In fact Bill, it takes more than one to derail a thread beyond original context and you have done an excellent job.
QFT. As someone who has no bone in this fight, I wasn't really going to chime in, but I think the major thread derailing here has been done by Mr. Bill Blake, jumping to defense of his friend. Which is great and all, but the opinion presented strikes me (again, as an interested outside observer) as being rather biased and with copious issues.
Here's the deal for me: I don't know anything at all about who Bill Blake is, outside of a fellow who makes swords. Having not handled them, I have no opinions whatsover about their relative quality. But why should we care about your endorsement of Eyal? I'll be one of the first to say that horseclover can rub people the wrong way. I've seen plenty of threads wherein he was involved somehow in squabbles, which is not to say that he was entirely or at all at fault in any of them. But he doesn't strike me as being the troll here.
Horseclover did, in fact, qualify his views about DSA as being HIS. Not statements of fact, but specifically mentioned as personal opinions. You may have alternate opinions, and if you want to mention them, fine, but if I were the OP, it would be relevant to me to know that at least some people feel that everything is not all sunshine and ponies over at DSA, so I can do my own research. If I were the OP, and I were interested in more detail, that leaves the opportunity to ask for it, potentially via PM, which allows avoiding airing more dirty laundry in public. Until Mr Blake chimed in, all that could have been left out as something that could be overlooked, and the end result is probably even worse for DSA, especially as their primary supporter jumps in and starts throwing around the "troll" allegation, among other insults flung about to everyone who might possibly disagree. As a side note, as someone who has been on here for a while, I'm also less inclined to take someone seriously who doesn't support the forum, and keeps violating forum rules by advertising for himself without supporting the forum. And who repeatedly does so, even though previous attempts at advertising got removed. If you don't respect the community enough to follow the rules, why should we respect your opinion about someone else?
I am also unimpressed by some of the things that have been said, such as "Hanwei tend to have finer blade sections which some people prefer and which can be a little easier to swing around which people who have desk jobs and live sedentary lives often prefer." In my experience, horseclover tends to go to some lengths to avoid insulting an entire segment of the population, and frankly, Hanwei is considerably better at actually putting in important things like distal taper, etc, than Darksword, which seems to be aiming more at the stage sword segment of the sword-buying population. Some of the users on here actually have considerable training in sword-related martial arts, and have a very different opinion about distal taper (eg, that finer blade section that you're dissing here) than you do. Which doesn't much inspire confidence in your opinion, if you're trying to relegate that to the realm of "sedentary desk job types."
The bias also shows when you say "Darksword's Claymore is 48 inches, whereas the Hanwei offering is a touch longer at 55 inches." 7 inches strikes me as a pretty substantial amount of blade, for one, accounting for a good amount of weight as well. In fact, that puts it almost 15% longer than the DSA offering. Referring to it as a "touch," when some simple math suffices to provide the far more accurate "It's 7 inches longer" statement, seems designed to promote bias. How about the "argument" that Darksword is selling well, and therefore we should assume that it's great? I almost don't even know where to begin with the logical fallacies here. First, the average sword buyer doesn't really know a whole lot about swords, take that for what it is. Witness the fact that 440 stainless, Made In China with poor heat treat, cord wrapped "tactical ninja" swords sell so well, often for hundreds of dollars. I don't know about you, but that doesn't really inspire confidence. More, because the two swords at stake here are Hanwei and DSA, to make that argument seems to suggest that Hanwei is NOT selling well, or is not selling as well as DSA. That strikes me as highly suspect. Etc.
I tend to think it's better to keep things to facts and avoid the extra bias-laden language. I also think it's best to follow the forum rules.
To the OP:
Here are a few things I've gleaned about DSA. Take them for what you will; this is PURELY the product of research on the internet, and has nothing to do with my own personal experience, hence why you'll never find me advocating for or against DSA.
1. Darksword Armory seems to me to be geared primarily towards stage combat. They're often described as being initially ground, as Glen says, as blunts, and there are many reports about DSA swords not being ground with distal taper. There are many reports that they're heavy (or overly heavy). So if you're looking for something tough, they're probably right up your alley. Stage combat requires resistance to considerably different stresses than a sword designed more for combat.
2. There are several allegations relating to poor business practice involving DSA. Take that how you will. Horseclover has outlined some of what he personally views as potential issues, which relate to why he personally likely won't do much business with DSA. I'll also note that you'll be hard pressed to find similar issues with Paul Chen and Hanwei. Take that as you will, since it's hardly demonstrative of the relatively validity of the aforementioned issues.
I have been generally happy with the value per cost of Hanwei. There are plenty of people who like Darksword, but to make a statement about which is "better" requires thought about "better for what." Do some research, and think about what you really want out of the claymore. For your purposes, I suspect the more inexpensive Hanwei is a good option. There may be others that might also fit your purpose. If you can provide a little more detail about how much you care about weight distribution and handling, sharpness and retention thereof, toughness etc, you may get better recommendations. Also would be worth knowing the upper limit of your budget.
