Well this is interesting...New Albion swords

[Sal Bertucci]

So my main question is "what's the difference?" between this:

http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/swords-albion-mark-maestro.htm

And this:

http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/swords-albion-mark-skirmish.htm

What I'm thinking is that maybe the maestro line are based on actual sparring sword from the era, while skirmish line do not have a sparring equivilent in the past, but are practice versions of historical sharps.

While I see a point to what they are doing I was just confused about why they would open another line for it.

[Vincent Le Chevalier]

You can read more about the new line here at myArmoury.

The gist of it is that the Skirmish line is aimed more at reenactors, and the Maestro line more at martial artists. In particular the Skirmish line is meant to have a hilt very similar to the sharps visually, something the Maestro line does not particularly emphasize.

[Jonathan Newhall]

One of the key differences here is that the Skirmish line is aimed at live demonstration groups rather than to be used primarily for practice, and are thus probably weighted slightly differently with durability and looks more in mind than exact handling like the Maestro line is designed for.

You will note that the Skirmish line is subtitled "Sparring Swords for the Historical Reenactor and Stage Combat" whereas the Maestro line is subtitled "Historical Sparring Swords for the Practitioner of the Western Martial Arts and Stage Combat". The difference here is that the former is more designed with looks and utility at demonstration whereas the latter (maestro) is designed with closeness to historical weapons in feel foremost.