I'm finally in the position to begin gathering kit to portray a late 12th century knight or infantry man.

My question is, where do I go for the sword?

This is what I want:

A functional, tough, historically accurate sword for the period I'm interested in, but one that won't get me kicked off the field for safety reasons when I pull it out.

Are dull Windlass or Albion swords allowed, or am I looking in the wrong area?

I'm willing to spend around $500 CDN. I really don't want to make too many compromises in terms of functionality (aside from it being blunted) and historical accuracy.

Does anyone have a suggestion or two for me? I've been looking at the Windlass Classic Medieval, but the reviews suggest the blade is so thin, even unsharpened, that it is still too dangerous for reenacting.

Thanks for any help you guys could offer.

Just to add, I also really like the Del Tin 2121 sword but I can't seem to find any of his retailers that carry it.

Anyone have a link for that one?

a-work-of-art.net has the Del Tin for $390

And with Del-Tin I can relax with the assurance of high quality?

I want this thing to last, and I'm going to be rough with it.

Thanks for the link, btw.

Are you going to use the weapon for actual contact fighting?

If so, anything with an edge that has a thickness below 2 mm should probably be avoided. 1,5 mm can work, but personally I'd rather have something a bit beefier. Edge resilience is also important, the sword is going to take a fair bit of abuse, and fighting with something akin to a saw is not recommended....

Johan Schubert Moen

Thanks Johan,

So, what would you recommend?

Pete,
Many people use Del Tin swords and Lutel swords for reenactment. We have reviews of both brands (and many more) on our Reviews page. Please have a look through them for more information.

Del Tin swords were long the standard bearer for functional, reasonably priced swords. They have now been largely upstaged by other companies. They are still relatively durable, relatively attractive, relatively good-handling (usually) swords. They are designed to be somewhere between a blunt and a sharp sword.

I said "relatively durable" above because Del Tin's can loosen in the hilt over time. This is easily fixed, though, by looking at Bjorn's article on repeening.

I've owned a good number of Del Tins (please see my Collection Gallery), though all have moved on in my collection in favor of better (though more expensive) items. DT's are still a pretty good value and pretty well-regarded.

Thanks Chad.

I've read all the reviews, there just aren't any for the specific swords I'm interested in.

I don't like to deal with absolutes, but seeing as how I simply cannot afford an Albion at this time, what, generally, is the better sword in terms of historical authenticity and durability; the Del Tin 21xx series or the Windlass Medieval Classic?

I apologise if I'm spamming the thread with questions, but I really don't know where else to go for quality information. Manufactures are certainly going to be biased.

Might it be reasonable to compare the reviews of the DT2123 and the Windlass Crusader Sword to gleam information on the 2121 and Medieval Classic?

Am I wrong in assuming there is a benchmark of quality standard between swords of the same manufacture?

Pete,
The reason I suggested reading more reviews is because you can get an general idea of how a manufacturer does things by reading a variety of reviews of their products, even if the sword you're interested in isn't covered. :)

You may want to consider the Albion Squireline. They are blunts, a la Del Tin, but with a more durable hilt assembly. Their The 13th Century Knightly Sword is $389 and would fit your period pretty well. Though they call it a 13th century sword, both the blade and hilt form were in use in the preceding century (and earlier).

If the choice is between a Windlass and Del Tin and you need durability, I'd go with the Del Tin personally.

Lutel makes a good blunt from all reports and their swords come with sheaths and belts, which Del Tin's do not. Windlass swords only come with a scabbard. www.lutel.cz

The knightly sword is a very nice sword, and I would highly recommend it. I saw it among it's Next Gen brothers, and was still able to appreciate the quality of it. It is quite plain, but still nice looking in person, and it had a great feel to it as well. I was very impressed. I could not swing it, because I was at a crowded knife show, but in hand it felt as nice as any of the Next Gens. In fact, I preferred the feel of the Knightly to that of the Knight. If I remember correctly it had a bit more blade presence, which I liked (probably because of the unsharpened edges?).

Kenton

I'd go for a Lutel, Armourclass, Paul Binns or similar. While the blunt Albions are nice, the edges are somewhat thin, so they will nick rather quick. A custom Paul Binns would be a good choice, as long as you make sure to specify the weight and shape of the blade.

Armourclass blades are nice as well, though the hilts sometimes look a bit "modern". But that could probably be fixed. Be sure to get the narrow blade option though, the wide ones are somewhat heavy.

Johan Schubert Moen

Sorry if I add to the confusion, Pete, but you might want to try.

http://www.sword-gur.com/

if the look of his swords suits you. ;)

I have a longsword from this site, and it handles good, looks nice and it appears it can take a beating ( as I've just tested again today :) ).

The edges on this sword are on the thin side of 2mm ( 1,9mm perhaps ), but they hold well. Handling- and finish-wise it's comparable to Lutel. I had the opportunity to make some direct comparisons today.

Regards

Micha

( Edited for grammar and to add a comment comparing sword-gur and Lutel )

Thanks Micha.

This is my main worry. I go out and buy a high quality sword like those linked to above only to find out, even blunted, it is too sharp for reenacting. On the other side of the coin I don't want to go out and buy a "battle ready" blade that is suitable for reenacting but falls short in terms of historical authenticity and functionality (minus the cutting).

There has to be a middle ground. Historically accurate swords made for steel on steel.

Any opinions on this?

[ Linked Image ]

http://www.armourclass.com/Data/Pages/Medieval_Main2.htm

I like the looks of the top one, but then again, I'm an 11th C. kinda guy. :p For your time frame, I'd say go with the bottom one. The hilts on both look alittle off to me, but not too bad. Plus you could fix that if you really had to have top authenticity. I know the boys on the other side of the pond swear by armourclass.

The ACs are pretty much the best value for money sparring swords you are going to get. They are rock solid, and the thinner blades (3,8-1,9 or 2,5) handle real well.
Our group has a ton of them. The thin blades are recommended, though.