SIGI Saber Pro | First Look & Market Overview

Today I'm taking a first look at the Saber Pro by SIGI Forge. I'll share some specs and talk the EU market situation for bowl-hilted HEMA training sabres.

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Relevant links:

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Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction
1:55 SIGI Pro: Overview
6:00 Stats (Blade/grip length, mass, curvature, PoB)
7:30 Gloves (RDs and SPES Heavies)
8:56 Handling
11:00 Typology, sort of
13:36 Alternatives & Market Overview
18:00 Conclusion

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FOLLOW ME:

[midshipman]

I love the silhouette of that guard and handle.

it looks understatedly elegant and sturdy at the same time.

[historyandsabre]

Here's a couple more relevant makers I simply forgot to mention:

- VB swordshop (HU) Light HEMA sabre (good choice overall but I don't love the grip)

- Silkfencing (PL), heard good things but unfortunatley I've got zero experience with their products

- Poker Armory (PL), no personal experience but heard some good things.

- Swordsmithy (CZ), good for Barbasetti-like sabres. Good quality products.

And before sb asks: Blackfencer is a maker I really like but they're not relevant to the category of bowl-hilted sabres.

[BS-bduq]

A big heads up with SIGI is that they are heavily on their backlogs. I have waited for 8 months for mine while they claimed it only took 5-6 months back then. Stats wise it looks more promising than the Kvetun sabre, which had been one of my favorite ones for years.

[Chibi_changa]

Hello Mr Peter, I started doing military sabre a month or two ago, and it's been great fun, but my mustache still isn't nearly as incredible as yours. When can I expect that to happen?

[BS-bduq]

I have enjoyed mine very much! I have to say it's my favorite Victorian Infantry sword ever. It handles really nicely, and the grip construction looks SO premium!

[TotalCook]

Nice presentation of the sword!
P.s. Two more sabres with bowl hilts can be found by Silkfencing from Poland, and VB swordshop from Hungary.
Cheers!

[clementcrn]

Thank you for this well detailed video, it is helpful for my next purchase! Greetings from france

[maritimeswordschoolmoncton]

Great review. i have the same model shown here witht he heavy curve, and you're right on the money. It's a premium trainer, ticks a lot of boxes, but the heavy curve isn't quite right for the grip specifically. The handling is just a hair off. Super fun to fence with, great piece of kit, but if I'm hungry for the W, I grab a different sabre. I think I'm going to order a separate lightly curved blade for it as it would appear to be modular and I'm expecting a significant handling upgrade from that.

[chrismorgan]

Thanks for your review, quality over quantity again.
Whilst the optioned-up grip looks fantastic, what will it do to the palm of your glove? Also, do you think it might impede the ability to quickly change hand positions?
Re the Kvetuns: I have the three Easton's with the straight, semi and fully curved blades. It is quite surprising just how differently they behave. I also have a superb Kvetun boarding cutlass (loosely based on the Brit 1845) which also utilizes the same Easton hilt. Having the same hilt eliminates unwanted variability when investigating blade behavior.
The Kvetun's 'rolled edge' on the guard is actually solid rod shaped and welded to the edge of the bowl. Regards Chris

[BS-bduq]

I believe the reason why Kvetun 1895 has different weight stat was that the original 800+g was a typo which they fixed later.

[coldkissofsteel]

One point that I don't think was stressed enough is the added protection that the Pro guard gives over the other models. I wouldn't use the other sabres without heavy gloves. I use rapier gloves with my SIGI pro and the guard gives more than enough protection. The author says he wouldn't wear gloves lighter than Red Dragon gloves with this sword. I've never had an issue and gladly sacrifice the limited risk for the mobility.

[MaxGroeneveld_]

Hi,
You look like someone who has understanding of the history of swords. I have a question cuz we have a Sabre at home(it’s blunt). And there is some sort of fabricated name or something carved onto it: Bayek or Bayer Graz. And the Sabre it self is pretty clean and shiny and all but the hilt and the sheath are rusty. So idk if you know anything about where it might come from, but if you do I would be happy to know

[JWhite-qfqx]

I am considering buying one of these, Do you think thokk weaponmaster gauntlets would fit into the sigi pro gaurd? Ive never used the red dragons so im not sure of the size comparison

[pardubiceswordplayassociat]

It's a well made sabre, the hilt is almost perfect. The weight distribution in the blade doesn't suit me very well. Although the PoB is good, the saber doesn't feel agile in my hand.

[Vyrian]

I've handled an almost identical SIGI Sabre and found that the blade was a bit too wobbly for my liking. Did you not find that to be somewhat detrimental to your fencing?

[TyLarson]

I like my sigi. Wish I had sprung for the wire wrap.

[tommyssl]

I don't think any Sabre fencer should be using heavy gloves like red dragons. You lose so much mobility with the sword with those massive gloves, plus the guard has to be made so much bigger to accommodate the gloves.

[glenbrooks]

How are they compared to the easton MK3 sabre ?

[robertvondarth]

What is the longest blade, heaviest HEMA sabre you know of?