Just wanted to know what the general populace of sword collectors think about a few makers. Any input will be most appreciated. So...What do ya think of Last Legend? Rittersteel? StageSteel? Heimrick? Macallen? Any others you want to mention, go ahead....MM.

I think Hanwei's are by and large the best value. The finest pieces I've seen are Ravens and Vince Evan's, though I've never handled one of Albion's or PJ's make.

I picked up a Last Legend Ranger sword recently and have found it to be fairly sound. I haven't tested it yet or tried anything that would be considered greater, i.e. Del Tin or Albion, but it was nice. The scabbord scuffs and leaves marks on the blade though, so I would be careful about that.

Rittersteel makes some really shoddy stuff. Poorly constructed, poorly designed, poorly finished. I hear poorly tempered, though that's second hand knowledge.

Stage Steel, from what I understand, is an off shoot of Rittersteel. I held one of their swords that felt like a lead brick. Ugly, too. Don't know how well it'd hold up to stage combat, but I personally am not very optimistic.

I hear good things about Heimrick from the functionality point of view, and the AEMMA guys seem to really endorse them. Note that Heimrick generally is making blunts for the historical swordsmanship, not for cutting. The aesthetics of a Heimrick are a bit "modern made" looking.

I can't speak for Last Legend, as I've never held one in hand, but I must say they have the look of many cheaply made so-called "battle ready" swords, and their marketing hype raises a flag in my mind. The weights of their swords are very heavy, too. (I've heard their Japanese style swords are a decent value for the money, though.)

If you're looking for an inexpensive sword that's a good value for the price, Hanwei was mentioned above, which is distributed through CAS Iberia. (www.casiberia.com) Museum Replicas Limited (www.museumreplicas.com) is also a good value for the price, and you can find some reviews of their pieces in the review section of this site.

Higher up in the scale would be Del Tin and Lutel. When you start getting above the $400 price range, you start getting into some much nicer stuff. Albion, Arms and Armor and Angus Trim all start around that price range and go up from there.

When looking for a sword, decide what you want (e.g. historical accuracy, purely aesthetics, cutting performance, stage combat, martial arts use, etc.), as this will drastically affect your choices. All in all, the saying "you get what you pay for" is generally true (though in some cases with the poorly made swords I feel that you get even less than what you pay for).

What Bill said.

Currency exchange rates can shake things up from time to time though.

I'm getting a blunt from Heimrick, simply because the AEMMA folks think so highly of him.

I really can't speak to Heimrick's sword quality, because I don't yet have one. What I can say is that PJ is very easy to deal with, prompt in his responses to my emails, and just plain friendly. One caveat however -- you will have to wait a few months. I ordered a longsword at the end of January, and he was taking orders for May. This can be a good thing, though, because he doesn't ask for a deposit. So if you're short of cash right now, you can still order what you want, knowing you've got a few months before you have to pay!

:D

Cheers!

Pat

The Last Legend Ranger Sword is a little excessively heavy, but they did an ok job of balancing out the weight. The tends to be slow but solid.

I , myself, pretty much know all of this....but there are scores of new members joining all the time. The 'newbies' may think a Pakistani flea market special is as good as an Albion or Atrim. It's up to us..the ones 'in the know' to educate them. Chivalry and the Arts of War shall never die as long as one true swordsman remains. Keep the legend...and live the dream. Always. Who knows? One day we may have to keep the dream and live the legend. I'm ready. Are you? I hear a war-cry....a cadence..What is it?......???.............??..........?.......