|
Post by Anders on Aug 7, 2011 17:11:36 GMT
Funny, I bought a DSA Squire Sword as my first real sword too. If it makes you feel any better, I soon concluded it was mostly a disgrace all by itself and that there wasn't much I could do to disgrace it further. It ended up collecting dust and patina for a couple of years. The blade does have good steel, though, so lately I've been working on re-grinding it into a sword that's actually decent.About the fittings: I have noticed that the cross and pommel of this sword (as well as the dagger I got as part of the back-order deal) take to corrosion very easily - way easier the the blade.
|
|
|
Post by William Swiger on Aug 7, 2011 17:50:19 GMT
Funny this is active again as I was just now sanding again on my DSA Johannes sword bevel. Its raining here and figured I would take it off the rack and mess with it. This is actually the one I sort of like out of the four I own. The balance is good and after rewrapping the grip, it is not a bad looking sword. Just the work that has to be done on them out of the box is a pain. Other makers in this price range pretty much send a ready to use sword out of the box that looks good. Most already come sharp or you pay for a sharpening that is not too bad.
Their very recent offerings are looking better but I am waiting for some more reviews before considering a new one. The blades are tough and will take a beating but the fittings and leather are a negative to me as well as the sharpening serive.
I like their designs and customer serice but just would like to see more improvements for a line of swords over the 300 range. There is some good competition in that range (300-400).
|
|
|
Post by StevenJ on Aug 7, 2011 21:46:46 GMT
William I can verify that the new DSA stuff is very very good. I just finished working on a newly forged DSA 1306 - The Medieval Knight sword. It is made of the new thinner stock, before I started working on the sword it weighed 2.6 pounds. Now that I finished repofiling the blade, by hand btw, it now weighs only 2.2 pounds and is extremely sharp. I like DSA because they are made from good quality steel and make for good project swords. Half of it is knowing the proper technique. I use oil stones and magnetic diamond files. Best thing to do is to use diamond files like these I posted pictures of below. Bass Pro shops sells em in the US, don't know where to get them in Germany except on the internet. You can also use oil stones like these below. You can buy em at home depot. What I do is I use the oil stones for profile tapering and the magnetic diamond files for sharpening and the final bevel. I run the oil stones over the center of the blade to round off the diamond profile. I then use the magnetic files vertically to perfect the bevel. Then when I'm done I run them horizontally across the whole length of the blade to blend it in. You don't need to use clamps to hold the blade down as long as you can apply pressure to keep the blade from moving is all that matters. I'd also keep some old newspaper underneath the blade to keep it from getting too scratched up in this process, it makes a difference trust me. If my customer gives me permission I'll post pictures of his sword in the customization section to show you guys what it looks like. The new DSA swords are really good, just make sure you get one that doesn't have cast hilt components. I'm pretty sure the cast ones are using zinc alloy but the regular medieval swords are carbon steel. I tested the 1306 guard and pommel with a magnet and it was magnetic.
|
|
|
Post by William Swiger on Aug 9, 2011 7:22:21 GMT
StevenJ,
Good info.
Does the oil stone scratch the blade much?
I agree that they are good project swords but when buying a new sword for 300+ - I am looking more for a finshed sword.
|
|
|
Post by StevenJ on Aug 9, 2011 16:54:06 GMT
I understand what you're saying but because it is made in Canada instead of India or China I cut them a little slack since labor rates are much higher but I get what you're saying.The really coarse oil stones scratch the blade a lot. That's why you run the stones horizontally across the length of the blade. The Stone is equivalent to about 40 or 50 grit sand paper, maybe a bit lower. If you do this as I have suggested above William, you'll need to completely repolish the blade from 60/ 80 grit all the way up to the hundreds or thousands if you want to go that high. I promised my client not to reveal the pictures of his Medieval Knight sword yet since he wants to write a review on it. I can show you some of my other stuff if you're interested. I've done other DSA blades but I don't want to hijack this thread. PM me if you're interested.
|
|