Sword 101: All about Battle Ready Functional Swords, Decorator Swords and info on Sword Construction

Functional or "Battle Ready"... What does it mean?

Well, there are two kinds of swords in the world today:

• Decorative: Swords that look beautiful, and that you generally display on the wall as a collectable, but would not be able to use, because they weren't made to be used. These types of swords usually are made with a rat tail tang, since they were not made to be struck against anything, and this is the most cost effective way to make a decorative sword. Most movie replicas fall into this category, unless we have marked them as Full Tang in their descriptions, and even so they may still be decorative. A pretty good rule of thumb is, if it comes with a false-edged blade (in other words a dull blade), it wasn't really made to actually strike or cut anything. The functional swords we carry are all sharp and ready to use. Along these lines, it is not really worth it to try to sharpen a false-edged sword, this puts an edge on it, but doesn't address the type of tang used or the properties of the metal itself, like the tempering...
  

• Functional: Swords that were made to be used, are actually functional and sharp and can cut things, and that can stand up to the same type of use that historical swords stood up to, because they are made the way historical functional swords were, with a full tang and a properly tempered blade of superior high carbon spring steel. They can also be quite beautifully made, as the decorative swords are, but cost more because they are actually functional. These are called, for lack of a better term, Battle Ready.

Learn more about tangs and how swords are made on our Sword Construction page....

Learn more about sword maintenance and safety on our Sword Care page....