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Jean-Sébastien Dulude
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 Posted: Sun 04 Jun, 2006 7:35 pm Post subject: Asking for comments on two bladesmiths |
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Hi to everyone,
I'm a 30 years old guy from the Montreal region with a interest in swords, fencing and whisky (not all at once, thank you  )
After lurking here and reading some of the massive amount of info available, I wanted to give praise to everyone who has worked on this website. I salute you for your work, this is truly an impressive source of information for someone who is a beginner.
I've been considering buying a balanced sword for some time. I've yet to fall in love with any particular model but I've looked around quite a bit. They're are two makers in my region and I've not seen comments or reviews of their works. If someone as seen or handled some of their work, I would appreciate any form of feedback.
They are:
Darksword Armory: http://www.darksword-armory.com/index.html
Heimrick Armeor: http://www.heimrick.netfirms.com/
Thank you in advance!
ps: To anyone from Montreal or near, I'm looking to get in touch with other people interested in my hobbies. Feel free to PM me... surtout les francophones...
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Bill Grandy
myArmoury Team
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| Posted: Sun 04 Jun, 2006 8:25 pm Post subject: |
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Hi, and welcome to myArmoury!
Years ago I had a couple bad experiences with Darksword. Ordered a cheap axe from them off of eBay. To be fair, the item was very cheap, despite their claims to it being fully functional. Took months and months to ship, and I never received any responses to my many e-mail inquiries. I was beginning to assume it was never going to show up, and that I'd been scammed, but eventually it showed up. It was mounted on a dinky little dowel rod. The steel was ridiculously soft.
I've seen a couple of their swords in person. I thought they were poorly balanced, poorly constructed, and in my opinion pretty ugly. Again, though, this was years ago. I haven't seen one in years, but I'm still turned off to the company for a few reasons: 1) their products still look bad to me through the photos I've seen, 2) they plagerize a number of artistic designs (such as Christian Fletcher's Elven hilted sword), 3) About two years ago one of their representatives on SFI searched out things said about them, and found my 2-3 year old posts expressing my disappointment. He insinuated that I was a liar, and tried to say that I confused them with other companies with similar names (companies that are far better, IMO). He was rude and insulting, and if that's how they handle customers, well, there's no reason for me to give them anymore business.
Now, I should let you know, that I've been accused by Darksword owners of being biased against Darksword, and that apparently my complaints are unfounded. *shrug* So take that for whatever it's worth. 
Heimrick I have no direct experience with, though I've heard from reputable people they make servicable blunt sword for WMA practice. Maybe someone else can chime in with more practical experience there.
HistoricalHandcrafts.com
-Inspired by History, Crafted by Hand
"For practice is better than artfulness. Your exercise can do well without artfulness, but artfulness is not much good without the exercise.” -anonymous 15th century fencing master, MS 3227a
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Jean-Sébastien Dulude
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| Posted: Sun 04 Jun, 2006 8:39 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you for taking the time to answer this post...
Since my first post, I've been looking at old post about Darksword and your opinion pretty much sums it up... That's really too bad because I was looking forward to encouraging local talent fist... Still, maybe I'll have a look in person, it's not that far. If I do, I'll post about it that's for sure.
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Bill Grandy
myArmoury Team
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| Posted: Sun 04 Jun, 2006 8:42 pm Post subject: |
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If you have the option of seeing them first hand, definately do so! First hand observation is always better than some guy off the internet.
HistoricalHandcrafts.com
-Inspired by History, Crafted by Hand
"For practice is better than artfulness. Your exercise can do well without artfulness, but artfulness is not much good without the exercise.” -anonymous 15th century fencing master, MS 3227a
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C.L. Miller
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| Posted: Sun 04 Jun, 2006 8:53 pm Post subject: |
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Salut Jean-Sébastien, and welcome to the forum!
I'm afraid that I don't have any personal experience with either of the makers you've linked, so I cannot comment upon handling characteristics or durability, but I can tell you what I suspect a number of forum members may comment upon and that is, based upon the photos on their websites, neither maker provides accurate recreations of historical weapons. Whether or not this is important to you will depend on what you're looking for in a sword.
I understand and applaud the motivation to seek out local (or regional) artisans, but I think that this may be a case where you'd be best advised to look further abroad. For affordable, production swords, especially for a first sword, I would steer you towards one of the "big three" makers currently active in North America; Albion, Angus Trim or Arms & Armor. There are other options, to be sure, and depending on your specific field of interest you may want to look further, but each of these makers represent a known quantity. You will see their names over and over again on this forum and others because they're good at what they do. Each has their own strengths and specialities, and the review section of this website will provide some insight into those. Some of their prices may be daunting, but you will find few who have had the pleasure of handling their wares who would claim they aren't worth the cost. A first sword is always special and its worth waiting to make sure the one you buy is one that will make you happy.
If one of Darksword's or Heimrick's models has a special appeal to you, or if you're really sold on the idea of buying local, I would recommend giving them a call and asking if you could visit them. Being able to handle the swords in advance of purchase and interact with the smith(s) personally could be a wonderful experience, and may serve either to allay or raise concerns.
In any case, I hope that some of this may be of use to you and that it isn't merely a reiteration of information you're already familiar with.
Good luck, and welcome once again!
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Mike Capanelli
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| Posted: Mon 05 Jun, 2006 8:26 am Post subject: darksword |
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I have owned a darksword two handed german longsword, But I think it would be better if you PM me about it.
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Gordon Clark
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| Posted: Mon 05 Jun, 2006 6:35 pm Post subject: |
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I own two Heimrick swords - a longsword and a rapier. They are both sturdy, good value for the money swords. That said they are not historically accurate in looks.
Gordon
Pics...
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Last edited by Gordon Clark on Mon 05 Jun, 2006 6:39 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Gordon Clark
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| Posted: Mon 05 Jun, 2006 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Bill Grandy wrote: | ...
Heimrick I have no direct experience with, though I've heard from reputable people they make servicable blunt sword for WMA practice. Maybe someone else can chime in with more practical experience there. |
Bill - You have played a bit with a Heimrick sword - my practice rapier is by him.
Gordon
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Jean-Sébastien Dulude
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| Posted: Mon 05 Jun, 2006 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Gordon Clark wrote: | I own two Heimrick swords - a longsword and a rapier. They are both sturdy, good value for the money swords. That said they are not historically accurate in looks.
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They're not show pieces that's for sure... That said, how is the handling, the balance? Do you consider them a good choice for live blade sparring?
JS
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Addison C. de Lisle
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| Posted: Mon 05 Jun, 2006 7:26 pm Post subject: |
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The price point seems a little low for Darksword or whatever it's called for them to be decently constructed, but I could be mistaken. And now that Chad mentions it, one of those swords does look like a complete rip-off of CF's elven hilt...I thought it looked farmiliar. I don't really know what to think about the other one. I'd personally suggest Albion, Arms and Armor, or Angus Trim.
www.albion-swords.com
www.arms-n-armor.com
http://angustrimswords.net/home.html
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Hugo Voisine
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| Posted: Mon 05 Jun, 2006 8:08 pm Post subject: |
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Hi there Jean-Sébastien. Nice to see another guy from Montréal here. I like swords, fencing and whisky too. 
If you want to encourage the local swordsmiths, I'll recommand SL Armoury over Darksword. I've tried a few DS swords in training, and have seems some of their higher quality pieces at the Salon de la Passion Médiévale and honestly wasn't convinced. Especially after my Armour Class one-handed viking destroyed a Darksword two-hander in a few blows... I wasn't the one who personnally did the destruction test but I've seen the results. The Darksword blade was ruined and it lost its pommel.
Don't know about Heimrick however, they look proper for training.
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Bill Grandy
myArmoury Team
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| Posted: Mon 05 Jun, 2006 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Gordon Clark wrote: | | Bill - You have played a bit with a Heimrick sword - my practice rapier is by him. |
I'd totally forgotten about that until you posted those pictures. I guess that A&A two hander you've got took up all the space in my memory.
Clearly a Virginia sword collector's get together is long overdue.
HistoricalHandcrafts.com
-Inspired by History, Crafted by Hand
"For practice is better than artfulness. Your exercise can do well without artfulness, but artfulness is not much good without the exercise.” -anonymous 15th century fencing master, MS 3227a
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Mark Mattimore
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Bruno Giordan
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| Posted: Tue 06 Jun, 2006 7:55 am Post subject: Re: Asking for comments on two bladesmiths |
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| Jean-Sébastien Dulude wrote: | Hi to everyone,
I'm a 30 years old guy from the Montreal region with a interest in swords, fencing and whisky (not all at once, thank you )
After lurking here and reading some of the massive amount of info available, I wanted to give praise to everyone who has worked on this website. I salute you for your work, this is truly an impressive source of information for someone who is a beginner.
I've been considering buying a balanced sword for some time. I've yet to fall in love with any particular model but I've looked around quite a bit. They're are two makers in my region and I've not seen comments or reviews of their works. If someone as seen or handled some of their work, I would appreciate any form of feedback.
They are:
Darksword Armory: http://www.darksword-armory.com/index.html
Heimrick Armeor: http://www.heimrick.netfirms.com/
Thank you in advance!
ps: To anyone from Montreal or near, I'm looking to get in touch with other people interested in my hobbies. Feel free to PM me... surtout les francophones... |
Just do a search on the web for darksword armoury. Some customers were quite dissatisfied (rat tangs etc).
I'm only reporting that such opinions exist, having seen none of their swords in person.
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Gordon Clark
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| Posted: Tue 06 Jun, 2006 1:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Jean-Sébastien Dulude wrote: | | Gordon Clark wrote: | I own two Heimrick swords - a longsword and a rapier. They are both sturdy, good value for the money swords. That said they are not historically accurate in looks.
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They're not show pieces that's for sure... That said, how is the handling, the balance? Do you consider them a good choice for live blade sparring?
JS |
I have used both in steel to steel training (the only reason I have them), but not lately. They seem pretty soft but very tough. Both have always returned to true after flexing There are a lot of nicks on both blades now, but no cracks or pieces larger than a fraction of a millimeter are missing.. The ARMA article referenced above may have more detailed info. The longsword is, to me, very heavy. The rapier weight is more in line with historical swords.
Gordon
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Kel Rekuta
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| Posted: Wed 07 Jun, 2006 3:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Gordon Clark wrote: | | Jean-Sébastien Dulude wrote: | | Gordon Clark wrote: | I own two Heimrick swords - a longsword and a rapier. They are both sturdy, good value for the money swords. That said they are not historically accurate in looks.
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They're not show pieces that's for sure... That said, how is the handling, the balance? Do you consider them a good choice for live blade sparring?
JS |
I have used both in steel to steel training (the only reason I have them), but not lately. They seem pretty soft but very tough. Both have always returned to true after flexing There are a lot of nicks on both blades now, but no cracks or pieces larger than a fraction of a millimeter are missing.. The ARMA article referenced above may have more detailed info. The longsword is, to me, very heavy. The rapier weight is more in line with historical swords.
Gordon |
Uh, that would be the AEMMA article....
Heimrich has made and continues to make certain models in a heavy weight. (Types I & 2) If he has a suspicion that you do stage fighting, he seems to send heavy ones that he can guarantee. We have worked with him for years to develop lighter more flexible blades. He has two lines of longsword that suit WMA blunt training requirements nicely. Oddly enough, he named them AEMMA Mark IV and V respectively.  I've used a Mk IV for a couple years both in and out of harness. It is exceptional for the task. Admittedly, I did some tuning of the cross and pommel. Several of our folks use them as is. A couple guys have the new Mk V which has a bit lighter blade and is longer in blade and grip. I'm not fond of it but it should suit the Germanophiles out there. It balances much more finely than the A&A Fechterspiel (sp?) which I've tried to use at the salle. It is a lot finer edged though.
As to them being soft? I'd be curious what you've struck them on. Our's seem to chew up everything they come in contact with. BTW, did you round off the edges on the blade you used? Sometimes JP leaves them a bit square. That might increase edge chips.
AFAIK we haven't seen any Albion products in blunt training, so maybe they're better. I really like their sharp / semisharp products. Same for Atrims. I love Gus's work. But for the $$ we haven't found anything better than Heimrich blades for steel blunts. Just be prepared for a six to eight month wait. His products are in demand and not just in Canada.
The Ottawa Medieval Sword Guild has a load of Heimrich blades as well. Contact them for more opinions from satisfied customers. http://www.ottawasword.org/
Cheers!
Kel
AEMMA Free Scholler
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Gordon Clark
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| Posted: Wed 07 Jun, 2006 3:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Bill Grandy wrote: | | Gordon Clark wrote: | | Bill - You have played a bit with a Heimrick sword - my practice rapier is by him. |
I'd totally forgotten about that until you posted those pictures. I guess that A&A two hander you've got took up all the space in my memory.
Clearly a Virginia sword collector's get together is long overdue. |
That would be fun Bill.
You could play with my glaive...
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Gordon Clark
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| Posted: Wed 07 Jun, 2006 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Kel Rekuta wrote: |
Uh, that would be the AEMMA article....
Heimrich has made and continues to make certain models in a heavy weight. (Types I & 2) If he has a suspicion that you do stage fighting, he seems to send heavy ones that he can guarantee. We have worked with him for years to develop lighter more flexible blades. He has two lines of longsword that suit WMA blunt training requirements nicely. Oddly enough, he named them AEMMA Mark IV and V respectively. I've used a Mk IV for a couple years both in and out of harness. It is exceptional for the task. Admittedly, I did some tuning of the cross and pommel. Several of our folks use them as is. A couple guys have the new Mk V which has a bit lighter blade and is longer in blade and grip. I'm not fond of it but it should suit the Germanophiles out there. It balances much more finely than the A&A Fechterspiel (sp?) which I've tried to use at the salle. It is a lot finer edged though.
As to them being soft? I'd be curious what you've struck them on. Our's seem to chew up everything they come in contact with. BTW, did you round off the edges on the blade you used? Sometimes JP leaves them a bit square. That might increase edge chips.
AFAIK we haven't seen any Albion products in blunt training, so maybe they're better. I really like their sharp / semisharp products. Same for Atrims. I love Gus's work. But for the $$ we haven't found anything better than Heimrich blades for steel blunts. Just be prepared for a six to eight month wait. His products are in demand and not just in Canada.
The Ottawa Medieval Sword Guild has a load of Heimrich blades as well. Contact them for more opinions from satisfied customers. http://www.ottawasword.org/
Cheers!
Kel
AEMMA Free Scholler |
Oops - AEMMA. Don't know why ARMA stuck in my head...
My edges are pretty square, and I have had the sword for around 4 or 5 years, so it is a rather old model.
I have used it against mostly Lutel swords - I can't say they suffered less damage - I imagine more.
Gordon
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Sam N.
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| Posted: Sun 10 Jun, 2007 3:41 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry to start this post up again, but I am just curious, how round are the handles of Heimrick's swords? They look extremely round from the photographs shown. A feature which would not be very historically accurate. I noticed that they also have very thick straight handles, without any taper. I am curious how this affects their handling.
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Kel Rekuta
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| Posted: Sun 10 Jun, 2007 8:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Sam N. wrote: | | Sorry to start this post up again, but I am just curious, how round are the handles of Heimrick's swords? They look extremely round from the photographs shown. A feature which would not be very historically accurate. I noticed that they also have very thick straight handles, without any taper. I am curious how this affects their handling. |
Kind of a flattened oval. No they aren't furnished in a period manner, with elegantly tapered grips. You could regrip them however you wish as everyone has a different opinion on what is the best shape. There certainly is a lot of variety in surviving medieval sword grips. Swords are tools. Some look better, some look worse. Some aren't very functional and others are a joy to use. Like any tool, though, you can learn to use it but not necessarily enjoy it. Unless you have tiny hands, JP's swords are easy to hold onto.
As to how they handle? Which one and what do you plan to do with it? JP doesn't make what most people would want to hang on the wall. Some models are useful for martial arts training, others might be more appropriate for stage use. Some, I have no idea what he's thinking. He clearly has a market for all of them. Historical accuracy isn't necessarily the biggest factor for many of those markets. Durability and modest price seem to be more important.
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