must.   In fact, this weapon might be so authentic that it might be tough getting it past security.  Made of stainless steel, and sharp as other swords, and wrapped in genuine black leather, this weapon is sure to delight any Trekkie who will know it the instant he sees it.  A must for anyone who collects fantasy swords and other memorabilia. 

When Robert E. Howard wrote his first Conan short stories, he had no idea that what he was doing was creating not just a legend, but a whole genre of fantasy fiction known as swords and sorcery.  Unlike Tolkien’s works, such as The Lord of the Rings, where magic is a principle means by which things happen and revolve around, Conan focused more on the martial, and the mundane.  Conan was just a man, with only his strength, his courage, and his skills as a warrior with which to face off with unspeakable horrors and evil wizards.  Most of his enemies were not monsters, but were other men, who sometimes were simply doing what other men told them to do for that most mundane reason – money.  In the Arnold Schwarzenegger film, Conan (played by Schwarzenegger) brilliantly encapsulates what these stories are all about when he’s asked by the Hyrkanian warlord “What is best in life?”  He responds, “To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of the women.”  As such this has become a standard viewing of every red-blooded male over the age of 12.  Possessing the Conan the Barbarian Atlantean Sword – Special Edition – Official Licensed Production, the very sword Conan found in the cave in the hands of a long fallen king, will certainly make your friends green with envy.  They’ll immediately recognize this sword for what it is, and won’t take their eyes off of it.  This and other awesome movie swords are great for any collection, and this one in particular will remind you of what, truly, is best in life.