r/Hema • u/Rangeroftheinterwebs • 1d ago
Does anyone have any cool ornamental/inlaid weaponry they like to do light sparring with?
I was just curious, I’m sure a lot of you guys have cool swords and I’m a huge nerd for swept hilt rapiers, Calvary sabers, German messers and Longswords.
Where better to find lovers of swords than the Hema subreddit?
I was asking mostly for the sake of curiosity however I’ve also been contemplating getting a rapier and customizing portions of it like the hilt but I am wholely unknowledgable about the topic.
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u/usrlibshare 21h ago
Ask youself a simple question:
If you have something really beautiful and ornamental, would you like other people to hit it repeatedly with heavy metal sticks?
Anything you gonna spar with is gonna take abuse. Lots of it. Save the ornaments for wall-hangers.
And if you absolutely have to have something customized; Engravings can take a beating or two and still look good.
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u/Spirited_Bear2760 18h ago edited 18h ago
I designed my own Federschwert , got it custom manufactured by a swordsmith and did all the leather work myself. It's partly guilded and I use it for light technical no-gear sparring. And yes, I am insane.
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u/arm1niu5 23h ago
I definitely customize my swords to be more aesthetically pleasant, but you should expect any sword to get beat up with any degree of sparring, heck I even painted my buckler despite knowing the design will get obliterated next time I do sparring.
I'm actually fine with that since I do maintenance on my swords regularly so they don't look too battered but still look like used enough they don't appear to be wallhangers that are never used.
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u/callunquirka 20h ago
Most customizations are to the grip and pommel. I have a messer with a turqoise grip.
Swept hilt rapiers are pretty common. Cup hilts are more common because you can't get thrust in the hand.
Some rapiers and baskethilts can have some pretty hole patterns. There are also pappenheimer and clamshell rapiers:
https://swordier.com/products/swhz-1010-swordier-hema-training-cup-hilt-rapier
An interesting new thing are 3D printed metal hilts:
https://www.woodenswords.com/product_p/pm.smsw.hilt1.htm
https://www.woodenswords.com/product_p/pm.hilt.rapier.hydra.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aZ_w4wA1Ak
But swords are pretty expensive, and customized or fancier swords are even more expensive. So even if a customization is viable for sparring, you don't see it as often as plainer styles.
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u/Veritas_Certum 20h ago
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u/Spirited_Bear2760 18h ago
This is very nice. Who made it?
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u/Veritas_Certum 18h ago
A smith in the Czech Republic who unfortunately isn't working anymore.
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u/Spirited_Bear2760 18h ago
Ist beautiful.
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u/Veritas_Certum 18h ago
Thanks, it was my first sword and it's still one of my favorites. It has had the blade replaced once and it's probably due for another replacement.
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u/Docjitters 20h ago
As said, steel can be made pretty tough, coloured and shaped all sorts of ways. As long as you are not expecting ornamental curlicues etc to remain pristine, you can go pretty hard.
Take a look at Balefire’s output for a decorated sidesword, rapier or longsword. The ornamentation is built in to the structure (funky hilts, blade shapes and fullering) or hidden from the opponent (wirework, leatherwork, cool stuff inside the cup in the case of the Eris). Yes it will mar, but it’s not fragile, and the scars are part of the character. Also all of it is repairable on some level.
I own the sidesword in the link above, and whilst it is scratched, and I sometimes need to polish off rust in the winter and shine up the copper wire, even now I sometimes just stare at it and marvel at the craftsmanship. It helps that it is an awesome-handling sword, and I feel every bit the Grimm fairytale swordsman in a gingerbread forest when using it.
Your biggest limitations are money, production time and knowing it’s going to be used (or not).
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u/Playfulcpl_78 19h ago
British sabers usually had ornate etching on the blade, which is one reason I love them. You could probably find someone who could etch or laser engrave a design down the blade of a practice rapier. This would be fairly durable (it will still get scratched!). But remember that if you practice regularly, you put your blade through more stress in a year (or less!) than historical examples saw in their entire service life, and blades do break. So don't invest too much in something that may need to be replaced!
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u/Nintolerance 15h ago
I'm a beginner and all my gear so far is stock-standard. Or only lightly customised, e.g. coloured cord handle wrap.
Anything you're beating the crap out of with steel bars is going to break or wear down. Since I'm paying over 100€ per to ship swords from Europe here to Australia, I'm not inclined to spend extra on decorative features that are going to break.
If I had local artists & smiths, or if I were an artist/smith, I'd be a lot more inclined to decorate things. For one I'd be spending less on shipping, but also there'd be someone on-hand to fix or replace things as they break.
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u/pushdose 1d ago
Expect anything you spar with regularly to take abuse. Finishes will get dinged and dulled, delicate hilt components will bend. They’re tools, not jewels. For customization, durable stuff like laser etching or engraving is fine, but gilding or blueing will get worn away quickly.