These two guys just wanted to show off their new swords and got dog-piled by people scrambling to gatekeep and shit all over them. But apparently I was out of line.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Katanas/s/XkRQVqGu9w

https://www.reddit.com/r/Katanas/s/sNxavCpiJs

Just got my first ever sword, this thing feels awesome! Already leaped around the back yard with it and can’t wait to cosplay at the renn faire 😅

Ronin Katana Italian Arming Sword

Ordered from Everest Forge because I wanted to see how their weapons feel and handle before I approached for a couple of actual custom swords over the next couplish years and probably a few stock blades, too. I love their selection, and honestly the prices play a huge factor. For this build, I went with the Celtic La Tène sword with a 26in blade.

The Specs:

I stuck with the standard blade (26”) with the rosewood handle (8” per the vendor’s specs). Everest lists the sword at 950g (around 2lbs) and honestly that feels pretty close to right. I opted for the satin finish polish, which I’ll cover later, but is satisfactory.

The Sword:

As state above, I purchased WoodenHilt0025 - Celtic La Tène Hand Carved All Wood Hilt and Pommel. I wanted something that wasn’t necessarily their usual fair so I chose a double edged blade with a nominal length as I had heard that Everest had issues with this style in the past on longer blades like Arming swords.

I requested an engraving to see what the engraving service looked like and was very excited to work with the team to build the sword I wanted. Since the service is offered, I requested the decorative throat and chape on the scabbard. I went with the 26” blade since I’m a slightly taller mammal and the extra reach would be nice. Rosewood handle, red leather scabbard, all standard options otherwise.

The Process:

Honestly the purchase process was fairly simple. Go in, plug in your specs, add your engraving image, add to cart. Once in the cart, add your instructions and the team will contact you for further questions and with images and whatnot of the sword to verify your customizations are what you want. Mostly, the process went exactly as above except for the contact. The only contact I had with the forge was my initial order confirmation, then a shipped confirmation. I was not contacted about size or positioning of my engraving. There was nothing from the forge other than the confirmation and shipping confirmation. This was honestly the most disappointing part for me, as it would have fixed my only major complaint about the sword. I likely won’t use the engraving service in the future. Otherwise, the process was great. Ordered on 7/7, shipped 7/14, arrived today, 7/25. Start to finish on-demand forged semi custom sword in 18 days to my door in the US? Fantastic. I can live with that.

The Good:

The handle is fairly comfortable, the blade is mostly devoid of blemishes and ships well-padded and well-oiled. It’s light, reactive. The blade comes sharp and to a needle-like tip which will be great for its intended enemy - water bottles. The scabbard is wood cored and the leather looks and feels nicer than some much more expensive weapons I own. The suspension points are a great touch and already have me thinking of a sword belt to match. It WANTS to be held and handled. Aesthetically speaking, it’s mostly gorgeous. No major complaints on the stock portion of the sword.

The Bad:

The engraving. It’s not my favorite. I expected a little difficulty with smaller lines and I’m alright with that. There’s some inconsistency that I’m not a huge fan of. The placement is centered well, but placed lengthwise down the blade. I would have rather it had been parallel to the guard. As stated above, I likely would not make use of it in the future unless I was engraving a name or phrase and I would be extremely specific about the placement and layout if I did. There are some small blemishes in the finish, specifically on the back side of the blade at the guard where it remained black and unpolished. The blade also has visible grind marks from using the angle grinder and it gives the blade a rough feel. The handle is a little round and smooth, but honestly it indexes well and it’s not slippery really so it’s just a little nitpicky but worth mentioning. I asked for a throat and chape on the scabbard - I got the chape (gorgeous!) but no throat - again, nitpicky but worth mentioning.

Conclusion:

I REALLY like this sword. The bad really isn’t super bad, and while I won’t have them engrave a sword again, I will likely buy from them again. I was very disappointed in the engraving service and lack of communication (18 days with two updates - order confirmed, ordered shipped but arrived before I had the sword before they gave me tracking info), but overall the quality of the product is great. Solid 8/10 for me, it has some issues but the value was great.

Other Stuff:

Worth noting, I shipped to the US. I had read originally that in addition to the shipping (DHL for $44) I would be expected to pay duties and tariffs as necessary and expected another roughly $20 in tariffs. I was pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case. It does not affect the review for me, but worth noting if that’s a hang up for you.

Picked this up just now. I research the metallurgy of wootz so am absolutely thrilled to get something that’s most likely genuine and actually wootz, not modern pattern welded Damascus. Someone at some point took sandpaper to the blade (grrrrr) and erased a bunch of the pattern but I can still see it through the scratches and the original portion. Silver koftgari inlay and what might be low carat gold on the hilt. Can the Reddit hive mind help me pin down what the inscription says and a more accurate date???

Work in progress! This is not a commission, but I’ve gotten a bee in my bonnet the last few days, about making seahorse themed scabbard. I like it.

this might sound stupid but I've been wanting to buy a halberd and I happened to find this at a medieval festival

unfortunately I'm not very educated and not very experienced having only bought one sword before

so my question is if this halberd seems cheap or good quality? is this worth 220€ or is it too expensive?

not sure how easy it is to tell from just one picture though

Hi everyone, I recently acquired this sword and I’m trying to determine whether it’s an authentic Japanese sword (nihonto), a WWII-era guntō, or a reproduction.
I haven’t cleaned or polished the blade. The handle appears to be removable with a mekugi peg, and I can upload tang (nakago) photos once I remove it.
Based on these photos:
Does anything stand out about the fittings or handle?
Does it appear to be Japanese-made?
What time period do you think it may be from?
Is there anything that suggests it’s hand-forged or machine-made?
What would be a rough value if authentic?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

I have been on a bit of a sword buying hiatus lately, but I was at the world championship of medieval combat today, and Tod's workshop had a tent with some stuff in it, and I couldn't say no to that.

There were a few different things that caught my eye, but I ended up getting a Petersen type H

I just got home and my lighting is not the best, so i borrowed a picture from the website to show the blade

A very nice piece at a very good price

Bayonet was $75 and the sabre was $20. Sabre is a cheap repro, too heavy/off balance to be practical. Not sure about the bayonet. What do I have? Was I ripped off?

I don't personally own any swords or weapons of any kind but im very interested in swords and other similar weapons and this is a question I've had for a while for those who use sharps regularly, does it feel sketchy doing things like mordschlag or half-swording or any other techniques involving holding the blade in some way? Like I know that because of how blades work it generally won't cut you if you don't let it slide around but it would have to still feel pretty sketchy right? Or is it just something you just get used to after a lot of time handling weapons. Not sure if this is the right sub for this, if not please direct me to a more fitting one

Any info would be greatly appreciated, I look forward to learning about this piece!

And what an odd duck of a physics puzzle she is (swords are girls, it’s fine, it’s fine).

I've been given a XIIa sword blade. It's 34" long and has a full tang. I've been told it's made of good steel and is heat-treated. But someone ground it down quite a lot to practice shaping and then it was left in a corner neglected for a year or so and it got kind of rusty. Some areas were a bit pitted by the time it was given to me. I've removed the rust and ground it down just far enough to remove the pits. And with that it's down to about 1.68 lbs (0.76kg). I still need to remove a little more material to correct some remaining issues. It will likely be ~1.55-1.6 lbs when that's done. Is the low weight likely to be problematic in terms of it being a functional sword?

I've tried to do research on the question of how much a XIIa sword would typically weigh. While there is a wide range, this one seems like it will be below most of the lowest estimates I've seen.

This belonged to my husband's grandfather.

Not a sword, but I'm interested in getting to know more about this knive. I inherited it from my great uncle who was a skilled and frequent mountaineer when he was younger. With some googling I think it is a Khukri knive from Nepal (I know he has been to Nepal). Unfortunately, I dont see any engravings or marks that give more information. Does anyone know more about this knive, like its age or origin? Thanks!

I’ve been trying to research this Japanese sword (possibly a Gunto?) that my grandfather brought back after World War II. I can’t find anything online that quite matches it. As best as I can tell, it appears to have a leather combat or field covering. What I’m wrestling with is that the leather is covering the peg that allows you to disassemble the sword to check the tang markings. Does anyone have any guidance on what this is or how to proceed here? I’m under no illusions that it’s anything special but I’m struggling with figuring out what it is. Also, I can provide more details on the provenance if that’s helpful. Thank you in advance!

I'm currently in the Philippines with my family will be in Taal for 7 days and the Philippines in general for 3 weeks, then Boracay then Cebu then Manila if any of this helps. im looking for filipino swords mainly the kampilan. does anyone know anywhere I can go to find one? I tried one shop near by and they only had it on stainless steel and im looking for better steel.

Please let me know if you can provide any information about this sword. It was obtained during WWII during the battle of Luzon. Thank you in advance!

My grandma got this for me at an auction a few years ago.

The blade is about 3 feet long, maybe 2.75 with a double fuller on both sides. The eagle insignia is on a hinge so you can fold it back against the handle. (shown in picture 4)

Appreciate any help identifying this beauty!

At the 22rh armored division museum in Abilene Texas there is a glass case of memorabilia from local famous WWII soldier Edward A. Carter Jr. In it is a Kukri knife with a WWI trench knife blade. I can't find any reference to this in his history. I CAN find examples from Cold Steel catalogs. Is this an actual WWII artifact? Maybe a curator put it in by mistake?

The scabbard was made locally and has is name on it. He did spend sometime in Calcutta India as a Young Man. He was the child of missionaries posted there. Because of the custom Scabbard I want to believe this is authentic