|
Post by ironsmith on Aug 17, 2014 23:59:50 GMT
Greetings, all. I was wondering if anyone here could recommend a good beginner's rapier for me. Essentially, I have zero experience with them and I'm looking for something that I won't spend a fortune on, that I can use for thrusting sessions and dry handling, while handling like one of the originals at least to a reasonable degree. I might be asking for a little much, but any help at all would be greatly appreciated.
|
|
Uhlan
Member
Posts: 3,121
|
Post by Uhlan on Aug 18, 2014 4:52:05 GMT
Greetings to you too, Ironsmith.
I'll have to ask what your idea of a fortune is? Entry level are Windlass and Hanwei. Blades are on the short side and too light. Maybe the Hanwei Taza comes closer to what you are after. If you are not in a hurry, I would recommend to watch the second hand market for an Arms and Armour one. The Taza is my best bet, though I would never pay the full price either. Darkwood Armoury makes good, reasonable priced blunts.
Cheers, Ulahn.
|
|
|
Post by Grubnessul on Aug 18, 2014 6:18:05 GMT
If you ever plan to fence with it, do not get a Hanwei. In my experience, their practice blades are badly balanced and the hilts far to small for a comfortable grip. Darkwood or Arma Bohemia are both good blades with a much nicer handling and balance.
|
|
|
Post by TheNewDavout on Aug 21, 2014 5:32:15 GMT
Depending on your budget, I'd recommend either the darkwood economy hilt ( www.darkwoodarmory.com/index.php ... ucts_id=18) I've had one for around 3 years, and it's held up beautifully, I know people who've had them even longer. Plus, Darkwood is really nice to deal with, and they'll fix anything they build. Otherwise, I'd say the darkwood destreza trainder ( www.darkwoodarmory.com/index.php ... cts_id=366) While they designed it for destreza ( a spanish rapier system) it's really a good all around rapier trainer. They have a version with a little more hand protection as well, depending on your taste.
|
|
|
Post by ironsmith on Aug 28, 2014 2:39:54 GMT
Apologies for the late response. With school back in session, I've had little free time. Anyway, a fortune to me is really anything above $600. Even then, I would prefer to keep it in the ~$400 range. I must say that the Darkwood Armory rapiers do look tempting, and they seem to have better construction and hilt parts than any of the Windlass rapiers (and I do have a great respect for Windlass and a great many of their products). Thank you for your help and good day to you.
|
|
|
Post by StevenJ on Aug 30, 2014 5:02:04 GMT
I will second Darkwood also, i love all three of mine. Zen Warrior is okay too as is Alchem, but Darkwood is better.
*Edit I forgot to mention I own one if their Economy hilts. It's rough finish but it can be polished out just fine. The rapier blade that comes with it is their standard blade. I have the two ring Economy hilt/ swept. Another good economy choice from them, which I own, is the Hutton Saber. It's really a light fun dueling saber.
|
|