Blackthorn Antiques specialises in edged weapons, particularly British and European swords and bayonets, as well as selected items of militaria such as armour, accoutrements, maps and historic documents.

I started out as a collector, and I’d like to be the sort of dealer I would want to go to – with high quality items, all original, no reproductions, priced better than the rest with attention to detail in description and presentation.

With that in mind, let me be up front about how I treat the items I offer for sale: they are if necessary cleaned, only to remove dust, storage dirt, old congealed grease, active corrosion etc. provided this can be done without any damage to parts of the piece that ought to be preserved. Any structural repairs or replacements will be mentioned, including historic repairs if they are apparent. I don’t hide flaws either in writing or in photography. If a previous owner has cleaned more aggressively than I would deem wise, I’ll mention that too. I may apply preservatives such as Renaissance wax and leather balm where that will prevent vulnerable materials degrading. A purist might say that antiques must never be interfered with at all, but my view is that it is irresponsible to allow historic artefacts to degrade while in my care.

 If you’d like to know more about an item, or sell me something of yours, please get in touch. I’m based in Hertfordshire and able to travel within London and the Southeast. I may be able to arrange viewings of selected items and can process credit/debit card payments in person.

If you wish to reserve an item today for payment at a later date I offer a layaway scheme: for a deposit of 20% of the item's price it may be reserved for a period of 3 months, during which you may at any time pay the remaining value and receive the item as usual. It will disappear from the website for the duration. This deposit is non-refundable. Please get in touch if you would like to organise a layaway.