These wooden longsword wasters were my first efforts at wooden swords, made for my own abuse, and as learning tools. They are constructed of mahogany, a strong, dense wood that's a little tougher than oak, but not as tough as hickory. Even so, the first held up to a lot of strikes against hard targets, being swung at moderate force - sparring force - against a well-grounded 40+ year-old silver maple tree. When swung full-force against the tree, the sword finally splintered into two pieces. I duct-taped it back together and still use it in sparring. I duct-taped the other for good measure.

I crafted these to closely follow the dimensions and weights of my AT 1548 longsword, so the blades are narrower and thinner than a typical waster. I will not, however, make any wasters with such thin blades anymore. Why? Partly because of strength issues–more is better. Also, a larger blade will substantially increase the weight of the waster as a whole.My wasters weigh in at just under two lbs, with the addition of metal knobs for pommels, and I wanted them to be heavier (my ATrim is just under three lbs).

Future wasters will feature all-wood construction with wooden pins and pommels. This will aid in safety by eliminating the possibility of sharp metal screws becoming exposed or becoming flying metal shrapnel in the event of sword breakage.

If you are interested in commissioning a piece, please e-mail me at cletzelter@mac.com and I will get back to you with a price by the end of the next day.

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