{OT} Buying Swords

[Akhkharu]

I'm interested in purchasing some swords but not sure where to buy them from and I'm limited in the stores around me who sells them.
So, I was just wondering, for those who own swords, if you bought them through a local shop or if you tried an on-line store which sells them. If it was through an on-line store, what was your experience with it and how good were the swords?

Thanks in advance,
Ryan

 

[Tsyr]

Some more information would be nice.

Looking for "wall hangers", battle ready, middle of the road, what?

Likewise, how authentic do you want them? Down to that last detail or not?

Looking for replicas of specific swords or swords in general?

English, French, Chinese, Japanese, Persian, Spanish, what?

What time period?

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Check out Swordforum.com for really good info and a number of links to various sword sellers.

Some of the stuff they have links to are extremely high priced, high-quality swords, but they also have links to the mass-market sellers. The high-end sword websites are good to read just to learn about what constitutes a good sword; for example, if your looking for a more "authentic" blade, don't go for the stainless steel ones, go for carbon steel. Good stuff to know, even if all you want is to hang a pretty blade on the wall for a low price.

 

[Piratecat]

These guys are pretty good:

Museum Replicas

 

[Tsyr]

These guys are pretty good:

Museum Replicas

Yeah, MR isn't too bad a dealer. I've found that their primary supplier (Windlass Steelcrafts) tends to temper their blades just a touch too hard for my tastes, leaving them a touch brittle. I've heard a few reports of some of their peices snapping near the hilt when used... the Heron Mark reproduction comes to mind.

If you want (mostly) cheaper stuff, check out www.budkww.com .

None of their stuff is gonna win awards (Though they do carry a few more expensive things... the LotR reproductions for example), but a lot of it is still of passable quality, and normaly a fair bit cheaper (Even for the LotR swords).

 

[jezter6]

http://www.anthraciteknife.com

Anthracite Knife Company is in Northeast Pennsylvania (about 3 miles from my house).

They're pretty reputable around here, but you'd have to talk with them about shipping to canada. (i think that's where you're from)

You should also check your country's import/export rules for weapons like that. you may be forced to look for someone in canada for your items.

 

[Dremen]

swords

It all depends upon how much money you want to spend and what you want it for. This can become an adiction and if you think you might want to get into collecting I can offer some advice. Don't by wall hangers unless this is all you will ever want. Before I learned about real swords I bought a bunch of these. Once I learned that they were not real swords (As oposed to 'sword-like' objects) I regreted spending my money on "fakes" $25-$50 dollars per sword-like-object adds up fast. And for around $150-$300 for production SWORDS, and I could have had 1 or 2 real swords for what I spent on wall hangers.

Wall hangers are NOT meant to be used, Any sword like object that mentions stainless steel is NOT a real sword and should not be used as it can and has caused serious injury. Swordfroum.com has several articles aimed at how to spot real stuff from fake.

Spend a couple hours on thier site and learn about the different options. Museum Replicas tends to have a bad reputation due to quality issues and customer service, prices are high as well. Thier sister company Atlanta Cutlery has better prices though. I order form here allot.

Battle Ready is typically a marketing term and is usually applied to many wall hangers. I have heard shop owners swear the new LotR swords are Battle Ready. They are not, nor intended to be.

Angus Trim (see swordforum for contact info.) makes some VERY nice production swords for the $300-$400 price range. kriscutlery.com has some nice stuff in the $150-$700 price range (depending upon many factors, but they only sell real stuff). You can even get some custom stuff resonably priced. (Knife makers many not know how to make a sword properly, but sword makers can make a proper knife.) I have a 'korean sword' from Kris cutlery that is very sharp tracks well and has excellent balance. Paul Chen (Hanwei) also makes some very good stuff in the $150-and up range. Check out the "Practical Series" there is a rapier, knightly sword, jain, katana, wakizashi, and more all for under $200 usually.

The best place to go for info again is swordforum.com If you just want wall hangers Smokey Mountain knives has good prices.

Stay away form martial arts magazines. The stuff they sell thends to be wu-shu arms, which are very light and NOT meant for combat. These are for forms and wall hanging. Blades tend to bend and stay bent.

-D

 

[Dremen]

Al Massey

Do a search for Al Massey (he is also on sword forum) He is a custom smith but his prices are VERY good. Last I talked to him he had a 6 month wait list.

He is in Canada so import rules won't apply. His prices are good and his work is VERY good. More function than astectics (witch are good but not "art" quality)

He likes celtic / norse work but may take on special products. Very honest. Has a good reputaion.

 

[Arkham]

http://www.ageofchivalry.com

Age of Chivalry has a lot of good stuff, everything they carry ( unless specifically stated ) has been
tested in live steel combat. And they've got some
really good prices too.

 

[shurai]

I wouldn't buy a Japanese sword from anybody in America . . . it's almost all 'kitchen steel', which is a Japanese pejorative for cruddy blades. I'm not saying there aren't hard-working, honest nihonto smiths here in the US, but it will take some doing to find a good one compared to the utter garbage at the knife & sword store in the mall, for instance. On the other hand, if you want a good wooden sword in the Japanese style, there are some excellent craftsmen right here in the US that I could recommend.

http://www.tozando.com/ is where I got my iaito (metal blade but not sharp and not steel, used for practice). They also sell live blades, I believe, and they have lots of information other gear besides swords as well. They're not too expensive, and they ship to the US, so it's all good. They've even got a yen-dollar converter right on their page.

-S