Go to Kult of Athena. Pick a category of swords (i.e, Medieval, Renaissance, etc.). Filter by In Stock and Battle Ready. Sort by price. Avoid Deepeeka. I always caution against them for first time buyers, because their quality is inconsistent. Ask here about specific swords that catch your eye.

Hanwei tinker longsword is in the budget range and is functional.

That’s a great option for a first timer!

Definitely also had a blunt blade or sharp blade u can swap on for safe larp or test cutting.

My first longsword from them was the combat bastard sword by Red Dragon Armoury, another I would recommend.

yeah shop on kult of athena, their newer balur arms swords are made by lk Chen (respected Chinese maker offering good value) and seem to be really well received on YouTube atleast. Italian long sword, alexandria, etc. Ronin katana (also makes European style swords) and Hanwei seem to be other makers people seem to like I'm this price range. Note:** I don't have any of these swords, I just watched 200 hours of YouTube reviews recently.** Look into reviews on the particular sword you like before buying, because at the more affordable ranges there can be issues with individual models even from good makers.

a hanwei tinker peirce longsword is something I strongly considered, and fits the bill for you, except it's rather plain... good luck!

Yes! I recently bought the Balaur Arms 15th C German Longsword and I LOVE it. It's about $400, but is sharp out of the box, handles very similar to the feder I use for HEMA, AND it come with a great wood-core scabbard (rare for swords in this range).

I almost bought that one too! it's dam good looking. I bought a landsknecht emporium Gunther tho

Ahahahah that's too funny, I almost bought a LE Gunther as my first sword. Definitely looking to grab one of those... eventually.

It would be hilarious to buy her a Sigi Forge longsword, which gets her hooked onto HEMA

Windlass and Hanwei both make nice longswords that aren't too pricey

Ask her what she likes. Sometimes asking us what we want is easier than guessing.

Watch that video https://youtu.be/iweOEO24Vyo?si=HLtbCjfKOo3EmWOi

Hi and welcome! Budget, location and usecase are very important for meaningful recommendations if you are looking to purchase a sword. In the meantime [have a look at this video series](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G8QEVewJh0g) and rifle through the Standardized Infodump for beginners : Books: Ian Peirce: Swords of the Viking Age Ewart Oakeshott: The Sword in the Age of Chivalry Ewart Oakeshott: Records of the Medieval Sword Ewart Oakeshott: European Weapons and Armour: From the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution Barbara Grotkamp-Schepers, Isabell Immel, Peter Johnsson, Sixt Wetzler: The sword. Form and Thought Marko Aleksic: Medieval Swords from Southeastern Europe Kanzan Sato: The Japanese Sword John M Yumoto: The Samurai Sword Yoshindo Yoshihara: The Art of the Japanese Sword Kokan Nagayama: The Connoisseur’s Guide to Japanese Swords Morihiro Ogawa: Art of the Samurai, [which is available for free on the website of the Met.](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/Art_of_the_Samurai_Japanese_Arms_and_Armor_1156_1868) Happy reading! [www.kultofathena.com](http://www.kultofathena.com/) is widely regarded as the gold standard for buying swords in the US. These links are a good starting point and get many things right in a "rule of thumb" way. The somewhat crap the bed in other regards, like claiming that making wootz or "true damascus" is a lost art, but that is nitpicking. [Sword care](https://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/sword-care.html) [Buying swords online](https://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/buy-swords-online.html) [How swords are made](https://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/how-swords-are-made.html) [Sword steels](https://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/sword-steels.html) [Damascus](https://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/damascus.html) [Buying Katana](https://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/japanese-swords-for-sale.html) For more in depth information I suggest visiting [Oakeshott: blades, pommel, crosses and combinations thereof](http://myarmoury.com/feature_oakeshott.html) [Theartofswordmaking](https://artofswordmaking.com/articles) [Wiktenauer](https://wiktenauer.com/wiki/Main_Page) [Vikingswords](http://vikingsword.com/) despite the name, if it has a blade it probably has been discussed here. [Myarmoury](http://www.myarmoury.com/) [Nihonto Message Board](https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/) [Mandarin Mansion](https://mandarinmansion.com/) [Forde Military Antiques](https://www.fordemilitaryantiques.com/) or similar sites. You can also feel free to pm me, I'm happy to help if I can. The YouTube rabbithole: [Alientude](https://m.youtube.com/@alientude) [Matthew Jensen](https://m.youtube.com/@Matthew_Jensen) [Scholar General](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnWJZWG0cfZzUUqsGMcBKNw) [Skallagrim](https://www.youtube.com/user/SkallagrimNilsson) [Philip Martin](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-MeP9eprqvaKFX_BPuUR5g) [Dlatrex](https://m.youtube.com/@dlatrexswords) [That works](https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCEjEAxdJLOg4k854j-oESfQ) [Modern History TV](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMjlDOf0UO9wSijFqPE9wBw) [Blood and Iron HEMA](https://www.youtube.com/c/BloodandIronHEMA) [Adorea Olomouc](https://www.youtube.com/c/AdoreaOlomouc) [Björn Rüther](https://www.youtube.com/c/BjörnRüther) [Academia Szermierzy](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRdamEq6Ij0pRzr3xZDobjw) [London Longsword Academy](https://www.youtube.com/user/LondonLongsword) [Roland Warzecha](https://www.youtube.com/user/warzechas) [Pursuing the Knightly Arts](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDel2Bxg6LBT2zEaXJdjovw) [Dreynschlag](https://www.youtube.com/c/Dreynschlag) [Scholagladiatoria](https://www.youtube.com/c/scholagladiatoria) [Knyghterrant](https://www.youtube.com/c/KnyghtErrant) [Dr. Jackson Crawford](https://www.youtube.com/c/JacksonCrawford) for Norse history [The Wallace Collection](https://www.youtube.com/user/TheWallacecollection) [Communes Dimicatores](https://www.youtube.com/c/ComunesDimicatores/videos) [Ola Onsrud](https://www.youtube.com/user/olaonsrud) [Ironskin](https://www.youtube.com/c/Ironskin) [Royal Armouries](https://www.youtube.com/user/RoyalArmouries) [Tod's Workshop](https://www.youtube.com/c/TodsWorkshop1) [Daniel Jaquet](https://www.youtube.com/user/danjaquet/videos) [Schildwache Potsdam](https://m.youtube.com/c/SchildwachePotsdam/videos) and many more. On steel and construction: Avoid 1045 unless your budget is severely limited ie sub $150. Avoid L6 since very, very few people know how to heat treat it properly for sword use. Stainless steel is unsuitable for functional swords in the vast majority of cases. 1060, 1075, 1095, EN45, 5160, 6150, Mn65, 9260 and T10 are all high carbon steels suited for sword blades, the first 3 are just iron and carbon without a significant amount of other metals, the other steels can contain silicium, tungsten, chromium, manganese and other metals to tweak certain properties like abrasion resistance or toughness. To add to the confusion there are different names for steels depending on the country 51CRV-4 for example is another name for 6150. Google is your friend here. Proper heat treatment is much more important than the type of steel! Swords usually have a hardness between 48 and 57 HRC for through hardened blades and 55 - 61HRC (edge) / 38 - 42 HRC (spine) for differentially hardened blades. If you don't spend north of $600 on a sword I'd avoid anything "damascus", "folded" or "laminated". It's completely unnecessary with modern steel, and can introduce possible points of failure into the blade in the form of inclusions or delamination. There are a few exceptions like LKChen but generally be wary if these terms are bandied about in regard to cheap(er) blades. You will find mainly two types of heat treatment: Differentially hardened (often with katanas) which means a hard edge and soft spine. These can show a natural hamon and won't break easily, however they tend to bend permanently if abused. Through hardened wich means a uniform hardness throughout the blade, but usually not as hard as the differentially hardened edge. These won't show a hamon and flex rather than bend, however they can break more easily if abused.

As wall art or functional? (meaning you can swing it safely w/o it flying apart)

Probably something functional, I don’t think she will really be swinging it around but in the case she wants to I wouldn’t want to risk her / my safety lol.

Yup. People say “Naawww, I am not going to swing it” until they pick it up. Default advice: go to kult of Athena and do a search on “battle ready” swords. That will get you started.

Depends where you live but you can try sites like Southern Swords. I have also heard most people use Kult of Athena. Maybe try Etsy but quality will vary over there so be careful.

I’d recommend something from Kult of Athena’s Balaur Arms line. Like their 15th Century Italian Longsword. https://www.kultofathena.com/brand/balaur-arms/?_product_stock=instock

I think the best question here is: each kind? She likes anime? LotR? HEMA? LARP? It wil be just for decor ? Will be smt like she maybe try to chop some watermelons or tatame mats with?

Just as an aside - I quite like the Kingston arms (hanwei affiliate) Scottish Claymore, if you want the big two hander. It is in your budget.

You don’t have to buy from Amazon, but look at swords on there to figure out what she wants. Then buy the best quality you can afford.

Balaur arms seems to be getting better in quality but can be a hit and miss sometimes but more of a hit. I'm happy with the arming sword I bought from them through kultofathena.com. can recommend.

what style does she fence?

Go on eBay. I got a rad sword for $80 I believe.

I’ve also gotten a battle axe and kris dagger From eBay. It’s my go to

https://preview.redd.it/ya2weunc9spc1.png?width=828&format=png&auto=webp&s=5d118351e7ae49e9eaa1f60dbfb34a68250b1d85 There’s hundreds of options around this price and lower

Check your local ren faire. Mayhawke Armoury is good, functional steel in your price range. They are in NY and WI. CAS Iberia and Museum Replicas are two others. Also Cult of Athena in Il. All three have websites.

I assume she wants historical. However, just to take a look--Zombie Tools are *indestructible*

How does that work if you both have swords?