About

The Founding and History of Benjamin Arms

 Benjamin Bowles Armourer BrevetBenjamin Arms was founded on October 25th, 2009 by Benjamin Bowles in Arcata, California. Benjamin received his initial training and guidance from Maestro de Armas Ramon Martinez on construction techniques and handling characteristics. Maestro Martinez provided Benjamin with specifications from his extensive collection of fencing swords and reference material. Mr. Bowles is also the only holder of an Armourer’s Diploma from the Martinez Academy of Arms. Benjamin Arms began with an initial product catalog in 2009 featuring French foils & epees that debuted at Salle Saint George’s Western-Washington Western Martial Arts Workshop. In 2012, after extensive research and design, Italian foils and sabres joined the catalog. In 2014 the workshop relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and re-established at American Steel Studios in Oakland, California. Benjamin has built over 1,000 weapons and shipped them worldwide.

Benjamin Arms Research & Archive

To produce the most accurate reproduction equipment, Benjamin Arms has amassed a research archive of over 300 sources. These include arms & armour reference texts, dueling codes, equipment catalogs, fencing treatises, technical forging books, metallurgical analyses, sword maker’s mark indexes, and more. Insights from our Archive in our Research pages reference the similarities in our products and assist scholarly research. The Archive continually grows in the hopes of establishing a singular research destination for classical fencing weaponry and manufacturing technology.