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Selecting a Weapon

As with nearly anything, you can purchase a wide variety of swords from five dollar garage sale specials to twenty thousand dollar hand-crafted weapons decorated with semi-precious metals and stones. Many years ago while working in a computer store I was often called on to play at being a salesman. I was a very poor salesman because I would send customers away, if, after listening to their needs, I thought that I didn't really have the machine that best suited their requirements. This caused my employers considerable consternation as they were salesmen, (and consequently needed me for my computer expertise) -- I suffered from the desire to educate people rather than convince them they needed my particular product. Buying a sword doesn't differ substantially from buying anything -- you have to ask the appropriate questions with the proper emphasis.

Graphic by Angie Jones

For what purpose do I intend to use this sword?

1. Wear it with my costumes and impress my friends with it.

   You will be happy with almost any "wall hanger" that is attractive to your eye and to a lesser degree, feels good to your hand. You can buy a weapon that is chromed, nickle-plated or has a lacquered finish and not have to worry about scratches, or dents. Your main concern is with style, aesthetics, and price. Nearly anything available on the market that pleases you will work well for this type of usage.

2. Impress my friends with it by using it to break concrete blocks. --Please note that I'm not being particularly sarcastic here

   When I teach workshops, I'm always surprised when someone brags about this sort of activity with their sword, however, given the frequency with which I hear about it, there is certainly a market niche. This is purpose for which a sword is remarkably unsuited and for which a sledge hammer is designed, but never-the-less: Your looking for a particularly heavy sword. Balance and elegance of the blade isn't in the equation, though the hilt might still be as decorative as you can afford -- any plastic construction being a likely disaster. You often find or hear about people making this sort of blade in their garage with a grinder and a solid chunk of carbide. If you're really going to hit something with one of these babies, you don't want it to be sharp -- though one of these sharpened is like a guillotine. Of course, you can't exactly fence with a guillotine. No chrome/nickle plating, no clearcoat to protect a gleaming finish, just a blade with sufficient mass to demonstrate high school physics.

   I upon occasion receive email on this topic - please click here if you care to read a fairly typical exchange

3. Hang it on a wall and polish it with a diaper.

   Presentation weapons mounted on plaques fall nicely under this category. These can really range in price because at the inexpensive end of the spectrum, if in a pinch you grabbed one, it would most likely bend/break on the first person you attacked -- though perhaps still causing the necessary damage. At the high end with a weapon from the likes of Wilkinson, you have a fully functional weapon that is potentially so heavily decorated as to make a sheik self-conscious. If you have to fight with it (or the kid pulls it down to play with) your family will have a story to tell for generations to come. (Who knows, maybe you will have survived to tell the tale yourself) Chrome or nickel plating on the blade makes it look real pretty and sealant keeps you from having to wax the thing every other month. You'll probably still want to use a micro-crystalline wax to keep the rust off if you don't have a climate controlled environment.

4. Sharpen it, polish it, and seek a liability suit from an intruder.

   The is really a subset of the above, but eliminates the low-end weapons.

5. Fight with it. (Specifically in a theatrical fashion)

   Ok, now we get to more involved decisions because you need to know more about the weapon that you are buying than "does it look good?" and "is it sharp?" Different parts of the weapon can actually be of very different qualities and your style of fighting will influence what you should be purchasing. Basic assumptions for a weapon in this category include some modicum of training with bladed weapons on your part under a qualified instructor and the intent of regular usage (weekly?).

   The blade:
   

   Some people will swear by a hand-forged blade while others are quite satisfied with a stock-removal machine-ground blade. No blade will last forever. Repeated impacts will gradually erode even the finest blade, so be aware that the blade on a weapon with which you fight regularly will need to be replaced. With that in mind, it comes down to a few basic points:

   1. quality of the steel

      Most of us are not conversant with various grading methodologies for steel, so we are at the mercy of suppliers who make bold of "440c" or a Rockwell of 58, etc. The "harder" the steel usually translates to less flexibility and distributor claims of "tough as the originals" doesn't necessarily refer to an historical sword made for a king, but might well be talking about some foot soldier's weapon made by the village blacksmith. There are trade-offs so there cannot be a perfect blade with our technology. Even the vaunted damascus steel with the beautiful patterning and reputation for leathality is actually imperfect. Perfection involves no visible layers! I believe that it was at the University of Illinois where they achieved the next level of damascus with layers so fine that they were not visible to the naked eye. The quality of steel, almost always a knife-making blend, isn't nearly as important as the next three factors. See A layman's overview to tool steel.

   2. quality of the heat-treating

      Heat-treating is what hardens a blade so that it resists notching while remaining flexible enough to bend somewhat and return to straight. Primarily this consists of heating and cooling the blade in a controlled fashion. The process itself usually causes blades to bend somewhat and the process of straightening a just-heat-treated blade is an art. If a sword maker is complaining about the heat-treater, this is probably the only legitimate excuse they have for your sword being months late. Beware blades that are "case hardened" as this essentially means that just a thin layer of the surface of the blade has been hardened and the core of the blade is essentially untreated.

   3. tang construction
      
      
      • size of the tang

        It is critical that the tang at the point where it meets the blade proper be at least half the total width of the blade. All the force from impacts gets transmitted to this area and if it is weak or "pencil sized" it will break. This almost invariably occurs during a performance since that is when everyone tends to swing just a little harder. Ideally the tang should be rounded into the blade proper rather than square cut as these "shoulders" will provide better transmission of the impact forces into the tang.

      • method of attachment

        There is substantial disagreement in this area, but I'll try to be as fair as possible. In general, a tang than is integral, meaning that it is formed of the same piece of metal as the blade itself, will be stronger than a tang that has been welded on to the end of a blade. It is possible for a welded tang to be as strong if not stronger than the blade itself depending on the exact method used for forming the weld and the material of the tang itself. However, what usually happens is that while the weld itself is very strong, the metal surrounding the weld has, as result of being heated during the welding process, absorbed impurities that substantially weaken it. If you know that the welder used an inert atmosphere welding process (MIG, TIG, etc.) then you can have much more confidence about the strength of such a join.

      
      
   4. shape of the blade
      
      
      • shape of the edge

        A sharp or narrow edges guarantee a short life for a blade. Western combat styles tend to emphasize edge-on-edge impacts, thus edges that are both broad and rounded will last the longest. Squared-off edges will notch nearly as much as sharp edges and once an edge becomes ragged from repeated impacts, they become quite dangerous. It's known as serration and is quite effective for making a knife do it's job better.

      • shape of the tip

        If you're fighting with a sword, you don't want a sharp tip unless you plan on doing serious damage to the individual with whom you're fighting. A dull, rounded tip can cause plenty of damage when traveling a couple of hundred miles-an-hour, and a sharp point is begging for a trip to the hospital (and perhaps court). You need to find a balance between safety and the aesthetics of the blade. People are always going to annoy the hell out of you by walking up and fingering your blade (a sin on their part which you just learn to bear) while remarking, "Oh, this isn't a real sword! It's not sharp." The temptation to violence is just one of the things a swordfighter has to learn to endure.

   5. level of surface finish

      Not a function of combat worthiness, but rather aesthetics, the quality of the surface finish does have an effect on how hard it is to maintain a blade or hilt assembly. A highly polished finish will be prone to showing any oxidation (rust) and once it has started rusting, it will be marred permanently. If you fight outside under varying weather conditions or live in a very humid area, don't buy a bright, shiny weapon unless you are prepared to provide daily maintenance. The high-speed polishing usually used to bring a blade to a mirror-like finish can also damage the temper of the blade.

   Hilt:
   

   1. style of the guard

      To a large extent this is a matter aesthetic preference, but just a couple of notes:

      • Guards that are created by casting tend to be more brittle than the alternatives and the alloy used by a number of manufacturers, particularly for quillions is quite susceptible to breakage.
      • The more highly polished steel (non-stainless) the more time you are going to spend keeping the rust off. All those beautiful sweeps and curves can be absolute hell to keep rust-free.
      • If your fighting style consists of a great deal of thrusting, select a guard that has a more cup-like design to protect your hand (or actually your leather gauntlets, since hands heal and a hole in your gauntlets is forever!)
      
      
   2. handle:
      
      
      • Wooden handles are aesthetically pleasing to many, especially when made out of some exotic hardwood (remember that one already dead or dying tree can make lots of handles, so you might not really be doing much to save the rainforest) however, wood doesn't provide the best grip under a wide variety of circumstance.
      • leather-wrap handles, while usually appearing more utilitarian, provide a better grip in most weather conditions whether wearing a gauntlet or not.
      • wire-wrap handles are best suited to fighting while wearing gloves and they can be quite attractive in appearance. However, unless they are brass (and thus resistant to oxidation), rust can make these beastly to maintain.
      • cast handles are usually made from either all metal or from plastic. The metal ones are virtually unbreakable but often throw the balance of the fully assembled weapon off by placing too much weight in the hand. Plastic handles aren't nearly as durable under abusive conditions (dropping the weapon to the stage from several feet) and they don't provide a slip-resistant grip when wet. Some polymer handles (lexan) are an excellent compromise between utility and appearance but I haven't found a manufacturer yet who makes one for the rapier that is big enough around for my hand to feel comfortable.
      • exotic/historical coverings (usually over wood) include shark skin and manta skin. These, while expensive and definately custom, provide the finest grip in any conditions under which you're likely to be fighting. Durable and aesthetic, you usually have to search hard to find someone who will make a grip using one of these coverings.
      
      
   3. pommel:

      Critical to balancing the weapon as a whole, the pommel often gets little attention being furthest from the business end of the blade.

      • material: Anything with a crystal or plastic decoraations or in fact composed of anything other than metal is definately out with respect to actual fighting with said weapon. While attractive, there are potential dangers too numerous to list here. Steel or brass are really the only options. Brass is softer so the threads are slightly more vulnerable to stripping.
      • construction: The pommel should either be threaded in order to be screwed onto the end of the tang or it should be drilled completely through so that the tang juts out of the far end and a top-nut would then be screwed on to hold everything in place. Some weapons have the pommel welded to the tang, but given the rigors of theatrical combat (far worse for the weapons than "real" fighting), this makes maintenace by the owner more difficult if they don't have access to welding equipment. Cold-pounded tangs, where essentially the end of the tang is simply peaned out over the top of the pommel is a maintenance nigtmare with a combat blade. If it loosens in the middle of a fight, you have to endure the rattling and then to reset the pommel, you need to be hauling around something to hammer the sword back together on and with.
      • weight: This isn't a hard and fast area. You want enough weight forward of your hand to allow you to "feel the flow" of the blade, but not so much that you have difficulty controlling the weapon. Arm and wrist strength combined with stroke production technique will make the balancing of the sword a very personal matter. In general, rapier-style weapons should balance somewhere between 1" and 3" in front of the guard and broadswords between 2" and 5" beyond the crossguard. Balance is the main reason that we don't purchase assembled weapons from any manufacturer (save one) so that we can perform the final assembly ourselves and balance the weapon to the owner's preferences.

      OK. That pretty much covers the sword tip to pommel. The other major consideration is how much should you expect to spend?

   What should I plan on spending on a weapon that meets my needs?

   As I've mentioned before, you can spend anywhere from $5 to $20,000 on a weapon and no matter how much you spend, it is possible that you won't end up with a weapon that suits your requirements. Requirements that included aesthetics, balance, fight worthiness, etc. The following table should give you some idea of what you might expect to pay for a weapon given some broad parameters. If a weapon you are considering in a particular category doesn't fall within the price range I've listed, it eiher has something that doesn't show or you're paying too much. You are going to pay more for a replica of something that was used in a movie, but the premium shouldn't be so great that it carries the weapon cost out of reasonable expectation.

   Weapon Pricing
   Appearance	Combat Worthy	Cost
   Crude/Historic	No	$5-$120
   Pretty	No	$40-$350
   Decent at distance	Yes	$150-$450
   Pretty up close	Yes	$240-$1400

   Where does this leave us? As should be apparent, I've purchased a great many weapons which didn't survive under the conditions to which I subjected them. As my technique has evolved, I haven't had to change a blade on one of my personal weapons in a long time, but the weapons my students use regularly have the blades honorably retired. If you have the option, only purchase from a supplier from whom you've had the opportunity to examine a blade.

   I probably order 6 new evaluation blades a year from different suppliers and rarely do I end up ordering anything else from them as I don't care for some aspect of their product. Too heavy, too light, unaesthetic appearance, poor temper, poor edge aspect, etc. We're fairly picky, but we've gotten a great many excellent weapons by mixing and matching between suppliers. As a side benefit, assembling-your-own means that you don't run into someone wielding the exact same weapon which is akin to going to the prom and discovering someone in the same dress. (OK, usually not a problem for male sword fighters! But...)

   Suppliers

   Purchasing a Japanese sword

   A layman's overview to tool steel

   For more information email the Ring of Steel at rosteel@umich.edu	Web space provided by Deathstar.org