Armour Class

Fellow forumite Billiam has sung their praises- but I don't know if he's registered here yet, and I don't know if he's had any experience with their rapiers. It might be worth trying to contact him through myArmoury. I emailed Armour Class with some questions a couple of years ago (I still lust after their mortuary-hilts and proto-morts) and found them quite helpful, so you could enquire about the pommels.


Cheers

Marc E

Hi Folks

I have had dealings with Armour Class in the past.
It was the first sword i bought online and my 2nd (non wallhanger) sword ever. It was a claymore and so far the only sword i sold again at quite a loss. The sword in quesiton was a blunt claymore for re-enactment

Let me give some background and explanation.

Their reputation is quite good as far as i was able to tell. When i inquired about their products Iain was always quick to answer, even called him once but wasnt able to communicate with him. He does not exactly speak oxford english, but for a native speaker that might not be an issue.

Delivery time was horribly long, and WAY over the estimated deadline. The sword i got was somewhat rough in finish on the guard the blade was clean. It had a screw on pommel and a glued grip (according to Iain a safety measure). The blade was whippy as in horribly whippy (EN45 spring steel as far as i know). I know big sword are not exactly stiff but that was something else. Again i inuired and was told that is a gain a safety measure for reanactment. No idea why but..

After lots of dry handling - i did try to get used to it - and 1 steel on steel stage battle - the grip had taken a set. A very slight one and i cannot for sure say if it wasnt there from the beginning as it was only visible from a certain angle.

All in all for the price they ask i would not buy again. Rather fork out the little bit more and order from A&A. The claymore i have from them beats the AC one by ... by everything really.

The only thing i would contemplate to buy again from them is a bask hilt. But really only the basket hilt and have someone else make the blade and assemble.

From my personal experience i would -not- recommend buying without having the chance to first hand handle, see and feel what you buy.

my 2 cp

best regards

tec

P.S: As an alternative for BKS and A&A on the rapier front you can check out

www.darkwoodarmory.com/

i never dealt with them but read they make solid stuff.

www.sword.cz/eindex.htm

good quality as well from what i read, mailed with him briefly but has usually a long waiting list


And personally i would suggest you inquire with Viktor

www.berbekuczviktor.hu/

I have a stage combat sword from him and all in all i am very satisfied especially for the price.

He does not speak english that well (as far as i know his wife translate it for him) so you have to keep the mail structured clearly with pictures in reference. During the summer he is usually on ren-fairs and does custom work in the winter. You might still get in on his que for this year. Cant hurt to ask him if you know what you have in mind. Keep in mind he makes items with the clear intention to be used so they tend to be a little bit less ornate, but non the less cleanly finished.
(He even has a rapier example on his page that might give you an idea: Click on "Schwerter" then scroll all the way down )

I own one of Armour Class's mortuary swords, and while I'd agree that the finish is rather rough I actually like it. My mortuary sword has the broadsword blade which is rather whippy and takes some getting used to-- Billiam's doesn't appear to be whippy but his has a backsword blade. I'm told that you can order an extra-stiff blade from Armour class if you want though. I have to agree that Iain was always very prompt and polite about answering my e-mails and while the shipping time was quite long he was at least very up front about it.
One thing that did surprise me were that I expected the hilt to be blued, as you can see here mine is not.

Having only seen blued hilts on Armour Class's mortuary swords I assumed it was the default finish-- clearly it is not. In short, I really like this sword and am happy with it but I can see why someone else wouldn't.

finally got here.....

Yes, my experience with Iain and the other guys with Armour Class was great and my mortuary hilt they made is still "my precious". It did take a bout 2 week's long than expected to receive mine (this was several years ago), but I could be happier with the final product. I'm sorry to hear others have had not-so-good dealings with A-C. Remember, these are hand made by a few guys, they don't have alot of hi-tech equipment (ala Albion etc) so you get a well made product,,may not be as spit & polished as a more production made offering. Armour Class have been a staple supplier to living history, re-enactment groups in the UK or many years and on that fact is one reasons I based my final decision along woth being a mortuary hilt nut, they offer the best semi-custom / custom mortuary hilt available. They will build pretty much what you want , but it will take some time......compared to other custom makers, I think they do fairly good with time.

This is only my experience / dealing with Armour Class, the offer some very fine types not so popular and I'd still recommend them.

cheers,

Bill

thanks & it has a pommel nut, but never had a bit of trouble with it. There is a full review of it over on myArmoury site I did right after receiving it years ago.

My mortuary sword has a threaded tang with a pommel nut. The nut is also drilled, I assume for attaching a lanyard. As I understand this is correct for the period.
I don't think the pommel itself is threaded but I've never tried to disassemble the sword to find out. The hilt construction feels very solid though.

I can confirm that their construction hasn't changed, since I have recently disassembled one of their mortuary hilt swords for my fencing teacher (I still have it at home). I wouldn't be afraid though, the tang is very wide and the thread is not welded, and quite wide.

The version I have at home is a blunt trainer with the back edge blade. It has a simple and utilitarian look to it, but it's very sturdy and well constructed. However, the blade is too thick and heavy, which really hinders its handling (my teacher's opinion) and makes for a very stiff and thrust unfriendly blade (my opinion). I don't know if it's the same thing when it comes to their rapiers though...

On another note, you could maybe check out the guys at Alchem? I don't know how good or bad their stuff is, but I do know they make rapiers. I have heard many good things from people who practice rapier fencing about Darkwood though.

I've got a hand and a half sword by armour class. Its peened and handles very nice. I would agree its slightly whippy and the grip is basic stuck on coiled leather tape type thing. Its in my dads garage at the minute so i'll review it in a few months. I also own a swept hilt rapier which i did a review on a few months ago. Its a screw on pommel but a strange one. The end of the tang is flat and has notches cut into it. I'll post a pic tonight if i get a chance. The rapier is very nice, slightly flexible but i did do some thrust tests through a leather bag with straw and multiple denim layers and it was very good if aligned correctly. I spoke to Armour class and they use stock removal and can remove less if you specify and want a thicker blade and hopefully less whippy fun. Also if your bothered by deadlines etc don't bother, both my swords overrun by weeks or months but i wasn't really bothered.