[Robert Muse]

Hello,

Well, I'm fairly new to the forum and have enjoyed reading the posts. I have read what I could find on both of these swords but was wondering if anyone has experience with these models?

The prices are just over $150 apart, so I would not like to factor price into this. I like the looks of the Damascus Sir William Marshall and Valiant Bristol so I am picking from these two.

Any feedback with be most gratefully appreciated.

Thanks
Robert

[Mike Arledge]

I have owned the regular Marshall, and while I have not owned either of the pieces you are looking at, I would still assert that if you were hoping to use them for any cutting, the Valiant option will give you more mileage. If it is just between looks, that is your call.

[P. Cha]

The Marshall sword in use is umm...crap. It´s so poorly balanced and feels so bad in the swing that you just get NO joy in using it(going from the non laminated steel version as I haven´t got a chance to feel that one in hand, but I believe they are the same sword with different metal used in blade so it should still feel the same...somebody feel free to elaborate if this assumption is wrong). The VA is quite fun to use...even though I am not a fan of waisted grips. So like Mike said, if you wanna use it, get the VA...if you wanna look at it, get what looks better to you.

[Michael B.]

I'll chime in here as well. I just parted with my Marshal this last spring, I lucked out and actually had a well balanced sword that handled well, however, the edge was horrible, and could not cut with it at all. The VA is very much more a cutter. Both offer some excellent starting points for DYI sword upgrades.