Hi,
I'm currently in the market for a good and safe sparring longsword. With this I mean a sword that has enough flexibility to allow a safe trust (if you have the propper protection of a gambesson and fencing helmet) but that doesn't flex too much so that I can still use all the longsword techniques like the 'fühlen' and stuff like that. The swords that at the moment carry my
intrest are:
Ensifer federschwerter: http://ensifer.carbonmade.com/
The Howe of Pavel Moc: http://www.swords.cz/enbestof.html

Does anyone here have any experience with one of these swords?
Are there any equivalent suggestions?

With kind regards,
Davy

I strongly suggest getting the "Liechtenauer" blunt from Albion ($490). Learn to control your trusts and your strikes and learn to not hack your edges you won't even need an gambesson.

Ran Pleasant
ARMA DFW

Pavel Moc swords handle very well, I haven't tried that particular model but have used some of the others. The people I've spoken to who own one are happy with their swords.

I recently purchased a blunt from Jindřich Figura and am very happy with it. The blade is resilient even with full speed drills, and while the sword is not as flashy as those from other makers, I feel it (to steal a line from Oakeshott) shows beauty of form, not ornamentation. The design also mirrors an historical sword, which is a big plus.

I own a Pavel Moc Talhoffer and I have handled a Howe. I should point out that the Howe is completely different from any other Pavel Moc blades. Other Pavel Mocs are essentially unsharpened swords. They are as stiff as a real sword. The Howe, being a tournament blade, is much more flexible. Unfortunately that makes comments like Sean's above not really useful.

I'll refrain from commenting on the Howe myself. I just don't like whippy blades at all.

I've been playing with 2 different Pavel Mocs for almost a month now and allthough well balanced I feel they are not "real" in handling. My main sword is a Del Tin DT5140 http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=...Half+Sword and it is in comparison to the Moc's a bit more blade heavy but still more comfortable as it is not as floppy and soft as the Moc's.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not into beating my fellow swordsman up. I'm looking for a good balance between a sword that is safe enough for a controlled trust and still gives me a good feel when I'm in a bind with my opponent. My experience with trusts however is that not much force is required to give serious injuries, especially when you step in on the other ones attack because you get combined powers in that. Of course I know that no sword is 100% safe and that proper protection will still be needed, even with a safer sword.

Anyway, I really appreciate your comments :)

Jean is right. There is no one training sword (that I have know of) that can both take a beating from full contact sparring and is safe for thrusting. I haven't had any expierience with the European trainers, but the best compromise I have found between durability and thrust safety is probably the Albion Meyer. Compared to the Liechtenauer, the Meyer is almost as durable but has a little more flex when thrusting. The swords that are safe for thrusting tend to break too easy ala the Hanwei Federschwert. At a $130 per break, I would rather get a more durable sword (Albion) and practice safety when thrusting.

Regarding the Hanwei Federschwert: In spite of some people's experience of successfully getting replacement swords for broken ones from Hanwei, I have had no such luck. The dealer I bought it from is out of business and according to him Hanwei provides no recourse for refund or replacement in my case. As fun as their federschwerts are to spar with I afraid that Hanwei has gotten the last of my funds. :(

Edit: Disregard my last statement. Hanwei stands by its product and has made things right :D

@Allen Foster: Try contacting Hanwei directly. They may be able to help you anyway.

I'm glad it all ended well!

Good to hear that, Allen, since I recently recommended two hanwei trainers to my sparring class.

Thomas

Ensifer feders are pretty nice (if you have a "full sword", take the lighter version, if not the heavier), and I would also recommend the Peter Regenyei federschwert.

http://www.regenyei.sg18.net/en/en_index.htm

I'm not sure they're on his website yet, But I have handled a few of his feders brifely, all of which were superb. As far as I know, he's just made some extra improvements, so they should be better still. Keep in mind that they are pretty minimalistic (at least the basic model) - the handle is made of bare wood. They are, however (possibly also because they are minimalistic) pretty cheap. I'd recommend you contact him. :)

Also, the Howe is a good sword - handles great, very lively and responsive - but quite expensive.

EDIT:

There are some pictures of said feders on this forum:

http://www.ghfs.se/Forum/tabid/83/forumid/1/p...fault.aspx

I've seen a Howe fail. Twice. Once a piece of the blade hit a bystander, luckily not resulting in bodily harm (phew).
It wasn't mine so I'm not sure what caused it, but I figured I'd share it anyway.

I've never seen other Moc blades break, while my school used a lot of them (mostly Talhoffers).

That said, there are no 'safe' steel sparring swords.
Control is the 'safety'.
You'll never be able to go all-out with steel like when using shinais.

I've been fighting in the sword fighting tournament at the castle of Doornenburg last weekend and one of the participants used a Pavel Moc - Howe. When I looked at his sword during the fights then the Howe was a real disappointment, it is way to whippy (it must be said that the guy had a fast style, which accentuates this) and what disappointed me the most that after a few strikes, the blade wasn't straight anymore, it had a strong curve to one side. After seeing this I made my choice and decided to buy one of the heavy feders of Ensifer since this is highly recommended by many sportly sword fighting groups.
The only thing that I still need to do is to convince the wife :D

Being said that, I want to tank everybody for their contribution to this discussion and assure you guys that I'm fully aware of the fact that a flexible blade isn't the full solution for safety in sparring but that you also need the propper safety equipment and a good state of mind so that you can control your actions.

Thank you guys for the help,
Davy Van Elst

whats the price point on one of those (Ensifer)?

The ensifer swords aren't that expensive (certainly less expensive then Albion or Pavel Moc). I think that it is best that you contact him to get an updated price, he can be contacted on ensifer@wp.pl.

I just had my long awaited Albion Liechtenauer delivered last night and this might be the new sword in box smell blurring my mind but I never want another sword for sparring. Oh, and the small bottle of Ballistol is a complimentary drink right?