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Post by vinland on Jan 27, 2017 21:50:48 GMT
I was watching one of Skallagrim's videos recently, about Albion swords he would like to own one day, and he brought up a point I didn't think about - Where are the rapiers? They have so many arming swords with straight guards and wheel pommels, that may handle differently, but they all look very similar. Looking on kult of athena, you see nearly 200 models of katanas up there, yet ko-katana stands with a measly 5. Messers compared to other swords are in a similar boat in the medieval section. Moving to the Korean, Philippine and South East Asian Swords section, it's almost entirely TFW making Filipino swords. I'm kind of surprised there's almost no production Korean swords out there, from what I've seen you could get some beautiful swords from there. So what are some swords you'd like more makers doing?
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Post by Verity on Jan 27, 2017 22:28:43 GMT
I see lots of katana by like everyone and their brother, but the choices for good handachi and tachi mounts are slim. There are a couple out there but not nearly the plethora that there is of normal katana mounts of every ilk.
Incidentally (unless I am looking in the wrong places), short swords are less abundant than arming or longswords.
And there are not nearly enough fantasy scimitars or recurve blades...
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Zen_Hydra
Moderator
Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,619
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Jan 27, 2017 22:33:34 GMT
I want a wide selection of Albion quality sabres and other post-Renaissance military swords.
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Jan 27, 2017 22:34:33 GMT
I wish somebody would make nicely-priced accurate repros of military sabres. Especially earlier ones for which originals are expensive, e.g., British 1796HC. How hard can it be for a sword maker? Just make them the same as the original. But no, they don't. There are many types of sword where there are only a few good production models. At least there are a few, but more choice would be nice, and sometimes cheaper choices would be nice (e.g., for Korean, we have www.martialartswords.com/collections/korean-swords/products/hwando but given that it's MAS, it isn't cheap). Korean, falchions, Indian, and more. Sometimes antiques are easily found at prices similar to or lower than repro prices, so a lack of repros isn't always a big deal. The real gaps are where there are no good production swords and antiques in good condition are either unavailable or very expensive: kopis, Crusades-era Arab swords, katzbalgers (unless the Lutel ones are better than they look), Sassanid swords, estoc longswords, messers, and more. This is a fuzzy category, due to the "good" in "good productions swords", and exactly what counts as a production sword vs a custom. If I could nominate something and magically reasonable quality repros would appear, I'd pick Crusades-era Arab swords.
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Post by blackjack on Jan 27, 2017 22:39:35 GMT
some nice left handed rapiers with swept hilts. I love the swept hilt design but none are left handed, a few are symmetrical but 0 lefty only (except a single del tin cut and thrust sword.)
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stormmaster
Member
I like viking/migration era swords
Posts: 7,647
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Post by stormmaster on Jan 27, 2017 22:51:25 GMT
when will i find my dragon bronze pommels and guard fantasy swords that are cheap and functional?
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Post by mrbadexample on Jan 27, 2017 22:51:29 GMT
Shaskas, "Avar" style sabers, and some of the more interesting Malaysian stuff. Parang nabur are awesome!
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Post by Voltan on Jan 27, 2017 22:54:23 GMT
KRIEGSMESSERS!!!
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Jan 27, 2017 23:05:57 GMT
Ko-Katana, Wakizashi, and most of all: Jian. Where are the cheap Jian at? I see 80$ katana. Why not 80$ Jian? Or 80$ wak
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Post by Verity on Jan 27, 2017 23:08:08 GMT
Ko-Katana, Wakizashi, and most of all: Jian. Where are the cheap Jian at? I see 80$ katana. Why not 80$ Jian? Or 80$ wak Ten Ryu makes an $85 wak. I have the Daisho and it is quite nice actually. Ten Ryu TR-005. AISI 1045 DH, with actual iron musashi style tsuba.
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Jan 27, 2017 23:10:27 GMT
Ko-Katana, Wakizashi, and most of all: Jian. Where are the cheap Jian at? I see 80$ katana. Why not 80$ Jian? Or 80$ wak Ten Ryu makes an $85 wak. I have the Daisho and it is quite nice actually. Ten Ryu TR-005. AISI 1045 DH, with actual iron musashi style tsuba. What website do they sell through? If it's eBay I probably won't bother. I'm too impatient for Chinese purchases lol
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Post by Verity on Jan 27, 2017 23:12:48 GMT
Honestly, I got the wak used second hand. Liked it so much I bought the katana new to go with it ($125).
Amazon carries both. Run a search for "ten Ryu tr005"
I believe if memory serves Ten Ryu is an associated brand to Munetoshi I think... a la Toyota/Lexus
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Jan 27, 2017 23:13:31 GMT
Thank you. I will give that a search.
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Jan 28, 2017 0:41:52 GMT
Yeah, yeah, yeah..., and some big Kopesh!
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Post by vinland on Jan 28, 2017 1:33:51 GMT
I wish somebody would make nicely-priced accurate repros of military sabres. Especially earlier ones for which originals are expensive, e.g., British 1796HC. How hard can it be for a sword maker? Just make them the same as the original. But no, they don't. There are many types of sword where there are only a few good production models. At least there are a few, but more choice would be nice, and sometimes cheaper choices would be nice (e.g., for Korean, we have www.martialartswords.com/collections/korean-swords/products/hwando but given that it's MAS, it isn't cheap). Korean, falchions, Indian, and more. Sometimes antiques are easily found at prices similar to or lower than repro prices, so a lack of repros isn't always a big deal. The real gaps are where there are no good production swords and antiques in good condition are either unavailable or very expensive: kopis, Crusades-era Arab swords, katzbalgers (unless the Lutel ones are better than they look), Sassanid swords, estoc longswords, messers, and more. This is a fuzzy category, due to the "good" in "good productions swords", and exactly what counts as a production sword vs a custom. If I could nominate something and magically reasonable quality repros would appear, I'd pick Crusades-era Arab swords. I've seen that group, and I know of one custom maker from Seoul but the prices for his swords are waaaaay out of my price range. ($7000+) I would love a line of Korean swords in a Valiant Armoury-Albion price point
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Post by leviathansteak on Jan 28, 2017 1:46:54 GMT
A fairly historically accurate messer at a hanwei or windlass price point...
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Post by bfoo2 on Jan 28, 2017 4:01:41 GMT
I wish somebody would make nicely-priced accurate repros of military sabres. Especially earlier ones for which originals are expensive, e.g., British 1796HC. How hard can it be for a sword maker? Just make them the same as the original. But no, they don't. I agree. The arguments against making good repros are that period antiques are still readily available for a similar price. I think this was true maybe 5-10 years ago, but is it just me or has the price of antiques gone up significantly the last few years? W hen I first started collecting 3-4 years ago I managed to pick up some serviceable antiques for under $200. Can't do that anymore. A good 1796LC will set you back $700 - 800. A good 1796HC? Forget it. And don't even think about anything with the words "French" and "Napoleonic"! Closest I've gotten is buying a Cold Steel Thompson Sabre (their 1796LC should work too) and using a belt-sander to thin down the foible. The bases are juuusssst thick enough (ballpark of 7-8mm) to be representative of period swords if you remove enough excess metal from the foible. I think the issue with military sabres is that the main market isn't us sword nuts, but rather movie and TV productions. I was watching a documentary/re-enactment show covering the American Civil War. Some scenes have half-dozen officers in a staff meeting, not to mention extras/background dude hanging around, and most of them have fairly accurate M1840/M1860 cavalry sabres. These guys must buy Windlass/Universal swords by the hundreds. The demands of a few history buffs probably don't mean much to their ears.
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Post by masterofossus on Jan 28, 2017 4:25:45 GMT
Sideswords and rapiers.
There's so much variation in the designs of the guards and blades that the existing lineup doesn't cover it. Moreover, there are huge pricing gaps to be covered between things like the Windlass Munich and the A&A Town Guard. And it's hard to find a high-end, sharp rapier. A&A makes them, but not really anyone else.
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Post by bfoo2 on Jan 28, 2017 4:40:29 GMT
masterofossus On that line of thought, I'd also like to see some reasonably priced schiavonas (Windlass/Universal swords price ranges) for display if nothing else. Hard to capture the distinctive look in the sub-$500 market...
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Jan 28, 2017 4:45:44 GMT
Speaking of rapier. Does anyone make rapier spare blades?
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