Hello.

This is actually my first post on this site, I know it very well since I actually read a lot of articles from here but now I have a question about something that is not covered on any topic I have seen, also I think I would have normally posted this on manufacturers section but the site did not allow me :/.

I am a WMA practitioner and as my practice sword I had a Hanwei practical longsword, I have no complaints about the handling, it is great but there is a problem, it broke and I didn't even clashed it with another sword when it broke, it has no dents and it was on a pretty good shape overall. I was just doing some practice and it broke and I suspect it was due to a bad heat treatment on the tang area (I might upload pictures later).

The thing is that my budget is tight, I cannot afford an Albion or an Arms and Armor so I have been looking for something similar but within my price range that won't break as easily as my Hanwei.

I have taken a look on Darksword Armoury which are within my budget and they seem to be rather resistant, the problem is that I have seen many complaints about them not being authentic, not historically accurate and that some of their swords are tad heavy, but I have found two models that are within a reasonable weight and POB which are:
http://darksword-armory.com/products-page/med...word-1537/
and
http://darksword-armory.com/products-page/med...word-1352/

so I wanna hear your thoughts with the following points, also if you know of a sword that could be good please mention it :

Handling, resistance, price and performance in general is what matters
Throw authenticity out of the window: TBH I just want a good sword within my price range that won't break.
Historical accuracy is important but not too much, if it handles like something that could have been used back in the day that's good enough for me.

If you don't mistrust all things Hanwei at this point, I hear good things about the Hanwei Tinker blades, though I've never handled one myself. I have an Albion Meyer, which is amazing, but used a Purpleheart Armory waster until I could afford that. A waster is a pretty cheap and durable option, unless you really need steel.

Maybe someone else will chime in about the Tinker line. Happy hunting! :-)

Hi Roberto

I started with a Hanwei Tinker and the club has 4 as our standard basic steel.

They are fine as starter swords and have survived a pretty tough life. I find them a little thin on the edge and they do take damage from harder blades. Nothing a file can't deal with and you can grind the edge a little broader.

If you can find one the Atrim I-beams are outstanding at the cheap end and they handle very well indeed.

cheers
mike

My guess is that you had an older Hanwei model, back before they got tighter on their quality control. The new Hanwei/Tinker models are the way to go. Built like tanks, and easy on the bank. I own the H/T Norman sword, and it's the toughest sword I've ever seen. Moves like a rapier, and hacks like an axe. Scary sharp, too. :eek: :D .......McM

Fabri Armorum is also a good choice. Kult of Athean sells them, I've had good luck with them too. They can be had for $200 to $300 range. I've bought a few stage swords from them, they are built well.

I'm new to swords, and the only two I own and have ever handled are both Hanwei: Tinker Pearce Sharpened Bastard and H/T Norman. Both are sturdy (I cut water bottles) and handle nice, although I have no basis for comparison with better swords. The Bastard sword I got on Ebay from somebody who got it at Kult of Athena (it was brand new) and the Norman came from KoA directly. From everything I've read on Sword Buyer's Guide and myArmoury, Hanweis are your best choice for budget swords that can be used for cutting and practice without fear that the blade will fly off.

[quote="Andy K] Hanweis are your best choice for budget swords that can be used for cutting and practice without fear that the blade will fly off.[/quote]

But that was exactly what happened to my Hanwei. I don't trust them too much now.

About Fabri Armorum I have seen them on KultofAthena and they do like something I would use but the lack of information about them is great, what can you guys tell me about them?

i own fabri armorum`s viking sword and cup hilt rapier.
they are very sturdy and robust and i don`t ever fear them to break.
on the other hand (at least my the viking sword) they sometimes are quite overbuilt, especially the blunts. dont know how it is with sharpened, maybe so much mass is taken off, that they get a better weighting.
the rapier is nicely balanced and handles well, but again, due to the heavy blade, he pays for this by a, for rapier proportions, short blade and a long grip with heavy pommel.

so i would say, from my experience, his swords are very sturdy, well suited for stage combat... can take a lot of punishment.
on the other hand, they might be a little too heavy for exact period weight and maybe also for use in period moves.

it seems, he was made aware of this problem, as he now offeres an additional "slim blade" choice on his homepage,
like for most of his longswords

Thanks to everyone who has posted you have been helpful.

Gottfried P. Doerler thanks for the info, I think I will be going for one of those, but still I have some options to evaluate.

Has someone tried out a DKS 15th century hand and a half? By the specs it seems to be a decent sword, good weight, pob and the brand seems to make very tough swords I'm really interested in that one but right now I'm more convinced about the fabri though the longsword at 4lb 15oz is a bit heavy for a longsword in my opinion.

I think I will be going for the fabri armorum slip longsword :), but before that what can you guys say about the practical Atrim ?
I have seen a couple reviews and they say it is amazing.

Darksword's Danish sword is pretty good. It's light, solid. The leather could use some rework that's for sure. I'm pretty sure most of the darksword products are aimed to be highly abuse-able rather than being historically accurate.

I really like Hanwei/Tinkers as well. My sharp bastard has seen years of use and is still in pretty good shape. Handles nicely as well. My only complaint is the handle is a little too narrow for me, but I've got big hands.

What is the primary intended usage?

Contact drilling with other steel swords? Floryshing and cutting practice? Sparring in heavy protective gear? Sparring in light to minimal gear? Pell work?

I think we need to know that before we can really give you the best advice.

You are right Scott I should have said that before, well the main uses will be drilling with other steel swords and sparring with both light and heavy gear.

No problem, just wanted to make sure that I was recommending the right stuff.

For that, I'd start by looking at the pieces here: http://hemareviews.blogspot.com/2013/08/hema-...ew=classic

Peter Regenyei's feders are very popular, so that might be a good choice.

There are several other relatively inexpensive Czech makers on that site that look pretty good as well. I am thinking of order a Mac Arms longsword myself.

edit: I'd also recommend saving up and getting a decent sharp sword, and training cutting. I personally don't do it often enough, but it's a valuable part of ensuring your strikes are effective.

Thanks for the link, there are some interesting pieces. I'm not big on sharp swords right now because cutting bottles is too easy for me by now and I definitely don't have enough money for tatami or something that requires more cutting technique.
We are a small group by now (my country definitely does not have a long tradition of HEMA or that kind of martial arts) but we are trying hard to be good at it :).

I will keep looking at the Czech manufacturers.

I'm no longer interested on the Danish one, I think I want it more for the aesthetics rather than it's shape and characteristics, it looks like a thrusting sword mainly and I need something more classical and able to perform on cutting, though I'm still interested on the 15th century longsword from DKS but no one seems to have it :/.

Again thanks to those who have been posting.