This is the third part of a short series of articles on safety features on swords. The first part was concerned with "tipping solutions" for the point; the second part was concerned with measuring flexibility for the thrust; and …
Review of the Carnage Claymores broadsword
Carnage Claymores is a new smithy that has opened in Scotland recently, with a focus on making Scottish swords for the HEMA community. Thomas McConnell is the smith behind the company; he is also the instructor at the Highland Broadsword Fencing …
Buying gear on a tight budget
I was brought up as a stereotypical Scotsman, making many purchasing decisions with my wallet-brain. This meant I almost always went for the cheapest option, and didn't even consider more expensive options. However, this also meant that I ended up …
Unhelpful advice 2: “It is alright to take a hit to give a hit”
This is the second article in a short series, discussing common pieces of advice that sound helpful but in fact can be detrimental to your practice of some HEMA systems. A common piece of advice in some unarmed martial arts is that it is alright …
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Safe training swords part 2: measuring flexibility
This is the second part of a short series of articles on safety features on swords. It builds upon the definitions that I gave in the first part of the series, about "tipping solutions" for the point. The third part is concerned with protecting the …
Safe training swords part 1: tipping solutions
This is the first part of a short series of articles on safety features on swords, and so this first part sets out some useful definitions that will become more important in the next article in the series. The second part is concerned with measuring …
Review of the Black Fencer basket-hilted broadsword
This is a follow-up to my original review of the Black Fencer synthetic broadsword, an item which I have used for training, sparring, and for competition since the summer of 2015. It is a remarkably useful training tool, and I recommend it highly. …
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Review of the Black Fencer “sharp simulator” longsword
I have recently had the opportunity to do play with the Black Fencer “sharp simulator” longsword. This is a rather odd-looking item, with serrated edges (very reminiscent of some traditional Indonesian and Australasian swords!), but these serrations …
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Review of the Black Fencer montante V4
I have recently had the opportunity to do some work with the Black Fencer montante V4, which is a synthetic training sword of suitable dimensions and balance to practise systems written for the Iberian montante, but also the Italian spadone and the …