Does anyone use them, and how do they perform. What are the blades like in terms of flexibility and stiffness?

[ Linked Image ]

Hello,
Maybe not the best person to judge.
But the fuller it seems to me too C.N.C. machines.
Regards

They are practice swords, so one can debate whether a historical look is even important in a practice sword. :)

Hello Chad,
After the criticism received history, I must say very constructive, from now on, only historical swords.
;)

I am interested only in performance, I already have historically accurate trainers and I'm simply looking for entry level blades for those new to WMA.

Carlo, it was not for you, of course free to choose.
It was just a thought between me and Chad.

Fortunately, I said that I was not the right person to judge, but now I understand. :blush:

I have handled and spared with one of the original proto-types from A-Trim. I had present both the hand and half version and the single-handed version. The I-beam blunts felt no different then real swords and I liked them very much. I am glad to see that they have gone into production. My only reservation with the proto-types was that they were so stiff that one of them actually punctured through the suede leather that was holding my Coat of plates together. This stiffness may be bad or good depending on how close a shave you like when you play. It is worth finding out about the stiffness in current production models. There may also be enough variation so you can get exactly what you want.

I've handled these on a few occasions, and had actually considered picking one up from KoA in the near future.

The only real problem I see (other than the stiffness mentioned above) is that the edge corners are a little too fine and should be rounded. The ones I have seen all seem to have taken a fair amount of edge damage that could be prevented if you simply filed them down a little.

Yeah, those edges will cut you - they pretty much have to be filed. I've got a pair of gauntlets with some wicked cuts in the palm from just grappeling/grabbing my opponent's I-Beam during some testing I did a couple of weeks back.

I still might order one of these, but to be honest if it were my one sparring sword - I'd might save a little money and go for the A&A Zohgo - it's the most-durable and safest rebated blade I've seen yet. Of course, it's not pretty, but it does not take edge damage nearly to the extent as other rebated swords do. :D

Your best cost-effective bet would just be Hanwei Practical Hand and a Halves. If you can find someone in WMA to wholesale these to you, you would only pay $60-$65 a piece for them. I['ve found that with proper care, they can last for a few years (if you file down the edges, replace the grip with hemp cord, and tighten the peen occassionaly.)

I mean, one I-Beam or three Hanweis - from the WMA standpoint, I'd have to chose the latter. There are things about the I-Beam that I like, but I don't like it that much! :D

Well, I went ahead and ordered a new ATrim I-Beam from KoA the other day for myself. It arrived today just before I left for work. If you are considering ordering one, wait...here is why...

When I unpacked my I-Beam, I found a couple issues with it that makes me not such a happy camper.

The first issue is that out of the box, the blade has a obvious convex set to it - a bend right at mid-blade that puts the blade out of alignment with with guard. Over the length of the sword, this set is probably 1/2 of an inch - so its a pretty big deal. I don't see how this made it past QC.

The second issue is that the grip was wrapped pretty badly - the seam overlaps and sticks up 1/16" of an inch and there are loose bulges at each riser where the glue did not adhere the leather to the underlying cord. Not such a big deal, but it would be for someone who did not have the resources to replace the grip leather.

I have sent a letter to KoA asking for a replacement I-Beam. The grip I could fix, the blade is a deal breaker though.

Just tossing this out there in case anyong was still thinking about buying one of these in the near future. I am sure that this is just an instance of a bad egg, but I'd wait until I got this sorted out to see what happens.

EDIT: Sonny from Valiant contacted me about getting me a replacement for the sword in question. +1 for his customer service effort. I'll post a small review when the replacement gets here. :)