Honshu Training Broadsword

This is a very hard plastic. It’s not a toy so I wouldn’t recommend just getting it to beat up some trees or your friends, at least not without proper protection. It is balance around 10” which is great for a practice weapon. The balance being further from the hilt than a sharp makes it less taxing on the wrists and forearms so a beginner can practice forms and grips without over straining themselves until they get it down. Just like when you workout you don’t squat the 300lbs first you start small until your form is great and you are conditioned to move up. It is solidly made and could withstand some controlled sparring, but it will need a safety cap on the tip since it is not rounded at all. It is sharp enough to pierce a watermelon will very little effort considering this is a “plastic” (polyurethane) sword. The weight is good to get used to the feel of a weapon as the extension of the hand. Big complaint I see about these and the Cold Steel is that the balance is historically wrong, please note there is not right balance. Expect if it’s all in the hilt. Military swords had the balance half way down the blade. It comes down to use and style. Further down the blade makes cutting motions easier, stronger against defection and easier on the forearm. As a first practice weapon this is a great option. Especially since wooden long swords can be hard to find and just as pricey. This is last a long time but it is NOT made to swing wildly at a material harder than it. Last comments, I sanded the edges down so the plastic seam won’t cut and I ran the sand paper around the handle to soften up the seams there too. Handle isn’t hard on the hands like I’ve seen. Either the sanding helped or grip needs to be correct. If this sword tears up your hands check your grip or sand it down to simulate hours of wear in seconds. Also if you have soft hands you’ll need to earn those calluses with conditioning. For any bending try warming up the peak of the bend and slowly working it to straighten it, blow dryer or electric heating pad could do the trick. For hard sparring it could be wrapping in padding and the core is strong enough to take the hits and the padding prevents denting the sword or your sparring partner.

A perfectly functional practice weapon, but not the safest sparring sword. I wouldn't recommend swinging this at a friend unless they're wearing protective gear. I was able to put 10 inch gashes in cardboard by slashing with the tip. It's also heavy and sturdy, and could be used as an impromptu club. The balance point is about 8 1/2 inches from the hilt, a little far up the blade but not uncommon in historical weapons. A modern combat ready long sword is more like 2-4 inches up, but this is a "broadsword" and doesn't have the distal taper of a true long sword. It's good for training the forearms and wrists. Worth buying if you want a good waster that can function as a weapon in a pinch.

Great quality. Solid construction. Good details on the pommel, cross guard, and hilt. First one came bent. The return and exchange process was so fast. They were polite and courteous through the entire process. The second one I got is a little bent still but I’m pretty sure this is because I’m in Minnesota and it’s negative temps right now and it has been moving through that for a week. All around very happy.

I purchased this as a toy for my son without any real expectations of quality and was blown away by how nice this sword is. It's not really a toy at all. It's very heavy, made of solid HDPE (HDPP?) and virtually indestructible. As a toy for a young kid into roleplaying and weapons it's friggin' awesome though. One of the best "toys" I've found. We'll definitely be looking into other items by Honshu. Really great stuff!

This thing is made well. I can tell it was created with an injection mold but you have to really look for those little circles to find them. The plastic quality is great and when you hit things with it, it feels sturdy. I will hit my brothers wooden sword with this, and it does get marked up and warped, but only as much as any wooden sword does. Great plastic sword.

Many HEMA practitioners would say it's way too short for a longsword, but it is historical size for many swords, feels solid and has a maneagable weight to it

I absolutely love this training sword! I love the look and the feel of it. The weight is light enough to swing around with one arm (assuming you have some muscle), but it's definitely a two-handed sword. I haven't done any duals with it yet so I can't speak about it's durability, but I'm going to assume that it's durable based off of feel alone.

TLDR; Cool sword but it was bent. :( This was the one I was hoping for as it's the beautiful badass twohanded broadsword you want but it fell short in craftsmanship. It weighs around 1.8lbs and feels great as the handle is flat with the blade and the texture is less aggressive. The pommel isn't as pronounced as the the others but I wouldn't expect it to be. In conclusion, the blade feels much lighter and is great to swing however, I'm heavily disappointed in the fact that the blade had a very visible bend near the end of the blade. It takes away from the beauty and appeal.