Alternatives for Neil Burridge bronze swords?

Interesting, thanks. I have a vague feeling that I must have seen this one before, but I forgot about it. I think I've heard of people taking his workshops. It looks like the methods and products he creates are legit. I tried to order one, but you can't select shipping outside the UK! So I think he also fell prey to the very strict UK sword import/export laws. Worth a try if you live there though!

I agree, too long. What we need here is a bit of context. Swords were buried with important folks in this place, at this time, and many were completely functional as "swords" but most likely were just votive objects made of the finest materials and craftsmanship, only to be covered in dirt. The use of votive war objects was wide-spread in Bronze Age Greece (thankfully) and then for reasons we are not fully aware of generally disappear in graves in the Classical period with a very few exceptions. Neil once sent me a picture of a six foot bronze sword he made for a customer from a burial find, telling him it was simply impossible to wield such a sword in battle due to its size and weight.  

Yes, bronze can get brittle. If you look at the bronze age finds, there's lots of them with chunks missing, or just as pieces! What happens though, is that unlike steel, the primary way of hardening bronze is through work hardening. So that means, say if your sword takes a bad hit in battle and part of the edge bends, if you try to bend it back it simply breaks off. It's kind of like aluminum. You can bend it, then back, but that part is never the same again. If it's going to break, it's going to break along that line! All metals work harden to a degree, but some are influenced by this much more than others.

Bronze swords were considered still very good swords after the bronze age, and I believe there's evidence for their use long after the bronze age was over. The problem is that copper and tin are quite a bit harder to find than iron, and had to be transported much longer distances. Also, the end of the bronze age caused a disruption in the bronze age trade routes that didn't recover for a long time. By the time they did, they were making iron swords everywhere.

Definitely there were sword like objects that weren't meant to ever be used in battle. However, the 4 foot long Type A swords just don't seem like that to me. For one, they're quite light, just over 2 lbs, and the other is that most of them found didn't have a lot of decorative furnishings on them. A fair bit of them have bits broken out, suggesting they were used. That being said, a sword that's killed even just one person has had a busy life! Still, when I make mine, if it crumples when I try to cut with it, I'll eat my words! That's why I love experimental archaeology so much, it doesn't matter what archaeologists say if it cuts like a champ! If it fails hard though, well, maybe they were right.

[Update] I agree 1 kg is too much for a fairly short sword. This seems to be a problem with a lot of modern reproductions, making them too thick and heavy. The originals were all surprisingly thin. From my calculations, the 4 foot long type A was at most 6 mm at the spine, and 3-4 mm at the thickest part of the blade. Any thicker than this, and the sword will be over weight.