Deepeeka has released a line of "sports" armor and weaponry. Has anyone had any experience with Deepeeka or these products. From what I've seen Deepeeka tends to make cheap decorative products but maybe they've turned over a new leaf.

Historically, Deepeeka's swords have been pretty close to the bottom of the barrel, quality wise. The ones I've handled (and yes, owned) have varied in quality -- in terms of construction, weight, temper/heat-treatment, finish, and every other variable imaginable. The "Saxon Sword" I had for a while was very poorly constructed, with a hilt that came loose if you breathed on it, however the blade was very well tempered, able to be flexed to an impressive degree. Others I've handled have been overly heavy, poorly tempered, or just plain ugly.

On the positive side, their latest Roman and Greek swords are very accurate, historically. I purchased a Deepeeka Mainz gladius (I wanted to see if I could use the scabbard with my Albion Mainz -- whaddaya know, it fits, though not perfectly!), and for the price, it's not too shabby. It's certainly far more accurate than it's nearest competitor, the MRL/WS "Maintz" gladius. And it is true, as previously mentioned, Deepeeka has been very open to criticism and customer input, which has resulted in the improved historical accuracy.

Now, would I use a Deepeeka for cutting or other "contact" use? No. I still am leery of the consistency of their quality. But they are fine for display/costume/reenactment use.

I have eight Deepeeka swords right now... I'll be brief, because my fingers hurt, but in short the quality control is not good. Although some of the pieces come out well, such as the 1st century AD Spatha I have, some are very poorly construction, such as the super-heavy Viking sword I have that the paint peeled off of (grip and scabbard both!) or the Pompeii gladius, which was nice, but came rather rusted and with a crooked blade...

But, for the cost, and for my budget and reenactment purposes, they serve me well!

I wouldn't be too sure about any armor other than helmets, which many people like from them... It's all a big "one size fits all" deal, for the most part. I also heard the articulation in a pair of their mitten gauntlets someone purchased was terrible, although the metalwork was very well done, and they worked after being taken apart and havin' new pivots put in.

-Gregory-

I own a deepeka kanja and to get a user blade i had to re-heat treat and grinf the blade down...the handle and scabbard work however on it is really nice thus why i went to the pain of doing that :lol: for the most part there swords are VERY low quality.

thanks for the responses. I knew that deepeekas reputation wasn't exactly clean but I hadn't realized exactly how dirty it was. If anyone hears something new about the 'sports' line of products, I'd like to know. They're probably not worth anyones time but there's always hope...

Dear All
Dont be surprised to find me here. I discovered this topic quite by chance.
All I can say at this stage, that we made a brave move to start production of the new fight combat swords for competition use, which I must admit although in a stage of infancy, are still far better than what most would have expected out of us. These are the only blades in the market which are both high carbon steel and have vanadium in the steel to hold on to the toughness. The parts are case hardened hand forged steel pieces. A few examples have been shipped now, and can be bought through Gift International company, simon@gic-world.com, as well as admin@sussen.com (Keith at vse Inc.). We are getting lost of rejection rates at production levels in tampering, but are working towards it. If smeone out there is expert at these blades manufacturing, we would love to hear from you for your recommendations.
Regards

gagan agarwal (deepeeka)

Welcome, Gagan. :) I'm sure you will find a number of people here willing to give you some good constructive feedback on Deepeeka products. It has been noted that many of the weapons made in India are improving in quality all the time, and I'm sure you will find lots of good infomation here to help you continue your improvement.

Enjoy the forums,

Scott :)

Greetings Gagan,

As Gregory mentioned in his post:

Quote:

I wouldn't be too sure about any armor other than helmets, which many people like from them... It's all a big "one size fits all" deal, for the most part.

In a post on another forum, Mr. Dan Peterson wrote:

Quote:

Big Helmets: its a risk ordering something out of the ordinary. The helmets are the size they are because they are stamped from dies. They can make them bigger from scratch, or weld in an extension. ........It will cost a bit more, but not much, probably $20.00 over "usual" retail.

For those with larger size heads it's often the case that helmet sizes run small and either barely fit or don't allow room for period appropriate liners. Is there/will there be an effort from Deepeeka to offer helmets in a specific range of sizes in the near future?

Thanks and cheers to you and Deepeeka for listening to your customers' concerns.

Matt

Does anyone have any experience with Deepeeka spears? I was interested in purchasing the flame shaped Celtic La Tene spear from Kult of Athena. The blade shape at least appears to resemble some real La Tene examples.
http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=...Tene+Spear

I'm wondering what kind of wood the shafts are made of.