If you’re looking for some real training or just a good medieval spar, look no further. These high-grade, nylon practice swords are designed as the ultimate training tool. They can be used like a waster for Drilling and Pell Work and can also be used for Sparring (with appropriate protection).
The blades are constructed to flex in the last 1/3 towards the tip, allowing a blade that can be used for thrusting (protection should ALWAYS be worn) without being whippy. The blade/tang joint (traditionally a weak point) is reinforced by a steel rod running along the full length of the handle. This also removes any flex in the handle traditionally associated with plastic training swords.
For HEMA, this product has been classified as either appropriate for all skill levels or appropriate for those with Advanced Skills. Michael Turner, instructor at Tuathair Academy of Martial Arts, assisted us in categorizing these items for the different skill levels of HEMA participants. These categorizations are meant as guidelines. Please refer to tournament rules for specific competition requirements. For this purpose, we do not include swords that may be used in cutting competitions in the HEMA category.
The guard is constructed from nylon. The ball shaped quillons are designed for safety when sparring; the larger surface area = less chance of being impaled.
The slide on grip is constructed from a thermoplastic elastomer to provide the feel of leather over wood. It offers excellent impact absorption without feeling spongy.The Pommel is constructed from nylon as well. This provides the swords balance and makes it safer than metal pommels for pommel strikes. A brass nut is molded into the pommel to provide a tight metal on metal joint to the tang.
The swords can be taken apart easily by unscrewing the pommel. This makes transporting them easy.
The sword weighs about 2/3 of the weight of a real sword. This is designed to lower the impact when sparring. The weight is kept back towards the hilt further lessening this impact. They are very well balanced and are heavier than most wooden wasters on the market.
charles.p.noble –
First, I have to cover the customer service experience. It is almost unprecedented. The backstory: I signed up for the April 2022 Icebreaker tournament in December 2021. Plenty of time to notice that the rules of the Novice Division expressly forbid steel longswords (I have an Albion.) Sadly, I did not..until 5 days before the tournament. Like an idiot, I assumed (incorrectly) that there would be no way that Kult of Athena could get this sword to me in time, so I tried (successfully) to find a similar version on Amazon. Amazon also promised two day delivery. They did in fact get me something in two days. The issue? Their warehouse decided to mail me a longsword length box filled with weather stripping instead. When I called Amazon Customer Service, they told me that while they were “Very sorry” they had sent me weather stripping rather than the sword I had actually purchased, but they didn’t feel too badly about it because (and this is a direct quote from Amazon Customer Service,) “To our credit, our Warehouse did actually get the shipping label right, we were just a little off on the contents.” I informed them that this is like a Fire Department telling a homeowner that they got the address right, but accidentally filled the fire trucks with gasoline rather than water.” Amazon’s Customer Service genius was not amused by this. Instead, he blankly told me that he was “Still very sorry,” but the earliest he could get me an actual sword like the one I ordered would be after I was supposed to leave for the Icebreaker Tournament, even with the fastest shipping. Enter Kult of Athena, who I really should have contacted to begin with. Seeing my desperate email, they called me and told me that they had a store that was more or less on my route to the tournament, and they had a sword that met the requirements of the Icebreaker Tournament, and they could have it ready for me by opening time on the beginning of my travel day to the tournament. When I got to the store, they actually had gone a step further, finding three different options (which they reduced to the same overall price so that I could be sure that it was a sword I was comfortable competing with,) and they even gave me a tour of the warehouse while I was there. It didn’t appear to have had a lot of regular foot traffic, other than by the employees themselves, but it was truly a sight to behold. The inventory was absolutely massive, and nothing looked different than it did on the website, from what I could see. More importantly, the staff was super friendly, and they all were super hospitable and had a great sense of humor about the whole thing when I thanked them for keeping me from having to compete in my first tournament with Amazon’s Weather Stripping. When you order from Kult of Athena, you aren’t ordering from some corporate juggernaut. This is a tight knit group of maybe 5 staffers that are closer than family and genuinely care about what they’re doing and the customers that order from them. If you order from them and they do make a mistake (they are humans, so I’m sure it happens,) they’re going to move heaven and earth to make it right and take care of you. They aren’t going to mail you the wrong thing and say “Sucks to be you.” They’ll move heaven and earth to make sure you’re happy with the end result. I think they may well have overnighted that sword to my hotel in Minnesota if it came to that. They really care, and for that reason, if I’m choosing between Kult of Athena and any other site on an item of similar quality, all things being even close to even, I will go with Kult of Athena, because they care more, and I know I can count on them to deliver.
Michael Orick –
Most of the other synthetic practice swords are too light or the balance is off, and they feel like an axe or club. This was almost exactly what I wanted. Weight and balance were great but the blade at 34″ was longer than I wanted. I cut 5″ off and re-shaped the tip to match the original and now it is perfect for me.