Battling Blades Review- Top Ten Sword Reviews

Posted by David Jones on

Battling Blades is the hottest sword and knife company specializing in high quality steel.  Their steel options include high carbon Damascus steel, 1095 steel, D2 steel, and stainless steel.  We were highly impressed with the quality of the items and the prices made the swords and knives incredibly affordable.  We have tested and reviewed ten of their swords and have listed our favorites (and least favorites) below:

  1. Viking Sword- High Carbon Damascus Steel Sword- 26"- Viking Age/ Carolingian Sword

 

Rating (1-10): 10

Aesthetics- 10

Steel Quality- 10

Handle Comfort- 10

Guard, Pommel, and Handle Strength- 10

Cut Test- 10

Price- 10

This Viking sword is one of the best swords we have ever tested.  It has a wide blade, strong and comfortable bone handle, and blew away our strength and cut tests.  Additionally, it is one of the most attractive display pieces we have tested.  At $219.99, this sword is an absolute steal.

  1. Katana Sword- High Carbon 1095 Steel Sword with Clay Temper Blade- Samurai Sword- 40.5"

Rating (1-10): 10

Aesthetics- 10

Steel Quality- 9.5

Handle Comfort- 10

Guard, Pommel, and Handle Strength- 10

Cut Test- 10

Price- 10

A shockingly low price for a high-quality katana is, more or less, all you can ask for.  The blade is not patterned as nicely as the Damascus patterned blades but it holds a sentimental, traditional style.  It has a powerful cut and passed our tests with considerable fortitude.  The handle is a comfortable, two handed grip. 

  1. Viking Sword / Ulfberht Sword- High Carbon Damascus Steel Sword- 24"

Rating (1-10): 10

Aesthetics- 10

Steel Quality- 10

Handle Comfort- 9

Guard, Pommel, and Handle Strength- 10

Cut Test- 10

Price- 10

This outstanding Viking sword meets all our requirements for premier Viking swords.  The steel quality remained outstanding and passed all our cut tests.  Our only critique is the pommel is not larger than the handle so it does not prevent your hand from slipping. 

  1. Gladius Sword- High Carbon Damascus Steel Sword- 28"- Gladiator/ Roman Sword

Rating (1-10): 10

Aesthetics- 10

Steel Quality- 10

Handle Comfort- 10

Guard, Pommel, and Handle Strength- 9

Cut Test- 10

Price- 10

This traditional Pompeii gladius meets all historical standards of a Roman gladius.  The steel is very strong, and again, this sword passed all our strength and cut tests.  The handle is comfortable but since it is made of wood, it can be damaged if it takes a strong strike. 

  1. Longsword/ Bastard Sword- Kings Sword- High Carbon Damascus Steel Sword- 41"

Rating (1-10): 10

Aesthetics- 10

Steel Quality- 10

Handle Comfort- 10

Guard, Pommel, and Handle Strength- 10

Cut Test- 10

Price- 8

This longsword is elegant and impressive but it is significantly more expensive than other options from Battling Blades.  It remains cheaper than longswords from most other companies, but compared to other Battling Blades options, it is far more expensive.

  1. Arabian Scimitar Sword- High Carbon Damascus Steel Sword-37"

Rating (1-10): 9.5

Aesthetics- 9

Steel Quality- 10

Handle Comfort- 10

Guard, Pommel, and Handle Strength- 10

Cut Test- 10

Price- 9

This scimitar sword has impressive curvature and utility.  The handle is more simplistic than other swords which decreases its rating.  It is also a more expensive option, although the added length mitigates the increased cost.  It passed all our cut tests.

  1. Rapier Sword- 1095 Steel High Carbon Zorro/ Fencing Sword-38" Battle Ready

Rating (1-10): 9.5

Aesthetics- 10

Steel Quality- 10

Handle Comfort- 10

Guard, Pommel, and Handle Strength- 10

Cut Test- 7

Price- 10

This is a stunning, traditional rapier is paired with a strong and solid build.  The problem stems from the handle.  As a rapier, it is built to stab and slash but is not designed for heavy striking.  As a result, it performed poorer in our cut tests, but it did comparatively better than rapiers from other companies.  The steel was not impacted by the cut tests.

  1. Gladius Sword- High Carbon Damascus Steel Sword- 24"- Gladiator/ Roman Sword

Rating (1-10): 9.5

Aesthetics- 10

Steel Quality- 10

Handle Comfort- 9

Guard, Pommel, and Handle Strength- 9

Cut Test- 10

Price- 10

Another beautiful and highly functional gladius, this sword passed all our cut tests with flying colors.  Our only critique of this sword is the handle.  The grip is large and made for larger hands so it may be uncomfortable for smaller hands.  In addition, being wood, the handle can take damage with direct strikes.

  1. Greek Xiphos Sword- Short Sword- D2 Steel- 24" Battle Ready

Rating (1-10): 9

Aesthetics- 9

Steel Quality- 7

Handle Comfort- 10

Guard, Pommel, and Handle Strength- 10

Cut Test- 10

Price- 10

A traditional Greek xiphos is a hard sword to find, especially at an affordable price, so we had to test it when we saw it was offered.  We were impressed.  D2 steel typically does not function well in swords, although we love it in knives, so we were shocked to see it perform swimmingly in our cut test.  Even still, we are not fans of D2 steel as a sword so we downgraded the steel quality.  We also did not love the handle, which looks kind of flat, although it felt very comfortable.

  1. Viking Sword / Ulfberht Sword- High Carbon Damascus Steel Sword- 38"- Stiklestad

Rating (1-10): 9
Aesthetics- 10
Steel Quality- 10
Handle Comfort- 10
Guard, Pommel, and Handle Strength- 10
Cut Test- 10
Price- 8


Again with the impressively hard to find swords, this Ulfberht Viking sword is incredibly accurate historically. The steel is outstanding and the handle is very comfortable. The price is slightly higher than the other swords we tested due to the length.


Overall, we were highly impressed with these swords. We only listed the top 10 swords, but nearly every item was outstanding and the prices make outstanding, functional swords affordable. The only dud was the 19” dragon scimitar sword. The handle was plastic and failed our cut tests. In addition to the quality, the customer service and ship times were very good and the website was easy to navigate.


Overall rating: 10/10


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