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Post by The BB of C on Apr 16, 2011 16:15:39 GMT
Hello,
I'm a film student hoping to become a choreographer one day.
I've been looking for a long time for Japanese swords that can hold up to stage combat and movie fight scenes. I've come across Stage Steel multiple times while doing Google searches. However, all the websites I find are simply trying to sell me the swords. Which are reasonably priced considering everything. They're not pretty swords but I don't really care about that (despite my other post :mrgreen: ).
I've tried on a number of occasions to find reviews of this brand but I've only found one person who tells me that they're awesome. I'd like to get a second opinion if at all possible. Does anyone else have any experience with Stage Steel?
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Post by RicWilly on Apr 16, 2011 17:26:22 GMT
Hello and welcome, BB. I answered this question on SFI but in case you missed it I'll reinerate here. If you're refering to the weapons in this link, I have their gladius. It's basically a sword shaped hunk of steel with the guard and pommel welded on with leather and wire wrapped directly onto the tang to form a grip. It's very heavy and makes an very loud rattle when struck. I would think it would be dangerous to try any stage combat with it as it would be hard to control due to it's weight. In my opinon there are better choices out there, tho keep in mind my opinon is based on only this one piece so take it for what it's worth. |
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Post by The BB of C on Apr 16, 2011 19:42:26 GMT
I did see a post about the Gladius like that in a different topic I think. I haven't looked at my posts for a while. My questions got answered about fixing my other two swords and then I forgot to keep checking it because at that point nobody had said anything in my Stage Steel one :lol: Whoops!
I'm not particularly interested in the Gladius. I have held the katana and the ninja sword and they felt great. But if during combat, they all have that heavy rattling when they're struck; that's no good. I don't mind loud noises. I knew they had that. But rattling would be too much. Bryn just suggested Baltimore Knife and Sword. I'm about to check them out.
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Post by Elheru Aran on Apr 16, 2011 20:04:45 GMT
Baltimore Knife and Sword are probably your best bet. They have a large number of products on Kult of Athena, and they're all pretty well made and robust products. Darksword Armoury also supplies their swords in a unsharpened but heat-treated state for stage combat; you may just have to contact them and make sure they understand you don't want an edge on your weapon.
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Post by The BB of C on Apr 16, 2011 22:19:40 GMT
I just checked out Baltimore Knife and Sword and Darksword Armoury. They look like really good stuff but way out of my price range. They're definitely someone I'd go to if I had sponsorship for the movies.
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Post by Elheru Aran on Apr 17, 2011 0:26:15 GMT
Well, you could always go to Kult of Athena, check Swords, Stage Combat...
The Generation 2 and Hanwei 'Practical' swords might be just your ticket.
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Post by Cold Napalm on Apr 17, 2011 1:42:19 GMT
Okay, if you need japanese swords for stage combat, get iaito. www.kultofathena.com/swords-iaito.aspThe musashi one for 60 bucks isn't bad if your on a budget or need to outfit an army scene. The hanwei ones were the ones that we always used when we needed japanese stage swords and they worked quite well for us. |
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Post by Student of Sword on Apr 17, 2011 3:29:54 GMT
What is true with European training swords and it is not true with Japanese training weapons. Iaito cannot be used for stage combat (unless it specifically say so). They are meant for solo non-impact training only. Of all of the aforementioned iaito at KOA, only BKS can be used for impact with confidence. Cheness Deluxe is advertised as "through tempered." I am not sure if they meant "through hardening" because tempering is a different thing altogether from hardening. No one I know of have hit two of them together.
The rest of them are either stainless steel or non heat-treated blade, it will break or bend on hard impact. Very light impact is OK, even then I would not risk it.
There are special "kendo no kata" iaito which is specifically meant for partnered kata, they are blunt blade that are properly heat treated.
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Post by The BB of C on Apr 17, 2011 14:59:20 GMT
I have a lot of faith in Kult of Athena. If It doesn't say "stage combat" next to the item on the list, it's probably not a good idea to use it for stage combat. Their sword that did say "stage combat" was the one by Baltimore Knives and Swords for $375 which is out of my price range as mentioned before.
As for the "Kendo no Kata" Iaito; Any idea where I'd find one of those and look into it? Off the top of my head I can imagine it is meant for the light contact that would come with Kendo katas but it's worth a shot.
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Sam H
Member
Posts: 1,099
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Post by Sam H on Apr 17, 2011 19:41:02 GMT
In the way of katana you're best off purchasing properly heat treated katana (like say the Musashi 1060 series) and dulling the edges down so they can be used blunt.
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Post by The BB of C on Apr 17, 2011 22:15:50 GMT
Those are much nicer looking for a much better price too. What kind of maintenance and durability issues should I run in to?
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Post by Cold Napalm on Apr 17, 2011 22:53:31 GMT
Well I haved used both the hanwei one and the musashi one for stage combat and they do hold up to it. The musashi is soft however...not annealed soft...like 1045 steel soft. Which for stage purposes is pretty soft I do admit...but it's cheap and some extra time with a file isn't that bad as it's soft. The hanwei is stainless steel true, but they have been tempered WAY down to prevent the stainless steel shattering effect. They will bend, not shatter...or the ones I have experience with did. Like I said, I have used both for stage combat purposes and they held up okay (more bending and burring issues then say the hanwei practicals...but not enough to say it's useless either).
Course Sam did have an excellent idea of using the TH 1060 musashi blades and grinding the edges down yourself if you have access to some sort of tool to grind the edges down or you have a LOT of time to do it using a hand file. If you go this route, the swords will hold up pretty well. They wont bend nearly as much the musashi iaito or even the hanwei in fact. You will of course incur some blurs that need to be filed out of course. The thicker you make the edge, the less burring issues you will have.
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Sam H
Member
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Post by Sam H on Apr 17, 2011 23:49:00 GMT
Yeah I wouldn't buy any of that stage steel stuff. Frankly it all looks butt freaking ugly. Better off buying real swords and just dulling them down.
Also for Euro style blades look at the Hanwei/Tinker Practicals in blunt.
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Post by The BB of C on Apr 18, 2011 1:00:08 GMT
Indeed. I went that route back in November and bought a 1095 Carbon Steel Ninjato with intent to blunt it. $168. Very nice looking. Relatively sharp (could use a touch up whenever I can get my hands on the materials). My older brother, who is a sword enthusiast convinced me not to use it for stage combat and I found myself back at square one. So I guess I'll just stick with dulling down Musashi 1060 carbon steel blades with a grinding stone. Much cheaper and nicer looking than stage steel. Agreed?
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Sam H
Member
Posts: 1,099
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Post by Sam H on Apr 18, 2011 1:43:21 GMT
Sounds like you'll get a better deal for your money that way to me. Good luck.
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Post by The BB of C on Apr 18, 2011 2:12:59 GMT
Thanks. I'll need it :mrgreen:
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