Because there doesn't appear to be a page for this yet, and I would've found one helpful before ordering anything.
Please add your own experiences! I am still a newbie and do not have much to draw on, so would very much appreciate contributions from more experienced members so this page turns into something somewhat useful. --Hobnoblin
Weapon Physreps
- The best way to buy a larp weapon is usually in person. You can try out anything you fancy the look of, see if the weighting and length suits you, if it fits your weapon loops etc. Buying online can land you with something you didn't quite want. It's best if you want a custom order.
- If it's a trader who made one of the weapons in the armoury, chances are you can find the same thing on their website and order one. Most of the Armoury ones I think are Medlock, Eldritch or Dave Proctor (Who you can find at most Interactives, how convenient!).
- Several Society members have been known to make weapons to order. Dave P, Tea, and Nye mostly.
-Jim
- Good selection of kit at fairly reasonable prices. Has been described to me as the LARP equivalent of Tesco. Reportedly good for chainmaille and clank. Also, really fast shipping on my order of shirt/gloves/belt (a lot quicker than I was expecting!) --Hobnoblin
- Hobnoblin later ordered some weapons from Mytholon, being the charmingly naive type... They took an age to arrive and, being injection moulded, were too hard and too heavy. I think the LARPsafe frying pan was alright, but the sword failed Empire weapons check immediately (unsurprisingly) and the dagger is only OK by virtue of being too small to do any damage. Avoid weapons, soft kit/clank is fine.
- Has a bad reputation for using cheap leather, both in armour and as straps for plate. The tescos description is the best I've heard for their clank. Second the thing aobut the shipping, I have paid more to ship less, slower, from the UK than I did from them.
- You get what you pay for with the injection moulded Hammerkunst weapons. They can often be quite hard in winter and the balance isn't great. Mine has lasted really well, but the quality is variable. -Jim
- I would not order the injection moulded weapons (in general TBH), some people have had them so badly formed they failed safety checks immediately. I would definitely want to feel and check any IM weapon before paying. --Drac
- For basic chain, plate, and padded armour Mytholon are all right, and the prices are lower than you will see anywhere else. Stay away from their leather items, though. --Nyeti
- Excellent online service. Kit reasonable, leatherwork sturdy but not fancy. Generally good for workmanlike stuff, but not the really high end stuff. --Tea
- I buy a lot of stuff from DB and can highly recommend them for most things, unless it is really high end leatherwork I will usually pick DB. They will do custom commissions on request - I have a fancy jewelled belt and Tondurs horns from them. --Drac
- I can vouch for their leather accessories - they are excellent. --Nyeti
- No personal experience, please fill in
- Heard multiple horror stories from people I know, good reports from people I don't know. Prices generally sky high compared to buying stuff off other traders. Doesn't seem worth the risk. --Tea
- If you can make it to their physical shop in North London, it's a much better proposition. The range is decent (though not as good as online) and you get to bypass the website. I got a shirt and belt pouch there and am pretty happy with them. --Nyeti
- In my first year I tried to buy a shirt from them in mid-October. It still hadn't arrived by December so I emailed them but never got a response. A few weeks later sent another email, still no reply. Eventually I opened a paypal dispute with them, still no response. Escalated it to a claim and then suddenly they ring me up and are all like "Oh, it's just arrived today, if you close your dispute we'll send it.". (Funny coincidence that...) In the end they did reluctantly give me a refund, but I would very much not recommend buying from them. --Mark
- Good for very high end leather. If you want things that are fancier than Darkblade this is where I recommend going. Downside is the prices are significantly higher. He will also do commissions. Proprietor also looks f**king scary when playing his Greek warleader. --Drac
- One of the biggest suppliers of Medlock weapons. Does not update his website very often so is very much a "turn up and see what he has" or "give him a ring and he will email you pictures". also has a variety of accessories, often reselling (tallows, mytholon, bows, costume). --Drac
- Another stocker of Medlock weapons as she lives just across the hill from him. She tends to get smaller batches and more frequent restocks, and also puts them all up online! Has stock costume and will do either tailored stock or totally custom costume. --Drac
- High quality weapons of all types (inc stab safe spears) and shields from Scotland. Also does 40k chainswords and a range of "common" items like batons, maglites, fire axes etc... commissions available. Attend all PD events, their stuff tends towards the chunkier and heavier end of the market. (commissions they have done for Drac include Giant Dome shields, Chainswords (with 3 days notice!), highly detailed "deathwand", commando knives, katspalger, zweihander....)
- Used to have reputation for non-delivery if you ordered online, not sure how true this still is. His stuff is a good yardstick and he does a wide range from the fancy to the plain. Personally I always stick to buying from him in person where I have the goods in hand. --Drac
- Totally adore all of his weapons; lovely and light and balanced well, so far as I can tell. No idea how he is for online stuff, having only ever bought in person. --Hobnoblin
- Makes really nice stab-safe weapons. Made my custom stab-staff, provided good feedback when he wasn't able to work with the original idea as stabsafe Expensive for other stuff. Coped well with a huge custom order for the King's Stoke Militia Empire group and does group discounts, we got 10%. -Jim.
- Have a really nice birch-effect staff from him, which I adore. Sent me an extra grip in the post at no extra charge, which is nice! Can't comment on online service tho. --Hobnoblin
- I highly recommend their polearms. I have a SV spear as part of the King's Stoke order and it's great. --Nyeti
- Occasionally does sales on his facebook page, you can get stuff at excellent prices if you catch them. Similarly, tends to reduce stuff later on in an event if he hasn't sold it. Made my arming sword, cutlass, kopis and Massive Bat. -Jim
- Made my old arrows, but didn't send me half of them or respond to any attempts at contact via email, forum, phone and facebook. I called the credit card company and had the money returned and 1 week later they turned up. --Drac
- The name wins an Irony Award. Light, they are not. Heavy-weighted weapons. Made my glaive. Not ordered off the web though. -Jim
- Not actually bought from him, but he's a nice chap and I like the look of his stuff. Makes some cool post-apoc style stuff as well as medieval, if you want any for other purposes. Four knives strapped to a stick is a genius weapon. --Hobnoblin
- I bought a falchion and a dagger from him a while ago and really like them. They are indeed heavy, but that suits me just fine. --Nyeti
- I bought one of their "arrow to the leg" props for surgical RP and it's excellent value for horror. Also an arrow bag. If you have IDVs and play Empire or Odyssey, you may be interested in their part-exchange offer as PD are banning IDVs for next year. -Jim
- My Name is Jamsheed Al'Alrak, the Archer with a Knife, immortal Champion of Kiu and I buy all my archery supplies from Twisted Flax. - Pretty much sums up my opinions! --Drac
- Good for fabrics, high-quality basic kit and accessories. Good value for little things like brooches, buckles, jewellery other small metalwork. Their stuff tends to be solid, well-made and simple, they sell a lot to Dark Ages and Roman re-enactors. Excellent for kitmaking supplies if you want to use less modern-looking parts. -Jim
- I absolutely swear by them for tents. Good quality, good range of products, good customer service, and good prices. Please note, though, that groundsheets and sometimes poles are sold separately for many tents - and their website is hard to navigate and only available in German. --Nyeti
PLEASE ADD MORE!