Swords and Daggers

[Eledhwen]

That one is an very good choice.

Eledhwen

[Daerir]

I found this website through Sword Buyers Guide: http://www.swordnarmory.com/ There are several swords that I'm deciding on. What's everyone's thoughts on this site??

[Aaron]

For functional European swords, I would stay very far away from their site. If you're looking for a Japanese blade or a decorative blade, then they will be fine. Make sure you pay careful attention to each sword's description.

[Manveruon]

Honestly, you'd do better to stick with Kult of Athena. At least they are fairly well trusted, and they sell some very nice quality items for pretty reasonable prices.

[josh88]

At this point My only blade purchases come from Kult of Athena and the classified sections of SBG or Myarmoury. The exception being Museum Replicas deal of the day, with the SBG discount code you can score some real gems there. But KOA has all their regularly priced items for cheaper than MRL offers on their own site. KOA also handles and checks everything they sell before letting it leave just to make sure there aren't any bad apples so they take care of you. I'm out of the blade market for awhile now though after picking up and Valiant Hedemark a couple weeks ago.

[Beornmann]

I bought my Stiklestad Viking Sword from KOA and was very satisfied.

[Daerir]

Well I know I said I was gonna buy from Kult of Athena..... but I think I might just buy a Cold Steel Italian longsword It looks pretty promising.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SOz9WTp ... r_embedded

[Greg]

Of all the Cold Steel European models, that's one of few that I haven't really heard anything bad about.

[RikJohnson]

Well I know I said I was gonna buy from Kult of Athena..... but I think I might just buy a Cold Steel Italian longsword It looks pretty promising.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SOz9WTp ... r_embedded

I have that blade that I purchased at the LV Combat Con a few years ago and am quite pleased with it.
I'd suggest that you add the matching dagger and Poly-Pro practice sword.

[mcapanelli]

http://kultofathena.com/product.asp?ite ... eval+Sword
Ok Im thinking about this sword. Anything I should be concerned about?

Go for it. It's a very decent entry level sword. That particular model has gotten some great reviews.

If you want a personal reference, I have one and don't intend to sell it any time soon. It's a good choice.

I've owned and still own some very high level swords. The sword you've mentioned above is, while not on the level of an Albion or A&A, a very good sword. Windlass swords are usually hit or miss, but some models, like the Medieval, are pretty consistent. I used to own one and liked it a lot. I'd stay away from the cold steel stuff if I were you, they have temper and durability issues. You'll do much better if you stick to Windlass and Hanwei at that price point.

If I had to complain about anything besides the bad grip wrap and the scabbard it'd two things. The blade tends to be a little floppy. Its not a wet noodle and actually cuts really well, but its on the flexible side for its type. Also be careful if you rewrap the grip. When I did mine I needed to add spacers to the grip core as Windlass used leather tucked in to the gap between the guard and grip to keep the guard in place. Hey, for $150 though what do you expect. I just used some wood chips and glue and JB Weld and presto, new grip wrap and solid guard.

[mcapanelli]

DO NOT get the cold steel poly swords. They are terrible and don't hold up under ernest training and can break in a dangerous way. They're also not even close to the balance of a real sword. If you want a waster to bang around go to woodenswords.com and get either a wooden waster or the Penti III+.

[Eärendur]

Re: Poly practice swords, has anyone else tried these? http://revival.us/spadadazoghosparringsword-2.aspx

I have one (the stiffer version) and I quite like the balance. On the other hand, I have not actually done much sparring at all with it, so I can't evaluate that aspect.

[Eledhwen]

I have Cold Steel poly swords and they have held up just fine under hard usage. I have others as well; all have done just fine.

I have hand and a half, standard medieval, katanas, wakizashi, Kbars, and gladii. I even have tomahawks. LOL

Thus far I have had no problem with any of them, whether used with one another, on pells, against wood, or on armor.

Obviously mileage varies.

Caveat emptor.

Eledhwen

[Ringulf]

You all know my affinity for their machetes that I rework into seaxes and such, I have been throwing the modified 12" CS seax machete for several years now of very hard use and not had any complaint.
I have had some helatious nicks, but it is kinda to be expected when throwing in conjunction with axes!

Their Axes are very durable, customizable and have held their edges well for the tremendous amount of use and abuse I put them through,

However those are axes and seax machetes, not swords. Veeery different animals, very different uses, very different construction.

[mcapanelli]

I have Cold Steel poly swords and they have held up just fine under hard usage. I have others as well; all have done just fine.

I have hand and a half, standard medieval, katanas, wakizashi, Kbars, and gladii. I even have tomahawks. LOL

Thus far I have had no problem with any of them, whether used with one another, on pells, against wood, or on armor.

Obviously mileage varies.

Caveat emptor.

Eledhwen

My biggest gripe is they just don't behave like swords, especially entering a bind, though I could say that about many wasters as well the cold steel poly's seem to especially bad. The guards are just blocks of plastic., not realistic and certainly not good for learning any techniques. If your just fooling around or need something cheap to learn the basics with than they're Ok but there are still much better options available. Hell, you could learn the basics with a broom stick if you think about it. The Rawlings synthetics, right here, while being too flexible, are better choices IMO.