Hey Tom,
You'd be VERY surprised at how well they hold up.
Of course, in combat, you try to parry "flat to flat" as anything else will quickly put some serious gouges in the edge of even the finest quality blade.
When these gouges appear (I pick up at least one new one almost every saturday.) they MUST be filed or ground out. ANY gouge, burr, or nick in the blade can open up an opponent as well as a sharpened blade, so it is imperative that the edges be flat, rounded, and SMOOTH. (They're inspected by a member of the safety commitee before each dueling session.)
I have both a Windlass Steel Swept Hilt, and a Hanwei Pappenheimer, and a highly modifed Hanwei Main Gauche.
The Swept hilt had served me for almost 6 months of twice weekly fighting. (several hours each session) before it lost it's temper.
Considering the level of use I'd put on it, I didn't feel it fair or ethical for me to send the blade back and ask for free replacement, so I did a "spot temper" on the blade myself and it turned out very nicely. Several months, and maybe 100 duels later, it softened in a different spot. I tried to spot temper again and unfortunately damaged the blade beyond repair in the process. (I bought a new, replacement blade for about 56 bucks, that one's still going strong.)
The blades nick up, and get all kinds of scratches in the surfaces but it always cleans up to "like new" appearance with a little judicious file work and some sandpaper.
The Pappenheimer has stood up to almost as much use now, and is still going QUITE strong, requiring only "edge dressing" to remove the nicks and gouges, it still looks new.
Of course, every time you dress the edge, the blade gets a little thinner. With use, the blade lightens to the point where you have WONDERFUL balance and your strokes and reverses attain LIGHTENING speed. (I'd say I lose .010 to .015 inches in blade width every time I de-burr and polish.
As I said, it needed a lead washer. I accomplished this by cutting open a OOO buckshot round and taking one piece of buckshot, hammering it flat with one blow, drilling a hole in it, and slipping the "washer" between grip and pommel. Since that time, it's never ONCE rattled or loosened.
To be honest, I'd happily go up against anyone with their Del Tin, or Sooperdooper handmade custom blade rapier with either sword.
My Gauche is a "frankenstein" with a rapier blade (The damaged blade I mentioned earlier) shortened to 21 inches, giving it almost the proportions of a shortened small sword. This makes it VERY difficult for someone to slip inside my off hand defense, and also has credited me several "kills" due to it's extra length.
I think the reason so many "poor quality" blades have slipped through, is that like anyone else, quality control depends on customer feedback.
If 999 out of a thousand swords sold is ever actually used for it's intended purposes, then no one will ever know if those 999 were well tempered or not. (I don't care how well tempered it is, if you whack treelimbs with it, or misuse it, you're going to damage the sword.)
Yes, I'd love to have a nice Del Tin, or something from Darkwood, or some of the better makers,. but the fact is, I spend my money on USERS and while I'm fairly comfortable financially speaking, I don't care to use such an expensive blade so hard.
I've seen almost every model of Hanwei and Deepeeka rapier and sword rapier put to hard use, (Our group numbers almost 30 members) and of all those users, I've seen 3, maybe 4 blades fail. Since most members have at least two swords, that gives a statistical basis of 60 or more swords.
4 out of 60 ain't bad.
I recommend them HIGHLY!
Triton,
Without belaboring the point,
Bring your1000 dollar custom blade to the dueling session, I'll bring my little 200 dollar "junker" and let's have at!
When the session is over, and your blade is nicked, notched, scratched, and RUINED because I insisted you dull the edge sufficiently to prevent injury to me, I'll be sympathetic to your face, but I'll grin when you turn your back and go grind the notches out of my blade to be ready for next week.
Hanwei and Deepeeka are USERS, and unless you're wealthy, Del Tins and the like are not. They're just very well made and expensive wall hangers.
Who cares if it's great quality if you're afraid to use it for fear of damaging it?
Sounds to me like the difference between pretty wall hangers and a usable sword.
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I cut it, and I cut it, and it's STILL too short!
