A sword as a gift is a large gesture and a large object. It will be the first thing anybody notices in the room it ends up in, which is either exactly what the recipient wants or the reason it lives in a wardrobe for a decade. Knowing which of those you are dealing with matters more than anything on the specification.
What is on this tag
Spanish rapiers at 45 inches overall with 37.5 inch blades, rapiers at 46 inches with 38.5 inch blades, tulwars at 36 inches with 30 inch blades, side swords at 41 inches with 34 inch blades, scimitars and short swords. Steel is plain 1095 high carbon at 54 to 58 HRC or Damascus of 1095 and 15N20, forge welded and acid etched, at 58 to 60 HRC. Fittings run to swept and shell guards, brass work and wire wrapped grips.
Picking one for somebody else
Buy shorter than your instinct says. A 46 inch rapier is magnificent and needs a very specific wall. A 30 inch short sword goes almost anywhere and gets handled more, which is what most recipients actually want. Curved blades read as more exotic and photograph better. Straight blades read as more serious. Neither is a wrong answer and the scimitar explainer is useful if the curved family interests you, since talwar, shamshir and kilij are genuinely different things.
Before it arrives
Work out where it will hang and whether the wall can take it. Several pounds of steel needs a stud or proper anchors and two points of support. If this is the recipient’s first sword, the first sword guide is worth forwarding to them afterwards. The thrusting blades are in the rapiers and the curved ones in the scimitars.
Weight and balance
A rapier at 46 inches is lighter than almost anybody expects, usually under three pounds, with the mass held close to the hand so the point moves quickly. A tulwar at 36 inches feels heavier despite being shorter, because everything is forward. Total weight tells you very little on its own, which is why balance point is the number worth asking about.
What comes with it
Some pieces here include a scabbard and some do not, which changes the bracket you need and is worth checking before you order one. Grips are wrapped over a wooden core and pommels are peened over the tang rather than glued.
Free US shipping
On most pieces. Heavier and oversized ones carry a flat charge.
Hand Forged
Heated, hammered and ground by hand.
Engraving available
Names, dates or Norse runes on most pieces.
