So I was searching around and came across a company called Deepeeka who I have never heard of before.

I was wondering if anyone has ever bought something from them and what their products are like.

Sorry if this post is in the wrong place this is around my 3rd major post.

Deepeeka is known for very inexpensive, heavy, crudely made, but generally "nice looking" and sturdy swords. They work decently for entry-level reenactment or wall displays to impress people who know nothing about historical weaponry. About ten years ago I purchased eight or nine Deepeeka swords when I first made my foray into the hobby, mostly from the ancient and early medieval period. They were all bulky and the fittings on the scabbards were blah and the blades had no decent cross-sections, etc.

Lots of people have invested time in customizing Deepeeka swords (especially the ancient stuff) to make a better appearance for reenactment. It's also rumored - again, particularly with their Roman offerings - that the quality is getting much better these days. However, the prices are so low for a reason. These are not fine quality weapons. They're rather fun, though, and if for nothing more than to learn the decidedly different approaches to manufacturing modern reproductions, it might be worth picking up a couple of them so that you have a caution story down the road such as mine. Cheers!

-Gregory

Thanks for your reply.

For some reason I thought they were a under the carpet company rather than the go to people for starting off : P

I was interested in owning a steel sword mainly for practicing technique as I already have a rawlings synthetic and to possibly use in our class.

One of the overwhelming maxims is buy before you try Ben. Even the greatest swordsmith or cutler can make a sword that isn't right for you so nothing beats picking it up and feeling for yourself.

Where in the UK are you? I can probably suggest a few places to go. If you are near me on the mid wales/england border you are more than welcome to visit my store, piles of swords!

Griff

Over 14 years I sold many Deepeeka swords and other weapons. They ranged in quality from good to lousy, mostly good. We posted disclaimers everywhere to protect our company from lawsuits and fortunately nobody was ever injured, that we know of, using a sword or dirk or whatever that we sold them. We always, however, recommended these swords not be used in combat.

Now, depending on what I was buying from them I could either remove it from the packaging, wipe off the excess oil and grease and put it on the table and sell it, or I would have to do some sort of repair, minor to major, to feel good about offering it to my customers. The price point for their stuff is indicative of what you may want to do to some of their pieces when you buy them and as mentioned by someone else, apparently end-user modifications to these swords are common.

All that being said, they were fine people with which to work. They were helpful, careful to notify me when a back-ordered pieces arrived and willing to accept the return of anything that was simply not reparable at our location (when repairs were needed). We developed a nice customer - seller relationship and I can vouch for their integrity.

One thing I really liked about them was they offered a wide variety of stuff that nobody else made or sold. It was not always in stock but if you were patient eventually it would arrive. I can also say that as we prepared to sell our business to another vendor, in late 2014, the quality of some of their pieces, and not just the Roman stuff, had improved. In fact, when we sold out I did keep a couple of items for my personal collection.

So, as always caveat emptor but you could do a lot worse than a Deepeeka sword or armor.

Ben...Armour Class in Glasgow would be a good choice for a basket hilt. They make several different configurations and are of very good quality.

Yes, Armour Class do great basket hilts, must be something in the water up there. They can do blunt or sharp and I use AC for all my live fight needs for over 20 years with no problerms and excellent service.

I don't have a shop Ben sorry if saying store gave you that impression. I have an armoury/arsenal as I'm a historian dealing with that kind of thing for events, museums film and tv.

I'm occasionally on the IOW at Osborne and Carisbrook although sadly not for the jousts this summer, I'll be in Cornwall. If you can make it up to E London on 18/19 June there will be a few dealers there. Phil Fraser will be selling Heron Armoury swords, also very good, made by Tim Noyes. If not the biiiiiiiig market is TORM 11/12 13 March where there will be more sword sellers than you can wave a sword at.

I was considering finally getting a spear, and this one piqued my interest:

http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=...Tene+Spear

...What I start to wonder about with Deepeeka products is how well they actually hold up, considering that they are not tempered according to their website. Observe the rather interesting entry here as an example:

http://deepeeka.in/products-catalog/edged-wea...sword.html

Perhaps some of their arms are actually tempered, but I doubt it when some of their swords are listed as being made of mild steel! Just take a look here:

http://deepeeka.in/products-catalog/edged-wea...-1611.html

That said, is there anyone here with some technical experience regarding durability or usage of a sharp/functional Deepeeka weapon? I see they also sell crossbows, but I'd need to have a really good reason to put my money down with a company that would sell a sword made of mild steel. Heck, if I wanted one of those, I'd just buy an angle grinder and requisition a 1/4" piece of plate from work!

*EDIT: Upon re-reading some of the thread, there is a bit of insight into usage of Deepeeka weapons. I suppose what I'm after is a bit more insight into their use as (potentially) modified arms in a training application. That question has already been asked, yes, but if there's a bit more information to share, I'd appreciate it.