Some recommendations for functional swords under $150 

For people who looking for budget sword, you should know what you're getting with the price. For under $50 you'll be getting a wallhanger with rat tail handle, you are at your own risk to cutting things with it; For $50 ~ $100 you'll be getting a mass produced sword that may cut some soft target just for fun; For $100 ~ 200 you'll be getting a finer produced power hammered sword with decent blade edge; For $200~ $300 you'll be getting a functional sword made by a novice swordsmith; For $300 ~ $500 you'll be getting a truly battle ready sword made by an experienced swordsmith; For $500 above, you'll be getting one made true to the traditional forging process by master swordsmiths with decades of experience; And those Arts & Crafts class swords can easily cost you 10k or more. You'll get what you pay for. So please don't go off-road in a Toyota Yaris and attempt to cross a creek, then went to a Toyota Land Cruiser dealer to complain Toyotas are s**t.

When you like swords but broke af

I would really appreciate an episode 2 because most are not being sold anymore

But Skall, if it's not threaded how will you end him rightly?

16:35 The price is "reduced" from 85$ to 99.95$

Thanks for this video skal! I've been looking into HEMA a tiny bit and your videos are great. It's cool that you posted this video; I went on kult of Athena the other day for a look and it's a bit much for newcomers to understand what's cheap or not (besides the price) :)

Honestly one of the best channels on RU-vid.

I really appreciate you making this video. Especially with the questions I had. Thank you.

WAYYY more options and a much longer video then i expected :o nice one

Skall have you ever considered doing voice overs for games or animations. You have a unique voice, unmatched!

Great video man, actually helped me find a durable short sword that I needed.

***** CLICK ON YOUR MOUSWHEEL!!! ...if you want to open a link in a new tab. It is faster.

Can you do a $300-$400 range video?

Thanks alot! Might pick up one of those Katana's for some watermellon cutting. Would love to see another one of these with the price range 150-300 like you suggested.

nice video skall, looking forward for the ones with bigger price ranges.

these are really helpful! my plan is to find a saber and then ill find a matching musket for it. (good thing you said something about that 1860 saber!) I look forward to that 150-300 video!

Years ago I got the Windlass Towton (now discontinued), and was blown away by the value for the cost. I know Windlass has issues with quality control but I would recommend them from my experience. I bought it from bythesword and had a great experience.

I own the Windlass Saber you were talking about, and it is very nice. The handle (on mine) is wood wrapped with leather. It's a good sword, just wish it came nice and sharp.

Me and my friends have been purchasing from Kult of Athena for so many years. They have the friendliest customer service, super fast shipping (and I live in the US), as well as some of the most reasonable prices I've ever seen for quality stuff! I've used several of the blades mentioned in this video and they are excellent.

Awesome video! I would love to see more videos like these! If you do plan to do more like these. Can you separate them in different types? And if it isn't too much trouble, also categorize them into price ranges? e.g, 2handed longswords $500 and below, and medieval halberds $300 and below, and etc.

I find that buying cheaper poor finished blades can be diamonds in the rough, well maybe garnets. They require you to bring them up to a level of finish that you are comfortable with. This can be really good because you become familiar with them and how they are made. I think every Condor knife I ever bought needed sanding and better edge work. That is the trade off for less expensive. For some it gives a good feeling a a personal touch to a blade. Really if you lived back in those days knowing how to sharpen you sword and some repair work would common. Sure there were some wealthy enough to hire it done, but not all.

Thanks for the vid,it was really helpfull. I was thinking of spending around 250 bucks for my first sword so the next video will be spot on.

Good video! When times are tough you have to get what you can afford. Some of these blades seem pretty interesting.

I look forward to the next one of these

I own the windlass Hungarian Saber and have had it for at least 3 years put a hell of a lot of stress on it cutting down thick trees, and I even hacked it into a stop sign and it has held up way past my expectation and I plan to do a review on it in the future in it's current quite remarkable condition for the abuse its been through. Would definitely recommend 5 stars for the price.

Nice video man. You explain pretty well the thing to look at in a cheap sword. In the next one I really would like to hear your thoughts about "Del Tin" manufacturer, as it's italian and if I ever will buy a sword it will be from him.. cause is near me. lol. Just if it's fit in you video, of course.

I too like Kult of Athena, I've ordered several knives and swords from them. Good review by the way.

Just bought my first sword. Thanks for the advice.

Hey wow ive been warchen and im a huge sword fan and like the input of your show and just heard u live in canada , i do as well i live in maskoka a hour and a half from toronto, but ya as soon as i heard urnin canada aswell im a subscriber heheh

I'm pretty sure that the knobs on the Russian Kindjal and Shashka are their to keep your hand in place and the lower ones especially so that you can grip the pommel itself with your index and middle fingers wrapped around those knobs. Cossacks would use this grip for a longer reach with the blade and especially for thrusting.

Maybe as a sequel video to this you could do a vid covering the 150-250 and then another one that would cover the 250-500 dollar range. These two ranges are still relatively budget, but have many better options than the >$150 range.

You can try to make your own, mats are not that expansive and all you need is barrel with cox fuel (for harder materials, steel etc.) or propan/butan hand torch (it works good with softer materials, copper etc.) , some solid backing or anvil, any type of hammer and backyard. It is super fun to craft sword yourselves and if you make mistake you can just recycle, heat it up again and try again. Also there is a lot of guides online to follow up until you learn.

If your'e willing to go a little over I'd recommend the Hanwei practical line, namely the practical longsword. I just go one myself and love it

This what i was searching for thanks skall!

In terms of 'cheap' swords for re-enactment and sparring I would suggest the practical series of Hanwei. From what I have used and seen from this series they seem to be good sturdy blades, properly peened, not overly heavy and can take a lot of abuse. I have seen a few examples of people who have sharpened them and that seems to work fine as well. There are just two drawbacks that I encountered with these blades: They look really plain and the scabbards that comes along with it is made from plastic. But if you just want a good value for money sword for sparring I would definitely recommend it.

Hey Skall! just wanted to let you know that I have one of those short liuyedaos that you had a look at at about 16:40. Theyre generally sturdily constructed and it feels nice as a chopper. No idea if it's actually foded steel or if they just acid etched a fake design on. The tang construction is actually just threaded and the tang looks pretty solid. the grip and guard are held on by compression from a nut that is concealed underneath the butt cap at the end of the hilt. The "glued" designation for the pommel refers entirely to the butt cap as it's just glued on to conceal the nut that holds the hilt together. My only issue is that the glue used was wood glue so it's actually water soluble so if sweat drips down the grip into the butt cap, the cap might come off. Had to re-glue mine on. Other than that, it handles nicely and chops quite well. The geometry is like a katana so it's a bit thick but that also means it has a lot of mass in the chop.

He mention the Condor DaDao, which is a beast, but Condor also makes a Scimitar sword. I just got one and its pretty sick, got it for about 80 bucks. Condor also makes a new Cutlass with a Metal D guard and wood scales for about 120.

To have stiching at the side of the grip calls for abrasion on your fingers, just like the cross-part at a shamshir, if its protruding.

Sir i must tell you the the correct weight of that ritter steel landsknechte as i own one and have used it for 7 years. It only weighs 6.4 lbs, the cult of athena website displays several types of weapon weight inaccurate. My use of that weapon was not for anything other than abuse as i have blunted the blade in order to pass for sca and other "fighting/training uses". The steel on that item is very strong because it was made from reforged tank leaf springs and that is what makes it cheap compared to other large 2hand swords. I would recommend that you buy one and try it for yourself. Good for the price. Ty for the vid

Thanks Skallagrim. just found 12th Century Crusader Holy Sword - AH6955 on that site. Looks good. for under 150 + 30 sharpening.

Did you ever make a video for recommendations of higher priced swords? I would really love to see that.

LOL, was going to send you a message about a good gladius for cheap, and then i saw this video uploaded, thanks Skall

I’ve owned the Russian Kindjal from windlass it’s really awesome for the money it needs resharpening , but it’s built heavy duty not too heavy weight wise ...

You should do another similar video for maces and warhammers. I love me some skull crushers.

I also have the no brand name Short Chinese Liuyedao and I can definitely say it is sharp and cuts very well, but I honestly am not confident enough to cut anything tougher then a soda bottle with it, when you see it in person it is actually quite nice to look at and the blade has been properly folded so no problem there but as you said the threaded and glued pommel is just not to be trusted haven't had any problems with light cutting though.

I managed to snag a decent battle-ready Katana off ebay for around $130 (worth maybe twice that amount). While some auctions can be skeptical, if you do your research, you can score bigtime.

Found a damn good seax with a 13" blade. A good suggestion for someone who wants a historical blade and cant afford an actual sword. Many good small knives and bigger daggers to be had my friends. :)

Thanks for the video, I'm seriously considering that Qama now. Could you do one for daggers, bowies, kukris and other non-tool knives?

Kult of Athena does actually list the Bush Cutlass by Condor. It was on the page a few seconds before you mentioned it, in fact :) I think that my next purchase will likely be a Scottish Backsword or Broadsword. That would likely fall in the price range of your next video, so hopefully you'll have something to say along those lines ;)

The 1860 saber look quite good you guys should buy it this is based on the review from SBG

windlass is always pretty good budget bang for your buck, construction, looks and quality. However, they often lack the proper weight and balance do to more times then not using sword blanks. The cobra steel line is amazing and feels and functions great, I have 3 of them and all 3 are a great value! I feel like they are under priced and you get more then you pay but they are all short swords and more modern tactical vs any type of historically accurate.

Noticed you sort of wrote off the Windlass military sabre line and is wondering if you've since had any hands-on experience with any? Similarly, have you tried any of the other Cobra Steel models? I got the Kindjal after seeing your review and love, but is in the market for a more cut based model and is thinking of getting the Falcata. As affordable as it is, I'll probably get it eventually regardless, but is also contemplating the Condor Navy Cutlass for something a bit closer to a sabre. Assuming the various, not much more expensive Windlass cutlass models aren't as good.

I got a original 1878 Spanish Briqet (acceptable conditions considering I'm in a tropical weather and without sheat) for $175, but I just got really lucky it was a great deal.

Hi skall, you can middle click the links to open them in new tabs, instead of right click and select in the menu. Maybe you already knew that, just a random tip.

Can you do a $250-500 range video?

Can you do a video on the pros and cons of single and double edged swords?

It's funny you posted this video. I was kinda looking at this guy on Kult of Athena: Patton sword - 500530. Plastic grip and a nut holding the pommel, but that's how the original was designed, I assume. Any input on it? I just got a kick out of the idea of owning a copy of the last standard-issue American sword (not meant solely for dress), and have also been watching a lot of sabre sparing on youtube lately.

Skall, that Ritter Steel sword looks like a reproduction of a ceremonial sword so the weight might be less of an issue if it wasn't meant to be used in battle. Now you could take issue with it being in the battle ready section at that point, but technically you could use it and it's unlikely to break.

Nice recommendations. I guess cheaper swords are better to start off with if you're learning. Don't feel as bad when you destroy them. I'm actually more interested in a video about the different manufacturers. Figured out from previous vids that windlass does unsharpened and can be a bit of a hit and miss but what about the other people on the market.

Thanks for the recommendations small, they were pretty damn useful. Btw would you make an updated weapons collection video? I think it's high you made one since the old one is highly outdated 😂

What about cold steel sword machetes? I own the Kopis and, after giving it a better edge, it is certainly one of my favorite swords. Handle is durable, design looks good, good balance for cutting, and full tang. Only issue is the steel is 2.8mm thick, which isn't even really a problem unless you try to strike stone or plan on attacking someone in full plate armor. Best part? Only $25.

if you go to the "stage combat" section most of the swords are made of sturdy material and are cheaper, all that is needed is to put a sharp edge on them :)

Cold Steel Gladius. I love mine and i paid $18 for it on Amazon. The blade goes through the handle and iv used mine extensively and never had a problem with it. So unless you want it to look historical I don't think you can beat it for the price.

I have that falcata. Good blade, but quite heavy. The pommel isn't quite realistic, truthfully as you mention wood or bone would be used. Due to the weight, a strong swing feels like the handle will crush your pinky so you have to work around that.

Have owned my Musashi Bamboo Warrior for 5yrs now.. It was $119... Its a 1060 DH blade... After 5yrs of use, and many many bad cuts it's still solid and very functional.. Obviously has a ton of cutting scratches, a few nicks in the blade from me missing and hitting shit no sword would stand up to (very minor nicks), has taken a few minor sets that were easy to straighten (was my first sword, so it went through ALOT of poor cuts on my part), and the saya is pretty banged up... But for something that was $120 it's done all I could have ever expected and more!! I own 20 something swords now, and most are at least 3 times the price (usually 5-6 times more)... Still I often find myself swinging my old beat up Musashi if I'm just playing around cutting bottles or something... If someone thinks they may be interested in katanas I couldn't really think of another sword I'd recommend as a first.. Definitely dont go spending hundreds of dollars your first time out.. Make sure it's an interest that's going to stick first, plus ur probably going to mess it up... At $120 dollars you probably wont be to upset if you do screw it up as apposed to something that costs $200 +... I would say stay away from the $60 dollar katanas, even those made my Musashi.. Just gives a bad impression of how they should feel and act... The Musashi bamboo warrior is light, maneuverable, has a real hamon, and is just a proper feeling katana... No it dont feel as good as a much more expensive or custom katana, but still it feels like a real katana in hand... It will take a good edge using nothing more than a leather strap on a 1×30 belt sander with some polishing compound.. It will need to be honed after every 3rd or 4rth use to maintain a razors edge, but it will at least take and hold a good edge for awhile.. The $60 katanas generally feel pretty crappy in the hand because of the cheap materials, are poorly balanced, and usually wont hold an edge period... Just my 2 cents anyways.

My nephew was given the Kult of Athena fantasy sword. The blade was pot metal, and the rat-tail tang in the handle snapped right off with minimal use (no cutting or chopping). Pretty dangerous.

14:50 that Spartan sword wouldn't look out of place on a Star Trek set either, as a Klingon weapon. The handle gives it almost a ToS feel.

I noticed that you skimmed over the Ulfberht. I am "umming" and "arrring" about that particular one, but I am not convinced about the finish :\ Anyway, nice one, I can't wait to see the $150 plus video to hear your opinion about it :)

I got a budk tanto for $10 best 10 bucks i ever spent, seriously, it is kinda handle heavy, i got is so sharp that the flick of my wrist goes through an adult pumpkin seeds guts and all, and i'm not a big stron guy, love it!

I highly suggest checking out Ryan Swords if looking for a cheap sword. They have multiple grades of steel and many cheaper swords that can be customized at little or no charge to your specifications! These guys work with some pretty difficult materials from the look of the catalog and that is always a good indicator to see multiple thousands of dollar tamahagane katanas and chinese jian swords and a solid line of hcs 1095 and damascus katanas that start around 100 for some basic ones but they seem to be all in order as far as fittings, geometry, and only good materials like leather and rayskin for the handles which is a bonus! I made my first order from them a few days ago. I was looking at a high production anime sword (new Sandai Kitetsu from One Piece) and was shocked at how good they were with my extremly picky order! I requested first it be made of 9260 spring steel, and having the crazy hamon from the manga put on it artificially instead of the good attempt they did, so i dug into the manga archives to find Eiichiro Oda' original concept art for the sword and they said it will be difficult and it will cost a little more but it will be exact and they will send me pictures before charging any payment ensuring I am happy with it! (Never thought I would get this treatment for $300)

Hey skall love your vids! I have a little question though. I bought myself a john lee dragon katana of 1045 carbon steel. i know i should oil it but i kinda want to "play" around with it and just put it on my bed unsheeted to kinda just look at it. i was wondering how bad this is for the steel and if it would rust fast if it isnt oiled at all times? only when i put it away for a time i think i will oil it.

To people looking to buy high quality swords and knives in Vancouver for a reasonable price: Go to Warriors and Wonders. It has great brands like cold steel, united cutlery, spyderco, and many others, for discounted prices. I currently have my eyes set on the cold steel warhammer, which only costs 59 dollars (for the new 2014 version with the new head and langets)

***** could you please give me some ideas on the falcata and the kopis. In the range of what ever price you do in your next video.

Besides swords , anything else, you recommend like spears or poleaxes.

While travleing in italy I was constantly on the look out for the newest addition to my collection and in a tiny town I found a brilliant kitana, it was about 120-130 US dollars and it has neverlet me downbut in the main cities like florence and rome they were selling gladiuss for 200+ and they were crap so be patient

what would you recommend for a medieval sword in the $300 price range?

About that "Spartan" blade you mentioned. I received the "Battle Worn Fantasy Spartan Sword with Black Leather Scabbard - 26'' Blade - SW0480" as a gift. It is extremely top heavy, heavy in general and feels like a lead weight in the hand. It wields horribly. The grip is just brown tape and after I handled it for 5 minutes it did start to come off. It is listed as "moderately sharp"...which is a stretch...it's pretty dull. On the good side it is a freakin' tank. I did my beat to beat it up (though not close to what you do) and it survived. The "scabbard" is thin, plastic feeling "leather". I seriously doubt it is actual leather. I would, in no way, call this a sword. This is is sword-like object that is best used as an axe (as that is the way it feels in the hand). The grip is big enough for two-handed use. Pros? It is cheap, tough and I think it looks really good. Cons? Everything else about it. Conclusion? Decorative object only. I hope my completely amateur review helps.

I saw the bush cutlass straight to the left of the dadao.

Hey can you talk about those polypropylene practice swords, I don't think anyone's truly talked about the problems with them. It would be nice to let people know not to get those.

Hey Skallagrim, long time watcher first time commenter, in terms of dealers how are the people at Darksword Armory? I'm considering getting one of their blades but I am unsure, I went to them because I like some of their products and I know that you have their Feder practice sword. Cheers :D

I have some experience with that no name 300 sword. The construction is not bad. The blade is meant to look battle worn, so it hides any imperfections, and makes the sword less expensive. The edge was rather dull. It had to be sharpened before it would cut anything. The steel seems good quality. I think it is a 10/45 or 10/50 high carbon. Handling, not so great. It kind of feels like a wood splitting axe. Very front heavy and clearly is not tapered. I think it might be a good sword if I grind the edge back a ways to lighten it up, but then it would look totally different, and that is a lot of work. I do not have it anymore though.

I have a Russian Kindjal that was given to my uncle by my grandfather who fought in the Russian civil war (white vs. red). I don't know if it was actually used in battle. But the rivets on it are pretty damn huge, lol. I don't know why some are made that way, as I've seen some that don't have that feature. Maybe it was left on as a crude method of acting as a mechanism to keep your hand in place. I don't really know. I just thought it funny that you mentioned the large rivets being that the one I have has that feature.

great video but can you do this for other weapons to please because i want to buy a good axe

i think you should do a video of recommendations for right-ending swords.

have you done any testing on the cobra steel, would you say its up to par with better steel? also ive been debating on getting the medieval bar mace I would assume its a good buy because how does one fuck making a mace.

Thanks for the vid. Skall !

One topic that I've been discussing recently is the easiest to use sword. By this I mean if someone were to want to learn to use a sword similarly to the original style of fencing what would you suggest to said person. This is not actually for myself, but actually just to gain another point of veiw from who has had more extensive experience with different types of swords. I always say a saber or arming sword just because most people just want to swing it, but for people who actually want to learn I've always liked the gladius as the easiest to learn. Though the jian os my over all favorite, and now I'm rambling. Thanks for at least reading this if you do.

I'd save up another 40 and get the Chinese Han Dynasty Sword they got. Seen a couple of reviews and it seems like a very pretty piece that would be semi-practical. People can keep their katanas. I like Chinese Han and Jian swords.

lol im glad you slammed that claymore. id like to here what you think about cold steel's non oriental swords. also, we have a half a dozen or so musashi swords here and even their $200+ swords (demascus ect) have a tendency to collect edge blemishs and bends from typical practice targets like bamboo.

Would you happen to know a good place that sells flyssas. I don't mean the daggers and knives, but a decent sized sword that has the needle point?

That cobra steel looks smexy. Do you think you could recommend any shields? I think I like them more than anything else.

It would be cool if you included other weapons such as axes.

Could you make a recommendation for a cheap, functional "langes Messer"?

***** thefencingpost has some good foil blades and the epee blades are pretty decent smallsword simulators. If of course there even exists anyone else doing smallsword.

are there some functional machetes that could be used like a sword as well? I mean I have a cold steel gladius machete and it is 1055 carbon steel. I got it a long tie ago for $27. I know it's a softer end steel but I mean....if I had to thrust it into a bad guy it's going to go right into his belly. I'm actually looking to create a "Peasant's Kit". Basically affordable means of protection from shield to weapon, to some type of functional armor. So far I've found a 15" 14 gauge buckler, I have my machete, and I found a nice 16 gauge kettle helmet. I think it's a good start.

What about musha shirashaya? Blade is 1045 high carbon steel

How woud you fix a longsword with a threaded pommel that has the hilt slightly loose? It's been bothering me for a while. Tightening it seems to work, but the problem is that it has a disc-like pommel, so if I tighten it, it wouldn't be aligned with the blade.

skallagrim, would you recommend the alexander the great kopis? its on kult of athena and it looks nice so i was hoping for your opinion on it.

so what about Viktor Berbekucz swords they range around 150 bucks and so far im very very happy with htem

Just bought a Mainz Wederath gladius that was on sale for a total of about 140 dollars. Feels nice, looks nice and even smells nice. Although it has an extremely generous amount of oil on its blade. A lot of dust and hairs are sticking on it, is that normal? This was my first sword purchase and I like everything about it so far. Handle kind of hurts, though.