Hi Guys,

I've recently diverted my sword addiction to Longswords, and was wondering which (on a low budget) would be the best sword to start with? I've been looking at the Paul Chen/Hanwei Knightly sword and I was wondering if any of you had any experience with them? I would only require it for light/medium sparring, nothing particuarly hardcore. Any help would be great as I have very little experience with practical sword,

Thanks again,

Henry

For cheap swords that will still please the eye and work well for sparring visit this mans page;
http://www.sword-gur.com/

The practical knightly is a decent sparring weapon for the price...the steel is not overly soft and the tang and hilt assembly is pretty secure as well as having nice wide edges. Becarfull in the thrust because it does not flex that easily. Other than that the only thing I really don't like about it is the fact that vibration is excessive when ever you strike or parry. The cheapest place I have seen one is at Kult of Athena (where I got mine) at around $95.

Thanks, those www.sword-gur.com swords look nice, but I was looking for a place to order in the UK, they're selling the Paul Chen for £68.00 on this site:

http://www.medieval-weaponry.co.uk/acatalog/P...Sword.html

The only thing is that I hear there are three types of these swords (1st,2nd&3rd Gen), is there a great change in quality between them? I'm supposing that all shops are selling the latest one. I also read something about the guards becoming loose, has anyone had this problem? Sorry for being so intense, I just want to get it right before I buy.

Thanks,

Henry

The guard and also the pommel will come loose with usage. You will find them to rattle a bit but the sword will not come undone, so it is more of an issue of taste than of safety. We use them a lot in our training. From time to time some of them get the peen tightened to stop the rattling but you won't get completely rid of it. Anyhow it is a very good weapon for the money.

Herbert

Thanks Herbert, aside from the above swords, does anyone know of any other low budget 'Battle Ready' swords which would be suitible? I have seen a John Gill Singh range which look good, but I'm not sure if they can be used in sparring?
Cheers,

Henry

I own multiple of them. The newer ones are better. Avoid the first run of them if possible, they are usable but loosen. The most recent one I got has been excellent. i is a year and a half years old and only scuffing from beating other weapons and plate armour.

RPM

I've had one which has gone through a years training and has stood up, but as others have said, it has been repeened once and the cross is slightly loose.

If you get one, get a file and round of the edges, it'll make it last a hell of a lot longer. After the first session of use mine got a few nicks in it, but I went and rounded the edges and its lasted far better now. That said, if you can wait a little longer go get something from www.stgeorgearmoury.co.uk, his swords a very very good.

In fact if you go to www.stgeorgearmouryshop.co.uk he has a single hander ready to go and believe me when I say there is a gulf in class between that and the Paul Chen's.

I've got the 'big brother' of that sword (a hand and a half version, same pommel, same cross etc) and it can take a beating and still look like new. The edges are brilliantly done, and the it holds together like it's made of rock. Not only that, it feels alive in the hand, unlike my Paul Chen. Seriously, if you can save some more cash, go for that one or soemthing similiar from another smith.

3rd gen are the better of the 3. i have a first gen viking and had to re-peen the pommel as well as seriously file down teh edges. i have also seen other 1st and 2nd gen's break off at the hilt.

be warned, after say 3-5 battles you will be replacing this sword.

I just recently got both the Practical single-hand and Practical Hand-and-a-half models. I believe they're both the most recent generation. While we have yet to fully put them through their paces, so far everyone in my class has been impressed by the apparent value.

The hand-and-a-half has already been through some sessions of nice sword-slapping parrying drills and shows only minor marks on the blade. No nicks in the blade that are sharp or clothing-catching.

Ironically, the hand-and-a-half is almost more well balanced for single-hand use than the single-hand version, since the pommel pulls the weight back quite well. It's not unreasonable to get this one to use both one-handed and two-handed. It's almost "too light" in two-handed use, but that doesn't bother me in the slightest. Both seem agile and versatile.

Chuck,

The 20 odd ones my friends use for their traiing have lasted years of 1-2 heavy practices a week (they have one weekday and one satuerday practice) on most with none being replaced. I have never heard anyone have that problem with them before of the disposable nature. The ones I have had a fairly heavy use for the first year as well and they are not even loose. I found them quite good, especially considering their price, shame to hear about your experience.

RPM