[Gabriele Becattini]

hello,

i'm looking for a reproduction saber for training purpose, i have seen a lot
of makers: hanwei, windlass, cold steel, military heritage and others. . i would like to know what is your oponion the best maker and the best model for a mid-late 19th century saber.
thank you

[Glen A Cleeton]

It is difficult to qualify best without a bit more qualification to the question. is this for solo drills, bouting, cutting targets; What (more exactly) is your intended purpose? I think the India produced swords are fine for folk like me that fool around with solo drilling and target cutting but if for bouting or serious study, there may be some other considerations to address.

If I were going to buy a modern made historical sabre for serious study (aside from Hanwei's popular line of fencing sabres) I would have to consider this company http://www.chevalierdauvergne.com/ What sword I chose from them might end up being purely subjective and suit my purpose but not yours. I would also look long and hard at buying sound antiques, as they are plentiful and not terribly expensive. I already do own antiques ranging from the 18th century to the 20th. They do see a fair amount of flourishing and even some cutting but if I were a more serious student of sabre play, I might be looking for something like an American M1902 (just as example) or a British 1895-97 infantry.

What I did buy a couple of years ago was this
http://usera.imagecave.com/Hotspur/Other/CHSREPcomp.jpg
http://usera.imagecave.com/Hotspur/Other/CHSREPcompa.jpg

I bought it more for its general form and dimensions than an anachronistic look at American history. It suffers as most reproductions do in the lack of attention paid to the blade thickness from one end to the other. If any distal taper at all, the India reproductions simply don't share the mass distribution of period pieces. I have not handled a piece from the site linked above but they do stress a traditional swordsmithing capability and are huge in the sport fencing sector. My reproduction is no exception to the poor mass distribution and distal properties not reflecting a period piece. I did remove quite a bit of metal from the foible cheeks in sharpening it and plan on more. Sadly, it still pales in comparative liveliness to my period pieces. It is a great deal of fun to cut with and that is really more why I bought it anyway. A little longer than my period spadroons but a good bit heavier than other period sabres I own.

In the end, I think it is most important to consider how much handling feel one is willing to dismiss if buying one of the cheaper reproductions. Aesthectically, some are quite horrid and others really not bad at all. The sabre I bought falls somewhre in between on that scale for accuracy of the appearance but I bought it more for blade curvature, length and width. I was not out to emulate foot drills with a cavalry sword. The same sword and others can be seen at www.legendaryarms.com I bought from Blockade Runner and there are many, many more sutlers/merchants for American Civil War swords out there. Legendary Arms does sell some other than ACW models that might suit your fancy., these are blunts.

Cheers

GC

[Shahril Dzulkifli]

Gabriele,
I suggest you visit www.weaponedge.com. Here you can find lots of reproduced sabres.

[Konstantin Tsvetkov]

This question was asked several times before on this forum and I still stand for an antique sabre. The Danish M1858 sabre (on the picture) costed me some 370,- euro (I am not quite sure, because it came together with another item). It is shorter and lighter then "wristbreaker" I have used so far, well balanced and is really pleasant to wield. It costed as a modern replica, but it is much safer for training than any Cold Steel sword, because, as most military swords of the period, it is not so sharp.