Wasters

[Heather Gilbertson]

Hey I just have a couple questions about which waster to get. I wanted to know which place pleople like the best...New Sterling Arms or Raven. Also, i'm not sure which size is right for me. Im 5'6" and Im not sure which one would be best. Thanks

Heather

[Shane Smith]

As I'm tired of paying eighty dollars for wasters which typically last me 4 months or so, I've taken to making my own.

That said, I'd take a newer NSA over a raven although both are fairly nice.

[David Kite]

As I'm tired of paying eighty dollars for wasters which typically last me 4 months or so, I've taken to making my own.

Amen!

Although, my Hollow Earth Wasters have held up very well with use (apart from replacing the cross). They are a little more cumbersome to use, but they're not bad, and they are durable. The only part that really sucks about Hollow Earth is ordering from them. This can take a really really really long time, as I believe they are usually out touring Renn Faires. If you can find them, go with them, othewise I agree with Shane that you're probably better off just making your own.

David Kite
GFS, ARMA in IN

[Jon Wolfe]

Some of those prices for wasters, and then the cost of shipping. I'm going to be making my own as well. I want to do it right though and use hickory, but I don't know how much a plank of the same dimensions of the one used in the article on the ARMA Ogden site would cost. Do you one of you all know?

[Seth Halsell]

Hey there Heather. I've had a chance to try out the New Stirling Arms longsword waster and the Hollow Earth waster and both are fairly durable. I wish I could give you feed back about rave stuido's longsword waster but I have yet to try or meet someone that has bought their waster so I unfortuntly can not give you any feed back on them. As for your height I wouldn't worry about that too much. I am your height (5 feet 6 inches) and when I tried New Stirling Arms waster it felt as comfortable in my hands as my waster that I use.

[Heather Gilbertson]

Thanks everyone for your imput! Although I dont think I am quite ready to make my own. That seems a bit beyond my skill level! Thanks again.

[Will Adamson]

I have a Raven as well as an NSA. The Raven looks very nice, and is quite well made, but if you do any partner drills or freeplay it will become dented.

The weight and balance are also a bit strange. The overall weight is very light, but because it does not have a pommel that counterbalances the blade effectively it actually feels like it is the proper weight in the blade.

The crossguard is very short as well. I was doing some binding and winding work with Sidney in Atlanta last year and just could not get certain techniques to work. Eventually we figured out that it was because the crossguard was so short that it just wasn't engaging the other's blade, hands, or cross the way it was meant to.

The grip is also a bit wide. I've never seen a real sword with a grip as big as the one on my Raven.

One rather strange thing that is actually good about them is that the wide blade lets you know when your edge alignment is off. If you are really throwing strong cuts when doing floryshes, the blade will vibrate a bit or not go where you want it if the edge is not aligned. I might be imagining things, but it seems to be the case. Not enough of a reason to have it as your only waster though. This is something that hitting a pell and doing test cutting is supposed to identify.

Just doing solo work with the Raven is fine, but if you're going to do any partner work I can't recommend it.

It's a pity, because they really do look nice.

[Tony_Indurante]

I'm still a fan of Wooden Weapons. I recently broke my NSA and went back to using my WW waster. While it is definitely not as nicely balanced as the NSA I find it's slightly heavier feel gives me a better workout, and there is little worry when I'm doing pell work. The fit and finish are not as nice- but hey, I don't really care all that much about that on a waster anyways. I've made my own, but I'm a craptastic carpenter and have realized my limitations when it comes to building things.

As for size of waster, you will want a waster around 4'. While it will seem long at first, you will adapt to it. My opinion only of course.

[Tony_Indurante]

I'm still a fan of Wooden Weapons. I recently broke my NSA and went back to using my WW waster. While it is definitely not as nicely balanced as the NSA I find it's slightly heavier feel gives me a better workout, and there is little worry when I'm doing pell work. The fit and finish are not as nice- but hey, I don't really care all that much about that on a waster anyways. I've made my own, but I'm a craptastic carpenter and have realized my limitations when it comes to building things.

As for size of waster, you will want a waster around 4'. While it will seem long at first, you will adapt to it. My opinion only of course.

[Jaron Bernstein]

Hey I just have a couple questions about which waster to get. I wanted to know which place pleople like the best...New Sterling Arms or Raven. Also, i'm not sure which size is right for me. Im 5'6" and Im not sure which one would be best. Thanks

Heather

Vadi says the length of your sword should be from your armpit vertically to the ground. Hope that helps.

As for commercial wasters, I am fond of NSA's for their balance. I haven't handled Raven longswords enough to say, but our study group has a Raven arming sword that has taken far more than its share of abuse and is still alive and well.

[Jake_Norwood]

I'm still a fan of Wooden Weapons. I recently broke my NSA and went back to using my WW waster. While it is definitely not as nicely balanced as the NSA I find it's slightly heavier feel gives me a better workout, and there is little worry when I'm doing pell work. The fit and finish are not as nice- but hey, I don't really care all that much about that on a waster anyways. I've made my own, but I'm a craptastic carpenter and have realized my limitations when it comes to building things.

As for size of waster, you will want a waster around 4'. While it will seem long at first, you will adapt to it. My opinion only of course.

Just a note to everybody-- Bob Dougherty's www.woodenweapons.com, which Tony's referring to, was bought out some time ago by [disallowed link], better known as Purpleheart Armories. ARMA has a standing policy not to buy from Purpleheart (or "PHA"). This is an organization-wide boycott based on their treatment of our organization several years ago.

If you're an ARMA member, please don't buy anything from PHA or it's mirror sights, like www.woodenweapons.com.

...

As for waster length, I prefer a much longer weapon myself, at around 4.5 feet or more. But that's me...

Jake

[Will Adamson]

As for waster length, I prefer a much longer weapon myself, at around 4.5 feet or more. But that's me...

Jake

Yeah, but you're a beast!

[Will Adamson]

Has anyone used Hollow Earth's dagger or rapier wasters?

[Greg Coffman]

I higly recommend both of the NSA longswords. The longer of the two has a good long reach and handles much better and faster than many wasters of shorter length. I wish the handle was a bit longer however. Last weekend I had the opportunity to handle the shorter NSA waster and it felt very good for single hand as well as two handed use. If I wanted a good hand-and-a-halfer that is the waster I would go with. NSA's one hander relates better to earlier medieval swords than late or renaissance swords. I took a dremmel to mine to reshape the blade and now it works fairly well. It is still very well built and solid for a waster. NSA seems to really put a lot of effort into shaping the guard and handle to function like a real sword.

I have not had the opportunity to see or handle Raven's products except for their greatsword which felt fine as far as I could tell. I really like the look of their arming sword and intend to get one eventually.

I do not recommend Hollow Earth for longswords or for any purchases except in person. They make about the only cut and thrust waster on the market. Some of these I have seen handle fine and some handle like the rest of their swords: slow and clumsy. The trick with Hollow Earth is being able to handle and hand pick the sword you want in person. They do have some good swords and the most variety in hilt components. I have handled several which were fine and quite fast, but these are the exceptions. Their handles tend to be very wide and oval but this isn't too much of a problem. The cross guards are only glued in place and may come loose. They guarantee their products for life but dealing with them is fairly difficult and lengthy. I do recommend their daggers (they call them short swords). The short size makes balance not as much of a problem. Their "fighter's sword" is also okay especially with one of the large pommels. The larger purple heart pommels they offer can go a long way in helping balance out the blade.

Hope all that was helpful.

[Jake_Norwood]

As for waster length, I prefer a much longer weapon myself, at around 4.5 feet or more. But that's me...

Jake

Yeah, but you're a beast!

Find me an illustrated manual other than Fiore that uses a longsword that looks like it's only 48"...

and these guys were smaller than me!

Jake