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Joined: 01 Feb 2007
Posts: 467
Location: Salisbury, MD
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Intoduction:
The Fechterspiel is a training sword designed to be similar to weapons found in several fechtbucher in Liechtenauer's Tradition. It is meant to be a blunt and relatively safe practice sword used for drills, and sparring. The Fechterspiel is not intended to be sharpened, and it's thick edges would make this nearly impossible.
Order and delivery:
I purchased the Fechterspiel some time in the summer of 2006. It took several weeks to be manufactured (as can be expected with a sword of this price range), but Craig from Arms and Armor was always willing to keep me updated on how it was coming along. I finally got an email saying it was shipped and was given the package tracking number. The package was "out for delivery" for three days before the shipping company finally brought it to my home, during which time the Fechterspiel sat in their van in approx. 120ËšF heat. The box it arrived in was in fine condition, but when I pulled the sword out the pommel and blade where VERY hot to the touch. I noticed that the black pig-skin grip had a large pocket of air between itself and the wood below, and that the seam was twisted substantially. I do not blame these imperfections on the manufacturer, but on the shipping company that allowed my sword to sit in their van for three days in the apparent glue-melting heat.
Quillions:
After impatiently waiting for the sword to cool to a bearable temperature, I picked it up and began going through a few guards with it. I'll speak more on the handling later, because it was around this time that I noticed that one of the quillions was bent to one side. I cannot say if this was a shipping accident or was looked over by quality control by Arms and Armor, but it really bothered me. I took it out to my workbench and bent the quillion straight using a vice and my arms.
Blade:
A few days went by before I got to use the Fechterspiel against another training sword. I knew that the Fechterspiel was supposed to be better heat-treated than less expensive trainers such as the Hanwei Practical Hand-and-a Half sword, but I decided to try it out anyway at the risk of my Hanwei. The Fechterspiel didn't disappoint me. It's edges are nearly unmarked after the better part of a year.
The grinds on either side of the ricasso are slightly uneven, but it's not a big deal. I'm happy to say the blade itself is straight (very uncommon for swords I've purchased before), but the tang does not match up with the straight line created by the blade. Once again, this is not a major problem.
Cross-guard:
One thing I did notice soon after the Fechterspiel was impacted against another sword was that the cross-guard block did not fit tightly around the ricasso, allowing it to spin slightly when ipacted with force. It appears to me that the cross-guard was originally manufacture for the "Fechtbuch" sword from Arms and Armor, which has a thicker ricasso. It seems that the manufacturer did not adapt the cross-guard to the thinner ricasso of the Fechterspiel and that is why is can spin. To solve this problem (minor as it was) I gently knocked the cross-guard back into place with a wooden hammer, then tightened the pommel nut with a wrench and peened the tang on more tightly. The cross-guard has not rotated again yet.
Grip:
Although I loved the feel of the pig-skin grip, I hated the feel of the air-bubble underneath it. So, I decided to wrap the entire grip with fletching string I had borrowed from my friend several years ago. I did not use glue to hold the string on, but only tension, and three hours after I had begun, my grip had a new wrapping. The sword now has the tight, hard grip it should, and it feels wonderful.
Handling:
The Fechterspiel is a wonderful sword to hold, strike, thrust, or cut with. It's balance point is where the ricasso ends, giving the holder excellent point control, but enough blade presence to resist incoming strikes and make powerful ones of his own. Edge alignment is easy to maintain, though there is slight reverberation when striking into Langort. Winden, Zucken, the five strikes, and every other technique in the Liechteanuer tradition is a joy to perform with the Fechterspiel, and it's balance and responsiveness makes Frequens Motus and non-telegraphic movements easy to perform.
Make no mistake, it hurts when this sword hits you. It isn't a boffer (thank goodness) but it's blows are less painful than hits from the Practical Hanwei, and it's good blade flexibility makes thrusts much safer. Still, a lightly padded garment and fencing mask should be worn at all times when using this sword.
Conclusion:
The Fechterspiel is a great training and practice weapon. It is safe, well-made, great looking, durable and handles like a sword should. The minor manufacturing errors can be overlooked for a sword of this quality (the problems I experienced probably aren't the norm anyway). I would buy this sword again in a heartbeat, but because this sword is of such high quality, I shouldn't need another trainer for a while.
Price at time of Review: $460
Overall Length: 48.5''
Blade length: 37.75" x 1.05"
Weight: 3.2 pounds
PoB: End of ricasso
http://www.armor.com/sword203.html |
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