I find the grip of the armourclass dragoon model a little too thick to hold, the grip of say a black fencer or balefire etc are less thick. I find those better suited to me. Did you find the grip of the AC ok?
@@Alexander-vh9hp I would go so far as to say that it's my no. 1 gripe with this sword and made me use it less than I would like. I'm gonna have to make a narrower grip for it at some point. Apart from that it's really great but the grip is pretty important.
Yes, that's the one! Be sure to tell them that you want a full infantry basket, since the Dragoon listed on their site is more of a half basket for cavalry.
@@historyandsabre Thanks for the tip! I've currently got a HEMA basket hilt with the "Early Basket" design on order, but would have gone for one of these instead if I'd have known.
I got mine the other week and it's my second favorite broadsword trainer now and first for looks. Stephen Hand is one of the instructors in my club and when he brought these armour class swords to our last conference, everyone was impressed and a number of people ordered them. The price seems to have decreased a lot since the first few were ordered too, I missed out on the first order but got in on the second and I don't know why but my sword costs almost half the amount the first few did, it might just be that they aren't a custom order anymore. From what I've seen all the people who've had theirs for a while have been very happy.
Great to hear, what's your favourite training sword then? Yeah, I was expecting them to cost quite a bit more aswell as basket-hilted training swords are usually among the most expensive HEMA swords there are. Shame we are so far apart, otherwise I'd say let's meet for a sparring session hehe. Cheers!
@@historyandsabre my favourite is the alchem broadsword as far as handling. However, orders take forever and the new basket isn't as tough as I'd like but their blades are tough and the price is ok. I've previously used their spadroon and it was really good, the broadsword basket still needs a little work in my opion but the handling great. My instructor did a review on them here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ui49UqFl928.html
@@milesmcinerney5594 Ah yes, I've actually already seen this video btw. Looks like a great option, although I prefer the Armour Class aesthetically. Given that I'm in Europe, we tend not to bother ordering HEMA gear overseas as there are enough good options available relatively locally.
@@historyandsabre oh yeah the armour class is much nicer looking, no contest. I just like the alchems handling and I've found their blades last a long time. Yeah in aus everything costs a tonne in shipping so it doesn't matter much where we order from.
Hello miles, should soon be getting my replacement blade for the s-basket hilt from armour class as that sword has been out of action for a while now. I originally purchased the sword with a 38 inch reenactors blade and it handled beautifully but it snapped after only a month, so i then took a risk and ordered the bouting blade, but at 38 inches it turned the sword into a real clunker , especially with that s- basket hilt which Armourclass told me was their most durable hilt, it is very solid and heavy compared to their other hilts that i have seen from them. I reckon once my blade arrives the sword will be back in action, even though i haven´t got anywhere to train at the moment due to covid orginally forcing me to close the school and then the Port Douglas council wanting $600 a month rent of the hall for 2 hours one night a week, and their are no other suitable venues that i can find as either ceilings are to low or fans are in the way. But I´m off to the King Island tomorrow to have a scout around for a week as their maybe employment options for me down their and if all goes well I´ll certainly be wanting to start a Stoccata branch down there, if possible. Also some months ago i got my Alchem basket sword and it does handle very nicely but i agree the basket could be another gauge or two thicker, and if the basket was heavier their maybe no need for a pommel like Paul Wagners basket hilt from Danelli, as that large pommel may snap the end of the tang like is often the case with darkwood swords when strikes connect with the basket. But i have not bouted with the sword yet and that may not be a problem. Have also asked Arms and Armor in the U.S if they have any intentions in the future to make a basket hilt training sword, after seeing one of their videos discussing about basket swords and another video of theirs showing their fantastic looking viking training sword. They certainly are interested but time and trying to make one thats cost effective are issues they say. So i directed them to a couple of Stoccate video´s by Paul introducing his Danelli sword and the later video of the 3 current options of basket hilt swords. So maybe something could be in the works later on?
@@tommoblue2296 I did everything via Email, so I'd recommend you do that. Iain is super nice and helpful and he'll get back to you very quickly. If you want the same model I have, tell him you want the basket-hilted HEMA sword with a full "dragoon" style basket. Cheers!
Thinking about the worldwide web: Peter saw a review of a Tasmanian RU-vidr of Scottish baskethilted swords, and then he orders a bunch of them for his HEMA club in Austria.
He calls it the "dragoon" model which is a half basket - just tell him you want a full infantry basket in that style and this is what you're going to get :)
Very similar swords called "espadroons" were used for training in the Russian army in the late 19th century and are depicted in a couple of manuals from the time.
@@historyandsabre vk.com/album-1204687_191548914 this is a manual for instructing troops from 1899 and shows a similar trainer, it is shown on the last page in the album
Shared this with a friend who practices arming sword HEMA and he wanted to know what category this falls into - Longsword, Rapier, Arming Sword, Side Sword, or ? *Sorry if I'm asking this incorrectly.
Hi Gary, this is a training version of a typical *Scottish basket-hilted broadsword*. These existed in varying forms throughout Britain and were common roughly from the 17th century and remained in use throughout the 19th century as weapons. We train from Charles Roworth (1798/1824) at our club, which is a universal system for all British military swords around the year 1800. So in modern HEMA terms, these basket-hilted swords are often grouped together with military sabre as they were often used according to the same system. I recommend this video on the topic by Nick Thomas of the AHF: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fpIkzJ6XOME.html
Did you feel any difference between a blade of 85cm and your blad of 84cm when sparring? Did the 85cm blades turn out 85,5cm like your orderd 84cm blade that turned out 84,5cm?
Just days after I got it we went into hard lockdown in Austria and today is our first session again. Besides a few sparring sessions (one is on my channel) I couldn't really test it as thoroughly as I would have liked. Anyways, the long-term review will be a few more months but it will come!
Unfortunately, i dont see anything on their website mentioning training swords of any kind. Am i just special ed, or do they purposefully want you to ask about it?
Yes, you do have to ask them via email. That's just how it works if you want to order something like this from Iain. He is very friendly, responsive and accommodating, soni it's worth it. Cheers ✌️
I’m completely uneducated in training swords so I apologize for what may be a stupid question. Why would the blade taper? Wouldn’t you want the true weight of the wider blade for arm strength during training?
That's a great question. The thing with training blades has always been about finding a compromise between realism and safety, both historically and today. The narrower blade that Armour Class have designed here is very similar to "Feder" blades used on longsword simulators. The flared bit close to the guard, called "Schilt" on longswords adds some necessary weight in front of the hand, and the blade itself is narrow so you can make the edges a lot thicker for safety. All these consideration make it handle similarly to a sharp blade. It's never 100% but you can get close. Hope that answers your question.
I also got one of these and am super happy with it. The problem is that its "front guard" is not strong enough that after my first sparring session it was "bent" inward and touching the blade. Not a huge deal, but made the hilt asymmetric : (
@@historyandsabre The front guard itself is pretty thick. It was the place where its end branching off from the side that got bent and if you look at it closely it's pretty thin. I feel like some people in my club hits much harder than many others so maybe it won't be a problem for the majority out there.
@@dexterbelmain589 Sure, just tell him you want a HEMA basket hilt sword with the full infantry dragoon style basket and a Manitoba blade. That's the improves version of the blade on mine.
@@dexterbelmain589 Very nice! I would get it myself as a swap out blade just to try it but it seems unnecessary to order just a blade from the UK with the added cost now.
Dude, I love your channel!! This popped in my feed and I was like yesss . . . Perfect timing for the good ole algorit. . . . I get to watch you spar and I get explanations and thought/commentary plus it's based off of experience one of the top teachers. TY for the inspiration, Peter!!
![First Look: Armour Class - Basket-Hilted Broadsword [HEMA]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
