Sword Recommendation

by Alex Quitzau
(Sydney, Australia)

QUESTION: I recently wrote to you concerning information on medieval euro shields, and the information you gave shed some great light on all my questions.

I am right now considering buying another sword and am interested in either the Hanwei William Marshal sword or the Hanwei Hand and a Half Sword.
I have a good seller but am wondering about any personal preferences here.

Also, two of our blades at home have developed a slight bend towards the tip. I'm guessing this is the result of cutting at a bad angle and at the wrong point of the blade. I was curious as to how to determine the correct cutting point and also if it's possible to straighten the blade out again.

Thanks for your time
Alex

ANSWER: Hi Alex,

Definitely stick with the Hanwei Hand and a Half. There have been some problems with the Marshal, on my site you can see a Image of one that snapped in half cutting a humble water bottle...

Now, as to determining the best cutting point (what us sword nuts call the 'sweet spot' or 'center of percussion/COP') the easiest way is to strike the flat of the sword with your hand and look for the spot that doesn't vibrate as much, usually around two thirds of the way down the blade from the cross guard. This the strongest part of the sword for a really powerful cut.

As to straightening them, there are several methods - but the easiest is to use some gloves and straighten it on your knee! Takes a bit of practice to get it right, and depending on the steel and the bend, it may become a recurring problem. But it does the job.

Hope this helps.

- Paul