Dark Sword Armory swords?

[Sir Humphrey]

Can anyone give me a general assessment of Dark Sword Armory products?  I'm considering their Henry V sword.  They are sort of in the middle, price wise, between the CAS version at $160 and the A&A version at $699 for the same style arming sword.  Also when DSA says "blunt" how blunt are we talking, just not sharp or truly blunt.  Thanks!

[Ian]

DSA is probably the most controversial production sword maker on the planet.

There's a lot of drama with regard to their honesty as a business, just search for any thread on DSA on myarmoury.com and you'll find stuff about where they really forge swords, to copying other smith's work...

That being said, some of their swords are ok, some of their swords are crap.  They don't offer historical blade geometry, but some models appear nice enough.  Sir Nathan owns one of their swords and it has served him very well.

[Sir James A]

I've handled Sir Nathan's DSA, and it was a good blade. Exactly what you'd expect given the price point; between Windlass and Albion. Quality on par with the price.

[Mike W.]

I've seen very polar opinions. Some hate it, others love it. A lot of the discourse on DSA seems a bit negatively biased. The largest complaint is quality control and customer service. I haven't bought from them myself, but had considered it. I'd say proceed with caution.

[Aiden of Oreland]

I think it comes down to "what am I going to use this sword for". DĂ©cor, spar, slicing, hacking, etc.

[Mike W.]

The functionality of the blades is not the major complaint. The most common complaints against DSA is regarding scratches, dings, and rust, in which case whether you're buying a wall hanger or a cutter it is completely unacceptable.

[Aiden of Oreland]

The functionality of the blades is not the major complaint. The most common complaints against DSA is regarding scratches, dings, and rust, in which case whether you're buying a wall hanger or a cutter it is completely unacceptable.

Good point Baron. Hopefully when I buy a squire line sword from Albion I won't have any of those issues, which I doubt I will. Otherwise I would be EXTREMELY upset.

[Ian]

The functionality can be pretty suspect as well on a lot of their models. They're generally very overbuilt, poorly balanced, heavy, and have minimal to no distal taper. That's why it's almost always necessary to handle one first.

This ignores all their suspect business practices as well.

[Sir Edward]

Not to be confused with Darkwood Armory, which will treat you well, and makes good HEMA swords.

[Sir Wolf]

ya, its the same stories i've heard for years

[Sir William]

DSA's claim to fame was that their swords could take a lot of abuse- so they overbuild them to withstand some of the tests you can see featured in videos on their site.  The proprietor, Eyal Azerad, isn't a bad sort- I think he's made some questionable decisions in the past that continue to haunt him.  One incident comes to mind- on SFI (Sword Forum International) there was an artistic collaboration between Angus Trim, John Lundemo and Adrian Ko (SFI site owner) to make a fantasy sword based off of the LOTR canon.  It came to fruition as Glawar - a really pristine Tolkien-style leaf shaped long sword; but two other collaborations also occurred- Paragon, a single hand broad sword, and Templar - a medieval inspired bastard sword, with 'Militaris Templi' engraved in the fuller.  I really liked that sword for all of the obvious reasons...apparently, Eyal liked it too because he copied the design and began selling it and a whole shitstorm set off from that.  He ended up pulling the model I believe.

I had the first run of the DSA Ranger...it would have been worth the money if not for the aesthetic issues (uneven finish, rust spots on the fittings, scratches on the blade, the scabbard chape did not fully center with the cross guard, dings on the scabbard) - and that for a 48" sword it weighed nearly 5 lbs!  I wasn't in love w/it so Eyal gave me a quick refund and I sent him back the sword.

I did get to handle Sir Nathan's DSA Knight, which was head and shoulders above what I'd gotten in terms of quality, fit and finish; a little on the short side for the typology they might have been aiming for (XII) but it is a nice sword.  Their Henry V might be closer to the mark in terms of typology but they do not do any sort of hollow grind on the blade so it won't be as historically accurate as, say, the Arms & Armor model.

As with anything where quality is an issue, you get what you pay for.  IMHO, some of the Windlass swords are nearly as good for less, you can get a better selection than what DSA offers- unless its a sale, and even then you might still win out with Windlass.

One other thing, when they say blunt, they mean it usually- my Ranger had a 2mm or 3mm edge iirc, still dangerous though.

[Sir Humphrey]

Thanks for the opinions.  I'd love to have the A&A version, but can't justify the price (theirs in not hollow ground either, BTW).  Type XVIIIs and XVs seem to be in the minority for repro swords.  Any other mid-line repro type XVIII arming sword you can recommend?

Albion sells a loose blade for about $200.  That might be what I have to go for, and hope I can find proper funiture for it later.
http://www.albion-swords.com/bareblades.htm

Sir Humphrey

[Lord Dane]

Dark Sword Armory is a good choice for the in between price & quality - I have their 12th century two-handed Broadsword - Weight is appropriate - blade is sharp/good cutting quality & is very durable 

[Sir William]

Thanks for the opinions.  I'd love to have the A&A version, but can't justify the price (theirs in not hollow ground either, BTW).  Type XVIIIs and XVs seem to be in the minority for repro swords.  Any other mid-line repro type XVIII arming sword you can recommend?

Albion sells a loose blade for about $200.  That might be what I have to go for, and hope I can find proper funiture for it later.
http://www.albion-swords.com/bareblades.htm

Sir Humphrey

They do offer it, Humphrey, just not as a standard option (A&A).  I'd go with the Albion bare blade- so long as its already been heat treated and tempered; I have no smithing skills so I'd let them handle that aspect of it.  You can source furniture as you go.

[Sir Vander Linde]

My DSA is great for what I got it for, occasional sparring and display. Was well worth the money, 14th century single handed sword with brass fittings. That being said they are hit and miss depending on the model, Eyal had gotten better in pulling the bad ones off the market but there are still some out there, so be a bit weary. The newer ones are made much better than the old ones so stick to newer models, the Henry V is nice but it tends to have handle issues, if you get it you may want to put a new ones on. Though after much sugestion on my part and a few others Eyal is/ has been working on a fighting/ BOTN legal line, so if you plan on using it for fighting I suggest waiting a while longer for them to come out,(other than the ones they have already) cause the Barron line is more of Eyal's artsy stuff and not all of them are great for fighting, but are good for cutting and display.