WarGod.co.nz

By Crom!! LARP is back!

2011-07-12T02:30:00.000+12:00

That's right folks we are now selling LARP equipment again! Those of you with long memories will remember we briefly sold the Warlord's line of LARP gear way back in 2009, unfortunately we were slightly unhappy with the quality at the time and made the difficult decision to stop stocking the line. Now it must be remembered that this line was very new back then and like many products they have only improved with time, so much in fact we feel we'd be silly to not offer them!

We will be adding the entire Warlord's lineup to the website over the coming weeks so remember to check back often to see all the goodness! These products will include all the latex swords and daggers that you would expect but also axes, maces, armour, helmets and shields. The entire Warlord's line is also Nero approved and the materials have been proven OSHA safe!

To kick off the new line we have already added the excellent Age of Conan-Hyborian Adventures products to the site and to celebrate here is a video of Conan- the Musical:

Not entirely sure what LARP is? Check out this clip from 20/20 introducing the LARP scene in New Zealand.

Beached As Whale helps out the bro's in Christchurch!

2011-02-24T19:18:00.000+13:00

Even the Beached As whale is getting behind the drive to support those effected in the Christchurch Earthquake. The stories coming out of Christchurch are just horrendous and again our hearts and thoughts go out to all those effected.

Unfortunately there are reports already of Internet scammers taking advantage of this tragedy by setting up fake appeals and such, so please be aware that this is happening and if you are making online donations please verify you in the right place and not going through a third party. We recommend both the Red Cross and the Salvation Army and are sure there are other organizations lending a hand.

Christchurch Earthquake Appeal

2011-02-23T15:23:00.002+13:00

We here at the WarGod's Armoury are extremely saddened by the devastating earthquake in Christchurch, just over 5 months since the last one. Our hearts and thoughts go out to each and every person affected by this tragedy.

Christchurch needs our support, so once again fellow Kiwis it's time to band together and help make a difference. If you would like to make a donation of any size you can do just that.
Let’s pull together and help the people of Canterbury out! It’s not a lot of money to make a donation but you and all your friends can make a huge difference! Simply follow the links on either picture and then hit the donate button and you’ll be able to donate $5, $10, $20, $50 or $100 to the either the Red Cross – Canterbury Earthquake Appeal or the Salvation Army - Canterbury Earthquake Appeal.

This is a very dark time for Canterbury and the whole of New Zealand is grieving for the loss of friends and family members. It’s going to take a lot of time, effort, patience and finance to get Canterbury back on its feet. So let’s think of all the people affected by this horrific disaster and start to make a contribution.

For news coverage and more information on the earthquake click here.

Here we go again!

2011-02-18T02:13:00.000+13:00

After many moons of hard work and toil, sweat and tears, blood and guts, and any other simile you can think of the WarGod Armoury has finally got it's all new look website up and running! I do hope that this new site will stop all those emails regarding burning/bleeding eyes I had been getting...

As always there is plenty more to do and we are still transferring products over to the new site so check back daily to see if your old favourite is back yet or check out the new items being added as well.

This new website also allows us to do many things that we could not do before, you are able to create your own account and track your purchases and orders, we now have a dedicated sales page that will be updated every two weeks, we can separate categories making your searches easier and faster to load, in fact we even have a search function!!

27th Anniversary Auckland Arms Fair

2010-09-23T23:04:00.000+12:00

WarGod Armouries is proud to announce that we will once again be attending the Auckland Arms Fair which is being held in a new location.

The Arms Fair is New Zealand's largest sale of antique, collectable and modern arms, medals, militaria, edged weapons and shooting accessories plus general antiques and ladies collectables, displays of some the finest firearms and militaria in this country.

It is being held on Saturday 2nd and Sunday the 3rd October 2010.
Hours: Saturday 9am-5pm Sunday 10am-4pm

Held at the:
AUT Sport and Fitness Centre,
90 Akoranga Drive,
Northcote,
Auckland.
Admission:
Adult $12
Children 15 and under $5
Under 5 free
Children must be accompanied by an adult.

We have supported the Arms Fair now for many years and always enjoy catching up with our customers and friends at this advent so we hope to see many of you there. For those bargain hunters amongst you looking for genuine antique swords we can only recommend you get in very quick as the best examples tend to sell out very, very quickly indeed

Customs wins the Battle

2010-09-09T21:18:00.001+12:00

The WarGod's Armoury is very sad to announce that that we will no longer be stocking daggers from now on.

In September of 2009 New Zealand Customs reviewed the law regarding banned imports into the country. Now it is important to note that this review found the law to be fully acceptable and no changes or amendments were required, however New Zealand Customs felt that their own internal interpretation of the law could be improved upon. Why this should be so has never been clarified and indeed many Customs agents claim no knowledge of any such change (the claim "we have always done it this way" just does not stand up when you have been in the business as long as we have).

Since 1993 we have been importing blunted daggers and being a licensed importer each and every item in each and every shipment was personally inspected and cleared by a Custom official before being released to us for resale. It is important to note that all these daggers were completely blunt and un-edged and thus were perfectly acceptable under the law which prevents sharpened knives that are double edged and/or designed for stabbing.

Please note: swords are exempt from this law due to the general inability of swords to be concealed about the person which is also why, for example, that you can legally import a Scottish basket hilted sword even though the basket could technically be considered a "knuckle duster" or "knuckle guard" (in fact they often are).

This re-interpretation of the law has led to previously allowed imports, like our blunt re-enactment daggers, to now be considered a banned import. We have challenged Custom on this issue for a year now with no success and frankly we are tired and worn out of fighting them (not to mention the expense involved!). We have over the last six months informed our customers that to be on the safe side they should obtain an Importation Permit just to insure they actually get their orders.

As a business that prides itself on customer service we find this state of affairs unacceptable and have had finally to admit defeat. As of today we will no longer stock daggers or double edged re-enactment knives on our WarGod website. It was a very difficult decision and we truly hope that one day soon we will be able to reverse this decision and once again supply the blades we all know and love.

This being the case we have merged the Knives and Daggers section with the Bowie's and Dirks section and renamed it Bowie's, Dirks and Other Knives.

Blackhawk Tatang

As a side note it has been interesting to see that Custom's new interpretation has not all been all one way. In some cases previously banned knives have been allowed in after inspection with no problems. In one case in particular we imported a Blackhawk Tatang knife for a customer who had obtained the necessary permit only to find Customs did not now regard the Tatang as a banned import despite it clearly being both double edged and designed for stabbing! It was actually taken out of the packaging when inspected and when we queried this we were told as the blade was not symmetrical it did not require a permit but the four completely blunt re-enactment daggers in the same order did!

The Claymore is back!

2010-08-30T21:50:00.000+12:00

Back in stock is the lovely Hanwei Antiqued Scottish Basket Hilt Broadsword (we all know it's a Claymore, but Hanwei make it and they can call it what they like I guess).

The antiquing job done on this version is well done and even the blade is is given a light patina to look the part because lets face it having an antiqued hilt and scabbard with a super bright shiny blade just seems wrong. This is a live blade and comes reasonably sharp right out of the box. For the re-enactors amongst us there is the practical version which can be seen in our Practice and Re-Enactment Weapons section which is also a decent substitute weapon for learning George Silver's system of fencing if your not particularly keen on mortuary hilt swords.

Keeping with our Scottish theme we also have the Scottish Cutlass back in stock as well. Cutlass blades were in deed sometimes mated to basket hilts although for practical reasons aboard ships this modification may have been limited to the higher ranks. The blade on this sword is quite lovely with a 9" sharpened back edge for the all important back cut and enough weight in the blade to be well balanced but still capable of delivering shearing cuts. The green leather scabbard might not be to every ones taste but it is different.

Overall length of the Cutlass is 31 1/2" with a 25" blade with a weight of 3lbs 4oz and can be ordered sharpened or "dull".

The Claymore is an overall length of 39 3/4" with a 33 1/2" blade and weighs in at 3lb 2oz.

Anglo-Saxon Goodness!

2010-08-16T20:54:00.000+12:00

This beauty is a new item from CASHanwei and is a stunning example of the sword makers art. Based a 9th Century example found in the bank of a stream in England in 1976 which is now on display in the Yorkshire Museum. Swords of this period were fairly well restricted to the upper classes due to the expense, but many of them were beautifully decorated and over a thousand years later they are still beautiful to behold. Most modern recreations are very plain by the standards of the day so it's nice to see a high end example reproduced.

The curved upper and lower guards and the three lobed pommel with the taller middle peak are typical features for Anglo-Saxon swords of this period but the design was also found in parts of Scandinavia. Petersen classifies this style of sword as the type L.

Keep an eye out for this sword at the Wargod's Armoury very soon.

From the website:

CAS Hanwei’s smiths have outdone themselves with their recreation of a 9th Century Saxon sword by replicating a technique used by the Saxons and Vikings and producing a stunning blade that features a pattern-welded core with high-carbon edge sections. This technique was used by the old-time smiths as a means of producing blades (just for the rich folks) that were sharp, resilient and decorative and, eleven hundred years on, CAS Hanwei has made them affordable. The sword’s design is based on a 9th Century piece found in the bank of a stream in England in 1976 and now on display in the Yorkshire Museum.

Batons Discontinued

2010-08-13T00:06:00.000+12:00

The United Cutlery 26" and 16" batons have been out of stock for some time now and have proved impossible to find to restock them so they have been officially discontinued from the WarGod's Armoury.

We will be looking at replacing them with another quality baton and we are not short of options as our sister site has plenty of options as seen here, however the WarGod is very picky and we will only stock the ones that represent the best quality and value for money.

Unfortunately we are not allowed to ship ASP batons and accessories outside the United States as they are certainly top of the line (you lucky Americans you). However rest assured that we will thoroughly be testing all the available options and you will be the first to know!

1796 Light Cavalry Sabre: Coming back real soon!

2010-08-11T21:46:00.000+12:00

This is one of favourite sabers of all time and it is due to be back in stock with us real soon (in fact our sister site already has them).

This particular replica is made by Cold Steel and lives up to their high standards in terms of sharpness and durability but it is also very accurate to many of the originals with only the pommel screw being the main difference.

It is hard to put into words why I like this saber so much over all the others out there but if I had to boil it down to one word it would be power. Sabers usually come in two flavors: "flesh cutters" and "bone cutters". And this is most definitely a "bone cutting" saber which becomes apparent as soon as you pick one up. There is a reason that the French tried to have this sword banned as being inhumane, if you take a look at the sabers they used at the time here they are the epitome of a flesh cutting type saber (and remembering that these swords were considered the finest of their day). Sure they could take a limb off but it was not a sure thing and that was not it's primary concern in it's design. In comparison the 1796 delivered devastating cuts and it was precisely these wounds that the French were complaining about. Of course some of their soldiers were being cut in half so I guess they had the right to complain although it didn't do them any good as the Germans were still using this pattern saber right up to the beginning of the 20th Century!

These don't tend to remain in stock long so if you fancy getting your mitts on on drop us a line to secure yours now.

Disagree or think my love of this saber is misplaced? Feel free to comment and tell me which saber you would recommend!

Sneak Peek: The Charay!

2010-08-08T19:13:00.001+12:00

This bad boy is the new Charay knife from Windlass Steelcrafts, although at just over 28" overall the term "knife" just doesn't seem to do it justice!

The official web copy is below but the key features are an aged finish including the worked and painted brass, a water buffalo horn handle on a full tang and a "T" shaped blade with a raised spine allowing a thinner sharper blade edge while still remaining strong and the classic pommel ring to allow wrist ties.

Overall Length: 28-5/8"
Blade Length: 22-5/8" long, 2-1/8" wide, 3/16" thick (5/16" along spine)
Weight: 2 lbs

The official copy goes something like this:

This type of Charay knife (also known as a Charas, Churea and a Salawaryatagan), was first used in Indo-Persia, but quickly spread across the near east, deriving its common name, “Khyber” Knife, from its famed use against the British by the native tribes of the Khyber Pass area. It is still used in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern India today. The scabbard is worn thrust, unsecured, in a number of positions under a belt, with blades ranging from 14" to 30". Our offering has an aged finish on the entire knife and scabbard, including the worked and painted brass and buffalo horn grip on a full tang profile with the customary ring at the end of the grip that is often used for a wrist tie-down. The “T” shaped blade has a raised spine along the length of the blade, which allows the blade to be thin to hold a very sharp edge yet remain extremely strong. Made by Windlass Steelcrafts®.

These will be available for NZ$285.00 so keep an eye out for them appearing soon.
Can't wait? Just drop us a line

The Relaunch!

2010-08-07T16:02:00.000+12:00

Welcome to the WarGod Blog relaunch party!

Well, the relaunch anyway! Followers of our old blog would of noted that it kind of got away from us in the end due to a number of factors but we are now back on the ball and committed to providing you, our past and future customers, with the very best in service with up to date information, sneak peaks and product reveiws.

For those of you who are new to the WarGod scene, or if you have stumpled here by accident, the WarGod's Armoury is a licensed distributor for some of the largest and finest manufacturers of bladeware in the world including historical swords, rapiers, knives, weapons, armour, period clothing, and licensed collectibles, made as well as or better than the originals from centuries ago. We appreciate REAL weaponry hence most of our weapons are crafted from carbon steel and fully functional!

If your looking for a sword or axe that you can actually take off the wall and use the this is where you'll find it.We are New Zealand's Bladeware Specialists!