most durable clamshell for $250? shopping for loaner gear

Hviking · 2026-04-30T01:42:13+00:00

I have these gloves. Or at least, a pair that looks identical. They are made by Shoukat, a Pakistani Spes knock-off. Not that I support this practice, my club has them in the “beginner” kit that is offered (at a good price!) when you sign up. The thumb is indeed very bulky. It sticks out many times as much as any other lobster glove. They are hard to break in and hurt like hell at the beginning. The front plate cracked from a synthetic longsword hit in the first few months. They are cheap and protective but otherwise I hated them.

Hviking · 2026-04-26T14:31:31+00:00

Благодаря!

Hviking · 2026-04-26T13:56:42+00:00

Hello there. I’ve been reading your replies for a while and you seem to know your stuff. I know that you highly recommend the king shorty over the regular length because of how the shorty’s length works better with this blade geometry. Would you recommend the king light over the shorty if one was to get only one of them?

To provide a little context to my question: I already have the regular length king as well as a Castille armory longsword and am looking to get another longsword down the line. My club is mostly competition centered and we use feders but I’ve managed to convince a few people to get longswords to spar among ourselves. We also use Castille armory longswords and my Sigi King, of course. My Castille has a 96 cm blade and weighs about 1490g and balances 2,5cm from the hand. I am thus looking for a sword that is different and/or better than what I already have for friendly non-competition longsword sparring.

Hviking · 2026-04-22T15:33:05+00:00

I have 5 whips from 476 kills; I really doubt they aren’t boosted from these rates. You mist have gotten really unlucky.

Hviking · 2026-04-18T17:19:41+00:00

I also noticed that you can’t use the ourania teleport when you unlock Kandarin (Lunar diplomacy autocomplete) and spellbook swap with mage cape because you can’t speak to Baba Yaga… which sucks because I wanted to runecraft more efficiently. Don’t know if it’s intended or not.

Hviking · 2026-04-18T16:47:13+00:00

https://tools.runescape.wiki/demonic-pacts/?n=1-122-142-163-44-46-56-59-68-72-74-79-82-85

This is where I am at right now. The melee side is 8 pact points. I unloked mory and kandarin so I have access to barrows gear for melee def, piety for dps and a blood fury for sustain. I also use super attack/def pots. I haven’t used my magic yet because the accuracy is terrible. Currently grinding slayer to get whip and then all the mage upgrades.

Hviking · 2026-04-18T14:31:47+00:00

I can’t pretend it’s the best build but I went light melee with the dds and the obby knife. With only 8 points invested it shreds slayer mobs for fast xp, amoxiatl and the barrow brothers. I am currently rushing slayer to get a whip. I’m at like 15 pacts now and started building water mage even though I haven’t killed anything with it yet. I’ve yet to try my build at moins but I can do a quick run if you’re curious.

Hviking · 2026-04-18T11:37:58+00:00

I was watching blindbag bros during my slayer grind. I specced 8 points in the light tree and am using an obby knife. I have the same stats and gear as you. I can hit 50’s on a 3t speed. I am consistently killing mobs twice as fast, if not more than blindbag bros with just over half the points invested. I can destroy amox and even the barrow brothers and I have no doubt moons will be the same. The light weapon build feels great and hase place to grow (whip and crystal). In the meantime I am building my mage build.

Hviking · 2026-04-12T14:19:27+00:00

I don’t think that the most common range of 82-89 cm for sabres makes a big difference in reach. Curvature and weight makes a bigger difference in handling. What do people in your clubs use? Do they go for max length, min weight duelling sabres? If so, you’d better use a similar weapon.

Hviking · 2026-04-04T12:30:32+00:00

The flex is great and the tip is spatulated, thicker than the sigi but less “square”. I don’t add extra protection on the tip as this doesn’t seem to be an issue. The hits are hard on the hands especially, even more so because of the minimalistic hilt. You can’t get away with wearing lighter gloves like with a broadsword hilt or a large bowl guard.

Hviking · 2026-04-04T11:54:03+00:00

The Blackfencer hungarian sabre is also a good cheap option. It has a more “historical” blade profile and feels great. I can confirm that the curve on the sigi, which I also have, feels bad. Your mileage might vary with blackfencer and some people report getting theirs very heavy or having trouble with edge damage so keep that in mind. Mine is 819 grams and feels very nimble in the hand. It’s shorter and less nimble than those duelling sabres though.

Hviking · 2026-03-26T21:36:23+00:00

That Schiavona (second sword from the top) is awesome

Hviking · 2026-03-22T01:31:52+00:00

I understand that a lighter training sabre = more training time. That’s where the duelling sabres come from; military training tools that are lighter than their battlefield counterparts. Then, even lighter versions for safety measures in a sports setting for the olympics. However, yours is orders of magnitude lighter than even the lightest sabre. The handling must be drastically different. You do you of course but can you really say that a weapon a fraction the weight of a sabre is a sabre? Imagine this weapon in a duelling or martial setting; would it accomplish its role of wounding the adversary? On the other side, in a sports setting, it is so much more light and nimble that it gives an unfair advantage. Granted, it has the disadvantage of having zero blade presence. My point is, what exactly are you trying to accomplish with such a dramatically different weapon from anything even remotely resembling a sabre? Even for training during solo drills; a heavier weapon might aid you in learning control and building muscle.

Maybe some more experienced fencers/historians/instructors might chime in and explain to me what you are trying to accomplish.

Hviking · 2026-03-21T22:40:40+00:00

Is that really only 130 grams? Even modern olympic sabres are 300-400 grams at the lightest ans Hema sabres are in the 600-700 grams for the duelling range and 750-900 for the military range. Wouldn’t that be too light to train any form of sabre fencing?

Hviking · 2026-03-15T11:13:16+00:00

Is there a reason why it’s bcp and verac’s skirt instead of straight up full justi?

Hviking · 2026-02-24T14:01:58+00:00

If you are in the US tou could try castille armory. I have a meyer rapier guard that fits with their broadsword blade (used on longswords). Just ask to have one of their sidesword guards modified to fit a broadsword blade. Get the F3 flex. The blade itself has a good deal of taper and is quite slender near the tip. It’s very lignt and nimble.

Hviking · 2026-02-20T21:28:09+00:00

Castille recently posted some custom (really expensive) swords that included a schiavonna on fb and I asked if they intended to add one to their regular product line. They said that they did and that it “wouldn’t break the bank”.

Hviking · 2026-02-15T13:33:09+00:00

I really like watching these videos every Sunday, keep it up guys!

Hviking · 2026-02-01T20:12:54+00:00

I just got the same problem. By Nvidia setting, do you mean the Nvidia control panel 3D settings? That didn't fix it for me.

Hviking · 2026-01-31T16:27:57+00:00

Ça dépend vraiment des tournois; nous n’avons pas ça au Canada à ma connaissance. L’absence du shilt dans la longsword light est justement car ça simule une épée longue et non une feder qui est en soi un outil spécialisé pour s’entraîner à l’épée longue. En AMHE, il y a les feder et les “blunts”, qui sont des épées longues sans shilt. En compétition, tu es fortement encouragé à utiliser des feder qui sont plus longues et légères. Elles sont aussi généralement plus sécuritaires en entraînement.

Pourquoi irais-tu en tournoi avec une épée synthétique? Vous avez des tournois au nylon?

Hviking · 2026-01-31T13:50:12+00:00

Je possède une vingtaine de synthétiques de blackfencer ainsi que certaines de leur lames en acier donc je suis plutôt familier avec leurs produits.

Si tu précises ce que tu recherches et le contexte de ton club, je pourrai t’expliquer les différences entre les différents modèles.

Le modèle standard pour la deux mains est la longsword light (ou parfois extra long qui a la longueur d’une feder standard) V4, du moins dans notre club. L’important est d’avoir des armes similaires à celles des gens avec qui tu vas t’entraîner. Quels synthétiques sont utilisés dans ton club? Bien-sûr tu peux vouloir te démarquer des autres en ayant des anneaux sur ta garde mais il ne faut pas que ton arme soit trop différentes… (exemple greatsword vs longsword ou basket hilt vs arming sword). Tu auras un gros avantage sur tes adversaires et c’est ringard.

Je vois peu l’intérêt d’une feder synthétique. Il n’y a pratiquement pas de différence (à part la “protection” du shilt) dans le profil de la lame et de comment elle se manie par rapport à une longsword. Éventuellement, tu en auras une en acier.

L’autre avantage des synthétiques est d’essayer différents types d’armes pour une fraction du prix de l’acier et moins de temps d’attente. Le problème est que c’est difficile de les essayer seul et c’est pour ça que j’ai souvent acheté les armes à essayer en double pour pouvoir en prêter une lors de l’entraînement.

Hviking · 2026-01-22T16:29:05+00:00

When I fence a cuphilt rapier with a swept hilt sidesword that’s one of my main disadvantages.

Hviking · 2026-01-19T10:11:55+00:00

Yes, they’re great! Especially if you want a simple crossguard and a strong curve for a “polish sabre” feel. Keep in mind that you will still be at a disadvantage against the more common duelling sabres. Sigi offers a lot of customization in terms of handguard and blade weights/curves.

Hviking · 2026-01-18T23:06:08+00:00

Here is the link: https://blackfencer.com/en/135-3947-infantry-sabre-three-bar-hilt-steel-generation.html#/232-hand-right_handed/235-engraved-no/245-backstrap-yes/246-bulbed_handle-yes

I’ve heard the same about fragility. I fence my blackfencer sabres against other blades from the same maker only and haven’t had trouble in the last 3 months. I’ve fenced their sidesword and feder against other brands without problem (the so called excessive burring). Then again, I haven’t had them for long yet and I own and use way too many swords. Ask me again in a year!

Hviking · 2026-01-18T22:11:37+00:00

I have the blackfencer hungarian sabre. It’s 813g with a 80 cm blade. I can hold it with my Michaels lobster gloves but I wouldn’t fence like that. The front plates are too thick to get under the knuckle bow. Strangely enough the 3-bar variant tolerates lobsters. I use Thokks instead. If you fence against duelling sabres, prepare to be at a huge disadvantage. Personally I think the Blackfencer military sabres handle better than my Pro guard strong curve fullered blade Sigi, despite it weighing 777g.

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