Wooden version of this shield?

[Leganoth]

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-1889-harlequin-steel-battle-shield.aspx

Looking for a wood version, Steel would not fit my armor at the time, wooden shields also better, in my opinion.  Nothing beats fresh wood shield

[Leganoth]

Also trying to find a one handed and or bastard sword medieval era to match my armor (chainmail with crusader helm like edwards) trying to get under 200$ functional one

[Leganoth]

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-15-bastard-sword.aspx
http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-79-hand-and-a-half-sword.aspx

Found those swords, are they usable for cutting instead of for show? I need a real sword not stage swords.

[Sir Edward]

I can't get any of the links to come up. I think their site might be down this morning.

Kult of Athena has some affordable wooden shields.

[Sir William]

I'd contact the guys at Oakheart Armory; they can make you a wooden one that will replicate that one - it'd be cheaper too, less than $100 all told.  You should probably email him, best way to reach him:  sagon@oakheartarmory.com

[Sir James A]

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-15-bastard-sword.aspx
http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-79-hand-and-a-half-sword.aspx

Found those swords, are they usable for cutting instead of for show? I need a real sword not stage swords.

The hand and a half has a carbon steel blade, which would be usable for cutting, but would likely require sharpening. The type of steel of the other sword isn't even listed.

[Sir Edward]

I can see the links now.

I have an older version of the Hand-and-a-Half. The newer ones are more lightweight, but I haven't looked at them closely enough to know how sturdy they are, or how sharp they are. The size of the sword is very much like a typical one-handed sword, but with a two-handed grip.

The Bastard Sword is the newer version than the one I have as well. There have been some extensive descriptions of the changes, particularly improving the pommel and grip construction to mitigate a breakage problem they used to have. A useful side-effect is that the balance is much better now too. For the price, the blade is actually very well made in terms of strength and flex, but it's not very sharp as shipped. It's still plenty to fly right through pumpkins (cutting them seems to favor blade mass over sharpness). I'm not sure how well it would handle tatami or pool noodles or anything like that. It's probably fine against water bottles.

[Sir William]

Hanwei used to use hollow pommels; their earlier works were plagued with poor balance and breakage issues, as Sir Edward stated- their newer work seems to be much better.  I would even go so far as to suggest the Hanwei/Tinker collaborations as they are head and shoulders above any of Hanwei's older lines.

Of the two linked by Leganoth, the first link to the Bastard sword- that is a better, and more historically plausible sword than the second one, the old Hand and a half, which I think was part of the old Ritter Steel lineup.

[Leganoth]

I can see the links now.

I have an older version of the Hand-and-a-Half. The newer ones are more lightweight, but I haven't looked at them closely enough to know how sturdy they are, or how sharp they are. The size of the sword is very much like a typical one-handed sword, but with a two-handed grip.

The Bastard Sword is the newer version than the one I have as well. There have been some extensive descriptions of the changes, particularly improving the pommel and grip construction to mitigate a breakage problem they used to have. A useful side-effect is that the balance is much better now too. For the price, the blade is actually very well made in terms of strength and flex, but it's not very sharp as shipped. It's still plenty to fly right through pumpkins (cutting them seems to favor blade mass over sharpness). I'm not sure how well it would handle tatami or pool noodles or anything like that. It's probably fine against water bottles.

So if I was to get the bastard sword could I sharpen it to just slice through noodles as you said like butter? The sword I have is breaking down, not sharp, loose blade, etc. 50$ cant even cut through paper. Very sad.

[Sir Edward]

So if I was to get the bastard sword could I sharpen it to just slice through noodles as you said like butter? The sword I have is breaking down, not sharp, loose blade, etc. 50$ cant even cut through paper. Very sad.

I don't think it has ideal blade geometry, but if it were sharpened, yes, I think it would cut well enough. It'll never be the mean cutter that the Albion Baron is, since the blade is thicker in the "sweet spot", but it's not bad for under $200.

As an aside, I'm probably going to sell mine. But mine is the older model, before the revisions, so the balance and durability aren't as good. It still slices and dices pumpkins very well though.

[Leganoth]

Hmm, I see well what would you prefer? The one and a half or the bastard sword?

[Sir Edward]

Now that the bastard has been improved structurally, I think it's the better sword. But having said that, I haven't looked too closely at the newer version of the hand-and-a-half, so I can't say with certainty.

[Sir William]

If I were to choose one, it'd be the Bastard sword...the hand-and-half has always been unappealing to me.  Might be the short blade, which looks incongruous with such a long grip.

[Leganoth]

Hmm well it is still a hard decision, if it comes down to price i would have to choose the hand and a half but if price doesnt matter bastard sword it is, they both look like theyd be a good sword

[Sir William]

Kult of Athena normally has the lowest prices on the web, Sword Nation comes very closely in second (SN being my store of choice).

For my part, well over 100 swords have passed through my hands over the years and of those, I've kept 10 or so, some as reminders of what NOT to do, and some because I love them.   Part of the fun is in the acquisition of new pieces and selling the ones you don't love, so you can get others that you MIGHT.