Ok, now I need with what sword to go with My Harness! :'(

[Das Bill]

I'm going to have to strongly disagree with everyone about that second sword. That looks like a sword built by someone who took various elements of historical swords and slapped them together without know how their supposed to relate to each other. The pommel is disproportionate, the grip is too bulky, and the guard looks like it was copied from the Lord of the Rings prop swords.

In fact, if you're looking for a sword that matches a gothic harness, none of those are really quite right. The blades could be considered correct, but the hilt furniture is sort of based on earlier period swords. Now, that doesn't mean they aren't good swords (I have never used them myself). They could be quite good for all I know, and maybe they're worthwhile purchases. But if your criteria is something from the late 15th century, you should look into Records of the Medieval sword (or look at the Oakeshott articles on myArmoury for the abbreviated information) and get a feel for what types of crosses, pommels and blades go together. There are a lot of good choices already out there, and I'd hate for you to spend a lot of money before you realized it isn't what you wanted!

[Joshua Santana]

Das Bill:  Thanks for the warning!  I might be changing my style from German Gothic to Italian Style (15th Century), in that case the other two swords to me would semi qualify but I will do my research.   

[Joshua Santana]

Wait a minute, I know a couple of swords that would work fine with a 15th Century Italian Style Harness


Albion's Sempach


A&A English Longsword


Cold Steel's Italian Longsword


Therion Arms Mercenary Longsword

Lets see if any of these familiar swords should help.

[Sir Edward]

Since Bill turned the discussion back toward historical accuracy, that does raise a good question-- How important to you is historical accuracy? Are you aiming for closer to 100% correct (as much as is humanly possible anyway) like a Living History group would do? Or more of a "medieval look" that would be good enough for the average person to be able to point at it and say "that's a knight", without being all that accurate? Somewhere in between?

Of course cost, availability, fit, and style preference all have to factor in, but I think this is a good question by itself that will help with both the sword and the armor.

I think a lot of us have gotten used to chiming in on aesthetics and not dwelling on the accuracy. So it's good to know what you're looking for.

[Das Bill]

Das Bill:  Thanks for the warning!  I might be changing my style from German Gothic to Italian Style (15th Century), in that case the other two swords to me would semi qualify but I will do my research.   

The other ones look more 14th century to me, though they are generic enough that you could sort of make them fit.

The Albion Sempach and the A&A English longsword (which is actually more German than English) would be perfect for what you're after, and they happen to both be amazing swords (I've used both extensively). The Cold Steel Italian longsword looks a little weird to me... again, it looks like they threw together parts that individually were inspired by historical pieces but otherwise don't really belong together, and I haven't been happy with any of Cold Steel's swords so far. (They seem to care more about how many phone books they can stab through than how well the sword functions as a sword.) The Mercenary's Longsword is the current version of the old CAS Iberia model... back in the day they were clunky, but I don't know what they're like these days. It has some clear historical inaccuracies (the ferrules at the grip look very modern, the guard and grip look very bulky, the way the blade terminates into the guard looks very modern), but it's inexpensive and reasonably looks the part, so it might be okay, depending on how important that is to you. I can't say what the quality is like.

[Joshua Santana]

Das Bill:  Thank you so much!  I'm hugely inclined to go with the Sempach as well as the English Medieval Longsword by Forged in Time.  But then again, I am more inclined to go with the Ouse River Longsword offered by Kult of Athena



Sir Edward: In terms of historical accuracy, I'm looking for a sword that is accurate enough so that the living historians won't have to bug me about an inaccurate sword. 

So it's good to know what you're looking for

Yep, that is true.  That is the reason for this post, not only to get my ideas out, but also to have you guys along with Das Bill to help me make the better choice.  The same thing also applies to my harness, I am looking for the better choice in terms of historical accuracy without having to make a big mistake.  Thanks everyone!

[Sir William]

The Ouse River Longsword is a MRL offering...as such you can expect it to be decidedly lower in quality, fit and finish than the other swords you mentioned, namely anything offered by Albion, A&A, Atrim, VA/Atrim, Hanwei/Tinker, etc etc.  It would be at the lower end of that totem pole, if that is important to you.

I only mention it because...well, it bears mentioning.  Your kit will be of a higher quality, I think the sword should match.

[Joshua Santana]

On that point you're right, oh well, Albion Sempach it is!

[Sir William]

An excellent choice...

[Joshua Santana]

Better yet!

Why not a combination of this



and this!

[Sir Ulrich]

Good choice of a sword, your kit will be expensive indeed but I will look forward to seeing it.

[Das Bill]

The Ouse River Longsword is a MRL offering...as such you can expect it to be decidedly lower in quality, fit and finish than the other swords you mentioned, namely anything offered by Albion, A&A, Atrim, VA/Atrim, Hanwei/Tinker, etc etc.  It would be at the lower end of that totem pole, if that is important to you.

While you're right that it is on the lower end, MRL offerings are better than a lot of other things I see out there. It's not really any lower than Hanwei/Tinker (and in fact, MRL tends to look a little better). But if passing living history specs is what you're after (and it will depend on which living history group's criteria), I'd say the only production swords in that list that come close are A&A and Albion. It isn't just the quality of the materials, but it's also the careful attention to the subtle things that make them so much like the antiques they're based off of. The other companies can make good swords, but they definitely lack a certain character that makes them feel like the real deal.

The more antiques I've handled, the more I've come to appreciate A&A and Albion.

[Joshua Santana]

The more antiques I've handled, the more I've come to appreciate A&A and Albion.

It may seem that I have fallen into the Albion/A&A Trap! (LOL!)  With no hope of ever returning! hehehehehehehe!

[Joshua Santana]

Quick question, what about these swords for a nice set?






















Any thoughts, comments or words of caution?

[Sir William]

Why can't I see any of those swords you've posted?  Odd.

Bill, thanks for the clarification.