Good weapon companies

[Timothy Gunther]

depending on how you intend to train, I find these sites to be very good for gaging good practice weapons most of which are quite historically accurate without sacrificing durability to make them as such.

http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/index.html

http://mysite.verizon.net/tsafa1/swordreview.htm#gblack

if your intending to do contact training a sword that can strike a tire 2k times and still be solid as a rock is a good practice sword in my book, however they are not always balanced right(the first site adds this into its ratings so read up on them) tho many are fairly historically accurate.

I know quite a few people would spending a fortune on Albion or the like and then not what to practice with them for fear of scuffing your 700-1000$ sword.

for practice weapons Generation 2, Darksword, or Hanwei are going to be your best bets.

Darksword has the best durability however gen 2 will actually replace a broken sword 1 time along with being extremely durable in the first place.

if you plan on getting a gen 2 sword i suggest getting one from www.armsofvalor.com as the discount code SBG will get you a discount on them of 10% off

I know my fist statement might sounds bad however truly historically actuate swords will never hold up against Direct blade on blade contact for long as it leaves huge rents in the blade which is why I like these lower priced but more durable swords for practice as you don't feel bad when you happen to mar them which does not happen easily I assure you, and they give you huge amounts of leeway to screw up any number of times if you are practicing sword on sword contact.

[Ken Dietiker]

Paul Chen? Asking because I have one of their (practical) practice swords, and it has done me well, I don't know of their sharps though, any comments?

I have two Paul Chen practicle single hand sword that I use a lot for Sword & Buckler practice. I also have a Paul Chen practicle hand & half that almost never use anymore because it feels so crapy.

I agree with Ran on this one. The pommel on the practical Paul Chen Hand-and-a-half is too fat, mostly because the handle is too short at only 5.5 inches. The over fat pommel gives the short handled sword a decent balance though. Another problem with the pommel is that it has squared edges and just doesn't feel very comfortable in the grip. A fair beater type sword for the very beginner, but not a quality sword if you've gotten past that point. And the low, low price speaks for itself. Do yourself a favor and get something better, even for a first sword.

For that reason, I never bothered to check out the sharps. If they can't make at least an average practical blade, how f***ed up will the sharp be?

BTW, it's very hard to find 3rd generation Paul Chen Hand-and-a-half practicals any more. The new fourth gen (the one everyone is selling now) is a piece of crap, redesigned for the stage players and re-enactors. If you can believe it, it has full hilt-to-point fullers, poor balance, floppy, and the same short handle and silly fat pommel. Stay away from it, please.

[Benjamin Smith]

My Paul Chen is breaking down, and has been since the day I bought it. At best they use a cold peened assembly which puts undue pressure on the hilt assembly. Stay away from them.

[Jaron Bernstein]

Our local study group has been using the Albion Lichteneauer and Meyer every sunday heavily for drills and freeplay with no meaningful damage to the blades. If you are getting large nicks in your blades, that may be more a function of how you are training. Edge-on-flat, flat-on-flat, never go edge on edge.

[J. Scott Steflik]

I just bought an item made of 1050 steel and it takes on a set if I clout a thick sheave of grass with it, this can be straightened by hand without much effort . . . . is 1050 a bit on the soft side ?

.

The problem isn't the steel choice... sounds like a bad temper on the blade. As with any steel, the key is a proper heat treatment.