Tim,
good question bud, and I have to agree with everyone else on here thus far. The only thing I'd like to add is I've had personal experience with both of these swords:
http://www.cashanwei.com/product/practical-single-hand-sword/sh2046http://www.cashanwei.com/product/practical-norman-sword/sh2326and while not being 100% authentic, they definitely get the job done as an introductory single hand sword like the one you were looking at. They also fit well with a Templar persona if that's what you're going for. These aren't sharpened and are good for reenactment combat.
Both of those weapons have basically become the ubiquitous backbone of the Adrian Empire for our live steel competitions. Their balance, their strength, and their warranty combined with their price, they're awfully hard to beat for a reenactment weapon.
They're not my all-time favorite, but they're awesome starters for sure.
Baltimor Knife & Sword (BKS on Kult of Athena) is a wonderful but heavy sword. LOVE them!
They're more expensive than Hanwei, and definitely have "character quirks" to them. Very good practical rebated blade.
As for cutting swords, I only have experience with the top dollar ones for any extensive time. For cutters, the golden rule "you get what you pay for" seems to hold true.
Arms & Armour, Albion to me are some of the best commercial sword companies, but even then they're a small shop business. All things considered, they're simply wonderful.
Darksword Armoury seems to be a really good economy cutter. I'd ask Sir Nathan Q (in the Teutonic Order) here on the forums, he has one and seems to like it. I'm looking at those myself for one or two.
Then there are the small one-man armourers that are known strictly through word of mouth. They're more expensive than Albion or Arms & Armour but pretty much only do custom work.