Bill Grandy

A portmanteau, which is a fancy term for a saddle bag. This style of case was popular throughout multiple centuries, and similar ones are still used by cyclists today. This one is inspired by period iconography from the 15th century. Made of leather and all hand stitched.

Finn MacCoul and the Well of Wisdom is officially done up on Kickstarter! It is fully funded AND reached a stretch goal that I didn't expect to reach! I sent a message to all of the backers of the project to thank you all, but just in case, here's the link to it: www.kickstarter.com/projects/213...

Finn MacCoul and the Well of Wisdom has just reached 100% funding on Kickstarter!!!! And with a few days left to spare! Thank you all who backed the project, promoted it, and were all in all supportive about it! I couldn’t have done this without you all!

Finn MacCoul and the Well of Wisdom An adventure for young readers from Irish mythology, retold in an all-new original story!

78% funded on Kickstarter, with 8 days to go! I know many of you have already backed the project and shared it around, and I am so very grateful. If you can help give this a little extra push this final week, I would appreciate it even more, because we’re sooooo close to crossing the finish line!

Tired of hearing me plug my book? The one that’s finishing up on Kickstarter in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS, SO HURRY OVER AND BACK IT NOW! I’ll post Historical Handcrafts news instead. This will be a “portmanteau”, which is a fancy way of saying “saddle bag”. Not done, but I think it will turn out nice.

Finn MacCoul and the Well of Wisdom An adventure for young readers from Irish mythology, retold in an all-new original story!

Bill was the only FT historical swordfighting coach at a Olympic level US gym. He was MY coach & continued to instruct me after I moved across the country. ANY sword in my books? Bill's teaching.

So I edited his beautiful book.

Please consider backing it.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/213...

Ha, me too on all of the above. I only remembered I had an account with this just today (and that’s only because of my KS campaign). So, allow me to welcome you back so that I can get back to forgetting all about the platform again in a minute!

Finn MacCoul and the Well of Wisdom An adventure for young readers from Irish mythology, retold in an all-new original story!

Finn MacCoul and the Well of Wisdom has officially launched on Kickstarter! Remember, this book only gets published if there are enough backers, so please share this around! www.kickstarter.com/projects/213...

Eighteen Miles in Six Hours in Full Armor — Field and Feather Recreating a Roman military march in medieval armor. Eighteen miles, in six hours, in full armor. Why?

Our group, Field and Feather, founded by the prolific Charles Lin, has just put up a new website for our activities and discoveries for discussion. Our first article is about the Vegetius March that Charles and I did last spring.

Updated Kickstarter Launch Date! Life threw some unexpected speed bumps at us, but everything’s back on track, and the Kickstarter campaign for Finn MacCoul and the Well of Wisdom will now launch on September 23!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/2136650114/finn-maccoul-and-the-well-of-wisdom

Feldlager Infantry vs Cavalry Feldlager 2023 skirmish, filmed by Jared Adamo

At the last Feldlager in Germany, Jared Adamo filmed this cool skirmish between cavalry vs infantry. I’m the leftmost foot soldier wearing a fringed red hood under my helmet and leg armor fighting against the riders. One of the crazier personal moments for me at that event. vimeo.com/1113114728

Separate note, the Kickstarter launch date is being delayed a couple weeks due to unforeseen issues, but everything is still going forward. Thanks to everyone who’s supported me!

I didn’t want to make an issue of this, but: In my book, the protagonist is raised by two women who are wives. I want my son to grow up knowing that there are families that are different than ours, and they love each other just like our family does. If this is a problem, maybe my book isn’t for you.

I do part time work at the local library. Imagine my surprise when I walked in tonight and found that my co-workers repurposed this display to have my Finn MacCoul book’s name on it! (It’s premature… the book still needs to be funded on Kickstarter, but it was super sweet of them nonetheless!)

This little trouble maker is Dobby, the tiniest of four horses I help take care of. He’s more imp than house elf. He’s constantly sneaking out, he’s figured out how to reach over gates and unlock them, and I swear he says “Mischief Managed” when my back is turned. But darn it all if he isn’t cute.

The client who commissioned this scabbard is a practitioner of Fiore dei Liberi, and requested specific tooled and painted imagery from the Fiore Segno. The coat of arms belongs to the client. The Italian script was deliberately left unpainted to be more subtle. Poplar core wrapped in leather.

Starting August 26 my Kickstarter launch goes live for Finn MacCoul and the Well of Wisdom! Please push the "Notify me on launch" button if you haven't already, so that the algorithm doesn't hide the page from other potential backers! Thank you! www.kickstarter.com/projects/213...

A pair of pattens. These were commissioned by a client who clearly is tired of cleaning gross shoes—Pattens were worn in the medieval era for those especially muddy days before the age of rubber soles. Carved entirely by hand with beeswax and lanolin rubbed in for water proofing.

Week 17 of leading students through Lecküchner’s messer treatise. We finally reached the infamous Ungennant plays, which were treated with all the reverence Lecküchner ever could have asked for.

YouTube video by Bill Grandy I wrote a Kid’s Book! Finn MacCoul and the Well of Wisdom

Follow up on my children’s book, here’s a promo vid. My son worked very hard to memorize his one line. Please be sure to follow my Kickstarter page for updates! www.kickstarter.com/projects/213...

Coming soon: Finn MacCoul and the Well of Wisdom An adventure for young readers from Irish mythology, retold in an all-new original story!

I wrote a children’s book, and the pre-launch page on Kickstarter is live. Please tap the “notify me” button in the link! www.kickstarter.com/projects/213...

Poleaxes make me smile.

Not going to lie: I thought this was fake until I looked into it. I don’t know why I keep having the reaction, “That can’t be true…” with this administration.

A scabbard for a Landsknecht Emporium Gottfried messer. Wood core with gothic floral decorations on the leather. The German word “Indes” is carved near the hilt, meaning “in the instant”, a vital concept of decision making in the Liechtenauer tradition of fencing. HistoricalHandcrafts.com

Late night scabbarding. Need to take a break before my fingers go numb.

A small chest that doubles as a seat. It uses “snipe hinges” and has a simple hasp. Decorations were kept fairly minimal, with small file marks along the lid and light carving at the feet.

Working on a small chest. Made snipe hinges for the first time. They’re both simple and much trickier than I expected, but work great.

I based this pavise (shield) on extant ones I’ve gotten to study. The wood’s thicker at the center and tapers at the sides to reduce weight. It’s covered in linen/hide glue and coated with gesso. The colors are of Nuremberg.

40” x 21”. Its exactly 16lbs, spot on for pavises of similar size.

Made the metal parts and the rope-covered-in-leather handle for the pavise. Everything is nailed in place and clinched over on the facing side, which will be hidden with linen and gesso. Almost done.

Hide glue and linen to cover the rear of the shield. While that dries I’ll make a grip and some metal fasteners to attach to it.