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EQUIPMENT
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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 of the suppliers which we use most frequently or recommend the highest.
Also see
the
Reviews section on our forum
for more recommendations.
We have marked the suppliers we most
recommend/use below with a tick:
Protective clothing is to some extent a personal thing, with some people wanting more padding than others. However, there are minimum acceptable levels - these are: Drilling: Mask and thin leather gloves. Shinai sparring: Mask, padded gloves, forearm, chest and groin protectors. Nylon sparring: As for shinai, plus padded jacket, throat and knee/leg guards. Steel sparring: As for nylon, but some pieces may require upgrading - for example better gloves, shoulder protectors etc. FENCING MASKS, JACKETS & CHEST PROTECTORS Duellist - For masks and chest protectors. They are currently developing a type of fencing mask specifically for HEMA. Leon Paul - For masks, chest protectors and master's padded fencing jacket. GLOVES For drilling we recommend light leather gloves, and these are essential if training with steel weapons - these can be bought in many places, and The Grange stock some fancy ones. Gardening gloves would suffice. For sparring padded gloves are essential - we use various types of glove, as none are perfect for what we do unfortunately. Currently we recommend these lacrosse gloves. For further glove options see this thread on the forum. It is recommended to wear sweat bands around the wrists under the gloves, for added wrist protection. FOREARM GUARDS Forearms guards - these can
be bought from many martial arts outlets, for example
Playwell Martial Arts GROIN PROTECTORS Essential for men - these can be bought in various forms, from martial arts types, to a simple cricket box from a sports shop. Example. SHIN & KNEE GUARDS These are optional in
shinai sparring and essential in steel sparring. They are particularly
useful in one-handed sword styles, and sword and buckler, where the leg is
more often a target. We favour the
Brushcutter guards THROAT GUARD These are essential for steel weapon sparring. You can find various types and makes, but they must have a piece coming down the chest slightly, like this example.
UK
The Knight Shop 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 longsword sparring we add a lead ring, weighing about 700g, 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' shinai, no matter what type of sword you want to simulate, one or two-handed.
Paul Bennett of
Medieval Art & Woodcraft
Nine Circles
UK Armour Class - reasonably priced swords and good quality. Be as specific as you can when making orders - ask for an oval grip, not their standard round ones. If ordering a longer type of blade then specify that you want them to use thicker steel and make it stiff. Castle Keep - excellent quality swords, made to exacting detail.
The Grange Owen Bush - top end custom pattern welded blades. Medieval Weaponry - UK stockist of Hanwei weapons, excellent service but phone to check if what you want is in stock before ordering. A good alternative to The Grange.
St.George Armoury Tod's Stuff - superb quality knives and daggers, but can also make very nice messers/falchions, crossbows etc. CONTINENTAL EUROPE -
Albion Europe - Del Tin - 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. There is a lot of variation between different models, and it's best to search for some reviews before ordering. - Vladimir Cervenka - excellent quality custom hand-forged swords. It helps if you know what you want and know about swords before ordering. Be as specific as possible. USA -
Albion - Arms & Armor - Good quality, but not as good quality as Albion. They make other weapons besides swords, however. - Christian Fletcher - Great quality customised swords, including Angus Trim swords (very good for cutting). - Cold Steel - swords, knives, spears, axes, hammers and maces! Sturdy replicas, pretty good for the price. - Odin Blades - beautifully crafted custom swords by John Lundemo. - Tinker Swords - high quality custom swords, excellent blade forms. Also through Bladeart.
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Contact: schola-gladiatoria@hotmail.co.uk |
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| Last update: 30/11/2009 |
