Fantasy Sword Buying
Feb 20, 2011 19:24:14 GMT
Post by Elheru Aran on Feb 20, 2011 19:24:14 GMT
It occurs to me that it may be helpful to first-time sword buyers to post a small guide to fantasy swords. There's a lot out there that's utter crap; that goes without saying, but there are also a few good blades that are worth buying that don't look like your generic Euro/Japanese/whatever historicial blade.
Comments and constructive criticism are quite welcome. I don't expect this to be stickied or anything, I'm just throwing this out to fill what I see as a possible void on this particular subforum. If an admin decides to sticky it, great! If not, well, at least this is here for anybody to post a link to if they like...
I will be glad to edit this if anybody sees a legitimate issue that I am in agreement with in regard to anything I say here, and post the revision.
So without further ado:
++++++++++++++
There are three main issues that anybody buying a fantasy blade has to consider: safety, aesthetics and cost.
The first is safety. This is something that hopefully anybody who posts here will understand is important... the basics most posters here know, but for those new to the sword world, in order of importance:
+ No rat-tail tangs. Nothing that is not a full, peened tang or full tang with screw-on or hex-key pommel. The likelihood of failure on a rat-tail tang, or worse, a welded tang, is just too high. Even just swinging a rat-tail around can snap it right off, without even going into cutting...
+ Stainless steel blades=bad. They're brittle compared to carbon steel, and can break, especially if you hit something. Again, helicopter-of-death syndrome, something we all want to avoid.
This, right here, thins down the field considerably. This throws out Kit Rae, Gil Hibben, United Cutlery's Lord of the Rings line, and all the multifarious knockoffs thereof. Period. These swords are NOT for anything but hanging on your wall, and that's it.
Now, if you like the looks of these and don't care about functionality, then go for it; it's your money, and I'll happily be the first to say that the Lord of the Rings swords are generally quite nice looking. I would never cut with them, in fact I wouldn't do anything BUT look at them. But that wouldn't stop me from buying a few if I had the discretionary income and wanted some decoration for my 'man-cave'.
This brings us to aesthetics.
The simple aesthetics of the piece(s) a person may want to purchase, its fantastical basis, and so forth, are often a part of buying a sword. Aesthetics are a matter of subjective taste, and there's really no right or wrong to the form of a blade as long as they don't make it unsafe to use, which I will address. The fantastical 'history' or whatever of a blade is generally again a matter of what a person likes. Someone who is into the Wheel of Time series may want to purchase a 'heron-mark sword'; a person who likes the Forgotten Realms might want a pair of Drizzt swords. One might want a sword from the movie '300', another Glamdring from Lord of the Rings. Again, a matter of taste, something nobody can dictate to anybody else.
The two things that can be objectively assessed about any fantasy weapon, however, is how safe they are, and how expensive they are. Safety is simple-- only buy a full-tang sword that's not stainless steel. Excessive elaborate protrusions (I'm looking straight at you, Kit Rae and Gil Hibben) are generally not only without usable function, they have the capability to snag your clothing and perforate them, perhaps you into the process. It goes without saying that shoddy craftsmanship is best avoided as well; flea-market knockoffs... avoid like the very plague!
So, what's available out there? We have a number of stage-combat weapons from Baltimore Knife and Sword, various film and game reproductions from Museum Replicas Limited (MRL) and Windlass Steelcrafts, Lord of the Rings reproductions from Darksword Armory, Generation 2, and Albion's Filmswords line as far as production swords go. Custom jobs are another kettle of fish which I'll get to below. All these companies market decent and safe fantasy swords from $100-upward.
To put it in simple terms: above a certain level of worksmanship, you are going to pay more. That is the bottom line, and the third consideration in regard to fantasy blades-- how much they cost. A simple straight sword like, say, a Kingdom of Heaven sword, is easier to mass produce for a reasonable price than something rather more complicated like a Conan the Barbarian sword.
Albion's line of Conan swords, to run with this example, are quite possibly THE best reproductions of these swords on the market. They're based as exactly upon the original swords from the films as possible. And this comes at a price tag of around $3,000 for the Barbarian and Father's swords. Is this unreasonable?
No, because what Albion puts into each sword is:
--Detailed bronze castings, an expensive process
--Precision ground and deeply etched blades
--Permanent, strong peened assembly
--High quality leather work on the grips
--Last but not least, the knowledge and assurance that you, as the customer, are receiving a QUALITY, EXACT reproduction of the swords used in the Conan the Barbarian movies, completely usable and worthy of being used as props in the movies themselves.
When you consider all that, it's no wonder they charge so much for those swords. Any number of custom makers will charge you as much, if not more, for making the same sword.
Is the cost worth it? Think about it and look at how much work has gone into the sword. The more work that's put into it, the more it costs. It's not fair to complain "hey man I could get this at the flea market for $100". Because... no, you can't. Not only would the maker lose money, it would damage their reputation for selling such a good product below what it's worth. What you get at the flea market is stainless steel with a rat-tail tang and pot-metal fittings shone up with Rub'n'Buff. That's not even worth $100. You ARE getting what you pay for, and sometimes that means you have to pay more to get what you want. If that's a problem for you, then look elsewhere. That's the long and short of it.
But the nice thing is that the Conan swords aren't the only fantasy blades out there, obviously. It's a seller's market, and as far as good fantasy blades go, there aren't as many options as one might like-- Highlander, for example, doesn't have many good reproductions. However, there's still a decent selection of fantasy swords out there to have fun with.
So, in summation, here are the rules of thumb one can come up with from this:
1.) Don't buy it if you don't know how it's put together AND want to actually use it like a real sword. Especially don't buy anything with a rat-tail tang or stainless steel.
2.) Buy whatever you like as long as you understand what it is you're buying and know what purpose you'll put it to (display? cutting? stage combat? parading around a ren-fair?).
3.) Be honest with yourself about the cost. Buy what you WANT, and if that means saving up or waiting for a few months to get a really nice sword, then you'll be much happier with that than you'll be for shelling out for the next-best option. Maybe the next best is nice, but is it really what you want to have?
It's fun to have a nice fantasy blade. Kult of Athena, as always, is probably the best place to purchase them (if you live in the US at least), but you can find more on the various sites. Remember to be safe and if you can find a great deal, good for you... share the love here!
Comments and constructive criticism are quite welcome. I don't expect this to be stickied or anything, I'm just throwing this out to fill what I see as a possible void on this particular subforum. If an admin decides to sticky it, great! If not, well, at least this is here for anybody to post a link to if they like...
I will be glad to edit this if anybody sees a legitimate issue that I am in agreement with in regard to anything I say here, and post the revision.
So without further ado:
++++++++++++++
There are three main issues that anybody buying a fantasy blade has to consider: safety, aesthetics and cost.
The first is safety. This is something that hopefully anybody who posts here will understand is important... the basics most posters here know, but for those new to the sword world, in order of importance:
+ No rat-tail tangs. Nothing that is not a full, peened tang or full tang with screw-on or hex-key pommel. The likelihood of failure on a rat-tail tang, or worse, a welded tang, is just too high. Even just swinging a rat-tail around can snap it right off, without even going into cutting...
+ Stainless steel blades=bad. They're brittle compared to carbon steel, and can break, especially if you hit something. Again, helicopter-of-death syndrome, something we all want to avoid.
This, right here, thins down the field considerably. This throws out Kit Rae, Gil Hibben, United Cutlery's Lord of the Rings line, and all the multifarious knockoffs thereof. Period. These swords are NOT for anything but hanging on your wall, and that's it.
Now, if you like the looks of these and don't care about functionality, then go for it; it's your money, and I'll happily be the first to say that the Lord of the Rings swords are generally quite nice looking. I would never cut with them, in fact I wouldn't do anything BUT look at them. But that wouldn't stop me from buying a few if I had the discretionary income and wanted some decoration for my 'man-cave'.
This brings us to aesthetics.
The simple aesthetics of the piece(s) a person may want to purchase, its fantastical basis, and so forth, are often a part of buying a sword. Aesthetics are a matter of subjective taste, and there's really no right or wrong to the form of a blade as long as they don't make it unsafe to use, which I will address. The fantastical 'history' or whatever of a blade is generally again a matter of what a person likes. Someone who is into the Wheel of Time series may want to purchase a 'heron-mark sword'; a person who likes the Forgotten Realms might want a pair of Drizzt swords. One might want a sword from the movie '300', another Glamdring from Lord of the Rings. Again, a matter of taste, something nobody can dictate to anybody else.
The two things that can be objectively assessed about any fantasy weapon, however, is how safe they are, and how expensive they are. Safety is simple-- only buy a full-tang sword that's not stainless steel. Excessive elaborate protrusions (I'm looking straight at you, Kit Rae and Gil Hibben) are generally not only without usable function, they have the capability to snag your clothing and perforate them, perhaps you into the process. It goes without saying that shoddy craftsmanship is best avoided as well; flea-market knockoffs... avoid like the very plague!
So, what's available out there? We have a number of stage-combat weapons from Baltimore Knife and Sword, various film and game reproductions from Museum Replicas Limited (MRL) and Windlass Steelcrafts, Lord of the Rings reproductions from Darksword Armory, Generation 2, and Albion's Filmswords line as far as production swords go. Custom jobs are another kettle of fish which I'll get to below. All these companies market decent and safe fantasy swords from $100-upward.
To put it in simple terms: above a certain level of worksmanship, you are going to pay more. That is the bottom line, and the third consideration in regard to fantasy blades-- how much they cost. A simple straight sword like, say, a Kingdom of Heaven sword, is easier to mass produce for a reasonable price than something rather more complicated like a Conan the Barbarian sword.
Albion's line of Conan swords, to run with this example, are quite possibly THE best reproductions of these swords on the market. They're based as exactly upon the original swords from the films as possible. And this comes at a price tag of around $3,000 for the Barbarian and Father's swords. Is this unreasonable?
No, because what Albion puts into each sword is:
--Detailed bronze castings, an expensive process
--Precision ground and deeply etched blades
--Permanent, strong peened assembly
--High quality leather work on the grips
--Last but not least, the knowledge and assurance that you, as the customer, are receiving a QUALITY, EXACT reproduction of the swords used in the Conan the Barbarian movies, completely usable and worthy of being used as props in the movies themselves.
When you consider all that, it's no wonder they charge so much for those swords. Any number of custom makers will charge you as much, if not more, for making the same sword.
Is the cost worth it? Think about it and look at how much work has gone into the sword. The more work that's put into it, the more it costs. It's not fair to complain "hey man I could get this at the flea market for $100". Because... no, you can't. Not only would the maker lose money, it would damage their reputation for selling such a good product below what it's worth. What you get at the flea market is stainless steel with a rat-tail tang and pot-metal fittings shone up with Rub'n'Buff. That's not even worth $100. You ARE getting what you pay for, and sometimes that means you have to pay more to get what you want. If that's a problem for you, then look elsewhere. That's the long and short of it.
But the nice thing is that the Conan swords aren't the only fantasy blades out there, obviously. It's a seller's market, and as far as good fantasy blades go, there aren't as many options as one might like-- Highlander, for example, doesn't have many good reproductions. However, there's still a decent selection of fantasy swords out there to have fun with.
So, in summation, here are the rules of thumb one can come up with from this:
1.) Don't buy it if you don't know how it's put together AND want to actually use it like a real sword. Especially don't buy anything with a rat-tail tang or stainless steel.
2.) Buy whatever you like as long as you understand what it is you're buying and know what purpose you'll put it to (display? cutting? stage combat? parading around a ren-fair?).
3.) Be honest with yourself about the cost. Buy what you WANT, and if that means saving up or waiting for a few months to get a really nice sword, then you'll be much happier with that than you'll be for shelling out for the next-best option. Maybe the next best is nice, but is it really what you want to have?
It's fun to have a nice fantasy blade. Kult of Athena, as always, is probably the best place to purchase them (if you live in the US at least), but you can find more on the various sites. Remember to be safe and if you can find a great deal, good for you... share the love here!
Herron's Flight by Brendan of Fable Blades
