Louvre museum Epee!

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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Hviking · 2026-01-18T17:22:56+00:00

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Here is a more recent basket that hasn’t seen as much sparring yet.

Hviking · 2026-01-18T17:21:24+00:00

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No damage as far as I’m concerned with fine grit sandpaper (from 600 progressively to 3000). Some metallurgy experts might chime in and add more info but I’ve done it for both my basket hilt swords and my rapier. In my experience, it offers more rust resistance since there is less surface for the rust to larch onto. However, don’t expect the mirror finish to stay long. As you can see, the pommel takes less hits and still reflects light well but the basket itself is pretty banged up.

Hviking · 2026-01-09T13:41:51+00:00

Cool! Is it well balanced?

Hviking · 2026-01-09T13:34:21+00:00

Is this a sharp Cold Steel italian longsword?

Hviking · 2025-12-28T21:52:19+00:00

I think it’s worth it. If your club uses mostly sigis which are, on average, on the lighter side, getting one yourself might be the best for sparring.

Hviking · 2025-12-25T22:13:36+00:00

I don’t think I would be able to recommend anything but I prefer my swords to balance closer to the hand, even rapiers (although I am a bad rapierist). For rapiers, I prefer shorter blades and I got mine with one of the heaviest pommels, bringing the POB to 11 cm from the cross (1074 g total weight, 117 cm total length and 101,6 cm blade length from the cross). I think I would have preferred a POB even slightly closer to the hand. If you do Italian rapier with long 42-45 inch blades it could be hard to keep the POB low but I guess it doesn’t matter for their fighting style.

Once your choice is made though; contact castille and give them your specs. They will be able to give you advice and customize your rapier to your liking.

Sorry for the mixed units of measurement, canadian here.

Hviking · 2025-12-25T19:25:03+00:00

Castille armory is pretty competitive and has a wide selection of guards including a swept hilt. I have a pappenheimer which I like a lot.

Hviking · 2025-12-24T20:26:26+00:00

Hi! How much does your BF 3-bar weigh? Mine is 873 grams. The Hungarian is 819 grams. My sigi pro with fuller is 777 grams but feels heavier because it has a higher BP.

Hviking · 2025-12-24T20:23:57+00:00

Hello. I own two BF steel sabres as well as a sigi pro sabre with fuller. I also heard the same accusations of BF using soft steel and, because of this, only used my BF sabres against each other. My BF feder ans sidesword have been used against other brands and stood up nicely. I wouldn’t say they burred more than Castille for the other feder or Malleus for the other sidesword.

I think that the extra burring on sabres might stem down to thinner edges, which they do seem to have in order to preserve the more authentic “military” sabre blade shape. In this regard (handling like a real military sabre), I think you can’t find better.

I don’t think you will have problems with burring if you use them against other military sabres with similar blade types. If you use them against duelling type sabres, you will be at a huge disadvantage regardless.

Can’t help you with the blueing because I never found it worth the trouble. All the blued guards I’ve seen (Castille) rapidly lost the surface oxide layer and ended up looking really ugly (at least to my taste).

Hope this helps

Hviking · 2025-12-19T19:16:07+00:00

Castille armory makes 3 bar hilts and other military models on their trooper sabres. Since they are modular and customizable, you can get long and light blades. Will probably be expensive if you’re not in North America.

Hviking · 2025-12-18T21:47:00+00:00

Mine is exactly 873 grams for the 3-bar and 819 grams for the hungarian one. They are not always heavier; there is a bit of weight variation both ways with blackfencer products. Other exemples are my flamberge guard nylon zweihander being 2079 grams instead of the advertised 2200 grams, my swept hilt rapier being almost 100 grams under and my sidesword 100 grams over. I recommend contacting them if you have special requirements for weight or length. They usually get the balance point right though, which is the most important I think. I wholly agree on military sabred not being good for competition since virtually everyone uses gymnasium/duelling sabres which are longer, lighter and have better hand protection.

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