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theatrical weapons: rental and sales Weapons of Mass Instruction Rent sword pistol halberd knife spear rifle gun crossbow broadsword saber foil whip dueling rapier shield revolver holster bow mace hook courtsword shotgun stiletto claymore axe falchion stage W
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the Wide Blade problem blog
February 3, 2012 - The Han Wei has been
increasingly reticent about making predictions for its future. What is becoming
clear is that blunt replacement blades for broadswords and rapiers is going to
be a thing of the past. They will probably continue to provide sharp blades for
the short term. Dec 5, 2011 - The Han Wei production plant in
China suffered a devastating fire last spring. They immediately announced that
they would re-build, and they have. But it has led to some tough decision-making
for them. As many of their blade forging equipment is single-product only, they
had to take a close look at the cost effectiveness of buying brand-new machines
for items that were poor sellers. And blunt blades for theatrical use fell into
that category. March 16, 2011 -
The last of the new curved sabre blades that I had are now in the rental stock.
And not just the modern stage combat German blades. I also had a small stock of
Solingen blades that were purchased by the British Navy circa 1880 , boxed up
and forgotten. I bought them about thirty years ago with the idea of
refurbishing antique hilts with historic blades. Amazingly, even after 130
years in storage, they still have excellent temper. This week I attached
new tangs to them all and filled rental orders with them. So that's it. No more
new curved blades, and that's why we can no longer sell fight-worthy katana,
cavalry sabres, or historical cutlasses. The curved blades we have will have to
serve rental orders until I retire. February 22, 2011 -
So far, no complaints about the Han Wei broadswords, so I'm keeping my fingers
crossed. The bigger problem remains with curved sabre blades. As of yet I have not
found any decent fight-quality replacements. Until I can, the sale of all curved sabres
and briquet cutlasses are
being suspended. February 6, 2011 - Our first shipment of Han Wei weapons has come in, and I must say I am delighted. The blades are light, flexible, and strong. The edges aren't nearly as thin as some people have been telling us. We won't know for sure how good they are until we get them used in a few shows and actors have a chance to bang them around under performance conditions. We will also have to decide which of their weapons should be included in our stock. But for now, I am very pleased.
1) blades used for competition fencing The thin blades used for fencing work well for the finesse weapons such as dueling swords and rapiers, and those will continue to be made so long as there are people who continue to fence. There isn't enough of a market in theatre to keep a manufacturer going, so we all owe a debt of gratitude to fencers throughout the world. There were a couple of companies that used their blade-building expertise to make a superb line of broadsword, shortsword and sabre blades. These wide blades were perfect for stage combat, for the edges were relatively thick although the blades were light and very well tempered. These blades gouged very little, were sold at a reasonable price, and were very responsive and durable. Then something horrible happened. The largest factory - France-Lames - burned down, and with it the specialized machines used to build these blades. They threw in the towel and called it quits, no longer even making fencing equipment. The few other European (mainly German) companies kept going for a little while, but these wide blades are expensive to build. The last of those companies decided last year that they would stop production of stage blades completely. I can't say I blame them - they were money losers for years. That leaves the re-enactor market. Still fairly lucrative, so still in business. The problem is that the blades simply aren't as good as the stage combat variety. The edges are too thin, so the blades gouge deeply and often. The tempering is also not ideal, being either too springy (ends up being "whippy") or too rigid (ends up shattering too often). On top of that, the swords are often very expensive. Manufacturing wide stage combat blades within the USA is being done by one or two companies, but that comes at quite a price. The product comes with a Maserati price tag, while theatres can barely afford Yugos. I honestly don't know what we're going to do when the last broadsword blades that we have are sold. All of this is to say that no matter what, the days of the great wide blades are over, and compromises loom. I'll keep you posted. Richard Pallaziol
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