We advise to our students to try out some swords during lessons to get a feel for what model, weight and size is best for them. Even within these bounds we must make conditions: federschwerts with extra spiky schilts like the Tulip-feder or basket hilts with elaborate hilt protrusions are not allowed.
There are only a handful of well-known H.E.M.A. sword manufactures in Europe, we highly recommend buying a model from them. An unknown brand risks quality & safety issues and may not pass inspection by teachers. Please ask the teachers or board for a list of recommended sellers.
If you have a long term vision of tournament fighting, it may be an idea to keep an eye on the weapon dimension requirements of the Dutch H.E.M.A.-bond. That being said, most of the large and popular European H.E.M.A. sword manufacturers have models that fit those dimensions.
Synthetic swords
Synthetic swords are often made of wood, nylon, polypropylene or a similar material. These are a great option to get started with practicing the art as fast as you can as they are inexpensive.
The downsides are that they don’t bind or balance as well as steel and tend to be very inflexible in the thrust, making your sparring options limited.
Steel swords
We only allow steel swords designed specifically for H.E.M.A. This means that they have a H.E.M.A. flex-grade, a rolled or spatulated tip and not sharp. Military swords that are blunted, historical pieces or re-enactment swords are not allowed.
For longsword lessons, the German style federschwert is popular, but we also have students using Italian style longswords of H.E.M.A. grade. For broadsword, the Scottish basket-hilt required.
Other weapons & accessories
Daggers, dirks, bucklers, targes, halberds, spears, sabers, quarterstaffs, arming swords, messers, montantes, bearded axes… we’ve seen it all at Steelbound.
The rule of thumb is that if it is not made specifically for H.E.M.A., then it’s not allowed.