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Forum:	NetSword Medieval Weapons Discussion
Topic:	Baseline sword costs?

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Your Reply: HTML is OFF UBB Code is ON Smilies Legend	[QUOTE]Originally posted by Benny Moore: [B]I am actually primarily concerned with durability. The most important attribute in a sword, to me, is that it be sturdily built. Other aspects of the design, such as balance and aesthetics, are secondary.[/B][/QUOTE]
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<TABLE BORDER=0 cellpadding=4 border=0 cellspacing=1 WIDTH="95%"><TR bgcolor="#2f2f4f"><TD COLSPAN=2><CENTER>T O P I C     R E V I E W</CENTER></TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#CECFCF"><TD valign=top>Benny Moore</TD><TD>I know we've had at least one discussion on this subject here in the past, but I don't remember what the consensus was. At any rate, a new one won't hurt things any.What is considered to the the cheapest price for a functional sword? I heard one fairly reputable sword maker say that anything over two hundred dollars is going towards aesthetics. Does that sound right to you all?</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#E7E7E7"><TD valign=top>lochinvar 2</TD><TD>Well, you can buy a Chinese-made machete for 5 0r 10 Yankee dollars. Machetes aren't pretty but a whole lot of people have been killed with them. They probably work about as well as your typical 18th century naval cutlass. Actually, in some of the Caribean Islands machetes are called "cutlasses".</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#CECFCF"><TD valign=top>Ogur</TD><TD>Do we take into account the durability here? I've seen some swords being sold at around 100/200 euros only to see them fall apart within a year or 2. This was mainly slavic made. I hear they have improved a great deal though.</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#E7E7E7"><TD valign=top>Benny Moore</TD><TD>I am actually primarily concerned with durability. The most important attribute in a sword, to me, is that it be sturdily built. Other aspects of the design, such as balance and aesthetics, are secondary.</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#CECFCF"><TD valign=top>Roel Oosterop</TD><TD>To give you some idea, Tim Noyes (Heron Armouries, UK) starts at some 150 GBP (must be around $ 250), but his swords will last some 10 years. The average is some 200 GBP. I recently took delivery of a custom made Dorestad sword for 'only' 280 GBP (that is CHEAP!!!). Another British swordmaker, Paul Binns will charge about the same; his hardening and tempering are quite good as well.Regards, Roel ------------------ Ships will sink, cattle dies, but the names of the great warriors shall live forever</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#E7E7E7"><TD valign=top>Benny Moore</TD><TD>But those swords are fine, are they not? They aren't exactly baseline clunkers.</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#CECFCF"><TD valign=top>I.C. Koets</TD><TD>It depends a lot on what you want from your sword. To make a blanket statement about price is pretty hard to do when you don't have more parameters fixed.If you want a durable sword, with no other demands on its performance, you get a hilt on a prybar. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, and swords more-or-less like that existed, but most of us want more from our swords.Most of us -and I suspect you too- have minimum standards of performance: weight, cutting ability, handling, speed, length, grip quality, historical accuracy, aesthetics, and so forth. You might have lower standards than others in some regards, which will lower the minimum price, but I'll bet you have minimum standards even in the aspects you don't find important.My sword for weekly training use cost me 370 Euros. I enjoy it every week, and I've had it for three years now. My previous sword -which is still going strong, despite me lending it out all the time- cost me a little less, but has been serving me well for eight years and counting. I consider it money well spent.</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#E7E7E7"><TD valign=top>Benny Moore</TD><TD>Ah! Well, let me put it this way; what is the lowest "standard" price for a sword which is both safe to use and recognizably a sword?</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#CECFCF"><TD valign=top>Ogur</TD><TD>Roel, you should know how much that bucket o' society swords from Noyes cost? I don't know how many are still intact, but these have been going for about 5 years of gruelling novice abuse if I remember correctly :P------------------ Famous last words:"Hey! Button!"Oink!</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#E7E7E7"><TD valign=top>I.C. Koets</TD><TD>For a user sword there are three main categories: Cutters, Kata swords and training swords.Cutters are often more expensive due to a finer finish, but counterintuitively, a cheap cutter will last a long time as long as you don't make cutting errors. In the main, a sword is damaged more by little errors than by major correct usage. If your technique is impeccable, you can get great performance out of a 150 EUR / $200 sword. If you have a ways to go, it might be economic to look to a more expensive sword that is more forgiving.Kata swords will never hit anything in their life. Therefore, as long as the hilt is sturdily mounted on the blade, you are set. Any price is possible if you have only this in mind, especially second hand.Training swords are liable to experience impacts from all angles and at great speed, and therefore should be made very springy and resilient. This drives up the price. If you spar and train with a partner, a sword that holds you back by reacting wrong is infuriating. Soon you'll be shelling out good money for a decent replacement. Get it right the first time. I expect people to be satisfied with a 300 EUR / $400 sword, but if needs must you can get away with something less.Please note: I speak from experience from Europe. Due to tariffs and suchlike childish tit-for-tat games, the markets are completely separate. Imports from the US are ridiculously expensive here, whereas Lutel is considered cheap in Europe, and much less so in the US.</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#CECFCF"><TD valign=top>Benny Moore</TD><TD>Ah, that is the sort of post I am looking for. Does anyone else want to add to this?</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#E7E7E7"><TD valign=top>Roel Oosterop</TD><TD> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Ogur: Roel, you should know how much that bucket o' society swords from Noyes cost? I don't know how many are still intact, but these have been going for about 5 years of gruelling novice abuse if I remember correctly :P<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> We got a nice discount (made them all 150 GBP each) and ALL are still intact, despite 'abuse'!! I'd strongly urge everybody here NOT to go for the bottomline; spending a few more bucks will give you much more pleasure <IMG SRC="http://netsword.com/ubb/wink.gif">Regards, RoelP.S. doubling as treasurer of 'The Bank of the Black Vikings' <IMG SRC="http://netsword.com/ubb/wink.gif"> ------------------ Ships will sink, cattle dies, but the names of the great warriors shall live forever</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#CECFCF"><TD valign=top>Andrek</TD><TD>I am not sure of the EU market, I have yet to look into it (but will within the next 2 years).In the US, I have many friends who have purchased Windlass swords and have loved them. The prices I have seen range from about $150-$300 USD.I have a list of prices in our Battle Ready Swords section. Though I would look at ones similar to these two: <A HREF="http://www.usableweapons.com/store-products-200097--Steel-One-Hand-Battle-Sword_40980176.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.usableweapons.com/store-products-200097--Steel-One-Hand-Battle-Sword_40980176.html</A> (This is the second most popular practice sword we carry) <A HREF="http://www.usableweapons.com/store-products-200020-Classic-Medieval-Sword_40979380.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.usableweapons.com/store-products-200020-Classic-Medieval-Sword_40979380.html</A> (This tends to be the most popular).When I look for a practice, or sparing weapon, I look for one that will stand up to punishment and still look decent in a few years. I personally like the sword in the top link if you want one that will last while fighting. Though the market (ie my buyers) prefer the bottom.If you know anyone who wants these specific weapons, tell them to use the code BSC (Baseline Sword Costs) for an extra $10 off these prices, but do look around the net for what you really want.Has anyone else had the chance to use any of the Windlass line besides myself?</TD></TR></TABLE>

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