Waster Sizing and Style

[Jaron Bernstein]

Never handled a Hollow Earth, so I can't say. I own a NSA perfect longsword. It is balanced as close to a real sword as I have ever seen in a waster. Just perfect with great point control and agility. But if you beat it enough the pommel breaks. Ravens have great craftsmanship, you can beat them all day and they won't break, but IMO their longsword is heavy and handles clumsily. I do however have a Raven arming sword that is both durable, light AND well balanced. That is my experience at least with what I have handled.

[Shane Smith]

After initial success with Ravens longsword wasters which I very much prefer to NSA balance and handling-wise, we in VAB have broken the pommels and/or separated the handles on no less than three of them in recent months. I no longer recommend Raven personally. I'm going back to making my own as all but one NSA I have handled was overly light and neutral handling for my personal tastes so I can't win with either vendor it seems <img src="/forum/images/icons/frown.gif" alt="" /> .

[Rod-Thornton]

Hey Shane....just got in my Raven waster (folks, don't hold your breath during the wait).

After seeing the abuse on the pommels, I had ordered mine with "fish-tail" pommel in the hopes that might reduce what otherwise seems to be a recurring problem. I wonder if that will make a difference with them failing. Time will tell if I opted wisely....

[JeffGentry]

Hey Gent's


One thing i noticed with most waster pommel's is that most companies make the blade and grip one piece and the pommel is a seperate piece, this is inherently weak at the joint of the pommel and grip, which is were we exert alot of torque.

I make my own waster's and cut out the blade grip and pommel as one piece and then make a lead counter weight to put in the pommel, then I use 1/4 inch oak to overlay the lead weight, my last one was in the neighborhood of 1lbs 14 oz so it was somewhat light, the balance is good though, i have a pretty good taper on the blade so next time i will make the blade wider and it should increase the weight, i want to get about 2.5lbs so i am 7oz light which i think i can get.

I highly recommend making your own waster's, if you can get the hickory that was the hardest thing for me was finding a source for hickory.

Also if you make your own you can size them to your body if you would like i don't because i think it would be an unfair advantage for me, you could look at it as training tthe rest of your group to fight longer longsword's though.

Jeff

[Matthew_Anderson]

I really like the feel and balance of my Raven but sadly, the blade keeps splitting very badly after every use. It just seems like a very open grained piece of wood. This is the one and only "store-bought" waster I ever had and I'm probably going to stick to making my own from now on. I can't make them as pretty, but they are functional, durable and very inexpensive by comparison. Like Jeff, I make mine with an "integral" pommel that is pretty much indestructable. There is a lumber yard here in Norfolk that carries rough hickory boards. I usually have to sort through a big stack to find a few good planks, but I can make a half dozen wasters for about $20 worth of wood.

[Jeffrey Hull]

For what it is worth:

I own a Hollow Earth longsword waster. Initially I was smitten with it due to its awesome aesthetics.

But over time I realised that a lot was wrong and even unwieldy about it, overly bulky in various dimensions.

So, I have modified its hilting substantially. But it is still troublesome.

However, whether originally or after modifying, it has proven really tough, and has nice balance.

[Brendan Murphy]

What's the depth of woodworking skill you'd need to achieve real results?

[Shane Smith]

If you can run a skillsaw,jigsaw and router while keeping all your fingers you can make your own. I've made more than a half-dozen over the years and they always hold up better than store-bought.I was a carpenter by trade though...

[Jeffrey Hull]

I have the skills to make my own waster, but not the tools and shop needed.

[JeffGentry]

Hey Jeffrey

shop what shop?

I do them on a Skil portable work bench in front of my little efficiency apartment, that might be why i take so long to make one.

Jeff

[Shane Smith]

I actually clamp the boards down to my front steps while I work <img src="/forum/images/icons/blush.gif" alt="" /> .

[JeffGentry]

Hey Shane

I actually clamp the boards down to my front steps while I work

Like i alway's say "do something even if it's wrong." <img src="/forum/images/icons/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Jeff

[Shane Smith]

I suspect the fishtail pommel will solve the breakage problem but handling may be adversely affected. We'll see but I just can't seem to get a good feel for that style as I ride the pommel a bit and my palm just doesn't fit that profile as it does a scent-stopper or even a good full wheel.