I am very new to the whole act of buying swords. Three months ago, although finding the idea interesting I probably would have thought I was ludicrous that I would seriously consider it. Now however given a renewed interest in the subject to a level that I have not had in five to ten years I am seriously considering making a purchase. I am focused on Albion products although some the the Arms and Armor items also look interesting for at a later date.

Now I have read the reviews here on the swords by those makers as well as reviews of the producers and vendors themselves on some other sites. The issue that is keeping me from committing to making a first purchase is quite simple. No matter how many reviews I read or pictures I look at I still have not held an example of the item I want to purchase in my hand. I am not going to spend $800-$1500 on an item sight unseen, I have been burned a number of times by products that looked good in print or photograph that I have found to be not what I thought I was getting and as such was ether disappointed by or that I actively hated and would have returned for a full refund if it had been possible. In those cases it what $100 or less, this I an order of magnitude difference.

As such how would I go about getting my hands on examples of swords by these manufactures for me to personality examine. Are there list of all the events that vendors plan to attend over the next year? If a major gun and knife show were held in my area could I expect to find company's like Albion and Arms & Armor in attendance? These question I hope exemplify the is the kind of info I am hopeing members here could provide me with.

As an FYI, I Map-quested it and driving to visit Albion in Wisconsin is out of the question. It is a 1000 mile round trip by road from where I am at. As for a general location, I am on the Lake Huron side of Michigan north of the Detroit Metro area approximately 100 miles from Detroit and 70 miles from Saginaw.

Any advice would be appreciated.

If you order a sword from Kult of Athena, you can send the sword back in 45 days and replace it for another one if you don't like it.

If your near detroit, albion will be at the ISMAC til the 6th...which gives you a couple days to try and make it out there.

You could try seeing if anyone owns Albion swords near you and is willing to show them to you.

In terms of quality and craftsmanship, I think just about everyone on the forum (including myself) will vouch for Albion and Arms and Armor. Where you will run into debate is whether the quality is worth the price, diminishing returns, etc, which has been discussed several times here. Personally I think they are worth it, but that's just my opinion.

Best bet...plan a vacation to Chicago next summer while the Bristol Faire is running. Spend a day at the faire and another day at the Kult of Athena showroom. Won't be very darn much you can't get your hands on in that interval, and to my knowing, its really about the only way to avoid a crapshoot for selection.

In terms of quality of construction... you are HIGHLY unlikely to get a bad sword from Albion or A&A.

However... that aside, if you are talking about not knowing if a sword will 'click' with you... thats a different story and a very real concern. The numbers... PoB and CoP and weight and distal taper and all that... they only tell part of the story. Unitl you have a sword in hand, you can never be sure if it will feel 'right'.

Short of visiting Albion or KoA directly, or catching Albion or A&A at an event where you can handle many of the weapons... its always a risk buying something via the internet... you might not like it.

As was mentioned, KoA does offer a 45 day exchange so if you find you don't like the sword, you can try another... assuming you don't mess the weapon up while you have it. :p

I myself over the past few years have bought/sold/tradded over 150 swords... this has allowed me to handle many types and many makers and start to get a sense of what I like. I buy it... play with it for awhile... if I fall in love with it it stays, if not I sell or trade it and try something else. The Marketplace here has been great for that... I have bought, sold and tradded with the fine folks here many times over and am thankful for the resource. Its been invaluable to me in learning what my tastes in blades are.

Hi Karl
I have currently two Albions, both where bought on there visual appearance only as I live in Australia. The feel of each sword once it was in my hands, not only confirmed what the reviews I had read on these forums said, but surpassed them in terms of quality, attention to detail and handling. I am no sword expert but I know what feels right to me, so much so that I have ordered two more. hope this helps your decision a bit, it took me months of reading reviews before I bought my first Albion.

Not knowing what you'll get is a very valid concern and can only be remedied by the suggestions already given.

On the other hand, if you were to commission a custom made sword, you'll have no idea how it looks, let alone handles, until you get it... ;)

And there are also swords that you have to spend some time with before you start to appreciate them, perhaps especially if you do not have a lot of experience handling swords. All in all, I don't think the makers mentioned in this thread make bad products, so if you have realistic expectations, not only in terms of quality but also in terms of handling like Jean mentioned, I think it's not possible to make a really bad choice.

I thought I would mention that I am interested in longswords that were designed to both deliver a strong cut but at the same time have quick point control and can thrust well. As such I have been looking at Type XVIa, Type XVIIIa-XVIIIc, and Type XXa swords. Type XIIa and Type XVII are also of some interest as, from what I read, though the Type XIIa being cutting and Type XVII a thrusting types they each had some ability to do the others action.

At an aesthetic level I like swords that don't have a lot of fancy decoration or engraving on them but appear to be made for battlefield practicality. I think that is why I latched on to Albion's Next Generation line as soon as I first saw it. I also like the appearance of a more continuous or steadily changing taper to the blade. For example I don't like the appearance of the the Yeoman or Castellan due to the extremely short width to length ratio of the former and the near triangular shape of the later. However the Crécy, Munich, Earl, and Viceroy really draw my attention. The Sempach and Baron however also have qualities I enjoy on a visual level.

Karl

The personal feel (which is an evolving thing, also depending on training and experience) and falling-in-love (or not) factors are definitely important. I'm not sure if I'll ever find the perfect sword (that's one reason why we keep collecting) but some swords seem great at the start but then the thrill is gone a few months later. Others I could never part with, and it doesn't seem to correlate very well with the price I paid, as long as it was properly constructed.

One way to go is to look at the classified section here. Most of the ones you are interested in are periodically available (at least one is available right now) and often in brand new shape. You can save some money, and then if you find its not quite what you were looking for after a few months, and you don't want to keep it and add a second one, you can likely sell it again for the same price or trade it while only loosing shipping costs.

Hello Karl,

Yes, I know exactly what you are talking about since I experienced this situation myself. My first two swords were two clunky, dead feeling objects yet they were ok for the money. There is an old adage, "...you get what you pay for..." If you buy cheap and don't get what you want then you have lost the purchase price, but if you pay more and do get what you want then you have only paid the extra money. Firms like Albion do not get good reputations by providing shoddy products, even if the cost is somewhat high you get a very high quality sword that handles well, is lively and very functional, i.e. a "live blade" by all accounts of people who own them. There are other makers outthere too but my experience has only been with Albion for the top quality swords. For middle of the road swords, Hanwei is the way to go IMHO but they sometimes have their lemons although you can send the sword back to the seller. Again, choose a seller with a good reputation and well known business record. Members here can give you some good direction.

Look at the Collections of members on this site and see who made their swords for other top grade sword mfgs. For the sword you want personally to fit you there is no substitute for handling, and you are correct in that concern. When one commissions a sword to be made that is somewhat impossible until the sword is completed. I recommend that you form an idea of the period and type of sword you really want, and yes visit Albion if you can. Handle their sample swords and select the one that seems right for you and they will make it. I bought several swords as I mentioned above before I bought the Albion Reeve which is what I really wanted in a medieval sword and I was satisfied very much with it. I could have a few hundred dollars if I had done so in the first place as my wife has pointed out to me again and again. I also recently purchased an Albion Baron as a companion to the Reeve and am very satisfiend with it too.

Regards,

Harry