Is there a medievil sword that is already got a really sharp edge?

by David Avery
(Fruitport, MI)

QUESTION

I was wondering is there a medievil sword out there for under $300 US that already has a very sharp edge that can cut well without breaking the bank..

There where 2 swords I looked at one was a Hanwei hand and a half "Albrecht Sword" and the Hanwei Tinker Long Sword. I like the toughness with a DSA sword but as far as I know they don't come with a sharp edge.

Any ideas please feel free to thow them my way.

ANSWER

Hi David,

It's actually a pretty common problem with the sub US$300 medieval sword market - a decently sharpened 'ready to go out of the box' Long Sword can be very hard to find.

Now personally, I think that the best pre-sharpened Long Sword on the market would have to be the Valiant Armory Longsword (pictured below).

This sword is extremely well constructed, designed by the legendary sword maker Angus Trim, and sold for around $240 shipped with a free EXTRA sharp option available on request.. BUT, everyone knows how good it is - and supply simply cannot meet demand...

Assuming that it is probably out of stock (and if not, GRAB IT - you will NOT regret it I assure you!) - you seem to be on the right track.

While the Tinker Pearce Longsword is a little on the plain side (and there were some early reports that the sharpening was very 'Hanwei medieval' - if you read our reviews on Hanwei swords, you'll know that many of them are simply not sharpened correctly) - with Michael 'Tinkers' help current models now have a much nicer, servicable edge as standard - and as far as handling and durability goes, these truly do have to be seen to be believed (review pending, but I assure you - these things are amazing swords!).

You mentioned DSA (Darksword Armory) swords - and while they do not come sharpened as standard, Darksword will put a servicable edge on them for a nomimal fee.

With quite a few new swords coming out, and with MANY recent improvements to their line - I would seriously recommend you check them out.

Finally, one more option to consider is Windlass Steelcrafts - simply because their swords are quite cheap, there is a HUGE range and the sharpening service (which is usually done at MRL, who are owned by Windlass) results in an extremely sharp paper cutting edge.

The only drawback to Windlass is that some of their longer swords can be a little 'whippy' and the sharpening service creates a secondary bevel that may upset some purists (though from a practical point of view, it cuts with the best of them!).

While finding up to date reviews on Windlass Swords can be tricky (as they often discontinue models, and introduce new ones) - the best way is to either ask a reliable seller such as Arms of Valor or Kult of Athena what their honest impressions are of a few swords you are considering, or to buy something that has a current favorable review and is still in procuction, like the Windlass Verneuil sword (pictured below, click on the link for the review) which you can pick up for $199.95...

So to recap, if you can get the Valiant Armory Longsword - go for it! But otherwise, you will probably have to use a sharpening service.

Not ideal, as personally I think that there should be more sharps on the market, and some specialized unsharpened training swords - but I do hope that with the info above you'll be able to narrow it down to something truly exceptional.

- Paul