Recommended Waster Suppliers
We have gone through a lot of wasters in our practice of historical fencing and we have dealt with many suppliers. These companies have been varied in both waster quality and customer service. There are few things as frustrating as seeing your brand new waster crack after just a few hours of practice, or waiting several weeks for your waster to be delivered from some company that doesn’t bother to even answer your phone calls or email messages.
The suppliers listed below have all proven themselves in both providing excellent customer care and solidly-built wasters that will stand up to the grueling punishment of historical fencing.
New Stirling Arms – (www.newstirlingarms.com) NSA offers well-balanced wasters which are also guaranteed against defects in materials and workmanship (unless your waster broke because you were abusing it beating it against a concrete wall or some such, send it in and they’ll replace it).
Raven Studios – (www.little-raven.com) Raven Studios offers beautiful wasters with your choice of hardwoods for the grip and guard. Reportedly, their wasters are a little on the long side, so if you are very tall, they might be the supplier for you!
Hollow Earth Swordworks – (www.hollowearthswordworks.com) Steve Archote and his family do a wonderful job of making beautiful wasters that seem to stand up to anything. He also guarantees his wasters against defects in materials and workmanship (basically, unless your waster broke because you were abusing it beating it against a concrete wall or some such, send it in and he’ll replace it).
Purple Heart Armory – (www.woodenswords.com) We’ve gotten a lot of experience with these wasters recently and have been impressed with their balance and value. The products are warrantied against defects in materials and workmanship.