Strongblade Swords

[Sir William]

The website:  http://www.strongblade.com

I haven't been able to get onto this site for some time, but I'm asking you all if you've any experience with these swords because I remember when they first hit the market, but haven't really heard much about them since.

I looked at them sort of as a competitor to Windlass/MRL, but in viewing their site now, it looks like they've changed tack and are angling at the LARP crowd.  Not necessarily a bad thing business-wise...

In any case, I'm asking because I'm soon to be acquiring a SB Knight Protector, not sure if it is tempered or not (seems SB offered both) but we'll soon see.  Since it is coming from a yard sale (along with a tapestry that I actually DID want) who knows what condition its in.  I'll keep you posted.

[Sir Edward]

Huh, I've never seen their site before. I see what you mean about the LARP angle now. That's probably a good business model for them.

[Sir William]

It certainly broadens their customer base and they probably have some fun with it too.  Often I find myself deriding such merchants but then I got to thinking about it- why not?  There's plenty of room for all to play after all.

As far as Strongblade goes, I just wondered if any of us had any real experience with them.  I was a regular member of SBG when one of the reviewers got his hands on the Warspike- a neohistoric sword with some nice lines and a couple of imperfections that served to give the sword some character.

Considering the low price I'm thinking its either the untempered model, or the seller just wants to get rid of it (moving sale).

[Thorsteinn]

Seems they have a lot of the same stock as TherionArms but with less description.

[Sir William]

Yea, I don't know if someone's keep an active eye on the website...it looks pretty much the same as it did when it first went up a few years ago.  They seem to have or had a writer of sorts but mostly for their informational sections, not a lot about the wares themselves.  Of course, Hal knows his market so he knows what we want and like and goes that extra length to make sure we understand what we're getting. 

[Sir Ulrich]

Thats where I got my kettle helm which is a tad small for wearing over a coif. I never got anything else by them though, been considering it cause I need a better frog for my sword which actually will LOOK period.

[Sir James A]

It certainly broadens their customer base and they probably have some fun with it too.  Often I find myself deriding such merchants but then I got to thinking about it- why not?  There's plenty of room for all to play after all.

More vendors, with more variety, and different forms of any kind of medieval or medieval-inspired hobby always makes me happy. Even if it's not my variant of things, it could lead to them branching out into it, or "cross-platform" stuff like the AF hand protection that might be good for WMA and SCA too.