So this is a problem I've come across quite a bit in displaying swords and armour for the public, the blunted, rounded tipp.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Albion liechtenauer and there are some brilliant sparring weapons out there, but it's about time to add a longsword with a reinforced needle point to the collection and I was wondering if people have any advice as to who makes a good one and which swords showcase it well.

So, who makes a good needle pointed longsword? I know Albion does, but is there any one else?

Arms and Armor's Black Prince is supposedly quite good.

If we're talking about A&As, why not the Duke of Urbino or the Durer Bastard?

To me the Battle of Fornovo sword has a good needle point blade.
It's a reproduction of the same sword used by either French or Venetian forces in the real Battle of Fornovo in 1495.
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The Albion XVa Castellan, Constable, and Mercenary have strong needle points. They use the same blade. Their other XVa's have very sharp points, but not as acute as the first three I mentioned.

An option to consider is a commission. I've added an image of my A&A Type XVa longsword as an example. The commission was effectively an "economy commission," being quite simple in form and not costing much more than a typical production sword of this size from the company. The sword itself is 45" overall, with a 35" blade, 2" wide at the guard. I consider the slightly higher cost well worth it, as the options available from Albion did not quite meet what I had in mind, and I also felt their customer service was lacking in comparison to A&A. Craig is wonderful to work with and will answer any question you have as best he can.

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Arms & Armor Type XVa Longsword [ Download ]

I can say from owning an Albion Fiore, that it does have a reinforced point. It has a subtle but noticeable thickening, distally, that begins about seven inches back from the point. Since the Fiore shares its blade with the Ringneck, Crecy, and Talhoffer, they will have the same reinforcement.

If the Mercenary family has a similar thickening I would look at Albions Squire Line "late 15th Century Bastard Sword". It uses the mercenary blade at a lower level of finish and would save you a couple hundred dollars.

In fact if anyone has one of the shorter Albion XVa's and could verify that they do or do not have a distally thicker point, I would love to hear about it!

I have never seen and XVa done by Arms and Armor, but I have a beautiful type XX that they made the blade for. I'm sure they could make you one hell of an XVa.