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Post by zentesukenVII on Aug 18, 2012 6:03:31 GMT
Yeah yeah, I always will love my katana the best, but recently I've been taking an interest in euros... Particularly two handed long swords and side sword/cut and thrust swords.
I just finished playing Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. This particular installment of the series takes place in 1792. The main character, Alucard, uses a rapier or sidesword of some sort. I really just started liking how it looks, or maybe just the idea of it. I like having my cutters so rapier seem a bit off for me. I prefer the wider blade over the thin stabby ones. So all in all I guess I'm looking for a sidesword. I love the Hanwei sidesword but they are a bit out of my price range atm. Does anyone know of any that are good quality and around 200$? I feel like id prefer a more stiff blade over a very springy one.
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Aug 18, 2012 6:31:02 GMT
Same here, good buddy. I got those two from William Swiger and now I have got to have more. It's single hand ones for me. Kris Cutlery has a few Euro style blades. They are closer to $300, but they also do layaway so you could break up the payments. kriscutlery.com/documents/medieval.htmlBoth Hanwei and Windlass have a great many of them over at Kult of Athena as well, with many coming in under $200.
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Post by zentesukenVII on Aug 18, 2012 6:43:42 GMT
Those all look real nice, but I'm looking specifically for a side sword or a cut and thrust.
Is windlass good quality? Hanwei barely has any of these for under 250$.
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Post by Tendrax on Aug 18, 2012 6:58:49 GMT
These are the only two I can come up with in that price range, but this is hardly my area of expertise. 18th Century Small Sword.Munich Cut and Thrust Sword.Windlass blades are good. They only import them unsharpened with a 1mm or so edge, but most places will sharpen it for you. However it's going to have a pretty obvious secondary bevel. If that doesn't bother you they should be fine. [EDIT: If you broadened your search to rapiers there are quite a few options, but those are the only two I see that look like cutters to me.] PS: Welcome to the darkside. Here is your cookie.
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Kuya
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Post by Kuya on Aug 18, 2012 8:28:39 GMT
The Hanwei Side Sword is beautiful. I want one. Someone was selling it at the SBG Meet last week, and I passed on it because I thought I could just get a new shiny one online... someone bought it, and it's not available online. Wish I got it.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2012 9:28:26 GMT
Wait till you get a feel for longswords and bastard swords too! This is just the tip of the iceberg!!! :lol:
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Post by Elheru Aran on Aug 18, 2012 14:37:12 GMT
The Hanwei piece is very nice, but the downside is that the blade is very light and thin; the heavy stainless-steel fittings overwhelm it pretty thoroughly. I'm refurbishing mine with a H/T bastard blade. Turning the sidesword blade into a pair of daggers. I'd probably go with the Windlass Munich; it's one of Windlass' better pieces. Just don't mix it up with the Albion Munich
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Post by Warlokk on Aug 18, 2012 14:59:47 GMT
The Windlass Munich was my first sword, and I still love it... it's got a nice beefy feel due to the weight, which is mostly in the fairly ornate basket hilt. It's not too whippy and cuts pretty well, although not as well as a more dedicated cutter like my EMSHS. With the price hike on the Hanwei, the Munich is almost a no-brainer if you're looking for something in that period and style. Here's the review I did when I received mine: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9626
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Post by Voltan on Aug 18, 2012 17:35:27 GMT
Welcome to the dark side! :twisted:
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Post by Artelmis on Aug 18, 2012 21:45:47 GMT
Two handed and on a budget? hanwei tinker isn't bad. I dunno if they have any distal taper yet but for the price they're tolerable.
Valiant Armoury has a very nice practical arming sword (1h) or a longsword (2h) which aren't anything special, but they're great for the money. can even find them on the SBG store.
for a rapier? They're generally more expensive. Odds of finding a good one sub 200 aren't looking good in my eyes.
truth be told, if it were me, i'd sell a few katana and see if i could find a nice deltin, A&A, or Albion second/third/fourth hand...
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Post by Tendrax on Aug 19, 2012 0:14:21 GMT
Uh, he didn't say two handed, the H/Ts are out of his price range, and the three I have(emshs, bastard, viking) all have very good distal taper. Your post is very confusing to me. Lol.
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Post by Artelmis on Aug 19, 2012 1:00:07 GMT
there was a pretty clear mention of two handers in the OP's post. re-read it if you don't believe me early H/T's were rather lackluster, but not terrible i suppose for the price. and those are the only ones I've held. I've heard decent things about the more recent ones but never experienced them personally. Also, finding a decent quality euro of any type for 200 or less is really a bit of a crapshoot. The closest I've seen that i like are the VA practical blades. and they're a bit over 200. You MAY get lucky with a windlass, but recently windlass QC has been questionable (See viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12706 ) Which is why at the end, I suggested making the budget a bit more flexible and trying to spring for something of real reputable quality. or... I've just been spoiled by Odinblades and Albion. ALTHOUGH! I did find these little gems. Not sure as to how the quality is, but it's within the price range kultofathena.com/product.asp?ite ... ader+Sword kultofathena.com/product.asp?ite ... -+Antiqued and if you can spring for 250 shipped kultofathena.com/product.asp?ite ... Long+Sword kultofathena.com/product.asp?ite ... ith+Fuller kultofathena.com/product.asp?ite ... tard+Sword Take it as you will
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Post by Tendrax on Aug 19, 2012 2:17:42 GMT
Yes, in his OP he mentioned longswords once. The rest of the post was about side swords/cut and thrust. His second post, after someone suggested some longswords and arming swords was:
I don't remember anything about early H/T's being bad outside of edge sharpness and the scabbards being terrible(problems that still exist as far as I know). Early Hanwei euros were supposedly pretty bad, but they're also very different swords from a completely separate model line.
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Post by zentesukenVII on Aug 19, 2012 5:07:23 GMT
Artelmis and Tendrax, you both are correct in your statements that I mainly was looking for into of side words and cut/thrust swords. however, in other posts I have asked about 2h long-swords and the like, so this is probably why the recommended the tinker etc.
thanks for all the help to everyone. It looks like windlass steelcrafts is where im gonna invest in eventually. I'm getting a shotgun before all though haha.
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Post by Artelmis on Aug 19, 2012 5:52:18 GMT
Well. the reason I mention 2h blades is I know zero about the more delicate fencing swords. I'm more of a brutish "cleave them in half" type, despite my small stature.
I would read Bill Swiger's post about windlass quality control and take serious warning from that if you go that route.
but I wish you the best dude. truly.
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Post by Warlokk on Aug 19, 2012 13:57:02 GMT
If you go through KoA for the Windlass swords, they will generally help make sure you don't get a lemon... and the price is a lot cheaper too. Just about everyone here who collects Euros has a Munich, and they're considered by pretty much everyone to be a good buy... Look at all the amazing stuff in Dave Kelly's collection for example, and you'll see he still has one in there. That says a lot to me. Plus, mine's awesome, and feels really cool to carry
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Post by William Swiger on Aug 19, 2012 18:21:33 GMT
I have received a few turds from Windlass products but most of their swords for the price were alright if bought on the Deal of The Day at MRL. Some (about 5-6) they offer are good for the regular price. I was more turned off by receiving flawed products. KOA and MRL have really good return policies but for me, I hate buying swords and wondering if they sent me a turd and the extra work to return it or just fix it myself.
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ChrisA
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Senior Forumite
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Post by ChrisA on Aug 19, 2012 19:19:26 GMT
The problem here is that Artelmis is confusing Hanweis with Hanwei/Tinkers (aka H/Ts). Not all Hanweis are H/Ts!
H/Ts, as the name suggests, are a line of swords designed by Tinker Pierce, a very knowledgeable and experienced sword maker, but made by the Chinese forges of Hanwei. They are: the EMSHS, the bastard sword (with or without fuller), the longsword, the Norman, the great sword of war (GSOW) and the Viking.
IMO these swords are far better than any other Western swords that Hanwei puts out, and better than most other sub $300 swords. As Tendrax points out they have distal taper and fantastic balance and harmonics. Their only real drawback is the crappy edge they come with. The scabbards are bleh but serve their function just fine.
For a proper Western sword I would highly recommend the VA practicals as well as the H/Ts. They are worth the extra $ over Windlass.
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Post by K. Vander Linde on Aug 20, 2012 18:54:05 GMT
Your a katana user hmmmm..... defintely go with a side/cut-thrust sword over the longsword type. especially if you are a serious student of the katana, asuming you are going to also study the sword you get, the cut-thrust sword will not affect a transition between the two sword types. Most people look at me funny when i tell them this kind of stuff so i'll explain. katana has a standerd 8+ types of cuts that can be delivered. longsword /side sword has 16+ types of cuts and 8 double cuts. side sword most cuts are recived and delivered on the true edge, cuts with true/long edge. as if one handing a katana for a prespective view. longsword most cuts are done with the short edge. so the transition is weird for katana users to practice the triditional EU systems. short edge = false/back edge etc. if your are doing backyard cutting or just collecting it really doesn't matter. As for getting a side sword there are different types as the term side sword is modern classification. for you price range i would buy parts, by that i mean a cheap sword that can be modified easly. some of the deepeeka's are good for this their rapiers/sideswords are usually under $120 US cheaper other places as low as $50. i moded their german sidesword and was very happy with it, my friend Allen high school bud now has it and is continuing it's modification. look around and look hard I got that particular sword along with about 8 sabers made by deepeeka for free. best of luck.
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