[Tomas Z.]

I'm new to all this historical re-enactment thing and I love it. I already have sword but it's a very low quality model - it's not very well balanced. Now I'm thinking about buying something good. Basically a well balanced hand-and-half sword so I can basically use it in one hand. I'm willing to invest up to £125 but of course if I can get anything cheaper I won't complain .

So, which manufacturer would you recommend? I prefer someone from Europe - mainly UK or Czech Rep. I heard that Pavel Moc is good but would you recommend him? Or would you recommend someone else? How are Paul Binns' swords?

Thank you very much!

[Chad Arnow]

Tomas,
Check out our Reviews page. We have reviews of 185 products from a wide variety of manufacturers. It might give you a good start in your quest.

[Tomas Z.]

Thank you, they are indeed very helpful. I will try to read through them tonight.

Can I also ask for your suggestions? I mean, what do you think would be the best choice for me? The reviews seem to give people quite a good idea about which manufactures are good, but I think I'll still end up being stuck on deciding whichever one of the "better ones" to choose.

OK, actually, let me say it this way. I have almost decided to go for a Moc sword since I've heard that he is good (and the reviews seem to suggest that as well). But then I thought that I would come here and ask in case there are other weapon smiths, who you think would make "better" (I understand that different swords are good on different thing) swords than Moc for about the same price.

Thanks once more

[Sean Flynt]

Follow Chad's advice and also browse through the forum topics. You'll find lots of informed opinion.

I would also suggest doing what most of us do only after years of random collecting. Take a bit of time--days or weeks--to focus not on the "what" of this hobby, but on the "why" of it. Why do you want a sword? There may be multiple answers, but you'll be well-served in the long term if you have some idea why you want to collect. Are you interested in participating in living history events? Do you want to dedicate yourself to serious study of western martial arts? Are you fascinated by arms and armour technology? Are you interested in a particular period or culture? Does a particular ancestor or period in your family's life have special meaning to you? Do you like to tinker and learn how things work, mechanically? Answering questions like these will help you refine your search for a sword and the rest of the stuff that inevitably will follow.

For example, if you decide that you're most interested in the (English) Civil War era, you can pretty much strike Albion from your list in favor of Armour Class or E.B. Erickson. On the other hand, if you're a Norman at heart, Albion would be ideal for your sword, but not your spear. You're a weekend Landsknecht? Maybe the Czech company Lutel is your best bet. A Renaissance "bravo"? Maybe Arms & Armor. Anything you can do to understand your interests will help you make your decision.

If you're not sure which period interests you most, just look through the reviews and feature articles here and see if something just really grabs your attention. Learn more about it and ask yourself why it has such a hold on your imagination. The deeper you look inside your own mind and the more research you do before buying anything, the happier you'll be with your purchase.

[Tomas Z.]

Thank you Sean.

I'm mostly interested in 15th century battle re-enactment - so I actually want to use that sword, participate in events etc.. While I think few things from your post might apply to me, the one I mentioned above is the main driving force. For example doing western martial arts is something that I would love to do, but right now I don't think I have the time and dedication necessary.

[Reinier van Noort]

I ordered a hand-and-a-half sword from Tim Noyes almost 1.5 years ago. I have been using it for full-contact practice on an almost weekly basis and it is holding out really well (all my sparring mates have Kovex Ars blades which seem to be somewhat softer). He is also really nice to do business with.

http://heronarmoury.co.uk/

Hope this helps (http://heronarmoury.co.uk/swords/m/commission/gallery/01.jpg is actually the sword he made me).

Of course with hindsight I would have ordered some details on my sword differently, but if I had some money to spend, I would definitely consider spending it there again.

Unfortunately I don't know how Tim's swords compare to those of other makers (except Kovex). Perhaps somebody else here can help with that? (I myself am also curious)

R

[Sean Flynt]

[Sean Flynt]

I just remembered that you can't invest more than $250 USD. In that case, I'd suggest you find a UK distributor of Windlass Steelcrafts swords. Go to the US site for Museum Replicas Limited and browse through their historically-inspired swords. You'll find several that fit your budget and interests. Then copy a few lines of the catalog copy and paste it into a Google search in quotation marks. Your returns will likely include some UK distributors of the same products. These swords are as close to historically accurate as you'll find for the price, and are usually blunt enough for re-enactment purposes.

[Micha Hofmann]

Hello Tomas.

You want to participate in battle reenactment.

So you will need a sturdy blade, that will be accepted for such battles. ( I think, an edge thickness of 2mm is required for most of the battles, so this would rule out the squire line and probably the windlass, but requirements may be different in the UK than in Germany, so be sure to check this before you buy a blade. ).

As for european makers:

Pavel Moc makes durable, good --looking ( reasonable historically accurate )and well-handling swords. His prices seem to be a bit above your threshold, but if you can afford one of his longswords, I strongly recommend it. Several of my friends own and have been using his blades for years, and I've never heard any complaints.

Some smiths with very low prices:

Jiri Krondak
http://www.fabri-armorum.cz/
creates very affordable, nearly indestructible swords, but the blades are basically bar steel with a grinded-in fuller ( i.e. the looks are not that good). Also the weight of his swords varies considerably. If you do order from him, give him a clear number of grams, which you do not want your sword to exceed.

Jan Motycka
http://www.sword-gur.com/
Creates affordable, nicely balanced, durable swords that look considerably better than Krondak's and are well within your financial limits.
However, his edges are a bit thin ( 1,9 mm or so ), so I'd only recommend his blades to you, if there is no required edge thickness in the battles you want to participate in.

Viktor Berbekucz
http://www.berbekuczviktor.hu/

And Kovex Ars
http://www.kovex-ars.cz/indexe.html#

Also have a good reputation in the lower price-market, but I have not yet handled their swords personally.
Hope this post helped you.

Regards


Micha

PS: Paul Binns makes very good swords as well, but he is above your set price-limit.

(Edited for some typos that slipped the spell check )

[Julian Arellano]

Hi guys !. what do you think about this manufacturer that sells in bythesword... check the link ..

http://www.by-the-sword.com/acatalog/Arms___Armour_Swords.html

I think it's German ?? or .. honestly I don't know I just that their designs are OK .. but I don't know whom they are..

here is another link of the entire catalog...

http://www.drachenhort.com/catalog/index.php?...8d981c7a37

[Tomas Z.]

Thank you all.

[Blaz Berlec]

I have bastard swords from Ars Koveks (80 EUR, quite ugly but well balanced and sturdy) and Radek Lobko - St. Patrick's workshop (170 EUR with postage, model 'Despot of Serbia'). I totaly recommend Lobko, as far as cheap swords go. Look up his website by searching this forum or google.

My friends from WMA school Zlate ostroge just got a large package of Pavel Moc's swords -7 or 8. The waited more than a year, and he mixed sword parts.

[Martin Forrester]

[Tomas Z.]

Blaz,
I guess I might go for Lobko or Moc then. I heard they are similar in quality so I might just see who has more time. Any suggestions for any particular model? I'm doing 15th century - say 1470 or so.