Miran Krističič's stuff

[tabiris]

Hello again!

I have received one of the feders and tried it out; here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH0zIxnlX1M

The sword handles very nicely. It's flex is very, very similar to that of an Ensifer federschwert. The guy wearing the gray hoodie is holding the Krstičič feder, the other one is holding a Tamiza made by Szymon Chlebowski (i was asked how it handles compared to other swords on the market).

Here are the statistics:

1450gr,
130cm
POB 7cm

We're contemplating making a destructive test on one of the blades and posting it...
Also, for all the sabre fans: the last short-blade sabre is about to be sold, which means one with the longer blade will be made in the near future for testing!

Ah, yes, another interesting thing: There was a mix-up in measurments. A smallsword with a rapier's weight (a bit over 900gr - the heaviest smallsword i could find was about 820, but the average was around 450...). Since the piece is ahistorical, it is now available at half the price - 125 eur.



More info:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=240107512709658&set=a.240107172709692.73882.238755506178192&type=1&ref=nf

Regards!

[Sven1]

I'm interested, how can I contact him?

[tabiris]

Anyone wishing to contact the smith, can do so through me (as the smith doesn't speak english well, he asked me to be his contact) - either by PM or through mail (tabiris@gmail.com) - these will be answered very quickly. The other option is to send a mail to the smith directly (krsticic.smithy@gmail.com), though this mail is usually checked once per week.

Cheers,
Alen

[tabiris]

just a quck update! The webpage is finally done!

http://mecko.posterous.com/

As for those awaitng sabres; the last of the short-bladed ones was finished not long ago, and was made in the style of the gymnasium sabre - I'll post the pictures of it shortly. The basket was made sturdier, and in the future, it'll probably be made sturdier still. The leather-over-wood grip handles wonderfully, though, i much preffer it to the one you can see on the first page. Since this grip was made for a woman's hand, it's still a bit smaller than the future ones will be. I'll upload the images shortly.

P.S.: while I thought hanwei's sabres to be acceptable for the price range, i found out recently i was wrong; it seems my friend had two of the older batch, which were still relatively stiff; I had no idea whatsoever how flexible they've made them; i was afraid of parrying the heavier Krstičič sabre for fear of breaking the Hanwei blade... Therefore, the flex pictures on the first page should be taken with some reserve; if you have handled both types of Hanwei sabres, you'll know what mean. I'll see if i can make another comparative flex test and photograph it shortly...

Best regards,
Alen

[admin]

As for those awaitng sabres; the last of the short-bladed ones was finished not long ago, and was made in the style of the gymnasium sabre - I'll post the pictures of it shortly.

Looking forwards to seeing those Alen. Are the stats close to what I sent you, or will those come later?

[tabiris]

They will be based on those measurments, yes. Thank you so much for sending the data and the pictures, it was of a great help!

[admin]

My pleasure - I am desperate to be able to get hold of a decent practice sabre for my club at a fair price. I hate hate hate hate hate Hanwei Huttons with a great fiery passion!

[swordflasher]

Hi Tabiris, I like the morningstar flail at 20% off on the facebook page. I'll take it if the chain can be shortened - is that possible do you think?

[tabiris]

PM sent.

[tabiris]

I was waiting for some sunshine so i could make some nice photos... Alas, it did not come. So i've settled for crappy quality for now, I'll try to take a few better ones as soon as the weather improves.




This is the new pommel system - it makes the blade replacable, but practically nullifies the need to re-tighten it, as it holds better.




Flex with a moderate amount of force

The sabre has been tried out in free sparring, and you can see some marks in the pictures above. The basket is 1,5mm, though with the longer sabre it will most probably be 2 mm with a hole in the back of the basket for balance. The sparring was equivalent of tournament-strenght, and one of the thinner baskets (i think one of the hanwei ones) actually got cut about 5mm deep... So 1,5mm is the absolute minimun we'll be operating with from now on. This one is the last of the short-bladed sabres, and the grip was meant for a woman's hand (was a gift - also, she won the first mini-tournament we had with this sabre )

I must say, though, ths grip feels much more comfortable than steel-over-wood as hanwe and the first version of this sabre had...

Best regards,
Alen

When i get better pictures, i'll upload them.

[admin]

Interesting stuff - I am waiting to see the dumbell-section blade as on the 1864 gymnasium sabre. I don't like the Hanwei style blade with an edge (after all, why have an edge on a practice sabre?).
This hilt looks close to the 1864 by the way, though the guard doesn't quite look the right shape - in my eyes it looks too much like a circle with a knuckle bow, rather than a tear-drop shape which protects the inside and outside of the hand better. Also remember to make the grip flattish please - the last thing we need is a circular grip that turns in the hand.

[tabiris]

The grip is flattish, and it doesn't turn in the hand, thankfully. As i said, the grip will be a bit larger for a male's hand, and with that, a bit more flat still. I liked the Hanwei style of the blade, and this one was alrady in the works... Personal prefference, i guess, though the gymnasium sabre would make the whole thing even more "unique", and stand out from hanwei... I'll definetely tell hm the thoughts about the guard, though.

[tabiris]

Hello yet again! I bring some news and turn to you for help at the same time.

The smith went to pick up the material he ordered today. Much to his surprise, the price of the full plate went up to 1400 eur, from the 800 eur it was before. Apparently, they stopped producing it in our country, due to lack of demand. The import costs a shitload, it seems, plus extra tayes or somesuch bullsh*t. This means that untill further notice, the prices of the swords will go up for about ~20 eur, untill we can find another option for buying steel...

So here's a question for anyone that knows: where could we buy good quality sword steels in central europe? The keyword is smaller quantities, as we can't really afford buying in tons yet... And most of the companies have a min order of 3 tons...

Best Regards,
Alen

[tabiris]

Hello all!

Some news.

First, two rapiers; as the man who ordered these was kind enough to pay in advance (due to the material going up), it took precedence over my sabre.





Rapier of this type - three-ringed swept hilt rapier with a fuller - will cost cca 330 eur, though a cheaper, cup-hilt model is planned. It is quite long, around 125cm, and weighs about 1,2kg. I need to get the exact balance point measurement yet.

Changed one picture, left the other one so you can see the flex.

The second thing is a question, and i truly hope someone can help here. Payment from England. There is a customer who wished to buy something, but we found that the fee would be quite extrodinary. If anyone owns a small business, I would really appreciate to know how you do transactions from england - paypal is out of the question for now, as opening a bank account of an American bank from here is nearly impossible...

The sabre is in the works. Hopefully, it will still be finished by Dreyn so people can try it out!

Thank you and best regards!

Alen

[swordflasher]

The second thing is a question, and i truly hope someone can help here. Payment from England. There is a customer who wished to buy something, but we found that the fee would be quite extrodinary. If anyone owns a small business, I would really appreciate to know how you do transactions from england - paypal is out of the question for now, as opening a bank account of an American bank from here is nearly impossible...

I'm the customer, and just to echo Alen's words, I'm wondering how to pay for a small item when it seems Paypal account is too difficult to set up from there, and a money transfer would cost half the price of the item again..

Thanks!

[admin]

Postal order?
Send cash in a parcel?!

[tabiris]

Postal order?
Send cash in a parcel?!

I've asked about the post order, and it does cost A LOT. Sending cash in a parcel is something I've also thought about, and it is a solution of sorts, though a very short-term one... It's not something we'd want as a regular payment method...

Thank you, though!

[admin]

Are you able to set up another form of online payment, such as Sagepay, maybe?

[KeithFarrell]

The second thing is a question, and i truly hope someone can help here. Payment from England. There is a customer who wished to buy something, but we found that the fee would be quite extraordinary. If anyone owns a small business, I would really appreciate to know how you do transactions from england - paypal is out of the question for now, as opening a bank account of an American bank from here is nearly impossible...

If you don't mind me asking, why can a PayPal account no be set up? As far as I am aware, you just need a bank account to be able to access PayPal; it doesn't have to be an American bank or a British bank, it should just be an account with any bank. My advice would be to have another look at PayPal, I'm pretty sure it should be able to accommodate your circumstances.

[tabiris]

https://www.paypal.com/worldwide/

Sadly, Slovenia is on the list where only a US bank is possible... There are countries where you can withdraw locally, and now that i think of it, I should check to see if we can open a bank account in the neighbouring Hungary... I needto check if it's OK to use a bank outside of Slovenia (except for US) for a local business... Looking into Sagepay right now, too. Thank you, all!

Also, comments on the rapier greatly appreciated! ^^