[Nathan F]

hello all
im about to assist in setting up Ireland's first and only longsword school. now we have access to a wood working shop so wasters are the obvious choice to start with.
what i would like to know is there anyone who has experience in making them?
any advice will help in getting the correct weight and so on
apart from that anyone know where to get fencing masks in Ireland or Europe?
and can anyone recommend a maker for cheapish and sturdy blunt swords for training with???
and of course any other help or advice is appericated
thank you in advance all

[Nathan M Wuorio]

Well, I've never made a waster before, so I'm no help there. However, for a fencing mask, I would recommend Leon Paul in England. I'm a fencer and I love the stuff they offer, they have some good training masks (not the really expensive ones) in their club section online, just look up Leon Paul and you'll find their U.K. website. For cheapish blunts, I recommend Paul Chen, they're inexpensive, and I think they last a bit, at least mine have. Paul Chen stuff is widely available, so you should be able to find it everywhere. Here are some really good pictures of a couple of their longer blades.
The hand-and-a-half sword: http://www.kultofathena.com/product~item~PC21...+Sword.htm
The Federschwert Practice blade: http://www.kultofathena.com/product~item~SH23...+Sword.htm
Also for consideration is Windlass's Two Handed blunt: http://www.kultofathena.com/product~item~5010...+Sword.htm

I hope you find something that will work.

Cheers,
Nathan.