Hello,

I am a huge fan of the Arms and Armor Fechterspiel as a training sword for longsword fencing, and it is the standard for my Schule. some of my students, however, have a tough time affording these excellent swords and frequently ask me about cheaper alternatives. The new Federfechter from Hanwei doesn't thrill me (despite how closely it matches extant swords in Switzerland), but I recently found a company called Alchem Fencing who make a very inexpensive Fechtbuch sword:

http://www.alcheminc.com/cruciform.html

Has anyone done business with these folks, or can anyone give me a review of their fechtbuch sword? I hate to drop $225.00 only to find I hate it, but the pictures don't tell much (thickness of blade, narrowness of tip, balance, weight, etc.). I would really appreciate any input (and my students would thank you!).

In case anyone's interested, I wrote to the owner of Alchem Armory for more information on his Fechtbuch sword and here's his reply:

"Thanks for catching the weight errors on the web site. Those are new listings and we simply copied descriptions of other items and changed the numbers. We obviously overlooked the weights. The Fechtbuch sword weighs a bit over 3.75 pounds with the 16oz pommel. The Meyer sword weighs 4.25 pounds also with a 16oz pommel. The examples I am
using both have 42 inch long blades. Of course another couple inches either way won't be significant. The point of balance on both is about 3 inches ahead of the guard, right near the point end of the schilt. As to stiffness, if pressed against a bathroom scale they will give a maximum of about 24 pounds unflexed. They are therefore less stiff than a standard schlager. The edge runs from 1/8" thick at the middle of the blade and tapers down to .066" to .071" at the
back end of the flare of the tip. The blades have a race track cross section overall, so the edges are rounded. These are very durable and are hardened to the low 50s Rockwell C. The points are 3/8" wide and rounded and are 1/8" thick. The schilt on the Meyer sword is not attached to the blade. It is actually part of the guard and consists of a rectangular tube which slides over the first several inches of the blade from the tang end. It is actually part of the guard. I hope this answers your questions. Now I'll have to add this information to our web site."