Where can I get a sword?

[Lord Evermore]

I just got back from seeing Highlander: Endgame (good movie, some boring parts, some inconsistencies with the rest of the series). Anyway, every time I've ever seen a Highlander movie I've come out wishing I knew how to use a sword and could actually fight people (not necessarily fighting for my life ).

Now, for the first time in my life, I've actually got the means to maybe do it. I've got money and I've got some free time.

I don't plan on just teaching myself to fight. I'm going to look into lessons of some sort, even if it's just fencing lessons. But I'd like to get a real sword that I can mount on the wall, just for show and to say I have one.

I want to find a reasonably authentic one, well made and all that. I'm not sure it'd be legal to get one that's actually sharp and everything, at least not by mail, but if I could I'd want that.

I'd be willing to spend a few hundred dollars on it, but I don't want to spend more than I have to to get something decent. (If I ever actually found a way to learn real swordsmanship, with a real blade instead of a fencing sword, I'd spend the money I needed to get a high quality one, maybe custom made.) I also don't want to get something that's made just for display and is cheap or specially made to look pretty. I want one that could actually be used in a fight, even if it's not a well made sword for a fight, and which looks like it's made for use, not for show.

 

[Swag1138]

Watch TV late at night. There is usually some little dork selling Katanas and such for real cheap, and, from what Ive heard from other people, they arent bad quality. Almost bought a couple times from them myself, but ended up spending that money on more cds

 

[hpkeeper]

Try the FS/FT Forum.

 

[Lord Evermore]

I'm not sure I'm up to the worry over whether I'm actually getting what I want or whether the person is reliable or whether the product I'm getting is as advertised.

Although it would be cool to get a used one with a little blood on it...

 

[ltk007]

Don't buy from Ebay, you can get a brand new sword from online specialty stores for like $30. My friend got one a couple weeks ago, just cause he's a freak and enjoys it . It was really cool, we went around smashing AOL disks and deflating the local kids kickballs (damn them always playing in the street, when I can drive I'm just gonna run em down).

 

[etech]

There are many places to order them from. From what you posted I would suggst looking at the Japanese style blades.
http://TherionArms.com/resources.html

 

[Camm]

try http://www.popularlink.com they've got a small collection and most of them are in the 40$-100$ range

 

[Mutilator]

The Shop at Home Channel has a knife collectors show on at night a couple nights a week.. they sell everything from pocket knives to full length swords... could probably find something there. I think the page is http://www.collectibles.com

 

[apoppin]

I bought a Wilkinson Sword years ago from an antique shop for really cheap. You might hunt down a local collector at an antique shop.

 

[RGN]

Try Starfire swords. http://www.starfireswords.com They are awsome. Not very pretty, sorta plain but if you want anything worth fighting with its these.

I bought my Katana 2 years ago and fought with it for about a year. it barely looks like it was used. It is a little heavier than the traditional Katana. The swords are hand forged so each is a little different.

RGN

 

[chipbgt]

first find the singing lady in the lake.....

 

[Chooie]

Starfire swords suck IMHO. They're nice to look at, but they're not high carbon steel, or tempered - don't even try to fight with them. check out La Forge at King Richards for a sword you can fight with. If you want something more akin to a katana or such, check out http://www.edgeco.com. Or look in the yellow pages for a store in nashua that specializes in gaming and renaissance stuff - I honestly forget the name of it; but it's right up Rt. 3.

 

[AndrewR]

Not really what you're looking for, but you can find some nice swords in Toledo, Spain. I bought one, and you can almost bend the thing in half without it breaking. Rather neat (was about $300).

 

[TseHow]

If you're looking for a katana, go to a chinatown close by. My parents purchased a 2 piece katana set for about 200 dollars. The blade is sharp, oh yes...When i went back home during break, i was messing around with it (i can actually do some cool looking stuff) when my mom saw me and shouted at me, i dropped it and sliced my hand up. She was like "SEE WHAT I TOLD YOU". I dont know about the quality, the balance on the weapon is OK, as far as others i have handled. It fits the description that you described you needed. Its not super expensive, but its not shabby. It can kill, and it looks nice on display, but you can use it too.

 

[dennilfloss]

I posted that link a few months ago. Searching for the word 'sword' in the body at Off Topic brought me back to it in 30 seconds.

Nice swords there. Their battle-ready swords are carbon steel. They have excellent info on maintenance, for example of carbon-steel swords vs stainless-steel swords, and why some things like hitting a tree will damage your sword. Nice armour suits too. They even got crossbows, flintlocks & cannons.

http://www.swords-n-stuff.com/map-menu.html

I'm a big fan of bastard swords, also called arming swords (for the technical definition, as opposed to collector's misnomen, check http://www.thehaca.com/terms.htm#Medieval%20&%20Renaissance%20Sword%20Forms%20and%20Companion%20Implements). When I was fencing at 17 years old, I always preferred the finesse of foil to the violence of sabre and épée (I was bad at the last two, not my style).

Here's a very elegant bastard sword. http://www.swords-n-stuff.com/i-3503am.html. This paladin sword is also very elegant http://www.swords-n-stuff.com/p-003-vc.html

More swords to admire: http://www.swords-n-stuff.com/lst_liv4.html
http://www.swords-n-stuff.com/lst_liv1.html

Katanas: http://www.swords-n-stuff.com/lst_liv2.html
http://www.swords-n-stuff.com/lst_liv5.html

Circles (Bill Quateman)

 

[Mday]

highlander has a catalog...

 

[CyberSax]

Maxim magazine had an article on medieval weaponry a few months back. If your library keeps it, I would go down there and check out the periodical archives. Or, you might want to try Maxim's website.

http://www.swords-n-stuff.com/905.html

Drool

 

[AndrewR]

You might see if you can find a dealer in the States that carries Gladius swords (that's Gladius, S.A.). They are the ones that manufactured my sword in Spain. Not sure about a website or anything, but I can vouch for the quality of my sword blade.

 

[arcain]

Depends on the quality you are looking for a few hundred may not buy you much. My single blade pocket knife costs $200 dollars (William Henry Lancet). I good starting point would be http://www.bladeforums.com. Enter their forums, and under General Knife Discussions, there is a sword forums. The people there are very helpful, though I don't have any personal experience in the sword forum.

 

[arcain]

Actually, I skimmed through the sword forum and found this article http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum59/HTML/000042.html. It appears someone else recently asked the same question, and inside there was a link to http://www.pointgallery.com/sword/pages/sword.html which a Musashi Katana that is a reproduction of the original Highlander prop, using the same molds by the same artist. And they are usuable too (unlike many cheap display pieces). And IMO the price isn't too bad for a real quality blade.

 

[convex]

don't sign up for the highlander catalog, i get about 20 a month, seriously. I signed up once and they send me nothing but stacks catalogs...

 

[SeeET]

C'mon guys, it's all about a six-foot long claymore (like the ones in Braveheart). My friend has one and it is totally badass!

 

[vi edit]

Lord Evermore, specifically, what type of sword play would you like to learn? The style of swordplay is about as diversified as the hundreds of types of martial arts out there.

Do you want to go defensive and fast, and use a rapier? Do you want to go with pure power and look for something along the lines of broadsword or a claymore? Do you want a little of both and want to learn a longsword?

A lot depends upon your power and coordination. If you are a bigger guy, you can wield a bigger sword more effectively.

Swords like katanas and scimitars offer the fastest attack but require a lot of footwork and movement to land and good hit due to the curved blades.

A good sword choice really depends upon how you plan to wield it and how big of a sword you can comfortably wield.

 

[Viper Frag]

Doesn't Highlander have a catalog?

 

[Daniel]

I've heard studying Kendo is good for sword work but I haven't studied myself.