EQUIPMENT

Students are not expected to provide their own equipment when they first start training with Schola Gladiatoria, but obviously people should aim to get their own equipment as soon as possible if they become regular attendees. Below is a list of some suppliers which we hope will be helpful to our members, and maybe some non-members. This list will grow over time. We are always willing to help and advise members on choice of equipment during training sessions of course.
 

We have marked the suppliers we most recommend/use below with a tick:

UK

- Crafty John - wooden things made to order at reasonable prices.

- Freedom Enterprises - nylon wasters which are indestructible but sadly handle like cricket bats unless you go for the more expensive balanced version.

USA

- Hollow Earth Swordworks - make beautiful wooden weapons, on a par with Purplehearts for quality, but frequently better finished and balanced. Recommended.

- Purpleheart Armoury - One of the most widely used and relied on wooden weapon manufacturers. Recommended.(FOR WOODEN WEAPONS)

- Raven Studios - well reviewed wooden weapons, sturdy and well-balanced. Recommended.

- Wooden Weapons - We have no personal experience of this company, though their products look solid. They look rather clunky/basic and blocky though.

- Wooden Swords - We have no personal experience of this company, though their products look solid.

For longsword sparring we add a lead ring, weighing about 500g or more, which slides up the handle and sits above the guard. We then slide on a cross-guard, which also serves to keep the weight in place. We also add a pommel. You can see what this looks like here.

Try and get 'size 39', no matter what type of sword you want to simulate, one or two-handed.

UK

- Nine Circles - excellent quality shinai, great service, great prices - Highly recommended. For longsword sparring we adapt their better quality size 39 shinai, as these are heavier and longer-lasting than the cheaper model.(FOR SHINAI)

- Shaolin Way - based near Leicester Sq in Central London - check they have stock before visiting. If you want something urgently, and live in London, then this place is useful. For normal shinai orders Nine Circles seem to be better quality.

UK

- Armour Class - very reasonably priced swords, but their single handers are much better than their longswords, as they use quite flat steel bar stock compared to most originals (so their swords can be a bit 'wobbly' if too long).  Therefore we only really recommend their one-handed swords. Ask for an oval grip, not their standard round ones! They can take a very long time to meet orders.

- Castle Keep - excellent quality swords, made to exacting detail. I have not actually experienced their work first-hand, but have heard/read good things about them.

- The Grange - run by a HEMA group for HEMA practitioners. Can obtain ANY Hanwei model at a more reasonable price than any other UK dealer. No.1 source in UK for Hanwei blunt steel swords, which are the cheapest reasonable replica blunt steel longsword out there at the moment. (FOR BLUNT STEEL HANWEI SWORDS)

- Hector Cole - a well known and respected smith who is able to make just about anything to order, including pattern-welding.

- Medieval Weaponry - UK stockist of Hanwei weapons, excellent service but phone to check if what you want is in stock before ordering.

- St.George Armoury - superb quality swords made to order by the renowned Mark Vickers. (FOR SHARP STEEL SWORDS)

- Tod's Stuff - mainly makes superb quality knives and daggers, but can also make very nice messers/falchions, swords, axes etc. (FOR KNIVES AND DAGGERS)

- Weapons Galore - UK stockist of Cold Steel and Paul Chen/Hanwei weapons. Phone to check if what you want is in stock. Mixed feedback for service.

USA

- Albion - Superb swords, dynamically designed based upon extensive study and handling of originals by Peter Johnsson, renowned Swedish bladesmith. Worth the price, Albion are in our opinion at the top of the game - the best non-custom swords on the market, and better than most custom swords. (FOR SHARP STEEL SWORDS)

- Angus Trim Swords - swords designed with test-cutting in mind, for long the bench-mark for medium-priced sharp swords. Modern-looking hilts, but the blades are exceptionally durable and well formed. Basic finish.

- Arms & Armor - expensive reproductions of existing originals. We prefer Albion swords, but A&A make other good weapons.

- Christian Fletcher - customised swords; a popular customiser of Angus Trim swords. Beautiful quality and historically accurate scabbards.

- Cold Steel - budget swords, knives, spears, axes, hammers and maces! Sturdy replicas, very good for the price. Their weapons are basic level, on a par with Hanwei, though a little tougher.

- Odin Blades - beautifully crafted custom swords by John Lundemo.

- Tinker Swords - high quality custom swords, excellent blade forms. Also through Bladeart.

- Triton Works - top end scabbard makers.

CONTINENTAL EUROPE

- Albion Europe - Albion's sublime swords, designed by Peter Johnsson, stocked and supplied from Denmark. Excellent and friendly service. The best production swords out there - practically as good as the originals.(FOR SHARP STEEL SWORDS)

- Armart - very high quality hand-forged swords, total custom smith and pattern-welding specialist.

- Del Tin - Reputable sword makers, over-priced in our opinion, but pretty decent swords that many people swear by. They tend to have slightly softer blades than other manufacturers and don't make good sharp swords for cutting. Some models are a little bit over-weight.

- Lutel - good quality and very tough weapons at reasonable prices - better as blunts than sharps. Tend to be a bit over-weight. All models come with screw-on pommels unless you request otherwise.

- Pavel Moc - very nicely made swords at reasonable prices.

- Vladimir Cervenka - excellent quality custom hand-forged swords. It helps if you know what you want and know about swords before ordering.

UK

Duellist - great top-end masks and even custom mask-painting!

Galls USA - sell good protection for hands, body, neck, groin etc designed for law enforcement and military. Some of their products are good for WMA sparring.

Galls UK

Leon Paul - the most famous UK fencing equipment supplier - great masks, jackets, plastrons etc. Their instructor's padded fencing jacket is a good equivalent for a gambeson (for use with weighted shinai). They also sell plastic chest protectors which serve well underneath a jacket. (FOR MASKS, INSTRUCTOR'S FENCING JACKET, PLASTRON ETC).

You can also find items of sporting equipment which are useful for WMA sparring - in particular, cricket boxes for groin protection, forearm pads from most martial arts shops, shin guards for street hockey and gloves designed for street/field hockey, motorcycling, kendo and law enforcement/military applications. The internet is your friend in this regard - some people prefer lighter protection while some prefer more protection - search around and talk to members of the group to find out what suits you best

You can also ask us more questions on our forum.

Contact: schola-gladiatoria@hotmail.co.uk