[Dan Kary]

Hi everybody,

I get the general impression that there is a consensus about Albion being the best of the best when it comes to production swords (maybe I am wrong?). What I notice, however, is that Albion is not really in the business of making daggers. I also do not notice that there is a similar consensus about dagger makers. I'm curious about what people have to say about this. Is there an Albion of daggers? Is there a bunch that are on equal footing?

Why I am asking this: I'm currently selling off my Cold Steel and I am looking to upgrade. I think I am going to get a couple Albion swords (regent and soldat), but I'm looking around for a couple of daggers. I'm having a lot more trouble. I am thinking about a rondel and a baselard/swiss dagger. The ones I like the most visually are from Lutel. I think Lutel swords are not really my style at all (especially the leather wraps on some grips). Their daggers are a different story (I like their maces too). Would Lutel be in the conversation? Who am I overlooking? The only other one I was really thinking about was arms & armor but I am not really a fan of their offerings in the dagger arena (I like a couple their spears though).

Thanks!

[Preben B]

Tod's Workshop is what I would consider the Albion of daggers, definitely recommend him.

You would be in for quite a wait if you order a bespoke dagger but they are very worth it, his cheaper daggers on his cutler page are also great however and come with little to no wait time and much less cost, but still great quality.

[Roger Hooper]

If you are looking for the best production daggers, I recommend Arms and Armor - http://arms-n-armor.com/daggers.html

[J. Nicolaysen]

For production medieval style daggers, my order would be Tod's Stuff, Arms and Armor, then Lutel. Arma Bohemia makes some nice ones too, but my baselard from them took a while to get. Really, you just have to look to see who is doing designs that you like. All four of these I would buy from again, but I will likely limit to Tods and A&A for production work.

For custom work I like Josh Davis and Fabrice Cognot, and then also Tod's. I think A&A would work with you on a custom dagger as well. There are a few other makers of swords I'd like to see if they make daggers.

Then there's seaxes which are a whole 'nother obsession.

Here's a shot of some but not all of my daggers (historically based)

[Dan Kary]

Thanks for your responses.

Any reason you'd limit to Tod's Stuff and A&A but not Lutel, J? Nice collection by the way. That baselard 3rd from the left on the bottom, where is that from?

It sounds so far like there isn't a consensus but definitely leaning to Tod's stuff. There are some nice ones on there for sure in niche I am looking for. As I said before, A&A doesn't really have anything that I am looking for. The closest to the baselard is their alpine dagger but I'm not a fan of the overall design, material choices and looking at pictures from kult of athena it seems to have some rough fittings...

The Lutel stuff is aesthetically calling my name. Maybe I should put it this way, any reason I shouldn't buy Lutel daggers (is the quality difference really that high between them and, say, Tod's stuff in terms of daggers)?

[J. Nicolaysen]

Lutel is good for daggers. I think Tod has a lot of variety and overall slightly higher quality, while A&A has a few more of their production line I'd like to have. So I think those two companies will keep me happy for a while. I have no complaints with my Lutel main gauche dagger (third from left, top, in my pic), but my landsknecht sword from them is too heavy. On their current lineup I like all of these, because I don't have anything like them yet:

http://www.lutel-handicraft.com/?p=productsMo...gger-10026
http://www.lutel-handicraft.com/?p=productsMo...gger-10004
http://www.lutel-handicraft.com/?p=productsMo...gger-10004
http://www.lutel-handicraft.com/index.php?p=p...ylet-10041
http://www.lutel-handicraft.com/index.php?p=p...gger-10023

I also need an ear dagger! I'll probably work with Tod or Josh Davis for one of those some time.

The Swiss dagger was a one-off from A&A that I got second-hand from another myArmoury member. It was a twin to this one, which has a more interesting sheath than mine, but the same otherwise as far as I know: http://myArmoury.com/chad_dagg_aa_swissdagger.html

A&A sometimes does an Xmas or new year's dagger sale. The single-blade knife fourth from right bottom and the first at top left in my picture were from two of the recent specials. If you have a certain knife in mind, I think they would be able to handle it, and I know Josh Davis would be able to as well. Here is a review of a wonderful and unique dagger from him: http://myArmoury.com/chad_dagg_dav_ballockbyknife.html

Daggers are great. Lots of variety and you can buy three or four of them for the price of a sword, but same quality. If there's one by Lutel you like, you probably won't be sorry. Which ones from Lutel do you like?

[Dan Kary]

These are the Lutel daggers I have my eye on:

http://www.lutel-handicraft.com/index.php?p=p...gger-10023
http://www.lutel-handicraft.com/index.php?p=p...gger-10001

I guess Rondels are pretty common, but I really like that this blade triangular AND equilateral triangular (a lot of rondels seem to be Isosceles triangular). It is pretty hard to find switzerland daggers (at least nice ones). That is kind of why I like these from Lutel and I am wondering if there are better options I don't know about. I guess Todds Stuff has some equilateral triangular bladed rondels and his swiss baselard is really good too. So I suppose those are options. I wonder if the quality difference would really be significant? Seems some people think so. I do like the look of the lutel slightly more with the swiss dagger at least.

I also, like this (not a dagger but Lutel):

http://www.lutel-handicraft.com/index.php?p=p...Mace-17009

I guess I should ask about maces too. The reason I like the Lutel mace is that it is very clean looking (actually all the Lutel stuff seems to be generally very sharp). A lot of maces are very roughly finished.

[Arne G.]

The above recommendations are your best bets. I do urge you to look at the English Cutler offerings, one of Tod's side companies. I have an awesome Rondel dagger from EC, and it blows away the lesser stuff out there, for a good price.

[Dan Kary]

I've gotten some PM's in addition to the messages here, and I think I am now leaning towards Todd's workshop. The most compelling argument I heard was actually about the scabbards. The Lutel scabards are, apparently, not historically accurate. That being said, I don't know if Todd's are either for the rondels and baselards. I have seen one example of a swiss baselard scabbard that had two leather loops that allowed it to hang from a belt. I am not sure how Todd's baselard dagger is supposed to work but certainly the Lutel does not work this way. I have seen one Rondel dagger example that works similar to the Lutel suspension (with a ring that hangs off the belt), rather than the strings that Todd's seem to. That being said, I'm sure there were not universal means of attachment so I'm not quite sure to make of this...

[Preben B]

The thing you have to remember with Tod is nothing is limited to what is on his site, if you want an item made that he has not made before just contact him with pictures and examples, he'll be happy to work with you on the design and to give you exactly what you want, including the sheathe.

So if there is anything very specific you want, that is what I would do.

This is what I did with him for my Landsknecht dagger and it turned out wonderfully.

[Nathan Robinson]

Tod's custom work really can't be beat. Arms & Armor can make just about anything too as a custom order but it may take awhile to get.

Lutel makes some pretty good production stuff but their entire line of products is a bit too machined-looking for my tastes. They look quite modern. Their dynamics/weights/and other properties are also a bit lacking as far as historical accuracy.

The nice thing about going with Tod or A&A is that you can get unique pieces that aren't owned by everyone out there.

[Larry New]

I had Arms & Armor make me a custom Katzbalger dagger to match a two hand one they did...highly recommended company.....Larry

[Larry New]

The full size sword