Replacement blade for the Practical Rapier

Description of the Product

These fencing rapier blades have been designed as replacement parts for the Practical Rapier, and they do not come with hilt, guard or pommel parts. The blunt sparring blade may be used to replace a severely worn sparring blade. It can of course also be used as a basis for building your own sword. After all fashioning your own guard, hilt and pommel may be more manageable to start with, than forging your own blade.

The Hanwei Practical Rapiers come with two blade sizes 37" and 43" (94 cm and 110 cm) to match your sword fighting preferences and stature. These tapered blades provide a superior balance, making for a fast sword.

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 practical rapiers have been designed with safe yet authentic practice in mind. The blade is made of high carbon steel and is flexible. The tip of the blade has a button for safe thrusts, to avoid accidentally drawing first blood from your sparring partner.

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 Practical Rapier, hilt parts not included
• Choose from two blade lengths: 94 cm and 110 cm
• Blade is flexible and has a button tip
• Total length of 37”/94cm version: 105,1 cm
• Weight of 37”/94cm version: 460 g
• Total length of 43”/110cm version: 121 cm
• Weight of 43”/110cm version: 540 g
• Tangs: 11,2 cm
• Blade material: 1566 carbon steel
• Made by Hanwei
• Specs may slightly vary from piece to piece
• Sharpness: Blunt