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Post by Sugiyama on Mar 4, 2013 1:21:51 GMT
I was wondering if there were any good makers of French sabers in the sub $300 range? I was thinking something that looked like this: I'd prefer one of a lighter weight or with a fuller/blood groove (doesn't need blood-groove). Anything you can come up with helps! Thank you very much! Edit: Are there any makers of any sabers that are of high quality? Reviews that are out there suggest there are no worthwhile makers of European sabers. Edit 2: As long as hardly anyone has seen this topic, I don't really care about balance as much. I just want a good, high quality sabre.
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Post by Dave Kelly on Mar 4, 2013 11:08:04 GMT
Chevalier D'Auvergne makes modern military replicas for the French Army. These sabres are stainless steel That's as close as you will come to true "french style" sabre reps. If you want a true french sabre you need to patiently shop ebay. Find something that looks right, ask the seller some questions then do the bidding. Might consider the French Infantry Officers M1845/55 as an alternative if you want someting lighter, but the M1822 light cav sabre is only 2.3 lbs and has a profile completely different to Civil War sabres. It's not that heavy and is superbly balanced to the hand.
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Post by Sugiyama on Mar 4, 2013 11:44:45 GMT
Is there anything currently on the market that is balanced similarly? I ask because I went to kultofathena and it said that the Dynasty Forge Sabre had a different weight and POB.
Edit: Windlass offers a confederate saber that looks nearly identical to these. Is windlass worth looking into for combat-ready, properly balanced swords?
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Post by ninjedi on Mar 4, 2013 19:46:24 GMT
How about the Cold Steel Napoleon?
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Alan Schiff
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Manufacturers and Vendors
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Post by Alan Schiff on Mar 4, 2013 19:48:48 GMT
The general consensus on Windlass sabers is that they are pretty good, not as hit-or-miss as their medieval stuff. I've handled a few and would say they are worth the money if that's what you're looking for.
Hope that helps, Alan
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Post by Sugiyama on Mar 4, 2013 20:09:26 GMT
ninjedi- Do you own/have you handled a CS Napoleon? Would you recommend it over Windlass?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2013 22:44:05 GMT
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Post by Dave Kelly on Mar 4, 2013 23:14:50 GMT
I exchanged a couple of emails with them two years ago looking at the Guards sabres and the 1822. Unless something got lost in translation, they told me that the historic swords were carbon steel, but all the current service sabres, which would include their 1822, were stainless in order to comply with current specs.
I didn't want the stainless and they could not satisfy me that their specs for the Guards swords were anywhere near correct for the funds they wanted. The blades are definitely "Indiaish". (Width and taper are visually off.)
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Post by Sugiyama on Mar 4, 2013 23:27:31 GMT
Mr. Kelly, do you know of anywhere I could get a high quality saber with a French M1822-Style hilt? Is there a vendor out there that makes a saber of this type that can withstand swinging through some tatami or some water bottles for a few years? Is Windlass really my best bet?
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Post by Dave Kelly on Mar 5, 2013 0:45:49 GMT
"High quality" is a tough threshold to meet in a sub $300.00 dollar sword. That you'd like to have a french styled beater for cutting is a more more useful gauge to try to steer you towards something that may appeal to your criteria. Any Windlass or Cold Steel sabre is suitable for backyard cutting. Wel handled they will take a lot of punishment. These eastern output products seem to have bad reps for using soft woods that are prone to shrikage and loosened grip. My Windlass 1840 did this; but was repairable with some epoxy. Distal Taper and harmonics: Classic french sabres were balanced to the hand in order to provide greater point control for thrusting. German sabres went the other way and biased weight to the point in order to make a more percussive cut. Civil War sabres were based on German sabres, thus more percussive and harder to weild. ( Harder isn't to say unwieldy. We're only talking 4-6 ozs shift around the blade. ) Regards the Cold Steel 1830: There is no french 1830 light cav sabre. This mimics the Year XI light cav sabre. The hilt geometry is too slight. The ricasso is false for the period; they were very small to nonexistent. Blade geometry is also wrong for a Napoleonic. The gross weight looks good, but I don't know the PoB that would indicate the blade bias. You want to cut. You want agility. And speed: The Shamshir is one antecedent of the modern light cav sabre. Purpose built for cutting and maneuverability; yet the nature of the deep curve results in an oblique striking surface that add 1/3d mor depth of blade at the point of impact. On the other hand you said you wanted "high quality" at $300.00 or less... The above is the Windlass US Cav Association M1860/1906 I recently reviewed. The M1860 has it's faults but this is a very nice replica for the price. ( On the other hand you can spend $90.00 for the basic M1860 and wail away at target to your hearts content.) If all else fails drive to Chicago and spend a day in KoA... :mrgreen:
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Post by Sugiyama on Mar 5, 2013 16:14:31 GMT
Would you recommend Cold Steel over Windlass, or does it not really matter? If the 1860 light cavalry saber will suffice for the occasional backyard cutting session, then alright.
Also, if I had larger budget, what companies would you recommend?
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Post by ninjedi on Mar 5, 2013 17:20:51 GMT
I have not handled wither, but other Cold Steel products have always impressed me.
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Post by Elheru Aran on Mar 6, 2013 5:05:11 GMT
Regrettably nobody really does a saber with historically correct handling and weight/balance anymore in SBG's price range (up to ~$300-400). Windlass and Cold Steel have a few decent pieces; personally I liked their Napoleon a lot when I handled one. The 1860 I got was surprisingly whippy but handles fine.
Best bet? Talk to Arms and Armour about modifying a Cold Steel saber to handle more period-correct. They've done it before and it'll be cheaper than having an entirely new saber forged to spec.
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Post by N2T on Mar 15, 2013 16:10:53 GMT
It's not too fancy or pretty, but condor has a "bush cutlass" that cuts and will stay together with very heavy use.
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Post by K. Vander Linde on Mar 15, 2013 16:15:01 GMT
BKS, When you e-mail them tell them what you want. If Ilya works on it it you will find nothing better.
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