Well, I just got word from Scott at Darkwood armory that the custom-hilted rapier I'd ordered earlier this year is nearing completion! I suppose that this post is an announcement of sorts until I actually get the sword, at which point I will do a review of it. It is coming with the Del Tin practice rapier blade with a blade length of 38" (past the guard).

I approached Scott earlier this year (mid-May, I think was when I first asked him about the custom hilt) about making a custom hilt with a good deal of decoration on it, and sent a design to him to look at and base his creation on (not truly replicate, you understand).

Well, this is the design that Scott chose, maybe even from the myArmoury.com albums!



Scott has been enormously friendly and helpful during the whole process, so for any of those that want a good practice rapier, Scott is one of the best options available.

As I said earlier, I will post a review of this sword when it comes in, which hopefully should be before the end of the year.


Best,

Hi Geoff,

Scott does make some of the best practice rapiers. I have a pappenheimer that I got from him in 99', it's a great piece and has held up extremely well over the years. I'd like to see it when you get it.

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That does look nice.

if its not too personal...how much is he asking for it? I know there are alot of people like me who really want semi-customs but just dont have the wallet for some of the big boys. Darkwood seems to be a really good middle ground as far as price goes.

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I absolutely love this design!

Can't wait to see what Scott does with it.

:D Very elegant piece of work Geoff - hope you're happy when you get it - I love the rapier - the most elegant of swords !

Well, it's been just about 10 months since I ordered this, and today it arrived at my doorstep (via UPS, and early for that matter--it wasn't supposed to get here till Monday, or so said the tracking site :wtf: )! I had about a 20 minute conversation with Scott at Darkwood (mostly me thanking him so profusely) about the sword and the process that went into making it, and still, all I can say is that it is the most beautiful and amazing rapier I have EVER held in my hand! Simply stunning. Gorgeous, beautiful . . . adjectives fail me, really. It is very lively in the hand, the point tracing very smoothly and falling very nicely into place when I thrust. The guard is sturdy, built to be tough, even though it has some very gorgeous piercings in it. I took a few pictures with my dad's digital camera, but they turned out really shoddy, so I will take some more later with my own camera when its brighter outside. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this picture

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The original, as seen in the photo albums

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And the only half-way decent picture I could get this evening. It shows the piercings in the guard very nicely

Geoff,

Wow, It looks great. I'm looking forward to some stats and more pictures. Your rapier shows the kind of work that Scott is capable of, if asked. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Sweet, Geoff!

I've been using a Darkwood with a practice blade for some time now, and have been very pleased with it. I've handled several other practice bladed Darkwoods, and I've also handled a couple rebatted blade ones, which I like even more. Darkwood is THE place to go for good, servicable rapiers for fencing.

I managed to snap a couple more photos before my dad's camera's batteries died on me, but they look much nicer than last night's picture. It is bladed with the Del Tin practice rapier blade, which handles quite nicely and looks very good for a rapier dated c.1620. Here are some stats also:

Overall length: 46"
Blade length: 40" (from cross)
Blade width: 3/4"
Grip length: 3 5/8"
Quillon width: 9 3/4"
PoB: ~1 1/2" in front of guard
Weight: ~2 1/2 lbs.


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Looks like you did very well on that purchase.