How can you tell that the one you are holding is a good sword?

[golok]

Not every sword is suitable for everybody. My guess is a sword must first suit you. Meaning, if you got short arms, an excellent sword for someone who is physically bigger than you would not be appropriate for you.

And also, the sword must be proportionate to your height, weight, reach and strength.

Do sword-makers take these factors into consideration if you ask them to make one for you that will be as perfect?

 

[Triton]

Not typically. That particular ball is in your court. It is up to you to determine what is a good sword for you and then specify that when you are talking with the custom maker.

 

[FullerH]

Golok, an example of what Triton is saying may be seen in the discussion between him and myself at the bottom of page 1 and the top of page 2 of the thread captioned, "Help me choose a "user" katana at a good price point, would you?", where we talk about the appropriate length for the hilt on a reproduction of an historical sword. I, who usually champion total historical accuracy, was willing to sacrifice accuracy for an extra inch of grip on a Migration Era sword so that my arthritic paws can grip it better. I have a sword with an historically proper hilt and I cannot get a comfortable grip on it for the life of me. I just acquired what appears to be a very old Del Tin Viking sword with a grip about an inch longer than it should be, say about 4.5"(ca. 11.5cm) or so, and it is great handling.

 

[Triton]

Precisely, no swordsmith I know of is going to come "fit" you for a sword. They would not know about Hugh's wanting that extra grip length for example unless he specified it.

 

[tallwingedgoat]

Iaito practitioners are the most particular about custom tailored swords.

When ordering aluminum practice swords, the best manufacturers would allow you to specify blade length done to the quarter inch, and an outline of your hand is faxed to them for getting the handle right.

This is the advantage of Japanese sword training, there is a very mature industry that supplies the dojos. Ideally a high level of customization should exist for all sword arts, but the market just don't support it.

Compared to just a few years ago, there are many good western style swordmakers now. But still nobody out there really knows anything about how to size up the customer and tailor fit him. This smith to martial artist interaction is very lacking compared to the relationship between Japanese smiths and their Kenjutsu clients.

 

[FullerH]

TWG, I think that the problem is that there are just too many different types of Western swords for any smith to have mastered how to size them. Take the rapier, for example. At one point, the theory was that the longer the blade, the better. This resulted in blades on rapiers exceeding 40"-45". This is a good length for a two-handed broadsword, if I am not mistaken. It got so bad that Elizabeth I passed a law limiting sword length to 36", IIRC, and had her law enforcement types equipped with devices to break the blades off of offending rapiers at the prescribed length. One of the problems that these extra long rapiers were causing was the personal offenses taken when one party unintentionally "goosed" another with his sword scabbard, resulting, of course, in a duel to settle the point of honor.

Just think of the many, many different types of swords that have appeared throughout the history of the West, from the xiphos and machaeira of Ancient Greece to the smallsword and saber of the 19th Century, and you'll get some idea of what would lie in store for a smith to learn. Heck,I know guys who have spent their entire lives studying nothing but the shortswords of Ancient Rome or the Norse-pattern broadswords and still have things to learn about them. And, I daresay, that the same is true of the true students of the Japanese swords.

 

[hank_rearden]

weight - you must be able to hold it in one hand extended (while in some kind of forward stance) for at least 20 seconds

length - holding it by the handle, recoil your sword hand to your shoulder and point the sword toward the end of your other hand which is extended as far from it as possible. the tip should not go past your other hand. i suppose this is to allow you to attack/block anything that goes inside your leading hand defense.

balance - they say that if the center of gravity gores more than 12" ahead of your hand, the weapon is best wielded two-handed (unless it's a very light weapon overall).