Hello all!
I saw that Dark Sword Armory has a new online magazine called Blade's Edge. It is dedicated just to the manufacture and use of the sword throughout history.
It is a pretty enjoyable read. and it features articles written by Tinker Pearce, also with some recognized HEMA instructors.
I think this magazine shows a lot of promise, and I thought I should share it with you all.

http://darksword-armory.com/blog/blades-edge-...014-vol-1/

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I've never seen two-handed Viking swords until Darksword Armory decided to make one.

Yeah, that is my only problem I have with DSA really. They focus too much on fantasy, and inspirational pieces. And not enough historical blades.
The quality of their swords have improved greatly in the past few years though. I have been considering making a review of their products old vs new, as I have swords from several years of their business.

They have improved in almost every way. Better weight, better balance, added taper. And their new scabbards are very nice for non custom work.
My two favorite swords from them are The Crusader, and the WMA-701.
My Crusader sword only weighs 2 lbs 5 oz, and the POB is 3". It feels nice and light in the hand, and handles very comfortably.
The WMA weighs 2lbs 7 oz, and it's POB is about 3 1/2". If you order the WMA with the rounded tip, you get an Oakeshott type X blade, and the traditional tip is a type XII blade, both of which handle very well and comfortably. And to boot the WMA is an absolute tank.
They have ironed out almost all of the issues they had with their old swords, like edge inconsistency, lose hilt fittings, weight, balance, etc.
The only problem I have with them is their lack of historical sword verity, especially when it comes the the 11th and 12th century's.

And here is the link to their blog.

http://darksword-armory.com/sword-blog/

When I look at the statistics of many of the DSA models featured at Kult of Athena (perhaps older designs?) I see little to no distal taper, and too much weight. Over at DSA, you are offered blunt and sharpened versions of the same sword. Most of these seem to have been designed as blunts, which won't be very functional cutters, etc. once they have been sharpened. The geometry that makes a good blunt, won't work well as a sharp, and vice versa. A sword should be designed as one or the other, not both.

People who have bought DSA in the past have a sour taste in the mouth. I speak from personal experience. DSA would have to send me free of charge a decent product before I would buy from them. If they did that successfully, I would buy that decent product. I'm not holding my breath.

I would maintain that there are a variety of products in the sub $500 field that will outclass a DSA handily. No matter the intended use.

I have owned several of their swords and even one of their most recent offerings. I have also passed these swords along to others. They make some unique designs and the blades were very tough on the ones I owned. What made me pass the swords along to other people for no cost or almost no cost were the blades. They were just not anywhere close to being functional cutting swords and the blades were not made to do so. I do think they are improving but are not there yet. The VA line is currently much better and certain Del Tin models offer good choices as well. My opinion and just my opinion is their current models are beaters and fall short in design and function for the price they charge. I am also looking forward to changes they are making to improve their product line. They recently showed a video of the owner with a blade doing a flex test that looked promising.