The *best* sword of ALL times!

[Ancalagon]

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Real-5160-Spring-Steel-Double-Edge-Medieval-Sword_W0QQitemZ250536150870QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_D efaultDomain_0?hash=item3a551e4756

the original asking price was 5 times that, so it's a steal!

:lol:

Update.

1: there is a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4N1I7iJCHM&feature=player_embedded His sword is stunning and he has masterful technique

2: apparently the story behind this is as follows:

He seems to know his stuff regarding blade making, and admitted that he was just hoping some millionaire would stumble across his listing and go for it in pity, since he needs to dig a water well for his family.

man...

update 2: the previous video has been removed, but for your enjoyment:

http://www.youtube.com/user/IVARSWORD#p/a/u/0/7ePA8rVdfgg

[TiQuinn]

I don't get it.

[Name Lips]

The guy learned how to make a sturdy chunk of steel and is trying to sell it for thousands of dollars. Am I missing anything?

[Ancalagon]

Seeing how you can get a decent sword for about 100-150$, a good sword for 300, or a great one for 750...

this sword is *horrid*

[Freedom Canadian]

Seeing how you can get a decent sword for about 100-150$, a good sword for 300, or a great one for 750...


We obviously don't shop at the same stores. :D

[Northcott]

Yeaaaah... the blade-smiths I know of (admittedly few) don't sell well-crafted weapons for anything less than a grand. Last I heard, a dozen or so years back, Peasner was asking around $1,500 for a claymore.

[DarwinOfMind]

Yeah I don't know where your buying a decent sword for 150 but fill me in,

[Ancalagon]

well, I didn't expect the thread to go this way but ok...

Decent swords: The cas hanwei iberia line:

http://www.casiberia.com/productsearch.asp?subsub=yes&cat=Swords%20and%20Daggers&subcat=Western&subsubcat=Iberia

Now I haven't tried these models, but the following 2 are pretty decent:

Agincourt (SH2371) and War Sword (SH2366) (and the better of the two). Avoid the hand an a half sword.

The good: Solid construction - this is a sword made of proper steel (not stainless!) and a decent tang. They aren't tanks, but they are reliable. Aslo, they handle reasonably well and come with a free scabbard.

The bad: Hanwei's quality control is not 100%, and sometimes you get a lemon. It's why it's important to get it from someone trustworthy - *never* from ebay. They don't quite look right, and the sharpening job is a bit crude - great vs pumpkins, not so much vs tatami.

This guy has a good rep, is in Canada (speaks french!) and very good prices

http://www.wiwingtiswordsupply.com/iberialine.html


Good swords:

http://www.wiwingtiswordsupply.com/performancecutting.html

These swords were designed by Angus Trim, a smith who makes functional but very good swords. He has co-operated with a "production sword" company - he sold them his expertise. So the end result is a sword made with expert-know how, but at the cheap prices made possible by chinese low labor costs. People have been *raving* about these swords, as they have raised the bar by a lot for the 200-300$ range swords. This is a fairly new development - these weren't available 2 years ago.

Why they aren't great: As good as they are, the ones made by Angus Trim himself are better.

An alternative with a similar "history" is the Tinker (the expert)/hanwei (the chinese forge) cooperation:

http://www.casiberia.com/productsearch.asp?subsubcat2=yes&cat=Swords%20and%20Daggers&subcat=Western&subsubcat=Medieval&cat2=Tinker
http://www.casiberia.com/productsearch.asp?subsubcat2=yes&cat=Swords%20and%20Daggers&subcat=Western&subsubcat=Viking&cat2=Tinker
http://www.wiwingtiswordsupply.com/tinkermedievalviking.html

I am currently in the process of buying the SH2404 -- Early Medieval Single Hand - Tinker Pearce Sharp, so I'm willing to put my money there so to speak.

And all these come with a free scabbard.

Great swords in the 750 range:
Angus trim original: Available at http://www.christianfletcher.com/Christian_Fletcher/Welcome.html - there are a few deals there as well!

Arms and armor:
http://www.armor.com/

Albion
often more expensive than 750, but some are more affordable.
http://www.albion-swords.com/ (especially the next generation line and the squire line)

cheers :)

[Name Lips]

And once upon a time somebody posted this link, and I saved it:

How to Buy Swords Online
http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/buy-swords-online.html

[Ancalagon]

most of my knowledge about the various swords available come from the sword buyer's guide forums. :o

[Freedom Canadian]

Albion
often more expensive than 750, but some are more affordable.
http://www.albion-swords.com/ (especially the next generation line and the squire line)


This is one of the two main places where people at my school buy their swords. Namely, they buy this:

http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/maestro/sword-practice-liechtenauer.htm

It's kinda expensive once you factor in the currency exchange rate and custom fees, but it's a quite nice sword. It stands up well to the wear and tear of sparring. Pretty high quality steel. This is what I would call a "good" sword, personally. I would recommend it to anyone studying compatible swordcraft.

Personally, I don't have a lot of money to sink into this hobby at the moment, so I bought a cheap sword, namely this:

http://www.reliks.com/merchant.ihtml?pid=2020

Ended up costing about $300 with taxes and shipping. This is what I would call "the bare minimum". The steel is pretty crappy and I need to file it, sand it and polish it after every sparring session, especially if I have to fight those damn Albion sword owners. :D

I'll upgrade when I get disposable income again. :)

I exchanged emails with Barsoomcore over at Circus Maximus over this very subject a few weeks ago. He's been doing kendo for something like 17 years. He pointed me towards what he would consider a high quality blade:

http://www.budo-aoi.com/iaito/aoi.asp (Notice the difference in price between a practice and live blade :shock: )

Anyway, I believe you could get a similar level of quality in western swords, but I don't think anyone at our school is serious enough about the hobby to sink US$1300 on a blade. :D

Real swords are expensive. Hell, at Albion, scabbards start at $1000.

[bondetamp]

I prefer this sword. Looks like it has capabilities that can come handy in actual combat. :)

[Ancalagon]

This is one of the two main places where people at my school buy their swords. Namely, they buy this:

http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/maestro/sword-practice-liechtenauer.htm

I have no doubt that's an excellent sparring blade. Mind you, if you go in the "sparring longsword" field, there are a lot less option available.

What is the other "main place"?

Personally, I don't have a lot of money to sink into this hobby at the moment, so I bought a cheap sword, namely this:

http://www.reliks.com/merchant.ihtml?pid=2020

Ended up costing about $300 with taxes and shipping. This is what I would call "the bare minimum". The steel is pretty crappy and I need to file it, sand it and polish it after every sparring session, especially if I have to fight those damn Albion sword owners. :D

I'll upgrade when I get disposable income again. :)

Hmmm - if I had to buy a blunt longsword, that's really not what I would have purchased. At that price, you would get better with this:

http://www.wiwingtiswordsupply.com/at305ib.html

It has received some pretty good reviews

http://sbgswordforum.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=swordreviews&action=display&thread=10551&page=1#169975
(this guy both collects sword and is a great swordsmith, so I trust his review)
http://sbgswordforum.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=swordreviews&action=display&thread=11118&page=1#178851
(second opinion)

I'm sure the albion would be better, but this will definitely be an improvement over what you have now.

A slightly pricier alternative would be to get

http://www.casiberia.com/product_details.asp?id=SH2394
and get a blunt replacement blade
http://www.casiberia.com/product_details.asp?id=OH2397

two swords in one! (other retailers will have a better price than directly from hanwei though)

Other suggestion:
http://www.armor.com/sword205.html


Real swords are expensive. Hell, at Albion, scabbards start at $1000.

Custom scabbards can be incredibly expensive. And the sky's the limit when it come to prices for really fancy swords - especially japanese ones, but there are some pretty incredible (both in price and quality) western ones too. Check this guy out: http://www.powning.com/jake/commish/swords20.shtml

Anyway, what I'm trying to say here is that the quality of the "production level" swords has increased in the last few years, and you can get very decent swords. However, you have to do your research, and buy from a reputable manufacturer and (if going through a retailer), a retailer you trust.

[Freedom Canadian]

What is the other "main place"?

The link I provided is to the web store I bought it from.

These two models are the ones approved for my class. Of course, you can get another model, but then you have to get it approved by the teacher before it's allowed in and I didn't have much time to shop around when I bought it.


I'm sure the albion would be better, but this will definitely be an improvement over what you have now.

Well, I already have my short-term cheap blade so it's a bit late ! ;)

Next one will definitely be the Albion as I've handled them and I know exactly what I would be buying. That's the problem with online places, you can't really check if you like the sword before buying it. And as far as I can tell, there are no brick-and-mortar sword stores in Montreal (although lately I heard rumours, so I'd need to check that out). Well, there's Blacksword in Laval, but their swords are outright banned at our school.




Custom scabbards can be incredibly expensive. And the sky's the limit when it come to prices for really fancy swords - especially japanese ones, but there are some pretty incredible (both in price and quality) western ones too. Check this guy out: http://www.powning.com/jake/commish/swords20.shtml

Woah, sweet !



Anyway, what I'm trying to say here is that the quality of the "production level" swords has increased in the last few years, and you can get very decent swords. However, you have to do your research, and buy from a reputable manufacturer and (if going through a retailer), a retailer you trust.

Heh, I don't plan on buying enough swords in my whole lifetime to develop trust in a given retailer. :D

[Schizm]

Custom scabbards can be incredibly expensive. And the sky's the limit when it come to prices for really fancy swords - especially japanese ones, but there are some pretty incredible (both in price and quality) western ones too. Check this guy out: http://www.powning.com/jake/commish/swords20.shtml

yea gawds, those blades are beautiful.

[Ancalagon]

The link I provided is to the web store I bought it from.

These two models are the ones approved for my class. Of course, you can get another model, but then you have to get it approved by the teacher before it's allowed in and I didn't have much time to shop around when I bought it.
I see - understandable by the teacher, but a bit limiting ... in case he doesn't like your sword, you're kinda screwed eh?

Well, I already have my short-term cheap blade so it's a bit late ! ;)

Next one will definitely be the Albion as I've handled them and I know exactly what I would be buying. That's the problem with online places, you can't really check if you like the sword before buying it. And as far as I can tell, there are no brick-and-mortar sword stores in Montreal (although lately I heard rumours, so I'd need to check that out). Well, there's Blacksword in Laval, but their swords are outright banned at our school.

There is one on St-Hubert, in the 6000 ish area - a medieval store with a somewhat modest but reasonable sword selection.

Blacksword - you mean darksword? Why are they banned?

Heh, I don't plan on buying enough swords in my whole lifetime to develop trust in a given retailer. :D

I mean one with a good reputation. The one I mentioned a few times is supposedly good. So are these, and they have a wider selection:

http://www.kultofathena.com/

Woah, sweet !

yea gawds, those blades are beautiful.

He's freaking impressive - and sometimes, he goes to ridiculous extreme. One of his sword has a scabbard made of bog oak, roughly 2000 years old...

kinda proud the guy is from my home province :)

[Freedom Canadian]

I see - understandable by the teacher, but a bit limiting ... in case he doesn't like your sword, you're kinda screwed eh?

Heh. Unless you have money to throw away, you usually check with him before buying the sword.



There is one on St-Hubert, in the 6000 ish area - a medieval store with a somewhat modest but reasonable sword selection.

Sword class used to be near that store. Never been myself, but I do know that nobody in the class bought swords there. Don't know why. People did buy a lot of accessories there, though.

Apparently, there's another place now, but I don't know where yet.


Blacksword - you mean darksword? Why are they banned?

Oh yeah, darksword. I don't know the details. Something about them being way too dangerous to use to spar. One broke in a dramatic fashion some time in the past.

[Ancalagon]

I thought the prices were a bit high myself... but hey, you can always try it out a bit!

Darksword armory... I'm surprised that one broke, they are known as tanks in general. That being said, they probably aren't the best for what you are doing, for several reasons (not sure if you want me going into them).

Finally, here is my new sword :D

320$ canadian, tax included.

[Name Lips]

I thought this comic was applicable:

http://thisisindexed.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/card22781.jpg

[Ancalagon]

I thought this comic was applicable:

http://thisisindexed.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/card22781.jpg

That's applicable for a darn lots of things in life...

[doc]

It's all a US conspiracy to keep good weapons out of the hands of the Northern barbarians

[Ancalagon]

other maker of very nice looking blade, and *awesome* pommel carvings....

http://www.elfic.fr/

although to be honest, they are a bit TOO pretty for my taste. You can't pummel someone in the face with that...