Replacement Blade for Hanwei Rapiers

Description of the Product

These fencing rapier blades have been designed as replacement parts for some of Hanweis most popular rapiers, the Torino, Solingen and Gustav Rapiers. They do not come with hilt, guard or pommel parts. The sharp and blunt blades may be used to replace a severely worn sparring or cutting blade, or to convert one type to another. Both versions can of course also be used as a basis for building your own rapier. After all fashioning your own guard, hilt and pommel may be more manageable to start with, than forging your own blade.

Hanwei's Renaissance-style rapiers trace their origins to early 17th century Europe. The rapier sword was a civilian and dueling weapon from the 16th century onwards, and it was mainly designed for thrusts, ideally through an opponent with whom you’d had a gentlemanly dispute. During the Renaissance swordplay was considered an essential part of a gentleman’s education and was often used to resolve disagreements. The fencing schools where the gentlemen received this education were often centered on a renowned master. The legacy of those masters, such as Capo Ferro and Salvatore Fabris, who produced illuminated manuscripts detailing their skills, has survived to our day and their art is still alive.

The high-carbon steel blade has been flex-tempered, so it is springy yet still suitable for delivering a very effective thrust. The sharp blade has a diamond cross-section with a pronounced central ridge, making the blade both flexible and sufficiently stiff for serious thrusts. The blunt blade has a rubber tip for extra safety.

Please note that some adjustment or filing with a metal file may be required in order to fit the replacement blade onto your pre-existing sword. In quality swords the tolerances are quite small, and pieces are hand-made to fit together very precisely, so that for example the shoulder of the blade would be exactly the same size as the corresponding slot in the guard.  The smiths make each piece to be as close to identical as possible, but as they are hand-made, some variation is inevitable. These replacement blades have been left to the original size on purpose, so that the fitting will be as close and tight as possible. If they were slightly thinner or narrower, they would slide in without any bother, but the hilt construction might as a result be slightly loose and potentially rattly.

• Made as a replacement blade for the Torino and Solingen Rapiers, hilt parts not included
• Choose yours: sharp for cutting practice or blunt for safe training
• Blade is flexible and the blunt has a rubber tip
• Total length of blunt version: 111 cm
• Tang length of blunt version: 17,7 cm
• Weight of blunt version: 380 g
• Total length of sharp version: 111,9 cm
• Tang length of sharp version: 17,9 cm
• Weight of sharp version: 360 g
• Blade material: 1566 carbon steel
• Made by Hanwei
• Specs may slightly vary from piece to piece
• Sharpness: Blunt or Sharp