From a trade with William Swiger, a Del Tin 2130 with a shortened blade and Iron Age Armoury custom viking hilt and an Arma Bohemia brazil nut type XII:

Good trade Luka. By the way, Arma Bohemia now carries a 'basic' line of affordable swords that includes a Brazil nut model.

I like that Del Tin Luka. If memory serves me that one has a really small grip, like 3.5" or so. How do you find the grip?

My last purchase was a Hanwei Rhinelander. I know it's a cheapo, but I LOVE this sword. It's a cutting beast right out of the box. The peen on the pommel looks like it was done by a drunk monkey, but the sword is tight, sharp, and fast as hell. If any of you all are looking for a near perfect 'beater', I suggest you pick one up. :D ............McM

Around December 2012 I contacted A&A and asking about the possibility of creating another custom A489 swiss saber. After discussion with Craig, we started the project and this is the result.

I would like to point out that my experience with A&A has been extremely positive. There were a lot of problem with international shipping for this sword (it actually shipped out to Singapore using international courier but got clerance issue (which shouldn't happen - but it did) so courier returned it back to USA on my expense!. After that, domestic ground service managed to damaged the sword on its way to Minessota; Craig fixed the damage *free of charge*!

Now, that's a very outstanding after sales support. I understand A&A doesn't have to do it for free (since it's not their fault), but they did! Also he has been very patient and responsive during that period, which I really appreciate.

I haven't had time to take pictures of the sword myself; The following images are taken by Craig.

I ordered basic wood core scabbard along the sword; it's probably not historically accurate, but for the money I spent on it, I believe it's very good quality.

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I haven't received this one in hand yet, but Craig sent me some pics and I think A&A did an excellent job. So if you like what you are seeing then go send them some work (my shameless plug for the day) because they won't disappoint.

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Recently someone asked me if I wanted a couple of old swords that they had in their attic. They didn't know anything about them, except that a family member had collected them in Europe during WWII.

Both turned out to be Nazi ceremonial sabers. I don't normally collect historical swords, but these just fell into my possession.

Left:Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Co officer's dove head saber
Right: Alcoso police saber

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Just yesterday I bought a side sword from Fabri Armorum (with flexible blade for fencing) :cool:

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My new weapon, Petersen type H langsax after the North Arhus find.
Made by Wojciech Szanek from http://www.miecz-sword.com/.
Weapon is blunt for re-enactment fighting

Now I can add something.

Behold!

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My most recent sword is a Bavarian Infantry NCO/Officer's Sword. 1790's. Very tight and sturdy. Has some numbers at the forte in white ink from the museum collection it was once a part of. Also very old nicks on the blade. Could have seen some action back in the day....

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My last sword was a custom shell-and-ring hilted sidesword from Darkwood Armory for sparring and drills. I mainly wanted a protective basket because of a natural weakness to my connective tissue - blows taken to the thumb would abruptly dislocate the joint for a split second, leading to excessive stress over the months.

It was great fun to use, longer than most of my partners' arming swords, agile enough (~1400g, PoB ca. 7cm from the quillons), the blade was resistant enough to nicking, especially since its edges were very thin. It was also flexible enough to thrust safely even with little gear.

I use the past tense because the tang broke on thursday, after only three months of use with at most ten outings. It appears that there was a defect in the stock material that further weakened the threaded part of the tang.
It broke about two millimeters into the threads, about four millimeters away from the base of the pommel.

Pics and stats (as well as some German commentary) are in this facebook gallery: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.527074830761138.1073741827.100003758763496&type=1&l=6c8e04305e

I intend to create a proper review soon. Waiting for the maker's opinion on the case.

I actually got two swords at the same time, both made by forum member Scott Woodruff. First is a Grosses Messer I commissioned from him:






Second is a nice little semi-spatha he gave me for having so much patience with him! (the Messer was two years in both the planning and the making, due to Scott's "real life" schedule, but well worth it! :) )

My last sword is the Albion Talhoffer. Of which I am very pleased with.

Rich, I love to see matching sets. It appears to be worth the wait! :)

As the result of such good reviews on this forum, I am now the proud owner of an Albion Huskarl. Albion said it would take 3 months, in actuality I had it in about one.

[ Linked Image ]
http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/ne...photos.htm