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What is the best 300 USD sword
Hello, I was just wondering I am willing to spend around 300usd for a medieval sword, and I was just wondering what would be the best most durable, and historcally accurate item to look into buying :?: :?: :?:
If you could narrow it down a bit more, we might be able to help you better.

Is there a specific time period you are interested in? Do you want a single hander, hand & half, two hander. Sharp? Blunt? Training tool? What? There is a lot of variation during the medieval period.

At $300 there is going to be some give and take between historical accuracy and durability.

Lee Reeves has some older ATrim models around $300. http://www.leesarmoury.com/ You'll be hard pressed to find more durable or better handling swords in your price range but you might find some more historical looking swords.

Art Elwell carries Del Tin, Lutel and a few others but doesn't have an up todate website. However he's easy to work with and will e-mail you what he has in stock and his price list. It's been a while since I've bought either brand so they may be a little pricy for you. Regardless Art is always worth contacting. aelwell45@email.msn.com

Kris Cutlery makes some wonderfully durable swords around $300 and is often over looked by the Medieval crowd. http://kriscutlery.com/medieval/medieval.html

Of course there is always MRL as a vendor http://www.museumreplicas.com/webstore/Home.aspx

Just a couple suggestions off the top of my head.
I would suggest for $389 an Albion squire line knightly. Only slightly more than your limit, and more historically accurate than any other you will find at your price point. You will need to add $25 more to have it sharpened if you want to cut with it. But, IMHO its the best you are going to find for historical accuracy and performance in your range...
Well, there are more qualified people than me to talk about this, but I think I can offer a few suggestions, one newbie collector to another.

I think for raw durability, a good bet would be a generation 2 sword: http://www.imperialweapons.com/swords/Generation2.html

Gen 2s Have a great reputation for surviving destructive testing , although they are known to have failings in term of historic accuracy, weight, and handling, though newer models have improved in these areas significantly.

While Armart has a reputation for pretty bad customer service and taking forever (sometimes literally) to produce custom orders, if you were willing to take a chance on their in-stock items (which from what I hear is usually pretty safe), I think their "Knightly Sword" might be a good budget option, currently clocking in at just under $280 USD: http://www.armart.antiquanova.com/onstock.htm

A third good option would be to check the marketplace section of this very forum. While it is very much a "buyer beware" sort of deal, there are a few threads with swords you might be interested in, including this one: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=10410

In the end, though, I would have to recommend some of what has already posted; if I was in your place, I would probably save up for the Albion squire line knightly like Robin Smith suggested. If you can't wait and want a sword right now, I would probably go with a leesarmoury Atrim.
Robin Smith wrote:
I would suggest for $389 an Albion squire line knightly. Only slightly more than your limit, and more historically accurate than any other you will find at your price point. You will need to add $25 more to have it sharpened if you want to cut with it. But, IMHO its the best you are going to find for historical accuracy and performance in your range...


People practising 1:33 sword and buckler with the swordgroup I am taking longsword courses with use these as training swords in the unsharpened version and I have seen the swords up close and they are holding up well to weekly practice.

The sparring is careful 3/4 speed with heavy gloves and fencing masks and sometimes gambison for more competitive bouts.

Anyway, they look good even after a lot of use and they also look as much as a real cutting sword that a semi training sword can and still have safe edges if used prudently.

The Maestro line have more rounded and safe edges though but the squire line Knightly sword does the job for them.
Think I'd have to concur with previous advice given here and recommend the Albion Squire Line 13th Century Knightly Sword. I have this sword and it is a brilliant piece for the price certainly my favourite out of my small collection. I know its a little over $300 but I think if you wait a little longer and save the extra money you will not be disappointed in the end. There is a review of the sword on this site and also take a look at the Albion site before you decide.
Go with the Squire Knightly. Ultimately, you'll wish that you had saved a little more money and bought it if you end up buying something else.
It appars that most of this advice is falling out of your price range...

I'd suggest going to www.sword-buyers-guide.com and looking around there. We have several very indepth reviews on windlass and gen2 products as well as a few more, just in the medieval european sword category. This site is dedicated to the sub $300 sword, so you should like it!

you might also want to check out the forum as well at http://sbgswordforum.proboards70.com/index.cgi . A lot of knowledgable people who have owned and/or handled countless lower end swords (and some like me who've owned/handled albions :D )
Go with
Hi Go with an Atrim From Lee Reeves.... there awesome!

good luck.
I will echo the sentiments in regards to the Atrims. I bought one of that vintage for less than $300 and it is a really nice sword. I am far better pleased with the price/value ratio than I am with a Vladimir Cervenka sword that I purchased I will also say that every Albion sword I have had the chance to see up close has been great, so I assume the squire line swords would be a good bet.
It depends what you're going to use it for. If you're not going to be cutting, go with an Albion; if you are, go with an ATrim.

I would really stick with one of those two.
Thanks for posting that site Grayson. Good suggestion. I didn't know it existed. I'm definately going to check it out.

Grayson C. wrote:
It appars that most of this advice is falling out of your price range...

I'd suggest going to www.sword-buyers-guide.com and looking around there. We have several very indepth reviews on windlass and gen2 products as well as a few more, just in the medieval european sword category. This site is dedicated to the sub $300 sword, so you should like it!

you might also want to check out the forum as well at http://sbgswordforum.proboards70.com/index.cgi . A lot of knowledgable people who have owned and/or handled countless lower end swords (and some like me who've owned/handled albions :D )
Seems to be a bit of a shame that we have to send people someplace else to get an answer, within the criteria specified, to a question like this. Its a valid question and sometimes answering with something to the effect of save for something better, is only marginally helpful.

Just an observation.
IMO $300 is just shy of when the swords go from decent to really nice. Just about everything up to $300 tend to be mediocre, there are some good ones, but you take your chances at that price point or below. But once you start getting above it, you start getting to the ATrims and Albion Squirelines. It seems to me that the advice to save alittle more is sound. I can understand it not really applying if he was looking for a sub $200. The leap to a Squireline or ATrim is pretty drastic. But from the range he's already looking at, its not much more to get a really nice blade that he will be truely satisfied with.
Just my $.02
To chime in on the saving up thing, I am a newbie collector who recently did purchase a good sword for $300 USD, which I ended up being quite happy with. But, given what I know now, if I could go back in time, get the $300 back, and put it towards a higher end sword, I would do it in a heartbeat. So giving a suggestion to save up a little longer strikes me as just plain good advice. Just my own humble opinion of course. I do think Mr. Hammonds did get a pretty wide range of good options within his specified limits, too.
Everybody has things they would do different in life and collecting.In both cases I think having those experiences, and learning how to be content with them, are important.

Some of the suggestions given lean to saving a fair bit more depending where one is in life. Going up into the $400 range is upping the entry price over 30%. Speaking only for myself, there have been times when that would be the difference between having something and not having something.

In the end I think being able to get a sword (good or not) within budget, and then being able to participate actively in the collecting community, can be much more important to the individual and to the hobby than getting the right sword the first time out (we all buy more anyway). If we set the price of entry to high when people come to us early in their collecting efforts, I think there is a risk that we will drive them away from here, or worse drive them away from the hobby. I think everyone needs a place to start, and in some cases the base of the mountain is the right place.
FWIW I'm not saying the suggestion to save is the wrong answer, I'm just saying that I don't think its the only good answer. I hope that we all take time to value our individual and unique journey in this hobby, as much as we value whatever destination its bringing each of us to.
So......... just out of curiousity, what would the community feel about an AT like really basic sword, for $300? Something like the AT1315, and something real basic in a longsword? Thinking six months down the road.........
I would be all over that Gus. I think for myself, spending more than $500 on a sword is stepping too close to the realm of "Do I feel comfortable using this sword, and risking any edge/polish damage?" Likewise, buying a Windlass or Paul Chen runs the risk of buying a lemon. The Albion Squireline is an option. But I am not a fan of black leather grips, and changing any of the parts out voids the service plan as I understand things. So, my third option lately has to buy DelTins, customize the heck outa them, and go from there. But even buying a DelTin often means you are buying a heavier sword than you care for. Its hard to find the right mix of functionality without sacrifices. Ultimately what works for me is taking lower range blades, doing customization, and feeling in the end that you have a sword that speaks to you, that you don't mind putting through cutting and handling, and doesn't take $1,000 out of your pocket.

If I could get a Gus Trim blade for that price, I would be a happy collector.
To illustrate my point. Here are some pics of my DT 2070 Migration piece. I sent it to Tom Carr to customize. I am starting a series of swords that are inspired by Wagner Operas. For this one, my goal was the sword of Seigfreid. I had Tom etch the runes for "Volsung" onto the blade, patinate the finish, and put a nice edge on it.

I paid $300 for the sword, spent another $75 on customizations, and have a piece I doubt I will ever sell.
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