OK... I've been hanging around this place for awhile now and I finally decided to place my first post. For the past couple
of months now I've been contemplating doing something I thought I would never do. I've been considering having a
fully custom rapier made. There appear to be a variety of armouries out there that do excellent work, but the two that have really caught my attention are Darkwood and Vladimir Cervenka. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience
good, bad or indifferent with either outfit. Any feed back would be greatly appreciated.

Consider placing a custom order with Arms and Armor. IMO, they make the best production rapiers, and they do accept custom orders. Everyone who has gone this route and posted about it has been very happy with the result.

I also recommend Darkwood products. I've seen two to three dozen examples, not all rapiers, of swords. They've all been quite nice and show an understanding of construction and proportion. Some of them seemed a bit larger than they might have been historically. Many are more robust than historical counter parts: no doubt a testament to the customer-base of WMA practitioners he's creating his products for.

I'd strongly recommend custom work from A&A. It's already mentioned above, but their work is top-notch.

I have no hands-on experience with any rapiers from Cervenka, but will have that chance soon.

Earlier this year I received my custom rapier from Darkwood, and it was a very pleasant experience. I placed my order back in April/May of 2003, and approached Scott [Wilson] about a custom hilt. Communication was largely done via e-mail, but I did speak with him over the phone occaisionally to relay some of my thoughts and ideas. Ultimately, I gave him the freedom to make the hilt to his specs, based on a picture I'd sent him. And it was certainly worth it. It is not necessarily "light," but it is very well balanced.

Based on this original:
[ Linked Image ]

Pic 1:
[ Linked Image ]

Pic 2, with left hand dagger made en suite:
[ Linked Image ]


Best,

Thanks for the info guys, I do appreciate it. It looks to me like darkwood is going to be the front runner.

Scott Wilson at Darkwood does excellent work, and he's very versatile. As mentioned, his major clientile are rapier fencers, so the majority of his examples show hilts that, while certainly capturing the historical influence, are slightly modern looking. But he can do much finer detail if requested, as you can see in Geoff's rapier.

I'm also going to definately put a vote in for A&A though.
http://www.myArmoury.com/review_aa_custrap.html

As for Cervenka, I have no first hand experience, but have heard very good things.

I have a Cervenka Cup-hilt Rapier that should be arriving to my door step within the next week. I would highly recommend him. My experience was very positive and I found Vladimir to be very professional.
James