I am determined to get a Scottish basket hilt. If you were to have only one, would you choose the backsword or the broadsword? I get the impression from this and other fora that the broadsword tends to be identified with the '15, and the backsword with the '45? Would the backsword then be seen as a natural evolutionary development of the Scottish basket hilt? And any thought on WHY that might be (if it is) would be appreciated.

Or is this just a "boxers or briefs" sort of question? :\

Marc Blaydoe, relative newbie

Wow, you are opening a can of worms, aren't you? :D In my opinion - and I think this is demonstrated by surviving specimins - the broadsword was older and evolved from the medieval broadsword with most of the antecedents being German in origin. The backsword co-existed in the Jacobite period was a more recent development perhaps evolving from the single-edged saber or the like. For your purposes, I think it's a matter of what you are trying to portray. Personally, I have a deeper interest in the 1745 but want the impression based on older, less recent developments. So I opt for an earlier pattern dirk and a ribbon-hilted broadsword - family hand-me-downs maybe. More romantic, at any rate !
The backsword will tend to be lighter and feel more supple - you can see some dueling going on with it. The broadsword is a cleaver. It's sole function was to part some appendage of your anatomy with it's source. In the final analysis, both co-existed in this period and it may just come down to a matter of taste. Good luck....George

Mark...

Broadsword or backsword is purely a personal preference. Because of the larger blade the broadsword is heavier and less easy to wield. The backsword is more manueverable and would be my choice for active sword play. However, keep in mind that neither of these are fencing swords. They were not used in that manner originally and those available today should not be used in that manner, lest you end up with a badly nicked or broken blade.

There are a number of very good reproductions on the market today, but for my money the best and more historically accurate manufactured Scottish basket hilt swords come from CAS Ibeiria and are made by Hanwei. If you want to pay a small fortune for one there are plenty of custom makers ready to take your money. But, if you want the sword for the reasons that I think you do, then one of the Hanwei products will suit you nicely.

LR

Backswords go as far back as the 1590's George Silver taught it's use in Paradoxes of Defence.

The Broadsword was not heavy despite what people tend to believe it averaged 1kg in weight.

Neither were unwieldy.

Lin, what makes you say that Backswords are more Manueverable?

I think you should first decide on what style of basket you want, then match the blade to the hilt. For example, the majority of Stirling hilts I have seen have had backed blades, while the majority of Edinburgh hilts I've seen have broadsword blades. While there are exceptions to these rules, choosing the basket may help you decide on which style of blade would have been most commonly mated to it. Have you decided on a hilt design yet?

Speaking out as a newbie (and long-while watcher/reader) I have the Cold Steel broadsword.
Like almost everything Cold Steel offers, it is a bit on the heavy side...
but is a nice blade.

I'm wondering if you intend to wield your choice of blade, or simply hang it on the wall. If the former, then I don't think you'd have any issues with the Cold Steel item, as I don't think this blade breaks very easily.

Hope this helps...
and really hope I'm not opening a can of worms, as I didn't bring my apetite!

Just a word of experience here. The Cold Steel basket is a copy of the British 1831 pattern and would not be correct for anything much earlier. It is heavy and poorly balanced. I bought and used a Paul Chen (Hanwai) basket hilt for a project and can say that of all the less expensive hilts out there, it had a better shape and size to the basket than anything I found. For me at least, a basket should fit the hand like a steel glove and the Hanwai comes pretty close to that. It is rather plain but a little filing and Dremel work can take care of that. If you go with a commercially made model, Hanwai beats Cold Steel hands down as far as I am concerned.

I guess what I am looking for is a "real" sword, not simply a wall-hanger, otherwise I would just buy a shiny Pakistani blade and be done with it (well, I REALLY don't like the metal scabbards). Basically, as historically accurate and as useable as possible for a modest budget would suffice. But I am not planning on actually going into battle...

Is the Andrea Ferrera stamp pretty much limited to the broadsword blades?