The Banger and the Hacker
Posted for a new young friend of mine in response to his questions at www.flickr.com/photos/8765199@N07/2578190812/in/set-72157...
This is a $100 Hanwei Practical Knightly sword on the left, shown in comparison to a $1000 customized Albion.
If you want a stout, servicable banger sword you won't go wrong with these Hanwei swords in my humble opinion. The Knightly sword is proportioned, weighted, and balanced appropriately. It stands up nicely to edge-on-edge theatrical swordplay. And it even rings pleasingly when the edge is struck. The handle is secure and comfortable in the hand. The tang is wide and peened well over the pommel. I have set this particular sword to banging in several afternoon sessions in the backyard against the Hanwei Practical hand-and-a-half with only minor nicking to the rebated edge.
Do not expect precision in the grind of these blades. They are polished with no rough edges, but the wavering hand-ground marks are still visible on the blade surface. That being said I have to point out that the fullers are as straight and evenly cut as most of the "museum quality" and "battle-ready" Windlass Swords I have inspected though!
I have seen these Hanwei practical swords around for years. They are a favorite among reenactors who do live steel sparring. Just look carefully at the swords worn by knights at reenactment events here on Flickr and you will see the Practical Knightly Sword is popular the world round. I finally bought two practical Hanweis last spring. Lets face it, if you like swords you like clanging them together in mock swordplay!
As a teenager I would spend weeks making a sword only to nick the thing to Hell and back in just a couple hours swordfighting with my buddy out in the woods. Yes, I remember well what it was like to want a sword when my budget was $0.00. Ha! That's why I started making swords in the first place. I couldn't afford one so I just forged my own.
When I was a kid back in the 1980s the ONLY swords available were those cheapo "Made in Toledo" wall-hangers advertised in the back of my Dad's hunting magazines. Even at a cool $40 the "Sword of Cortez" was far beyond my means to obtain.
When I was a senior in high school I remember agonizing over a brass-hilted India-made "Sword of King Arthur" that cost $125 in an SQP catalog, still too expensive for me to buy. You can get one of those swords for about $40 from a Bud K catalog these days, but I wouldn't own one now.
I was graduating from college when I made my first big sword purchase, a thirteenth century Del Tin that cost $279 from Museum Replicas! That was back in the old days when Museum Reps offered Del Tins before they went all Windlass. Since then I have bought several Del Tins and considered them top of the line until Albion came along a couple years ago.
Regardless of the sword you buy there are a few things to remember:
-Real swords were never meant to be hit edge-on-edge. Knights went to great pains to avoid abusing their swords in such a way. Swords were and still are expensive. Even the finest sword available will nick if struck on the edge. Fence with sharp broad-bladed swords like they do in movies and you will be left with two double-edged saw blades. Nuff said.
-Swords are not meant to cut through trees, bricks, rocks, chains or much else that they are shown to cleave on film. Believe me, I have proved this to myself the hard way many times and it is very frustrating :-(
Swords were made to cut flesh and bone and perhaps the lesser armor of the day. If you feel the need to do some hack and slash go at some dried tree branches or cardboard tubes. Broomsticks are fun to cut into kindling, but even a 1 inch dowel rod will test a rat-tail tang. A narrow tang may snap and send the pommel of your sword flying off with a solid blow. Again, this is the voice of experience you are reading here...
The Banger and the Hacker
Posted for a new young friend of mine in response to his questions at www.flickr.com/photos/8765199@N07/2578190812/in/set-72157...
This is a $100 Hanwei Practical Knightly sword on the left, shown in comparison to a $1000 customized Albion.
If you want a stout, servicable banger sword you won't go wrong with these Hanwei swords in my humble opinion. The Knightly sword is proportioned, weighted, and balanced appropriately. It stands up nicely to edge-on-edge theatrical swordplay. And it even rings pleasingly when the edge is struck. The handle is secure and comfortable in the hand. The tang is wide and peened well over the pommel. I have set this particular sword to banging in several afternoon sessions in the backyard against the Hanwei Practical hand-and-a-half with only minor nicking to the rebated edge.
Do not expect precision in the grind of these blades. They are polished with no rough edges, but the wavering hand-ground marks are still visible on the blade surface. That being said I have to point out that the fullers are as straight and evenly cut as most of the "museum quality" and "battle-ready" Windlass Swords I have inspected though!
I have seen these Hanwei practical swords around for years. They are a favorite among reenactors who do live steel sparring. Just look carefully at the swords worn by knights at reenactment events here on Flickr and you will see the Practical Knightly Sword is popular the world round. I finally bought two practical Hanweis last spring. Lets face it, if you like swords you like clanging them together in mock swordplay!
As a teenager I would spend weeks making a sword only to nick the thing to Hell and back in just a couple hours swordfighting with my buddy out in the woods. Yes, I remember well what it was like to want a sword when my budget was $0.00. Ha! That's why I started making swords in the first place. I couldn't afford one so I just forged my own.
When I was a kid back in the 1980s the ONLY swords available were those cheapo "Made in Toledo" wall-hangers advertised in the back of my Dad's hunting magazines. Even at a cool $40 the "Sword of Cortez" was far beyond my means to obtain.
When I was a senior in high school I remember agonizing over a brass-hilted India-made "Sword of King Arthur" that cost $125 in an SQP catalog, still too expensive for me to buy. You can get one of those swords for about $40 from a Bud K catalog these days, but I wouldn't own one now.
I was graduating from college when I made my first big sword purchase, a thirteenth century Del Tin that cost $279 from Museum Replicas! That was back in the old days when Museum Reps offered Del Tins before they went all Windlass. Since then I have bought several Del Tins and considered them top of the line until Albion came along a couple years ago.
Regardless of the sword you buy there are a few things to remember:
-Real swords were never meant to be hit edge-on-edge. Knights went to great pains to avoid abusing their swords in such a way. Swords were and still are expensive. Even the finest sword available will nick if struck on the edge. Fence with sharp broad-bladed swords like they do in movies and you will be left with two double-edged saw blades. Nuff said.
-Swords are not meant to cut through trees, bricks, rocks, chains or much else that they are shown to cleave on film. Believe me, I have proved this to myself the hard way many times and it is very frustrating :-(
Swords were made to cut flesh and bone and perhaps the lesser armor of the day. If you feel the need to do some hack and slash go at some dried tree branches or cardboard tubes. Broomsticks are fun to cut into kindling, but even a 1 inch dowel rod will test a rat-tail tang. A narrow tang may snap and send the pommel of your sword flying off with a solid blow. Again, this is the voice of experience you are reading here...