Are Hanwei rapiers good for sparring/competitions?

Come on now. Nobody's born with knowledge. Everything we know, we had to learn. You learn by asking questions.

The Hanwei Practicals and schlagers are good enough for training, sparring, and competition.
And actually would be better in competitions, because the judges will see the bend better when you make a hit and call the hit.

I train and have fought in rapiers competitions. We used to train and fight with Zen Warriors training rapier blades until we went to our first competitions. My training partner almost didn't get to fight in one tournament because his blade was to stiff. Another one we weren't getting or hits called because they didn't see our blade flex. Plus the stiffer training blades hit harder and leaves big bruises( like grapefruit, cantaloupe size) when sparring.

After the tournament we ordered the schlager blades and now we get all our hits called, plus we can go full contact when training and sparring.

The blade on the rapier is the schlager and the blade by itself is the rapier blade.

Actually there is a big difference with their schlager and rapier blades. read and look at my pics in my post right before yours.

Hanwei's hilts are better than Zen's hilts. Zen's rapiers are looked at as the lower end training rapiers. But I still like mine and had it for many years.

I have seen them but I have never use one. They look good and I was also thinking about getting one. But I think if I get another taining rapier it's going to be a Darkwood.

I think John P has one or his school has them. If he doesn't post here maybe you can PM him about Alchem?

Well I guess I can always get the Darkwood Armory 19th century Sabre they just came out with. They have pretty good customer service and good products from what I heard.

I would second John's recommendation of Darkwood. I love my Darkwood economy; I know people who've had their darkwoods for years, and they're still together and handling well.

I apologize in advance for reviving an old dead thread and making it rise like a phoenix but I do so for valid reasons. Much has changed since I last posted here. In that time I sold those two Zen Warrior Rapiers to a friend of mine in my local Adrian Empire group and i have bought a Del Tin Cup Hilt and TWO Darkwood Rapiers.

Before I say anything else, James the Just only makes hilts. He uses other make's blades. I just thought that should be mentioned. I've learned a lot in just a few months. I learned I love Darkwood Armory, their customer service is as good as Zen Warrior and better in some ways. Let me tell you a story.

I had bought a Pappenheimer from their in stock page. I fenced with it for a few months. Then one dreadful day, I fought one of our most senior knights. Now this gentleman was at least 6 ft 2 inches tall with a rather not so 'subtle' gut. I lunged at him, bending my type 1 practice blade at about 90 degrees. Sadly the sword took an scurve but hey, I abused the heck out of it with that one lunge! It bent 90 degrees at least half way down the blade. I emailed Darkwood and they were on vacation at the time. So I sent it in to arrive when they would be back in the shop.

I asked for them exchange the blade for a Type 2 practice blade. They did just that and turned it around within a week to week and a half. Since then I bought their two ring economy hilt. Though both haven't been in my possession long, they have both seen their fair share of abuse, especially the pappenheimer, even with the replacement blade. I've loaned both of them out to be used by varying members of our group in fencing matches and they survived. In particular, one individual who is rather infamous for breaking rapiers in our group, has fought with both of them to a fair degree. I personally witnessed this man break a rapier at the point where the tang meets the sword. Granted, it was a pretty **** sword he broke. The point is, it withstood his abuse and I've lent him both my Darkwoods frequently without any serious sets or serious chipping. Minor nicks here and there, about it. I will stand by Darkwood as for now they have proven their worth to me. Now not everyone in my group liked them.

Keep in mind both my blades I am using the type 2 rapier blade which is a fair amount heavier than their type I. I've handed it to several people. Some really like the feel, others tell me it is a total crowbar. I tell you what though, it sure takes beating and handles well. Plus it is stiff as a board in the thrust but flexes safely enough upon impact not to crack any ribs! Wouldn't want to cut at anyone full force with a Darkwood type 2 blade though. That's for sure!

Hanweis are decent for sparring in my experience. Their balance is just not very good and they feel like the blade is much shorter then it actually is. The grip is also to short for my hands. I'd pick my own Arma Bohemia rapier or a Darkwood (let alone a Cervenka rapier) over them any day of the week.

Has anyone used one of A&A's training rapiers? Also, it looks like Albion is finally coming out with their Maestro Marozzo cut and thrust sword. See it on Albion Facebook