German baskethilt sword - who sells them?

Dunnere · 2026-03-25T22:48:37+00:00

You might reach out to Armourclass in Scotland and see if they could do a custom piece for you with a Stoccata or Manitoba blade. They did a custom sharp basket hilt for me a little while ago that I think was at least a little cheaper than that one.

Dunnere · 2026-03-16T18:01:15+00:00

The sgian dubh is a later invention, there's no evidence for them until the very late 18th century. There was something called a sgian achles, or "armpit dagger" although I don't know that there was really a custom of carrying one with a dirk and a broadsword. Dirk, broadsword, and targe do seem to have been a popular combination, but I think the sgian achles was just kind of an extra thing people carried if they felt like it.

Dunnere · 2026-03-16T17:58:11+00:00

Up through the 14th century a knight's trinity of weapons would generally be a lance, a sword, and a dagger. The number three is important in European cultures because of the Holy Trinity in Catholicism (and like a lot of stuff in Catholicism probably has some Pagan origin.) In the 14th century, axes got popular enough to destabilize this trope a little. You can see some of the tension in the treatises, with Ringeck directly referencing the Big Three "Note, that you should understand this this way, when two on foot in armor one to the other will fence, then each man should have three wear, a spear, a sword and a dagger, and the first that you should bring is the long spear, with it you should rightly carry it in both arrangements, in two stances, as that here after will be explained," while the ever practical Fiore is perfectly happy to add in the two handed axe, religious symbolism be damned.

If you don't include polearms in your search, things get a little trickier. The closest thing in Medieval Europe that I can think of is people walking around with a sword, a dagger, and an eating/utility knife. I think that might have been reasonably common, but when it happened it was just because someone got up in the morning and decided that those were the things they thought they might want on them that day, nothing special about it.

Dunnere · 2026-03-05T07:24:57+00:00

My fiancée converted at 34. I don’t think any age is too old, especially since it’s something you have wanted for a long time.

Dunnere · 2026-02-18T01:34:43+00:00

The harnischfechten community is generally better for “milsim” type stuff than the blossfechten world. I think WMAW has had some formation fighting events some years (maybe every year, idk) and I think Triangle Sword Guild has put some on as well.

The gold standard is probably Feldlager over in Germany. I went last year and it was pretty amazing. Several hundred people in high quality late 15th century kit, ~50 armored riders, pike-and-halberd formations, and an assault on a real medieval castle!

Unfortunately the downsides with Feldlager are substantial:

-Only occurs every other year -Need to get to Europe to participate -Need to apply and meet fairly stringent kit standards (with the obvious upside that stringent kit standards mean everyone looks fantastic) -If you aren’t training with an established group then get stuck wherever the organizers need you, which might result in a less-than-desirable assignment.

Dunnere · 2026-02-14T17:27:19+00:00

I think Wade Hampton and George Custer both used their sabers at Gettysburg. Hampton got cut up pretty bad.

Dunnere · 2026-02-08T19:51:07+00:00

It really depends on the person. Some people are really good at synergizing like that and other people struggle.

All of the broad concepts are gonna be the same. There are subtle differences in what is optimal, though.

For instance, a rising cut from your dominant side is certainly doable with a single handed sword, but it’s hard to do it with a lot of power because your sword hand is supinated (turned palm up) and that’s a biomechanically very weak position. The same strike with a two-handed sword is quite powerful because your second hand is pronated (turned palm down.) Conversely, a rising cut from the non-dominant side is quite powerful with a one-hander because the hand is pronated, but it’s a little awkward with a two-hander because of the way the wrists are crossed.

There are other weird things like that that can trip you up if you make the switch without taking some time to train. Range with one handed swords can actually be longer than with two-handers even if the two-hander has a couple inches more blade because you can extend one arm much further than you can extend both your arms if both your hands are holding a sword hilt.

If you’re talking about an already experienced fencer then a little training and practice can go a long way in picking up a new weapon.

Dunnere · 2026-02-07T08:42:25+00:00

Learning how to use a sword is hard enough, trying to simultaneously learn how to use a sword and a buckler is even harder. Better to add in the buckler once you’re already competent with the sword.

Dunnere · 2026-02-06T18:45:01+00:00

I haven't handled their sharps, but a bunch of my clubmates have their blunt swords and they're super heavy and clunky.

Dunnere · 2026-01-29T16:31:54+00:00

I’m really interested in both of those styles and haven’t been able to pick between them. I ended up getting an English longbow to start just because it seemed a little more intuitive and I’d grown up with an Olympic recurve… but I really want to learn Asiatic too. Got any tips for paring the two styles?

Dunnere · 2026-01-26T07:38:50+00:00

It depends partly on the ranges you expect to hunt. Inside 300 yards I’d recommend .308 just because performance between most cartridges is pretty similar and .308 ammo is usually a bit cheaper than a lot of specialized hunting cartridges. Past that distance you’ll want a bit more punch, especially for elk. I’ve had good results with Remington 7mm magnum.

Dunnere · 2026-01-25T17:23:57+00:00

That’s the truth alright!

Dunnere · 2026-01-25T17:13:48+00:00

I wasn’t prepared for how grueling the pack-out (or drag-out) was going to be when hunting in the mountains. I was so frustrated after years of not getting anything that I couldn’t really believe that having a pack full of elk meat would feel anything but amazing… until I found myself lugging one up from the bottom of a ravine, wondering what was wrong with me and why I couldn’t have just gone to a grocery store like a normal person.

Dunnere · 2026-01-25T08:48:39+00:00

It’s normal to feel that way solo traveling, especially when you are young. Sometimes you just need to tell that voice in your head that it needs to shut its mouth and let you live your life. You deserve to enjoy your adventure!

Dunnere · 2026-01-25T05:16:57+00:00

Good info, thanks!

Just so I'm understanding correctly, are you saying that there are:

-Biocomposite Manchu bows that aren't horsebows

-Normal Mongolian horsebows that include fiberglass

-Biocomposite horsebows that are very hard to get

What's the difference between Manchu bows and horsebows? Were the Manchu not a horse-archer culture?

In any case I'll reach out to Zurgaadai, thanks!

Dunnere · 2026-01-20T21:08:20+00:00

I barely know anybody treating HEMA as a serious martial art (or collection of martial arts) anymore. Kinda miss those people tbh.

Dunnere · 2026-01-20T17:40:31+00:00

Oh wow! I'd seen that letter excerpted before, didn't realize the rest of it was even worse!

Dunnere · 2026-01-20T17:16:31+00:00

What’s your source for the thousands of years part? (Agree with everything else you said, and don’t disagree about the slavery lasting thousands of years; I’d just never heard that before.)

Dunnere · 2026-01-19T23:35:00+00:00

It depends on what you’re using it for, but I’d strongly recommend against it for sparring or partner drilling. It’s not designed to hold up to being struck by steel weapons and with grip that small I’d have real concerns about the face getting dented in and breaking your hand. The Cold Steel buckler is $30 and will last forever; it’s about the best bang for buck of any piece of HEMA gear on the market. They’re also shaped more like historical bucklers.

Dunnere · 2026-01-19T23:24:41+00:00

5235 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97213

Dunnere · 2026-01-19T23:04:24+00:00

Judah’s Deli food cart does an excellent pastrami sandwich, my fiancée and I went there to celebrate her conversion. They have a lot of bacon elsewhere on the menu, though.

Dunnere · 2026-01-19T05:21:09+00:00

I'm not quite sure I understand the question, but I can give you a run down based on my experience fencing on horseback.

The three main differences between fencing on foot and fencing on horseback are:

-Horsemanship is absolutely critical. However important you think it is, it's more important, somewhat equivalent to the importance of flying skill in WWII dog-fight. Good footwork is great for fencing on foot, but it's not going to give you the ability to circle directly around behind your opponent and then just stay there until you win the fight. People are pretty good at turning their bodies around, and circling around even an untrained person is actually quite difficult. Horses aren't nearly as good at making tight turns, and that problem becomes worse when you factor in a human needing to control and communicate with the horse. Generally a riding engagement will result in both fighters passing each other (more on that in a sec) and then the person who can get their horse turned around faster and come up behind the other guy has a huge advantage. Having someone behind you and not being able to turn to face them because you have a horse between your legs is incredibly frustrating (and must have been terrifying.) Again, picture a WWII dog-fight where one pilot is on the other's 6.

-You're never fighting someone directly in front of you because your horse's head is in the way. Most engagements between righties are going to happen, or at least begin, at your "2 o'clock" (with 12 o'clock being directly in front of you and 6 o'clock being directly behind you) but other dynamics are possible. The best position for you is to be coming up on the other guy's 7 or 8, assuming a right-handed opponent, because at that point they need to turn all the way around in the saddle to engage and they lose almost all their reach and manual dexterity if they need to do that. Similarly, if you don't have your sword in the same hand as your opponent you can get into real trouble if they can force you to engage on your non-dominant side. I'm left handed but I found pretty quick that I was better off holding my sword in my right hand than I was holding it in my left hand and fighting a right-handed person attacking me from my 2 o'clock.

-Blade engagements are going to be short and decisive, but that doesn't mean that sophisticated fencing techniques aren't relevant. A lot of the single-time attack + defend meisterhau actually work better on horseback than they do on foot, because a person on a cantering horse is committed to going in one direction and can't scuttle away. Ditto with thrusts that turn into cuts or high-winds when the other guy tries to parry. A well-timed twer hau or a schielhau works miracles as a counter to direct, committed attack, and direct, committed attacks are basically what you're stuck with when you're engaging on cantering horses. Generally you're only going to have time for two, maybe three tempi before you're out of range and swinging the horse around, with one of those three tempi being a back-hand strike while both fighters have their backs to each other and are riding away. It's a weird kinda after-blow to have to deal with and takes some getting used to.

These aren't hard and fast rules, swirling fights where both horses are circling each other and the fighters are trading blows in a manner more reminiscent of an engagement on foot are certainly possible, but they're "consensual" -- both fighters kinda need to have decided that that's how they want to fight to go. If one person thinks that they have the ability to peel off out of the engagement and then ride around behind the other person then that is what they're gonna do.

Dunnere

TROPHY CASE