Cold Steel plastic waster

[Jason Taylor]

Late Spring...that's August of next year, right?

They are aware that "late spring" is almost over, right?

[Scott A. Richardson]

I just noticed these very same wasters are available from Bud K at a reduced price, so I guess late spring is finally here!

[Sal Bertucci]

yeah, it's always cheaper at budk than coldsteel, and usually cheaper elsewhere. Which is good b/c budk does price wars,

[Benjamin Smith]

You know, I wonder if it would be possible to shave these down on the lower sides of the blade? Take a vegetable peeler to it to give them some taper and help their balance and pivot points?

When I get mine I may try that.

[CalebSlagle]

My BudK order came in yesterday. I received two of these waisters for 70$ (that includes tax and shipping.) I have not really had time to try them out yet but I swung one around for a while and tested the strength of them. Here is a first glance.

Stuff I don’t like:
Very unbalanced, its very blade heavy. The sword almost balances in the dead middle. Hands down, this is the worst problem with this product.
Uncomfortable fittings where handle meets guard; its not too bad, but enough to bother me a bit.
Uncomfortable sharp corners of pommel; being a hand and a half you really get your hands on the pommel and it’s a bit awkward feeling for the bare hands but not too bad.
Too sharp and pointy for sparing; you will need to file this thing down a bit.

Stuff I like:
Pretty tough so far; I banged the two wasters into each other pretty hard and they really held up well.
Weight is not bad; the balance is awful but the weight really is not too far off.
30$!

Conclusions:
If you want an out of the box waster this product is not good enough for serious ARMA practice (I don’t think anyone is surprised.) If you already own a plastic / nylon / polymer waister then you don’t need this inferior thing. Having said that, if you are just looking for a few spare practice weapons to hand to new members who come to practice without equipment then this is a good choice. Further, if you are wiling to mess with the pommel and file off the edges and point I think this can actually be a pretty usable waister. I plan to put some more weight in the pommel somehow and make a few modifications. When I do I’ll let you all know how it all worked out.

In short I think we all knew this would not be a suitable training weapon but I am convinced that with a little work it can be worth the money and trouble. I also think this is a good starting weapon for people just getting into ARMA.

[Jason Taylor]

My BudK order came in yesterday. I received two of these waisters for 70$ (that includes tax and shipping.) I have not really had time to try them out yet but I swung one around for a while and tested the strength of them. Here is a first glance.

Stuff I don’t like:
Very unbalanced, its very blade heavy. The sword almost balances in the dead middle. Hands down, this is the worst problem with this product.
Uncomfortable fittings where handle meets guard; its not too bad, but enough to bother me a bit.
Uncomfortable sharp corners of pommel; being a hand and a half you really get your hands on the pommel and it’s a bit awkward feeling for the bare hands but not too bad.
Too sharp and pointy for sparing; you will need to file this thing down a bit.

Stuff I like:
Pretty tough so far; I banged the two wasters into each other pretty hard and they really held up well.
Weight is not bad; the balance is awful but the weight really is not too far off.
30$!

Conclusions:
If you want an out of the box waster this product is not good enough for serious ARMA practice (I don’t think anyone is surprised.) If you already own a plastic / nylon / polymer waister then you don’t need this inferior thing. Having said that, if you are just looking for a few spare practice weapons to hand to new members who come to practice without equipment then this is a good choice. Further, if you are wiling to mess with the pommel and file off the edges and point I think this can actually be a pretty usable waister. I plan to put some more weight in the pommel somehow and make a few modifications. When I do I’ll let you all know how it all worked out.

In short I think we all knew this would not be a suitable training weapon but I am convinced that with a little work it can be worth the money and trouble. I also think this is a good starting weapon for people just getting into ARMA.

Beat us to the punch. Ours didn't arrive yet from another off-market dealer, but I'll check out BudK if we don't see something soon.

If I'd had to write a review before getting the thing, I'd have probably said exactly what you just did. Still, a $30 waster for new members is a great deal; nobody wants to buy 3 $150 plastics or $100 hickories for just that purpose.

Jason

PS Edit: Plus, you can run over it with a truck. Don't know how that helps, but it's darn cool.

[CalebSlagle]

PS Edit: Plus, you can run over it with a truck. Don't know how that helps, but it's darn cool.

Yeah, that’s a good point. Even if your not into the sword, I at least recommend watching the ridiculously funny cold steel video.

[Aaron Kavli]

Nice review. Please be sure to update it after you've banged them around a bit.

One description talks about the cross being a separate peice. Is there any assembly required or does the cross look like it might loosen up?

Thanks,
Aaron Kavli

[CalebSlagle]

OK, good question. I forgot I was going to say something about that too. The cross is a separate piece that came already slid into place. There is a large rubber stopper that you have to slide on to hold it in place. So the cross is slid along the blade till it rests against the wider handle and is held in place by sliding a tight round rubber stopper band along the blade and against the cross. Add that to my list of things I don’t like. I’m really wondering how well it will hold up over time.

Note that the photos of the sword do not show the rubber stopper (rather deceiving huh?)
http://www.coldsteel-uk.com/store/hand-and-a-half-training-sword-92bkhnh-full-1.jpg


I will say this, the cross piece is pretty solid and fits tight. The rubber piece that holds it into place is pretty tight and thick as well. Depending on how the materials age, it may or may not hold up well. I think the big rubber band stopper is a potential weak point. In new condition the cross feels sturdy and solid but two months from now and after sitting in a hot car for a few days I will be looking for weakening.

Maybe I’ll do a video review of it tonight. Keep an eye out for that tomorrow.

[CalebSlagle]

Here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV6ldl_AodI

[Jonathan_Kaplan]

So this: http://budk.com/cold-steel-hand-and-a-h ... CS92BKHNH/

Is actually remarkably cheap for a beginner's training tool. Will someone soon put up a video of how to modify it so it is better, more comfortable, and more useful?

Also, with WI closed, are the other options for plastic decent?

I found these:
http://www.ferruza.com/nylon/en/products.html
http://web.emerytelcom.net/users/blhunt/sales.htm

Are any of these still good for "basic complete amateur waster"?

[Jaron Bernstein]

So this: http://budk.com/cold-steel-hand-and-a-h ... CS92BKHNH/

Is actually remarkably cheap for a beginner's training tool. Will someone soon put up a video of how to modify it so it is better, more comfortable, and more useful?

Also, with WI closed, are the other options for plastic decent?

I found these:
http://www.ferruza.com/nylon/en/products.html
http://web.emerytelcom.net/users/blhunt/sales.htm

Are any of these still good for "basic complete amateur waster"?

I am a big fan of the Brian Hunt ones ( the second one you link to). I own several and have gotten good use from them.

Jaron

[Jonathan_Kaplan]

yes Cold Steel swords has a good quality the of all.

Uhm, what? What exactly are you trying to say?

[Steven Blakely]

does the sheliegly, the irish beating stick stretch back to ren times ? cold steel has a poly propaline and i'm sort of fascinated with the comman mans weapons.

[Andy Spalding]

Mair has some club fighting that look a lot like a sheliegly though not expressly stated.